Social Quranevery verse · a conversation
Sign in
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · 2:44
MedinanRevelation order ٨٧Juzʾ ١Page ٧

۞ أَتَأْمُرُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ بِٱلْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ

٤٤
Saheeh International · EN

Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?

IntroductionRevelationTafsirTransmissionDebate
Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 44 of Sūrat Al-Baqara (The Cow), the 87th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 1. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Medinan
Order revealed
87 of 114
Surah
Al-Baqara (2)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

(Enjoin ye righteousness upon mankind while ye yourselves forget (to practise it)?) [2:44]. Said Ibn �Abbas, according to the narration of al-Kalbi>Abu Salih through the aforementioned chain of transmission: �This was revealed about the Jews of Medina. One of them would say to his brother-in-law, relatives or Muslims with whom they had milk relations: �Hold firm to your religion and that with which this man � meaning Muhammad, Allah bless him and give him peace � commands you, for what he has brought is the truth�. They used to enjoin people to follow Islam while abstaining themselves from doing so�.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Enjoin you Al-Birr (piety and righteousness and every act of obedience to Allah) on the people and you forget (to practise it) yourselves, while you recite the Scripture (Tawrah))! Have you then no sense (44) The Condemnation of commanding Others to observe Righteousness while ignoring Righteousness Allah said, "How is it, O People of the Book, that you command people to perform Al-Birr, which encompasses all types of righteousness, yet forget yourselves and do not heed what you call others to? And you read Allah's Book (the Tawrah) and know what it promises to those who do not fulfill Allah's commandments. أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ (Have you then no sense?) of what you are doing to yourselves, so that you might become aware of your slumber and restore your sight from blindness" 'Abdur-Razzaq said that Ma'mar stated that Qatadah commented on Allah's statement, أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْ…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

The wall

And now — what do you think?

The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.

Sign in to add your voice to this verse.
No reflections yet — be the first.
Provenance

Community resources

No community resources for this verse yet.