1. The name
Al-Baqarah means the cow.
The surah is named after the account of the Israelites who were commanded to slaughter a cow. This is the only place in the Quran where that account appears.
How surahs are named
Allah reveals the name directly, and the Prophet ﷺ states it.
The surah is named after its opening words or letters.
The surah is named after something unique within it. Surah Alif Lam Mim As-Sajdah takes its name from both its opening letters and the sajdah it contains.
Some surahs carry more than one name, given by the Companions.
2. Length and nickname
286 ayat — the longest surah in the Quran.
The Prophet ﷺ called it Sanam al-Quran: the peak of the Quran. Note that the nickname is not “the longest.” It is “the peak,” and the image of a mountain explains why.
A mountain is hard to climb
286 ayat is not Surah Al-Ikhlas. Studying this surah is a climb, and it is meant to be one. The same is true of memorising it: those who complete Al-Baqarah find Ali Imran comparatively easy afterwards, and An-Nisa merely difficult.
A mountain gives you the view
From the summit you see the whole landscape at once. From the top of Al-Baqarah you see the whole shape of the religion, because every subject in Islam is addressed somewhere in this surah.
The limit of the view: from a summit you see the bay, but not the animals moving in it. Al-Baqarah gives the outline of the rulings, not the detail. Marriage and divorce are treated at length in An-Nisa; here they appear in outline. But the detail is difficult to place if the outline has never been seen.
3. The nine parts
The types of people — ayat 1–20. The Quran is sent as guidance, so the first question is who it is guidance for, and what kinds of human being exist.
The first command — ayat 21–29. The Quran speaking about itself, and the reason to follow it.
The first human — ayat 30–39. Prophet Adam.
