al-Baqara

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Text excerpt from Surat al-Baqara (verses 206 to 217), manuscript from the 1st century after the Hijra

The Surah al-Baqarah ( Arabic سورة البقرة, DMG Sūrat al-Baqara  'The Cow') is the second sura of the Koran . It comprises 286 verses , making it the longest sura. In addition, it is distinguished from other suras by its abundance of topics. That is why Bertram Schmitz called it a “Quran in miniature”. The name of the sura refers to a conversation between the prophet Moses and the Israelites about a cow that they had to sacrifice (not to be confused with the well-known incident involving the golden calf ).

The throne verse (verse 255) and the following verse 256 with the statement that there is no compulsion in religion are known , as well as verses 246 ff., In which the anointing of the future Israelite king Saul by the prophet Samuel is mentioned. Verse 282 is the longest verse in the Quran.

Chronological classification

Surat al-Baqara is a Medinan sura that is said to have been revealed for the most part during the first two years after the hijra.Some passages (for example on the prohibition of interest ) come from a later period; the last three verses, according to tradition, were in Mecca disclosed.

content

The sura covers a variety of subjects, including legal issues, and tells stories of Adam , Abraham, and Moses . One theme is calling on the unbelievers and Jews of Medina to convert to Islam, warning them and the hypocrites of the fate God has given in the past to those who have failed to answer his call. Bertram Schmitz tried to show that "despite all the 'secondary topics' and 'insertions', the whole sura is ultimately a self-contained unit of meaning" and "a thoroughgoing line of argument that was quite understandable for that time". According to the results of his analysis, the whole sura is laid out in such a way that it is first described in abstract form, which is then illustrated in concrete form.

In verse 113, according to Schmitz, the mutual rejection of Judaism and Christianity is used to justify the claim to absoluteness of Islam. Both religions would be played off against each other to show the correctness of the new religion. This thought continues in the following sections.

Verses 113-141: The religion of Abraham and the sanctuary of the Kaaba

Verses 124–141 recount the story of Abraham and explain why the Kaaba in Mecca became the sanctuary of Islam. With Abraham in verse 125 the actual place of worship of God is introduced at the same time, the "house" built by him and appointed by God. In verse 135 the text refers to the "religion of Abraham" ( millat Ibrāhīm ), which stood before the formation of the two religions. In this way the two already existing religious communities are outdone in terms of their origins, since Abraham lived before Moses and Jesus. The verse takes up the core statement of verse 111 again: While there the claim of the Jews and Christians to guidance is rejected in the current way, verse 135 argues historically against these two religions by reference to the only religion of Abraham. From the wording of verse 135, which is directed against Jews and Christians, stressing that Abraham not Beige Seller was, could be concluded at this point that the members of the two religions are also Beige Seller. While in verse 135 the Jews or Christians still think they can determine who is "rightly guided", in verse 137 the claim is reversed: the Koran is not to be examined from the perspective of the biblical religions, but one's own religion should be the standard for Form correctness of faith of Jews and Christians. In verse 138, the diving rites of the previous religions - baptism in Christianity and immersion in the mikveh when entering Judaism - are opposed to their own baptism rite, which is better than all others, the "baptism of God" ( ṣibġat Allaah ).

The section follows on from Genesis in several ways . For example, while the first part of verse 124 corresponds to the verse Genesis 22.1  EU , which describes the temptation by God's commission, the last part of the verse summarizes Genesis 22, 15-19  EU , which is a promise to the descendants of Abraham. A decisive difference, however, is that in Genesis no restriction is formulated and the promise refers to all descendants, while in the Koran it is explicitly stated that the promise does not include the "wicked" ( ẓālimūn ). Another difference to the Abraham story in Genesis is that Abraham is particularly connected to his son Ishmael and that he has priority over Isaac . In verse 127 he is associated with Abraham with the building of the "house" (= the Kaaba).

Verse 134 and verse 141 are identical to each other. They emphasize the isolation of the earlier community.

Verses 142-183

Verses 142 to 152 contain explanations for changing the direction of prayer towards the Kaaba. Verse 158 mentions the two hills as-Safā and al-Marwa , which are here referred to as cult symbols of God. Verse 173 forbids the consumption of the meat of naturally dead animals, of blood and pork, and of the meat of animals whose slaughter has been invoked on anyone other than Allah. In verse 183 the commandment to fast is contained and in verse 185 the month of Ramadan is specified.

literature

  • Bertram Schmitz: The Koran: Sura 2 "The Cow": a commentary on the history of religion . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart, 2009.
  • Bertran Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity as the basis of the development process of Islam in the interpretation of verses 124 to 141 of the second sura" in Tilman Nagel (ed.): The Koran and its religious and cultural environment . Oldenbourg, Munich, 2010. pp. 217-238. Digitized

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 219.
  2. ↑ Hans Jansen : Mohammed. A biography. (2005/2007) Translated from the Dutch by Marlene Müller-Haas. CH Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-56858-9 , p. 244.
  3. ↑ A. Th. Khoury, The Koran: Arabic-German , Gütersloh: Kaiser, Gütersloher Verl.-Haus, vol. 1, p. 159 f. ISBN 3-579-05408-2
  4. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 220.
  5. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 228.
  6. ↑ Sura 2, verse 113 at www.corpuscoranicum.de
  7. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 219.
  8. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 236.
  9. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 220.
  10. ↑ Sura 2, verse 125 at www.corpuscoranicum.de
  11. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 237.
  12. ↑ Sura 2, verse 135 at www.corpuscoranicum.de
  13. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 233.
  14. ↑ Sura 2, Verse 137 at www.corpuscoranicum.de
  15. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 234.
  16. ↑ Sura 2, Verse 138 at www.corpuscoranicum.de
  17. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 222.
  18. ↑ Sura 2, verse 124 at www.corpuscoranicum.de
  19. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 225.
  20. ↑ Sura 2, verse 127 at www.corpuscoranicum.de
  21. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 224.
  22. ↑ Sura 2, verse 134 at www.corpuscoranicum.de
  23. ↑ Sura 2, verse 141 at www.corpuscoranicum.de
  24. ^ Schmitz: "The tension between Judaism and Christianity". 2010, p. 236.


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