Sura al-Baqarah is Madinan. (1)

It consists of 286 verses.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

“Alif-Lam-Mim. This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those mindful of Allah: those who believe in the unseen, establish the prayer, and spend from what We have provided them; those who believe in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down before you, and who are certain of the Hereafter. They are upon guidance from their Lord, and it is they who are successful.”

Regarding “Alif-Lam-Mim,” al-Sha‘bi and a group said: Alif-Lam-Mim and the rest of the alphabetic letters occurring at the beginnings of the suras are among the ambiguous verses whose knowledge Allah, Exalted is He, has kept exclusively for Himself; they are the secret of the Quran. We believe in their apparent meaning and entrust knowledge of them to Allah, Exalted is He. The purpose of mentioning them is to require faith in them.

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq said, “Every book has a secret, and Allah’s secret in the Quran is the opening letters of the suras.” ‘Ali said, “Every book has its choicest part, and the choicest part of this Book is the letters of the alphabet.” (2)

Dawud ibn Abi Hind said, “I used to ask al-Sha‘bi about the opening letters of the suras, and he said, ‘O Dawud, every book has a secret, and the secret of the Quran is the opening letters of the suras. So leave them, and ask about something else.’”

Another group said that their meanings are known. It was said that each of these letters is the initial of one of His Names, as Ibn ‘Abbas said concerning Kaf-Ha-Ya-‘Ayn-Sad: Kaf is from al-Kafi, the All-Sufficient; Ha from al-Hadi, the Guide; Ya from al-Hakim, the All-Wise; ‘Ayn from al-‘Alim, the All-Knowing; and Sad from al-Sadiq, the True.

It was also said concerning Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad: “I am Allah, the Sovereign, the True.” Al-Rabi‘ ibn Anas said concerning Alif-Lam-Mim: “Alif is the initial of His Name Allah; Lam is the initial of His Name al-Latif, the Most Subtle; and Mim is the initial of His Name al-Majid, the Most Glorious.”

Muhammad ibn Ka‘b said, “Alif signifies Allah’s favors, Lam His gentleness, and Mim His sovereignty.” Sa‘id ibn Jubayr narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that he said: The meaning of Alif-Lam-Mim is, “I am Allah; I know best.” The meaning of Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad is, “I am Allah; I know best and am most excellent.” (3) The meaning of Alif-Lam-Ra is, “I am Allah; I see.” And the meaning of Alif-Lam-Mim-Ra is, “I am Allah; I know and I see.”

Al-Zajjaj said, “This is sound, for the Arabs may mention one letter from a word they intend, as in their saying:”