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سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · 2:254
MedinanRevelation order ٨٧Juzʾ ٣Page ٤٢

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَنفِقُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقْنَٰكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِىَ يَوْمٌۭ لَّا بَيْعٌۭ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌۭ وَلَا شَفَٰعَةٌۭ ۗ وَٱلْكَٰفِرُونَ هُمُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ

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Saheeh International · EN

O you who have believed, spend from that which We have provided for you before there comes a Day in which there is no exchange and no friendship and no intercession. And the disbelievers - they are the wrongdoers.

IntroductionRevelationTafsirTransmissionDebate
Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 254 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 3. 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)

No specific occasion of revelation (Asbāb al-Nuzūl) is recorded for this āyah in al-Wāḥidī's collection. Many verses were revealed without a single triggering event.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

O you who believe! Spend of that with which We have provided for you, before a Day comes when there will be no bargaining, nor friendship, nor intercession. And it is the disbelievers who are the wrongdoers (254) Allah commands His servants to spend for His sake, in the path of righteousness, from what He has granted them, so that they acquire and keep the reward of this righteous deed with their Lord and King. Let them rush to perform this deed in this life, مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ (before a Day comes) meaning, the Day of Resurrection, لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَلَا شَفَاعَةٌ (when there will be no bargaining, nor friendship, nor intercession.) This Ayah indicates that on that Day, no one will be able to bargain on behalf of himself or ransom himself with any amount, even if it was the earth's fill of gold; nor will his friendship or relation to anyone benefit him. …
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.

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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.

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