Last Two Verses of Surah Al-Baqarah
Al-Baqarah 2:285–286. Also known as Amana Rasul, Last two ayat of Surah Baqarah, Khawatim al-Baqarah
ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡهِ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَۚ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلَـٰٓئِكَتِهِۦ وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيۡنَ أَحَدٖ مِّن رُّسُلِهِۦۚ وَقَالُواْ سَمِعۡنَا وَأَطَعۡنَاۖ غُفۡرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيۡكَ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ ﴿٢٨٥﴾ لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفۡسًا إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَاۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتۡ وَعَلَيۡهَا مَا ٱكۡتَسَبَتۡۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذۡنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوۡ أَخۡطَأۡنَاۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحۡمِلۡ عَلَيۡنَآ إِصۡرٗا كَمَا حَمَلۡتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِنَاۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلۡنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦۖ وَٱعۡفُ عَنَّا وَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَا وَٱرۡحَمۡنَآۚ أَنتَ مَوۡلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ ﴿٢٨٦﴾
Amana alrrasoolu bima onzila ilayhi min rabbihi waalmuminoona kullun amana biAllahi wamalaikatihi wakutubihi warusulihi la nufarriqu bayna ahadin min rusulihi waqaloo samiAAna waataAAna ghufranaka rabbana wailayka almaseeru La yukallifu Allahu nafsan illa wusAAaha laha ma kasabat waAAalayha ma iktasabat rabbana la tuakhithna in naseena aw akhtana rabbana wala tahmil AAalayna isran kama hamaltahu AAala allatheena min qablina rabbana wala tuhammilna ma la taqata lana bihi waoAAfu AAanna waighfir lana wairhamna anta mawlana faonsurna AAala alqawmi alkafireena
285The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, as did the believers. They all have believed in Allah, and His angels, and His scriptures, and His messengers: “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and we obey. Your forgiveness, our Lord. To You is the destiny.” 286Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. To its credit is what it earns, and against it is what it commits. “Our Lord, do not condemn us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord, do not burden us as You have burdened those before us. Our Lord, do not burden us with more than we have strength to bear; and pardon us, and forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Lord and Master, so help us against the disbelieving people.”
The last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, verses 285 and 286, close the longest surah of the Quran. Many Muslims know them by their opening words in Arabic, Amana ar-Rasul, and recite them every night before sleeping. They are among the passages the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ spoke about most warmly, and several sound narrations describe their virtue.
Verse 285 is a statement of faith: the Messenger and the believers believe in Allah, His angels, His scriptures and His messengers, without dividing between the messengers, and they respond with obedience and a request for forgiveness. Verse 286 begins with a promise that Allah never asks more of a soul than it can carry, and then turns into one of the most loved supplications in the Quran, a series of requests, three of which begin with the words Our Lord.
What it means
The Messenger and the believers share one faith
Verse 285 opens by saying that the Messenger believes in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. The Prophet ﷺ is not placed in a separate category of belief. He and his followers hold the same faith together.
The pillars of belief, and no division between messengers
The verse lists what they believe in: Allah, His angels, His scriptures and His messengers. They also say that they make no distinction between any of His messengers, meaning they accept all of them rather than believing in some and rejecting others. This sums up the faith that the whole surah has been teaching.
We hear and we obey
The believers answer revelation with a simple response: they hear and they obey. Earlier in the same surah, at 2:93, a people who were given the covenant are described as saying that they heard and disobeyed. Here the believers say the opposite, and pair their obedience with a request for their Lord's forgiveness and an acknowledgment that their return is to Him.
No soul is burdened beyond its capacity
Verse 286 opens with a principle that runs through the whole religion: Allah does not burden any soul with more than it can bear. Each soul gains the good it earns and bears the harm of the wrong it does. Nothing is asked of a person that is outside their reach.
Do not take us to task for forgetting or mistakes
The supplication begins. The believers ask their Lord not to hold them to account when they forget or make an error. This is an honest prayer from people who know they will slip without meaning to.
Do not place on us a heavy burden
Next they ask not to be given a burden like the one placed on those before them, and not to be made to carry what they have no strength for. The request is not to escape every difficulty, but to be spared what would crush them.
Pardon, forgiveness, mercy and help
The verse ends with three requests close together: pardon us, forgive us and have mercy on us. Then the believers call Allah their Protector, their Mawla, and ask for His help against those who reject faith. The surah that began by describing guidance for the mindful ends with the mindful turning to their Lord for His help.
Where it sits in Surah Al-Baqarah
These verses form the ending of Surah Al-Baqarah, a Medinan surah of 286 verses. Verse 283 completes the long passage on debts and contracts, telling people not to hide testimony. Verse 284 then states that everything in the heavens and earth belongs to Allah, and that He will hold people to account for what they show and what they hide within themselves. Sahih Muslim reports that this verse weighed heavily on the Companions, who came to the Prophet ﷺ and said it asked of them what they could not manage. He told them not to say what earlier people had said, that they heard and disobeyed, but to say that they heard and obeyed. When they did, and their tongues had settled on it, Allah revealed verse 285, which praises them for exactly that response, and then verse 286, which says no soul is burdened beyond its capacity. In the same narration, after each request in verse 286, Allah is reported to have said that He had granted it. The surah then ends, and Surah Ali 'Imran begins.
How it is used
The best-known practice is reciting these two verses at night. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim both report, from Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari, that the Prophet ﷺ said whoever recites the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at night, they will be enough for him. Scholars have explained this sufficiency in more than one way: that they protect the person from harm that night, that they suffice in place of a longer night prayer, or both. Since the Islamic night begins at sunset, many scholars note that they can be recited any time between Maghrib and Fajr, and most people simply read them before going to sleep. Sahih Muslim also reports, from Ibn Abbas, that while the angel Gabriel (Jibril) was sitting with the Prophet ﷺ, a gate of heaven opened that had never opened before, and an angel came down who had never come down before. He gave the Prophet ﷺ the good news of two lights given to no prophet before him, Al-Fatihah and the closing verses of Al-Baqarah, and said that he would not recite a single letter of them without being given what it contained. A third narration in Sahih Muslim, from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, says that on the night of the Prophet's ascension he was given three things, one of which was the closing verses of Al-Baqarah. Sunan at-Tirmidhi also reports a narration that Satan does not come near a house where these two verses are recited for three nights. At-Tirmidhi graded it hasan, and later scholars such as al-Albani graded it authentic, though it is not in Bukhari or Muslim.
Questions
What are the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah?
They are verses 285 and 286, the final verses of the second surah. They begin with the Arabic words Amana ar-Rasul and end with a supplication asking Allah for pardon, forgiveness, mercy and help.
When should the last two ayat of Surah Baqarah be recited?
The hadith in Bukhari and Muslim says at night. The night begins at sunset, so they can be recited any time after Maghrib until Fajr. Many people make it a habit to recite them just before sleeping.
What is the benefit of reading the last two verses of Surah Baqarah at night?
According to the hadith of Abu Mas'ud in Bukhari and Muslim, they will be enough for the one who recites them. Scholars have understood this as protection through the night, as sufficing for a night prayer, or both.
Why were the last two verses of Al-Baqarah revealed?
Sahih Muslim reports that the Companions were worried by verse 284, which speaks of being accounted for what is in the heart. The Prophet ﷺ told them to say they heard and obeyed, and after they did, Allah revealed verses 285 and 286, praising their response and assuring them that no soul is burdened beyond its capacity.