Surah Al-Baqarah 2:177
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 177 of 286
۞ لَّيْسَ ٱلْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ وَٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ وَٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ وَءَاتَى ٱلْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَٰهَدُوا۟ ۖ وَٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ فِى ٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلْبَأْسِ ۗ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ ۖ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ
Translation
Goodness does not consist in turning your face towards East or West. The truly good are those who believe in God and the Last Day, in the angels, the Scripture, and the prophets; who give away some of their wealth, however much they cherish it, to their relatives, to orphans, the needy, travellers and beggars, and to liberate those in bondage; those who keep up the prayer and pay the prescribed alms; who keep pledges whenever they make them; who are steadfast in misfortune, adversity, and times of danger. These are the ones who are true, and it is they who are aware of God.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but righteousness is one who believes in God, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets; and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveller, those who ask, and for freeing slaves; and establishes prayer and gives zakat; and those who fulfill their promises when they promise, and are patient in hardship, adversity, and at the time of battle. Those are the truthful, and those are the God-conscious.' al-Saadi and Ibn Kathir note this is the Qur'an's definitive answer to 'what is righteousness (birr)?', not the outward form of a ritual but a whole integrated architecture: right belief, costly giving ('in spite of love for it'), kept promises, and patience. Ask yourself: I can reduce religion to a posture, facing the right way, performing the visible act, while missing the substance entirely. This verse refuses that. Real righteousness is belief that produces generosity that hurts, promises that hold, and patience that endures. Measured against this full picture, not my ritual correctness but my giving, my reliability, my patience, how righteous am I actually?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ashur.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:177 is discussed in 36 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
- Piety (Taqwa) (key verse)
- Righteousness (Birr) (key verse)
- Truthfulness (Sidq) (key verse)
- Rights (Huquq) (key verse)
- Fulfillment (Wafa') (key verse)
- Praise (Madh) (key verse)
- Zakat (key verse)
- Orphans (Yateem) (key verse)
- Patience (Sabr) (key verse)
- Social Relations (Alaqat Ijtima'iyyah) (key verse)
- The Covenant (Mithaq)
- Faith (Iman)
- Loss (Khusran)
- Affliction (Durr)
- Pledges (Ahd)
- Trustworthiness (Amanah)
- The Gospel (Injeel)
- Spending (Infaq)
- Manliness (Rujulah)
- Kinship (Rahim)
- Purification (Tazkiyah)
- Ignorance (Jahiliyyah)
- Civilization (Hadarah)
- Fitnah
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Baqarah 2:177 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.