Surah Al-Baqara 2:20 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection

يَكَادُ ٱلْبَرْقُ يَخْطَفُ أَبْصَٰرَهُمْ ۖ كُلَّمَآ أَضَآءَ لَهُم مَّشَوْا۟ فِيهِ وَإِذَآ أَظْلَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ قَامُوا۟ ۚ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمْعِهِمْ وَأَبْصَٰرِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۭ

English: The lightning almost snatches away their sight: whenever it flashes on them they walk on and when darkness falls around them they stand still. If God so willed, He could take away their hearing and sight: God has power over everything.

Bengali: বিদ্যুতালোকে যখন সামান্য আলোকিত হয়, তখন কিছুটা পথ চলে। আবার যখন অন্ধকার হয়ে যায়, তখন ঠাঁয় দাঁড়িয়ে থাকে। যদি আল্লাহ ইচ্ছা করেন, তাহলে তাদের শ্রবণশক্তি ও দৃষ্টিশক্তি ছিনিয়ে নিতে পারেন। আল্লাহ যাবতীয় বিষয়ের উপর সর্বময় ক্ষমতাশীল।

Meaning & Reflection

'The lightning almost snatches away their sight. Whenever it lights up for them, they walk in it; and when darkness falls over them, they stand still. Had God willed, He could have taken their hearing and their sight. Indeed, God is over all things Powerful.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the flickering half-faith — they advance only in the brief flashes and freeze in the dark, an unstable, stop-start relationship with guidance, wholly at God's mercy who could remove even these faculties. Ask yourself: this is faith lived in flickers — a burst of practice when inspiration or fear strikes, then paralysis when the feeling fades. It describes exactly the inconsistent believer: on fire in Ramadan or after a scare, frozen the rest of the year. The verse holds up this stop-start pattern as a defect, and reminds me that even my flickering sight is a gift that could be withdrawn. Is my faith a steady walk — or lurching forward in flashes and standing still in the dark between them?

Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir.

Reflect with the Five Lenses

Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Al-Baqara 2:20:

• Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
• Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
• Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
• Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
• General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?