Surah Al-Baqara 2:57 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 57 of 286
وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْغَمَامَ وَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَنَّ وَٱلسَّلْوَىٰ ۖ كُلُوا۟ مِن طَيِّبَٰتِ مَا رَزَقْنَٰكُمْ ۖ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَٰكِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
English: We made the clouds cover you with shade, and sent manna and quails down to you, saying, ‘Eat the good things We have provided for you.’ It was not Us they wronged; they wronged themselves.
Bengali: আর আমি তোমাদের উপর ছায়া দান করেছি মেঘমালার দ্বারা এবং তোমাদের জন্য খাবার পাঠিয়েছি ’মান্না’ ও সালওয়া’। সেসব পবিত্র বস্তু তোমরা ভক্ষন কর, যা আমি তোমাদেরকে দান করেছি। বস্তুতঃ তারা আমার কোন ক্ষতি করতে পারেনি, বরং নিজেদেরই ক্ষতি সাধন করেছে।
Meaning & Reflection
'And We shaded you with clouds and sent down upon you manna and quails: Eat of the good things We have provided you. And they did not wrong Us, but they wronged themselves.' al-Saadi and Ibn Kathir note the effortless provision in the barren wilderness — shade, sweet manna, and quail delivered from the sky — and the crucial principle: their ingratitude and sin 'did not wrong Us, but they wronged themselves'. Ask yourself: two truths sit together here. First, God provides even in the desert — sustenance where there is no visible means, so I need never assume a barren situation is beyond His provision. Second, my sins injure no one but *me* — God is untouched by my rebellion; I am the only casualty of my own wrongdoing. It strips away the illusion that my sin is a blow against God or a private matter with no victim. When I disobey, whom am I actually harming? The verse answers plainly: only myself.
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ashur.
Reflect with the Five Lenses
Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Al-Baqara 2:57:
- 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?