Last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah (2:285–286): meaning and virtue

The verses in Arabic

ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۚ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلَٰٓئِكَتِهِۦ وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍۢ مِّن رُّسُلِهِۦ ۚ وَقَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ ﴿٢٨٥﴾ لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًۭا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ ﴿٢٨٦﴾

Their meaning

Verse 285: “The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and so have the believers. All of them believe in Allah, His angels, His Books and His messengers, saying: ‘We make no distinction between any of His messengers.’ And they say: ‘We hear and we obey. Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord; to You is the final return.’”

Verse 286: “Allah does not burden any soul beyond what it can bear. It gets the reward of the good it has earned and bears the burden of the evil it has earned. ‘Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord, do not lay upon us a burden like the one You laid on those before us. Our Lord, do not burden us with what we have no strength to bear. Pardon us, forgive us and have mercy on us. You are our Protector, so help us against the disbelieving people.’”

The phrase “Allah does not burden any soul beyond what it can bear” (لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا) is one of the most quoted sentences of the Quran, and a real comfort for anyone learning slowly.

Their virtues

• Sufficient at night: “Whoever recites the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice him” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5009, Sahih Muslim 807).
• A light given to no prophet before: an angel told the Prophet ﷺ: “Rejoice in two lights given to you that were not given to any prophet before you: the Opening of the Book and the closing verses of Surah Al-Baqarah. You will not recite a letter of them without being given it” (Sahih Muslim 806).
• Answered du‘a: in Sahih Muslim (126), after each request in verse 286, Allah says “I have done so”.

A one-week plan to memorise them

When	Memorise
Day 1	Verse 285, first half: Amana ar-rasulu … wa rusulih
Day 2	Verse 285, second half: la nufarriqu … wa ilayka al-masir
Day 3	Verse 286, up to la tu’akhidhna in nasina aw akhta’na
Day 4	Verse 286, rabbana wa la tahmil … min qablina
Day 5	Verse 286, to the end; recite both verses together
Days 6–7	Recite both verses every night before sleeping

Listen to a reciter several times before each new section, and recite each part aloud ten times before adding the next. Watch the many long vowels (madd) and the noon sakinah rules in مِن قَبْلِنَا; see noon sakinah and tanween. For the rest of the surah, read our guide to Surah Al-Baqarah; the other much-recited verse from it is Ayat al-Kursi. To memorise with a teacher, see the online hifz course.