Surah Al-Baqara 2:201 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 201 of 286
وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةًۭ وَفِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةًۭ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
English: others pray, ‘Our Lord, give us good in this world and in the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.’
Bengali: আর তাদের মধ্যে কেউ কেউ বলে-হে পরওয়ারদেগার! আমাদিগকে দুনয়াতেও কল্যাণ দান কর এবং আখেরাতেও কল্যাণ দান কর এবং আমাদিগকে দোযখের আযাব থেকে রক্ষা কর।
Meaning & Reflection
'And among them is he who says: Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.' al-Saadi and Ibn Kathir note this as the balanced, complete prayer — 'hasana' (good) in *both* worlds: neither renouncing this life nor drowning in it, but asking that both be good, and asking shelter from the Fire. Ask yourself: notice the balance the verse praises. It rejects two extremes — the person who prays only for worldly gain, forgetting the Hereafter, and the one who imagines faith means despising this world entirely. The model believer asks for *both* to be good, and for safety from ruin. It sanctifies my worldly hopes — health, family, provision — by asking them *from God* and alongside the Hereafter. When I pray, is my gaze balanced like this — seeking good here *and* there, and refuge from the Fire — or lopsided toward only what I want right now?
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 2:201:
- 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?