Al-Baqara carries some of the most recited verses in the tradition. The Throne Verse (2:255), affirming God's eternal, all-encompassing sovereignty, is recited for protection after prayers and before sleep; the final two verses (2:285-286), a prayer for forbearance, are said to have been given as a special gift. The surah's declaration 'there is no compulsion in religion' (2:256) is frequently cited in discussions of freedom of belief. The Prophet is reported to have said that a house in which it is recited is not entered by the devil.
The Throne Verse draws its name, ayat al-kursi, from its description of God's kursi extending over the heavens and the earth, and a hadith transmitted by Muslim has the Prophet call it the greatest verse in the Quran, which grounded its place in daily recitation after each of the five prayers as well as at night. The final two verses, 2:285-286, are reported in hadith to have been given to Muhammad directly on the night of the ascension (mi'raj) rather than through the angel Gabriel's usual mediation, a distinction classical commentators cite to explain their especially protective reputation. The surah's sustained treatment of usury (2:275-281), forbidding riba while permitting trade, became, together with 2:282 on contracts, a founding text for Islamic jurisprudence on commerce and finance, cited by jurists from the classical schools onward whenever questions of interest, debt and fair dealing arise.