Verses · a Light

He was asked which verse was greatest and answered at once

The Prophet ﷺ asked Ubayy ibn Ka'b which verse of the book of Allah was the greatest. Ubayy answered with the verse of the Throne, verse 255 of Surah al-Baqarah. The Prophet ﷺ struck him on the chest and told him that knowledge should be pleasant for him. The verse itself is one sentence made of negations: no god but Him, no drowsiness takes Him and no sleep, no intercession without His permission, nothing of His knowledge grasped except as He wills, no fatigue in holding the heavens and the earth. It sits in the middle of the longest chapter, surrounded by rules about debt, warfare, marriage and charity.

Ubayy ibn Ka'b · al-Baqarah, verse 255

Source · Sahih Muslim 810