Surah Al-Baqara · Ayah 16·Madanī

16

أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ فَمَا وَمَا ﴿١٦﴾

Translation

Saheeh International

Those are the ones who have purchased error [in exchange] for guidance, so their transaction has brought no profit, nor were they guided.

Compare all 34 translations →

Tafsīr

No commentary indexed for this ayah yet.

Verse DNA · this āyah at a glance

Vocabulary and recitation are counted from the morphology and the Uthmani marks; commentary reports whether an authored tafsīr entry reaches this āyah. A structural read, not a judgement — a denser strip is not a weightier verse.

Vocabulary · 6 roots in 7 of 11 words

Rarest here: ر-ب-ح used once in the whole Qurʾān

Recitation · 16 points across 4 rule families

  • Madd muttaṣil10
  • Heavy rāʾ3
  • Lām shamsiyyah2
  • Iẓhār shafawī1

Commentary

No tafsīr entry reaches this āyah yet — the interpretive layer covers a pilot, not the whole Book.

Shape

11 words · 55 letters · āyah 16 of 286

once in the Qurʾān2–10×11–50×51–300×300+×

Similar verses by meaning

Ranked by semantic similarity over translation embeddings — a model’s proxy for meaning, not a claim about it, and not tafsīr. Verses may be kin in theme while differing entirely in wording.

  • وَقَدْ أَضَلُّوا۟ كَثِيرًا وَلَا تَزِدِ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا ضَلَٰلًا

    And already they have misled many. And, [my Lord], do not increase the wrongdoers except in error."

  • أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشْتَرَوُا۟ ٱلضَّلَٰلَةَ بِٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْعَذَابَ بِٱلْمَغْفِرَةِ فَمَآ أَصْبَرَهُمْ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ

    Those are the ones who have exchanged guidance for error and forgiveness for punishment. How patient they are in pursuit of the Fire!

  • أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ نَصِيبًا مِّنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ يَشْتَرُونَ ٱلضَّلَٰلَةَ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَن تَضِلُّوا۟ ٱلسَّبِيلَ

    Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture, purchasing error [in exchange for it] and wishing you would lose the way?

  • أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَٰلُهُمْ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن نَّٰصِرِينَ

    They are the ones whose deeds have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter, and for them there will be no helpers.

  • ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ٱكْتَالُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ يَسْتَوْفُونَ

    Who, when they take a measure from people, take in full.

  • أَلَآ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَشْعُرُونَ

    Unquestionably, it is they who are the corrupters, but they perceive [it] not.

Verses built from the same roots

Ranked by shared vocabulary (idf-cosine over each verse’s root-set). Shared words are a fact about form — they do not by themselves mean two verses are about the same thing.

  • Al-Baqara 2:1753 shared roots

    أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشْتَرَوُا۟ ٱلضَّلَٰلَةَ بِٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْعَذَابَ بِٱلْمَغْفِرَةِ فَمَآ أَصْبَرَهُمْ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ

    ش-ر-يض-ل-له-د-ي

  • Al-Baqara 2:1753 shared roots

    أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشْتَرَوُا۟ ٱلضَّلَٰلَةَ بِٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْعَذَابَ بِٱلْمَغْفِرَةِ فَمَآ أَصْبَرَهُمْ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ

    ش-ر-يض-ل-له-د-ي

  • Taa-Haa 20:792 shared roots

    وَأَضَلَّ فِرْعَوْنُ قَوْمَهُۥ وَمَا هَدَىٰ

    ض-ل-له-د-ي

  • An-Nisaa 4:442 shared roots

    أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ نَصِيبًا مِّنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ يَشْتَرُونَ ٱلضَّلَٰلَةَ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَن تَضِلُّوا۟ ٱلسَّبِيلَ

    ش-ر-يض-ل-ل

  • Ad-Dhuhaa 93:72 shared roots

    وَوَجَدَكَ ضَآلًّا فَهَدَىٰ

    ض-ل-له-د-ي

  • An-Nisaa 4:292 shared roots

    يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَٰرَةً عَن تَرَاضٍ مِّنكُمْ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا

    ت-ج-رك-و-ن

Questions

Which verses are similar to Quran 2:16?

Verses close in meaning to Quran 2:16 include Quran 71:24 (Surah Nooh), Quran 2:175 (Surah Al-Baqara), Quran 4:44 (Surah An-Nisaa), and Quran 3:22 (Surah Aal-i-Imraan). For example, 71:24 reads: “And already they have misled many. And, [my Lord], do not increase the wrongdoers except in error."” These are ranked by comparing translations of every verse in the Qurʾān, so they are a measure of similar wording and theme — not a tafsīr ruling.

What does Quran 2:16 say?

In Saheeh International, Quran 2:16 (Surah Al-Baqara, The Cow) reads: “Those are the ones who have purchased error [in exchange] for guidance, so their transaction has brought no profit, nor were they guided.”

Which surah is verse 2:16 in?

Quran 2:16 is āyah 16 of Surah Al-Baqara (The Cow), chapter 2 of the Qurʾān — a Medinan (Madanī) surah of 286 verses.

In how many languages can I read Quran 2:16?

Tartīl presents Quran 2:16 in the original Arabic alongside 34 translations, with audio recitation.