Tafsir of Al Imran 3:103

"And hold fast to the rope of Allah" means the Quran. This has been narrated with a sound chain of transmission from Ibn Mas'ud. More than one authority narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "The Book of Allah is the rope of Allah extended from the heaven to the earth." Ahmad narrated from Zayd ibn Thabit that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "I am leaving among you two successors: the Book of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, extended between the heaven and the earth, and my family, the people of my house; they will not separate until they reach me at the Basin." Many reports have come down with similar meanings.

It is said that what is meant by the "rope of Allah" is obedience and the community (al-Jama'ah). This is also narrated from Ibn Mas'ud. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated via al-Sha'bi from Thabit ibn Qutnah al-Muzani, who said: I heard Ibn Mas'ud delivering a sermon saying: "O people, you must adhere to obedience and the community, for they are the rope of Allah the Exalted which He has commanded." In another narration from him: "The rope of Allah the Exalted is the community." This is also narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and Abu al-'Aliyah, who stated that it is sincerity toward Allah the Exalted alone. From al-Hasan, it is said that it is the obedience of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic; from Ibn Zayd, that it is Islam; and from Qatadah, that it is the covenant of Allah, the Exalted, and His command. All of these meanings are close to one another.

There is in the expression a representative metaphor (isti'arah tamthiliyyah), in that the state attained by the believers—through their reliance upon one of the aforementioned things and their confidence in its protection—is likened to the state attained by one hanging from a high place, holding onto a secure rope that is guaranteed against breaking; this is without considering metaphor in the individual components. What is used in the metaphoric vehicle (the rope) is metaphorically applied to the tenor. Sometimes there are two synonymous metaphors in the speech, such as "the rope" being used as an explicit primary metaphor for "the covenant," with the addition acting as the indicator, and "holding fast" (al-i'tisam) being used as an explicit secondary metaphor for "trusting in the covenant and clinging to it," with its pairing with the second metaphor serving as the indicator.

Sometimes there is an extended metonymy (majaz mursal taba'i) in "hold fast," based on the relationship of absolute and restricted. It may also be a metaphor with two levels due to the nature of the metaphorical extension. It is possible that the metaphor is only in "the rope," and "holding fast" remains in its literal meaning as a reinforcement (tarshih) for it in the most perfect way. The indicator may vary in its usage; given one consideration, it might be exclusionary, while in another, it may not be. Therefore, the objection does not hold that the possibility of metaphorical meaning is contingent upon an exclusionary indicator preventing the intended literal meaning, such that when it exists, how can the literal meaning be intended to validate the two metaphors in "hold fast"? It is also possible that the two metaphors are not independent, with the metaphor in "the rope" being implicit (makniyyah) and in "holding fast" being imaginative (takhayyuliyyah), because the implicit necessitates the imaginative—this was stated by al-Tayyibi, though it is clearly quite far-fetched. We have mentioned in our footnotes on the treatise of Ibn 'Isam what counters some of these views, along with the answers to them; refer to that if you desire.

(Together) is a circumstantial qualifier (hal) from the agent of "hold fast," as is the apparent and immediate understanding, meaning: in a state of unity upon it. Consequently, His saying, "and do not be divided," is an affirmation, based on the meaning that you should not divide yourselves from the truth to which you were ordered to hold fast. It is said the meaning is: do not let schism and wars occur among you, as is the intent of those who remind you of the days of Ignorance and who scheme against you. It is also said that the meaning is: do not separate from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and this is narrated from al-Hasan.

(And remember the favor of Allah upon you) means the genus of His favor, and from that is the guidance and success toward Islam, which leads to harmony and the removal of malice. It is possible that what is meant by it is what He, the Exalted, explained by His saying: (When you were enemies)—meaning in the Age of Ignorance—(then He brought your hearts together) through Islam. "Favor" (ni'mah) is a verbal noun added to the agent, and "upon you" is either related to it or is a circumstantial qualifier from it. "When" (idh) is either an adverbial of time for the favor or for the stability in "upon you" if you consider it a circumstantial qualifier. It is said that by what was mentioned, He, the Exalted, intended the wars that existed between the Aws and the Khazraj, which dragged on for one hundred and twenty years, until He, the Exalted, brought them together through Islam and grievances ceased—this was stated by Ibn Ishaq. The day of Bu'ath was the last of the wars that occurred between them, and this has been detailed in al-Kamil. It is also said that He intended what existed among the polytheists of the Arabs of prolonged conflict and widespread fighting, such as the War of Basus, and this is reported from al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him).

(So you became by His favor brothers) means you became, because of His favor—which is that harmony—loving toward one another. "Became" (asbahtum) is an incomplete verb, and "brothers" (ikhwanan) is its predicate. It is said asbahtum means "you entered the morning," in which case the ba (in bi-ni'matihi) is related to a deleted element acting as a circumstantial qualifier for the agent. The same applies to "brothers"—meaning you became clothed in His favor while being brothers. Ikhwan is the plural of akh (brother), and it is correct that the plural for friends is ikhwan. In al-Itqan, it is stated that akh regarding lineage is pluralized as ikhwah, and for friendship as ikhwan. Ibn Faris stated this, though others differed. He cited for friendship: "The believers are but brothers" (ikhwah), and for lineage: "or their brothers' [sons] or their brothers' [daughters] or the houses of your brothers" (ikhwanikum).

(And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire) means you were on the brink of a pit of Hell, for there was nothing between you and it but death. Explaining "edge" (shafa) as "brink" (taraf) is narrated from al-Suddi regarding the verse and is current in the Arabic language. It is dualized as shafawan and pluralized as ashfa'. It is annexed to the higher object, like "the edge of a crumbling bank," and to the lower, as is the case here. That the intent of the Fire is what we have mentioned is the manifest interpretation, and carrying it to the fire of war is far-fetched. (So He saved you from it)—meaning through Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), as stated by Ibn 'Abbas. The genitive pronoun refers either to the Fire, or to the "pit," or to the "edge" because it is synonymous with "lip," or because it acquired the feminine gender from the annexed term, as in His saying: "And the valley flowed with the discourse which I spread, just as the chest of the canal flowed with blood." The annexed noun acquires the feminine gender from the annexing noun if it is a part of it, an action of it, or a description of it, as they have explicitly stated, and our case here is of the first type. Whoever makes it absolute, it entails the permissibility of "Hind's boy stood" (qamat ghulam hind). Al-Zamakhshari chose the latter possibility. Ibn al-Munir said: Returning the pronoun to the "pit" is more complete, for it is that which one is favored by being saved from in reality. As for the favor of being saved from the "edge," being on the edge rarely necessitates falling into the pit. Thus, being saved from the edge is being saved from the pit where the fall is expected. Therefore, attributing the favor to salvation from the pit is more eloquent and effective. Moreover, the acquisition of gender from the annexing noun was considered by Abu 'Ali in his Ta'aliq as a poetic necessity, contradicting his own opinion in al-Idah. What led al-Zamakhshari to return the pronoun to "edge" is that it is the place they were actually upon, and they were not in the pit such that it would be a favor to be saved from it; however, it is known that they were destined for it if not for the divine salvation, so the favor was emphasized as such. Do you not see the saying of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): "One who grazes around a sanctuary is close to falling into it"? And His saying: "Or one who founded his building on the edge of a crumbling bank, so it fell with him into the fire of Hell"? Look at how He, the Exalted, made the state of the building being on the edge a cause leading to its collapse into the Fire of Hell, while emphasizing that with His saying: "crumbling."

From this, one knows the issue in the statement of Abu Hayyan that "it is not appropriate for it to return to anything but 'edge,' because their being upon it is one of the two parts of the predication; thus, the pronoun does not return to anything but it, not to the 'pit,' because it is not what is being spoken of, nor to the 'Fire' because it was only brought to specify the 'pit'." Also, salvation from the edge is more eloquent than salvation from the pit or the Fire, and salvation from those two does not necessitate salvation from the edge. Thus, its return to the edge is what is manifest from the perspective of the wording and the meaning. Indeed, what he mentioned—that its return to the edge is manifest from the perspective of the wording—is apparent based on the principle that the default is for the pronoun to return to the head noun rather than the annexed noun if it is suitable for both, even by way of interpretation. However, this is sometimes abandoned, and it returns to the annexed noun, either absolutely—as is the view of Ibn al-Munir—or on the condition of it being a part of it or similar to it, such as the saying of Jarir: "I see the passing of years taking from me," for the passing of years is of their genus. Al-Wahidi adopted this, and the condition is present in what we have here.

(Just as that clear explanation)—meaning like that clear clarification—(Allah makes clear to you His signs)—meaning His proofs regarding what He commanded you and what He forbade you—(so that you may be guided)—meaning so that you may persist in guidance and increase in it, as is suggested by the fact that the address is to the believers and the verb is in the imperfect form from the ifti'al measure.