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Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:256

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:256

ﳎ ﳏ ﳐ ﳑ ﳒ ﳓ ﳔ ﳕ ﳖ ﳗ ﳘ ﳙ ﳚ ﳛ ﳜ ﳝ ﳞ ﳟ ﳠ ﳡ ﳢ ﳣ ﳤ ﳥ ﳦ ﳧ ﳨ

There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.

Tafsir

Al-Kashshaf

Verse range: 2:256

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**"There is no compulsion in religion"**

It means: God has not ordained the matter of faith based on force and coercion, but rather upon empowerment and choice.

Similar to this is His saying, the Exalted: "And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, all of them together. Then, [O Muhammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers?" (10:99). That is, had He willed, He would have forced them to believe, but He did not do so; rather, He established the matter upon choice.

**"The right course has become clear from the wrong"**

Faith has been distinguished from disbelief by clear proofs.

**"So whoever disbelieves in Taghut"**

Whoever chooses to disbelieve in Satan or idols, and to believe in God.

**"Has grasped the most trustworthy handhold"**

Meaning the firm, secure rope that is safe from breaking—that is, from snapping. This is a metaphor representing the intellectual and inferential knowledge through something witnessed and tangible, so that the listener may visualize it as if they are seeing it with their own eyes, thereby strengthening their belief and certainty in it.

Interpretations and Context:

  • Alternative view: It is a statement in the form of a prohibition, meaning: "Do not compel anyone in religion."
  • Abrogation: Some have said this verse is abrogated by His saying: "Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be harsh upon them" (At-Tawbah: 73).
  • Specific application: Others say it applies specifically to the People of the Book, because they have secured themselves by paying the Jizya.
  • Occasion of Revelation: It is narrated that an Ansari man from the tribe of Banu Salim ibn Awf had two sons who converted to Christianity before the Messenger of God (ﷺ) was sent. When they came to Medina, their father insisted, "By God, I will not let you go until you become Muslims." They refused, so they took their dispute to the Messenger of God (ﷺ). The Ansari said, "O Messenger of God, shall a part of me enter the Fire while I am looking on?" Then this verse was revealed, and he let them go.

"God is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light. And those who disbelieve—their allies are Taghut. They take them out of the light into darknesses. Those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally."