Tafsir of Al Imran 3:102

"The true right of fearing Him" It is the obligation of fearing Him and what is due of it, which is performing the obligatory acts, avoiding the forbidden ones, and the like.

"So fear Allah as much as you are able" (At-Taghabun: 16) He means: Exaggerate in piety until you do not leave anything of what is within your ability.

From Abdullah (Ibn Mas'ud): It is that He be obeyed and not disobeyed, remembered and not forgotten, and thanked and not ungratefully denied.

It is also narrated as a marfu' (prophetic) tradition. It is said: It is that one does not fear the blame of a critic for the sake of Allah, and that he stands for justice even if it be against himself, his son, or his father. It is also said: A servant does not truly fear Allah as He ought to be feared until he guards his tongue. Tuqah (piety) is derived from ittaqā (to fear), just as tu’dah (deliberation) is derived from ta’adda.

Meaning: Do not be in any state other than the state of Islam when death overtakes you. Just as you would say to someone whose help you are seeking against an enemy: "Do not come to me unless you are on a horse." You are not forbidding him from coming, but you are forbidding him from being in a state other than the one you stipulated at the time of his arrival.

"And hold fast to the rope of Allah" The saying "I held fast to his rope" may be a metaphor for seeking support and trusting in his protection, like one who clings to a sturdy rope hanging from a high place, secure that it will not break. Or, the "rope" is a metaphor for His covenant, and "holding fast" is for trusting in that covenant, or it is a reinforcement of the metaphor of the rope with what suits it.

The meaning: Gather together upon seeking help from Allah and trusting in Him, and do not separate from Him. Or: Gather together upon holding fast to His covenant with His servants, which is faith and obedience, or to His Book, according to the saying of the Prophet (ﷺ): "The Quran is the sturdy rope of Allah; its wonders do not cease, nor does it wear out from frequent repetition. Whoever speaks by it speaks the truth, whoever acts by it is guided, and whoever holds fast to it is guided to a straight path."

Do not separate from the truth by falling into disagreement among yourselves, as the Jews and Christians did, or as you were divided during the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era), turning your backs on one another, hating and warring against each other. Or: Do not initiate that which leads to division and causes the loss of the unity and harmony you possess—that which your Unifier and the One who reconciled you (i.e., following the truth and holding fast to Islam) forbids.

They were in the Jahiliyyah in a state of grudges, enmities, and continuous wars, so Allah reconciled their hearts through Islam. He cast love into them, so they loved one another, agreed, and became:

"Brothers" Merciful to one another, advising one another, united upon one matter that organized them and removed their differences: the brotherhood in Allah. It is said: They are the Aws and the Khazraj; they were two brothers by father and mother, but enmity occurred between them, and wars lasted for one hundred and twenty years until Allah extinguished that through Islam and reconciled them through the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

You were on the brink of falling into the Fire of Hell due to the disbelief you were upon.

"Then He saved you from it through Islam." The pronoun refers to the pit, the Fire, or the edge. It is feminine because it is annexed to "the pit," and it is part of it, as in the verse: "Just as the chest of the spear-shaft bled with blood."

The "edge" (shafa) and the "lip" (shafah) of the pit are its rim. They are masculine and feminine, and their final letter is a waw, though it is inverted in the masculine and elided in the feminine. Shafa and shafah are like janib (side) and janibah (side).

If you ask: How were they placed on the edge of a pit of Fire? I say: If they had died upon what they were, they would have fallen into the Fire. Thus, their life—after which falling into the Fire was expected—is likened to sitting on its edge, on the brink of falling into it.

Like that clear explanation: "Allah makes clear to you His verses, that you may be guided." Meaning: That you may increase in guidance.