Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:103
And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا (And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He means — exalted is His praise —: and cling, all of you, to the means that lead to Allah. He means by this — exalted is His mention —: and hold fast to the religion of Allah which He has commanded you, and to His covenant which He has made with you in His Book to you, namely concord and uniting upon the word of truth and submission to the command of Allah.
We have already previously demonstrated the meaning of "holding fast" (al-iʿtiṣām).
As for "the rope" (al-ḥabl): it is the means by which one attains the desired thing and what is needed. For this reason safety is also called "a rope," because it is a means by which one attains the removal of fear, and deliverance from panic and dread. Among this are the words of al-Aʿshā of the Banū Thaʿlaba:
"And when the ropes of one tribe grant you passage, she takes from the other tribe her ropes for you."
And among this are the words of Allah, Mighty and Exalted: إِلا بِحَبْلٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَحَبْلٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ [Sūrat Āl ʿImrān: 112] (except with a rope from Allah and a rope from the people).
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
7562 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: al-ʿAwwām informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, that he said concerning His words "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah": that is the community (al-jamāʿa).
7563 — al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of al-ʿAwwām, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh concerning His words "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah," he said: the rope of Allah is the community.
And others said: by this are meant the Qurʾān and the covenant which He has made therein.
* Mention of who said that:
7564 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah": the firm rope of Allah to which He has commanded holding fast is this Qurʾān.
7565 — al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah," he said: to the covenant of Allah and His command.
7566 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Shaqīq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, he said: indeed, the path (al-ṣirāṭ) is beset — the devils beset it and call out: "O servant of Allah, come onto this path!" in order to divert from the path of Allah. So hold fast to the rope of Allah, for the rope of Allah is the Book of Allah.
7567 — Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī: "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah" — as for "the rope of Allah," that is the Book of Allah.
7568 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "to the rope of Allah," to the covenant of Allah.
7569 — al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: "to the rope of Allah," he said: the covenant.
7570 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū Wāʾil, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh: "And hold fast to the rope of Allah," he said: the rope of Allah is the Qurʾān.
7571 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning His words "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah," he said: the Qurʾān.
7572 — Saʿīd ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: Asbāṭ ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Sulaymān al-ʿArzamī, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, he said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: the Book of Allah, that is the rope of Allah, stretched out from heaven to earth.
And others said: it is rather the pure profession of the oneness of Allah (al-tawḥīd).
* Mention of who said that:
7573 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya concerning His words "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah," he says: hold fast to the pure devotion to Allah alone.
7574 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah": the rope is Islam. And he recited: وَلا تَفَرَّقُوا (And do not be divided).
The explanation of the words of the Exalted, Mighty and Sublime: وَلا تَفَرَّقُوا (And do not be divided.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He means — exalted is His praise — by His words "and do not be divided": and do not become divided away from the religion of Allah and His covenant which He has made with you in His Book, namely concord and uniting upon obedience to Him and obedience to His Messenger ﷺ, and adherence to His command. As:
7575 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "And do not be divided, and remember the favor of Allah upon you" — indeed Allah, Mighty and Exalted, has detested division for you, and He has admonished you concerning it, warned you against it, forbidden it to you, and made pleasing to you listening, obedience, concord, and the community. So make pleasing to yourselves what Allah has made pleasing for you, if you are able to do so, and there is no power except through Allah.
7576 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya: "And do not be divided," do not become enemies of one another over that, that is: over the pure devotion to Allah, and be brothers of one another therein.
7577 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, that al-Awzāʿī related to him, that Yazīd al-Raqāshī related to him, that he heard Anas ibn Mālik saying: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Indeed, the Banū Isrāʾīl split into seventy-one sects, and my community will split into seventy-two sects, all of them in the Fire (al-nār) except one." He said: it was asked: O Messenger of Allah, and what is that one? He said: then he clenched his hand and said: the community (al-jamāʿa), "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah and do not be divided."
7578 — ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Abī ʿUmayr related to me, saying: al-Walīd ibn Muslim related to us, saying: I heard al-Awzāʿī narrating, on the authority of Yazīd al-Raqāshī, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, something similar.
7579 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, on the authority of Thābit ibn Quṭba al-Madanī, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, that he said: "O people, adhere to obedience and the community, for that is the rope of Allah which He has commanded; and indeed, that which you detest in the community and obedience is better than that which you prefer in division."
7580 — ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bayān al-Sukkarī related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Yazīd informed us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, on the authority of Thābit ibn Quṭba, he said: I heard Ibn Masʿūd while he was delivering a sermon and said: O people — then he mentioned something similar.
7581 — Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥafṣ al-Ubullī related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Numayr Abū Hishām related to us, saying: Mujālid ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Thābit ibn Quṭba al-Madanī, he said: ʿAbd Allāh said: adhere to obedience and the community, for that is the rope of Allah which He has commanded — then he mentioned something similar.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا (And remember the favor of Allah upon you, when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together, so that by His favor you became brothers.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He means by His words — exalted is His praise —: "And remember the favor of Allah upon you," and remember that with which Allah has favored you, namely concord and uniting upon Islam.
And the linguists differed concerning His words "when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together."
Some grammarians of Basra said concerning this: the sentence ends at His words "And remember the favor of Allah upon you," and then He explained it with His words "and He brought your hearts together," and informed about the condition they were in before the bringing-together, as you say: "he held up the wall that was about to topple."
And some grammarians of Kūfa said: His words "when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together" follow upon His words "And remember the favor of Allah upon you," and are not detached from them.
Abū Jaʿfar said: the correct view concerning this is, in my opinion, that His words "when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together" are connected with His words "And remember the favor of Allah upon you," and not detached from them.
And the explanation of it is: and remember, O believers, the favor of Allah upon you with which He has favored you, when you were enemies in your shirk (the ascribing of partners to Allah), some of you killing others, out of tribal pride without obedience to Allah nor obedience to His Messenger; and Allah, through Islam, brought your hearts together, and made some of you brothers of others after you had been enemies, so that you became bound to one another through the concord of Islam and the agreement of your word upon it, as:
7582 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words "And remember the favor of Allah upon you, when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together": you used to slaughter one another therein, the strong among you devouring the weak, until Allah brought Islam, and through it He made you brothers and brought you together. But indeed, by Allah, besides whom there is no god: concord is a mercy, and division is a punishment (ʿadhāb).
7583 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ concerning His words "And remember the favor of Allah upon you, when you were enemies": some of you killed others, and the strong among you devoured the weak, until Allah brought Islam, and through it brought your hearts together, and gathered you upon it, and made you brothers upon it.
Abū Jaʿfar said: the favor, then, with which Allah favored the Anṣār, which He — exalted is His mention — commanded them to remember in this verse, is the concord of Islam and the agreement of their word upon it. And the enmity that existed between them, that of which Allah, Mighty and Exalted, said "when you were enemies," that is the enmity of the wars that existed between the two tribes, the Aws and the Khazraj, in the time of ignorance before Islam. The scholars of the battle-days of the Arabs claim that it dragged on between them for one hundred and twenty years, as:
7584 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq said: the war between the Aws and the Khazraj lasted one hundred and twenty years, until Islam arose while they were in it. Their war occurred between them while they were brothers of one father and one mother, and it has not been heard of any people that there was between them as much enmity and war as there was between them. Then Allah, Mighty and Exalted, extinguished that through Islam, and brought them together through His Messenger Muḥammad ﷺ.
He — exalted is His praise — reminded them, then, when He admonished them, of the tremendous misery and misfortune they were in during their time of ignorance through the enmity of some of them toward others and the killing of some of them by others, and the fear of some of them for others; and of that to which they had come through Islam and following the Messenger ﷺ, and believing in him and in what he brought, namely concord and union, and the safety of some of them from others, and the becoming of some into brothers of others. And the cause of that was perhaps that which:
7585 — Ibn Ḥumayd related it to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq related to me, saying: ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn Qatāda al-Madanī related to us, on the authority of the elders of his people, they said: Suwayd ibn Ṣāmit, brother of the Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf, came to Mecca as a pilgrim or for the ʿumra. He said: and Suwayd was one whom his people among them called "the Perfect One" on account of his steadfastness, his poetry, his lineage, and his standing. He said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned to him when he heard of him, and called him to Allah, Mighty and Exalted, and to Islam. He said: Suwayd said to him: perhaps that which you have is the same as that which I have! He said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him: "And what is that which you have?" He said: the collection of wisdom of Luqmān — that is: the wisdom of Luqmān. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him: "Present it to me." He presented it to him, and he said: "Indeed, this is good speech, but I have something better than this, a Qurʾān which Allah has sent down to me as guidance and light." He said: then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited the Qurʾān to him, and called him to Islam, and he did not reject it far from himself, and he said: indeed, this is good speech! Then he went away from him and arrived in Medina, and it was not long before the Khazraj killed him. Indeed, his people used to say: he was killed while he was a Muslim. And his killing was before the day of Buʿāth.
7586 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, he said: al-Ḥuṣayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAmr ibn Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, one of the Banū ʿAbd al-Ashhal, related to me, that Maḥmūd ibn Labīd, one of the Banū ʿAbd al-Ashhal, said: when Abū al-Ḥaysar Anas ibn Rāfiʿ came to Mecca, and with him a number of young men of the Banū ʿAbd al-Ashhal, among them Iyās ibn Muʿādh, seeking an alliance with Quraysh against their people the Khazraj, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard of them, and he came to them and sat with them and said: "Do you want something better than that for which you have come?" They said: and what is that? He said: "I am the Messenger of Allah, He has sent me to the servants to call them to Allah, that they worship Allah and ascribe nothing to Him as partner, and He has sent down the Book to me." Then he mentioned Islam to them, and recited the Qurʾān to them. Then Iyās ibn Muʿādh, and he was a young lad, said: O people, this, by Allah, is better than that for which you have come! He said: then Abū al-Ḥaysar Anas ibn Rāfiʿ took a handful of pebbly soil and struck the face of Iyās ibn Muʿādh with it, and said: leave us alone, for by my life, we have come for something other than this! He said: then Iyās ibn Muʿādh fell silent, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ rose from them, and they departed for Medina, and the battle of Buʿāth between the Aws and the Khazraj took place. He said: then it was not long before Iyās ibn Muʿādh died. He said: and when Allah willed to make His religion victorious, and to exalt His Prophet ﷺ, and to fulfill His promise to him, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out in the pilgrimage season in which he met the group of the Anṣār, while he was offering himself to the tribes of the Arabs, as he used to do in every season. And while he was at al-ʿAqaba, he met a small group of the Khazraj with whom Allah intended good.
Ibn Ḥumayd said: Salama said: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq said: ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn Qatāda related to me, on the authority of the elders of his people, they said: when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ met them, he said to them: "Who are you?" They said: a group of the Khazraj. He said: of the allies of the Jews? They said: yes. He said: will you not sit down so that I may speak with you? They said: yes indeed! He said: then they sat with him, and he called them to Allah, and offered them Islam, and recited the Qurʾān to them. He said: and it was among what Allah decreed for them toward Islam, that the Jews were with them in their land, and they were People of the Book and knowledge, while they (the Khazraj) were people of shirk, adherents of idols; and they (the Jews) had fought them in their land. Whenever something occurred between them, they (the Jews) would say to them: indeed, a prophet is now about to be sent, whose time has already cast its shadow; we shall follow him and kill you along with him, as ʿĀd and Iram were killed! So when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ thus spoke to that group and called them to Allah, Mighty and Exalted, some of them said to others: O people, know, by Allah, that he is indeed the prophet with whom the Jews have threatened you, so let them not get to him before you! Then they responded to him in that to which he called them, by affirming him and accepting from him what he offered them of Islam, and they said to him: indeed, we have left our people, and there is no people among whom there is as much enmity and evil as among them; perhaps Allah will bring them together through you. We shall go to them and call them to your cause, and present to them that in which we have responded to you of this religion; and if Allah brings them together upon it, then there is no man mightier than you. Then they went away from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, returning to their land, while they had believed and affirmed — and they were, as related to me, six men. He said: and when they arrived in Medina among their people, they mentioned the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to them and called them to Islam, until it spread among them, and there remained no house of the houses of the Anṣār in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was not mentioned. Until, when the following year arrived, twelve men of the Anṣār came in the pilgrimage season, and met him at al-ʿAqaba — and that is the first ʿAqaba — and they pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with the pledge of the women (bayʿat al-nisāʾ); and that was before armed combat (al-ḥarb) had been imposed upon them.
7587 — al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of ʿIkrima: that six men of the Anṣār met the Prophet ﷺ and believed in him and affirmed him, and he wanted to go with them; then they said: O Messenger of Allah, indeed, between our people there is war, and we fear that, if you come in this condition of yours, that which you desire will not come about. They promised him the following year, and said: O Messenger of Allah, we shall go, and perhaps Allah will turn that war to good! He said: then they went and did that, and Allah, Mighty and Exalted, turned that war to good, while it was thought that it could not be turned to good — and that is the day of Buʿāth. Then they met him the following year with seventy men who had believed, and he appointed among them twelve trustees (nuqabāʾ). That is where He says: "And remember the favor of Allah upon you, when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together."
7588 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: as for "when you were enemies," that was in the war of Ibn Sumayr; "and He brought your hearts together," through Islam.
7589 — al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of ʿIkrima, something similar — and he added to it: and when, concerning the affair of ʿĀʾisha, there happened what happened, the two tribes were thrown into turmoil, and some of them said to others: your appointment is at al-Ḥarra! And they went out there, and then this verse was sent down: "And remember the favor of Allah upon you, when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together, so that by His favor you became brothers," the verse. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to them and kept reciting it to them until some of them embraced others, and until they had a stifled sobbing — that is: weeping.
And "Sumayr," whose war al-Suddī claimed His words "when you were enemies" intended, is Sumayr ibn Zayd ibn Mālik, one of the Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf, whom Mālik ibn al-ʿAjlān mentions in his words:
"Indeed Sumayr — I see his tribe have become concerned over him and kindled in wrath; If the surmise proves me right concerning the Banū al-Najjār — they have not tasted what they have been fed."
And the scholars of the Anṣār have mentioned: that the beginning of the enmity which kindled the wars that existed between the two tribes, the Aws and the Khazraj, and its onset, lay in the killing of a freedman of Mālik ibn al-ʿAjlān al-Khazrajī, who was called "al-Ḥurr ibn Sumayr," of Muzayna, and who was an ally of Mālik ibn al-ʿAjlān; then that enmity continued between them until Allah extinguished it through His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ. That is the meaning of the words of al-Suddī: "the war of Ibn Sumayr."
As for His words "so that by His favor you became brothers": by this He means: so that, through the bringing-together by Allah, Mighty and Exalted, among you through Islam and the word of truth, and the mutual aid in the victory of the believers, and the mutual support against whoever of the disbelievers opposes you, you became sincere brothers, with no rancor between you and no mutual envy, as:
7590 — Bishr related to me, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words "so that by His favor you became brothers": and it has been related to us that a man said to Ibn Masʿūd: how are you this morning? He said: we have become this morning, by the favor of Allah, brothers.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ فَأَنْقَذَكُمْ مِنْهَا (And you were on the brink of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He means by His words — exalted is His praise — "And you were on the brink of a pit of the Fire": and you were, O assembly of believers of the Aws and the Khazraj, on the brink of a pit of the Fire. And that is only a figure of speech for their disbelief in which they were before Allah guided them to Islam. He — exalted is His mention — says: and you were on the brink of Hell (jahannam) through your disbelief in which you were before Allah favored you with Islam, so that through your concord upon it you became brothers; there was between you and falling into it nothing but that you should die upon that disbelief of yours, so that you would be among those abiding therein forever. Then Allah saved you from it through the faith (al-īmān) to which He guided you.
And "the brink of the pit" (shafā al-ḥufra) is its edge and its side, like "the brink of the well and the spring"; and among this are the words of the rajaz-poet:
"We dug for the pilgrims a well, above whose brink a herb sprouted up."
He means: above its side. One says: "this is the brink (shafā) of this well," shortened, "and it has two brinks (shafawān)."
And He said "and He saved you from it" (fa-anqadhakum minhā), that is: and He saved you from the pit. Thus He referred the report back to "the pit," while He had begun the report about "the brink," because "the brink" is a part of "the pit." That was permissible, since the report about "the brink" in the manner that He mentioned in this verse is a report about "the pit," as Jarīr ibn ʿAṭiyya said:
"She saw the passing of the years — they have taken from me, as the waning [of the moon] takes from the crescent."
He thus mentioned "the passing of the years," then returned to the report about "the years." And as al-ʿAjjāj said:
"The length of the nights has quickly worn me down; they have rolled up my length and rolled up my breadth."
And I have already previously set out the reason why that is said so.
And in accordance with what we have said of explanation concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
7591 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words "And you were on the brink of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it; thus does Allah make clear to you His signs": this tribe of the Arabs was the most abased of people in abasement and the most wretched in livelihood, the most manifest in error, the barest of skin and the hungriest of belly, muzzled upon the summit of a rock between the two lions, Persia and Byzantium; by Allah, there was in their land at that time nothing for which they were envied. Whoever of them lived, lived wretchedly, and whoever died was cast into the Fire; they were devoured and did not eat. And by Allah, we know of no tribe among the inhabitants of the earth at that time who had a lesser share therein and were of lesser account than they, until Allah, Mighty and Exalted, brought Islam, and through it made you inherit the Book, and through it permitted you the abode of jihād (dār al-jihād), and through it provided you with livelihood, and through it made you kings over the necks of the people. And through Islam Allah has given what you have seen; so be grateful for His favors, for indeed your Lord is a Bestower who loves the grateful, and indeed the people of gratitude are in the increase of Allah. Exalted is our Lord and blessed.
7592 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas concerning His words "And you were on the brink of a pit of the Fire," he says: you were upon disbelief in Allah; "and He saved you from it," from it, and He guided you to Islam.
7593 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "And you were on the brink of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it," through Muḥammad ﷺ. He says: you were on the brink of the Fire; whoever of you died was plunged into the Fire. Then Allah sent Muḥammad ﷺ and saved you through him from that pit.
7594 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Ḥasan ibn Ḥayy: "And you were on the brink of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it," he said: tribal pride (ʿaṣabiyya).
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ (103) (Thus does Allah make clear to you His signs, so that you may follow the right guidance.) (103)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He means — exalted is His praise — by His words "Thus": just as your Lord has made clear to you in these verses, O believers of the Aws and the Khazraj, the rancor of the Jews which they conceal toward you, and their deceit against you, and His command to you of that which He has commanded you therein, and His prohibition to you of that which He has forbidden you, and the condition you were in during your time of ignorance, and that to which you have come in your Islam — while in all of that He made known to you the places of His favor with you, and His benefactions to you — likewise He makes clear to you the rest of His proofs in His revelation and upon the tongue of His Messenger ﷺ. "So that you may follow the right guidance," that is: so that you may be guided to the path of rectitude and walk upon it, and not stray from it.
