وَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟

3:106; 6:160; 8:47.

2:232.

8:64.

Important Words:

حبل (rope). They say حبله i.e. he bound or tied him with a rope or cord. حبل الصید means, he caught the game with a snare or net. حبلت المرأة means, the woman became pregnant. حبل means, a rope or cord or anything with which a thing is tied or made fast; a bond or cause of union or link of connection, such as a bond of love or friendship; mutual connection by such a bond; a covenant or compact; an obligation by which one becomes responsible for the safety of a person or thing; a promise or assurance of security or safety; an artery, vein or nerve (Lane). It also means alliance and protection (Aqrab).

Commentary:

Another cause of the spiritual degradation of the Israelites was that they did not remain united but split up into sections, finding fault with one another. The verse warns Muslims against that danger. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: "The Book of God is the rope of Allah which has been extended from the heavens to the earth" (Jarir, iv. 30). Broadly speaking, there are three things which may be taken to have been here meant by the rope of God, by holding fast to which Muslims may remain united and be safe against disunion and disruption: (1) the Quran; (2) the Messenger of God; (3) the Successors to the Messenger of God.

The similitude may have reference to sea life. Ropes are thrown to save the life of a drowning man. When a man falls into the sea or when a boat is wrecked by a storm, people in the boat or those standing on the shore throw out ropes to those who are struggling for their lives in the sea. The similitude is thus incidentally a refutation of the objection that the Quran restricts its similitudes to such objects only as were known to the desert dwellers of Arabia.

It may be noted here that whenever the Quran speaks of the open or secret hostility of the enemies of Islam, it exhorts Muslims to be strong of faith; for it is at such times that one is likely to waver and show weakness in resolution. Thus, after referring to the hostility of the People of the Book (3:100, 101) the Quran exhorts Muslims: (1) to fear God as He should be feared (3:103); (2) to be constant in obedience to God (3:103); and (3) to hold fast to the rope of God and preserve themselves from disunion (3:104).

The words, remember the favour of Allah, signify that as one can properly appreciate a boon of God only when one experiences the disadvantages that result from its absence, so the Quran reminds Muslims of the discord and enmity that existed between them before they became united in Islam.

The words, He united your hearts in love, show that according to Islam it is no great virtue to bear no malice or hatred to others. Nor does Islam inculcate a life of seclusion and detachment. What it requires is positive love for, and active sympathy with, fellow beings. One who is devoid of this is really devoid of true faith.

9:41.

2:136; 16:124.

2:144; 16:90.

Important Words:

جاھدوا (strive) is derived from جھد. They say جھد فی الامر i.e. he did his utmost, took extraordinary pains, he employed himself vigorously in prosecuting the affair. جھد دابته means, he fatigued the beast or burdened the beast beyond its power. جاھد means, he exerted his utmost power in contending with an object of his disapprobation. جاھد العدو means, he fought with the enemy imposing upon himself distress or exerting his utmost power or ability to repel him. جھاد orمجاھدة are infinitives from جاھد (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The word جھاد has been used in two senses in the Quran with a slight change, viz. جھاد فی سبیل اللّٰه i.e. striving hard in the cause of Allah, used in several verses of the Quran and جھاد فی اللّٰه, literally meaning striving hard in Allah, as used in the present verse and in 29:70. As it appears from the latter two verses جھاد فی اللّٰه signifies striving hard to win the pleasure and nearness of God while جھاد فی سبیل اللّٰه signifies the waging of war against the enemies of truth. Thus جھاد فی اللّٰه seems to possess a higher spiritual significance than جھاد فی سبیل اللّٰه.

Jihad is of three kinds: (a) jihad against one’s baser self, i.e. against one’s evil desires and propensities or jihad against Satan and (b) jihad against the enemies of truth which includes fighting in self-defence. These two kinds of jihad may be termed as جھاد فی اللّٰه and the third kind of jihad may be called جھاد فی سبیل اللّٰه. The Holy Prophet has termed the first two kinds of jihad as جھاد اکبر (the greater jihad) and the third kind of jihad as جھاد اصغر (the smaller jihad). Once when he was returning from fighting he is reported to have said: رجعتم من الجھاد الاصغر الی الجھاد الاکبر i.e. you have returned from the smaller jihad (fighting against the enemies of Islam) to the greater jihad (waging war against one’s baser self) (Khatib). According to Imam Raghib, the words جاھدوا فی اللّٰه حق جھادہ include all the three forms of jihad. The words جاھدوا فی اللّٰه may also include the propagation of Islam, as the words, "and He has laid no hardship upon you in religion," indicate. See also 2:219.

The words, "He has chosen you and has laid no hardship upon you in religion," show that while on the one hand it has been laid down as a sacred duty upon Muslims to preach their religion, on the other they signify that Islam is a simple, practical and practicable religion and there is nothing in its commandments which it is not easily possible for man to carry out. To this practicality and practicability of the Islamic ordinances pointed references have also been made in vv. 2:287 & 54:18. The words also show that the Law or Shari‘ah has not been revealed to impose a burden upon man as the Christians say but, on the contrary, to lighten his burdens and to break the chains and fetters with which he has shackled himself and to uplift him morally and spiritually.

The words, "He named you Muslims before," refer to the following prophecy of the Bible:

And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name… And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen, and the Lord God shall slay thee; and He shall call His servants by another name (Isaiah 62:2 & 65:15).

The allusion in the words "And in this Book" is to Abraham’s prayer quoted in the Quran, viz. "Our Lord make us Muslims (submissive) to Thee and make our offspring a people submissive to Thee" (2:129). It is very significant that though in its essence the religion of all the Prophets of God was Islam, it was reserved for the religion of the Holy Prophet Muhammad to receive this proper name from God. As the religions preached and practised by the former prophets were only an undeveloped and imperfect form of Islam they did not receive a proper name and were known after their own names.

But as Islam, the eternal faith, received its fullest development and completest consummation at the hands of the Holy Prophet, his religion was given this proper name. This is one of the many superiorities which the Holy Prophetpossesses over other Prophets of God.

The words "He named you Muslims" possess another significance. The word 'Muslim' being from the root 'Islam' which means 'peace'; a true Muslim is one who is at peace with God and man and is also at peace with himself. The Holy Prophet has given an apt definition of a Muslim in the following well-known hadith

المسلم من سلم المسلمون من یدہ و لسانه

i.e. a true Muslim is one from whose hands and tongue other Muslims are safe (Bukhari). It is indeed strange that a religion, whose very name means 'peace' and whose followers are enjoined to preach and practise peace, should have been stigmatized by hostile and ignorant critics as having brought fire and sword into the world, and should have been maligned as being indebted for its expansion and propagation to the swords and spears of its votaries! Nothing could be farther from truth.