يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوَاْ إِن تُطِيعُواْ فَرِيقًا مِّنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَابَ يَرُدُّوكُم بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ كَافِرِينَ  وَكَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ وَأَنتُمْ تُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتُ اللّهِ وَفِيكُمْ رَسُولُهُ وَمَن يَعْتَصِم بِاللّهِ فَقَدْ هُدِيَ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ (١٠٠- ٠١١)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلاَ تَمُوتُنَّ إِلاَّ وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ  وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاء فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىَ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ النَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ  وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ (١٠٢ - ١٠٤)

وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاخْتَلَفُواْ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ  يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكْفَرْتُم بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ فَذُوقُواْ الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ  وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ابْيَضَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ فَفِي رَحْمَةِ اللّهِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ  تِلْكَ آيَاتُ اللّهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِالْحَقِّ وَمَا اللّهُ يُرِيدُ ظُلْمًا لِّلْعَالَمِينَ وَلِلّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَإِلَى اللّهِ تُرْجَعُ الأُمُورُ (١٠٥ -١٠٩)

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَلَوْ آمَنَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُم مِّنْهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ لَن يَضُرُّوكُمْ إِلاَّ أَذًى وَإِن يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ يُوَلُّوكُمُ الأَدُبَارَ ثُمَّ لاَ يُنصَرُونَ  ضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ أَيْنَ مَا ثُقِفُواْ إِلاَّ بِحَبْلٍ مِّنْ اللّهِ وَحَبْلٍ مِّنَ النَّاسِ وَبَآؤُوا بِغَضَبٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَسْكَنَةُ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللّهِ وَيَقْتُلُونَ الأَنبِيَاء بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ ذَلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوا وَّكَانُواْ يَعْتَدُونَ (١١٠ - ١١٢)

لَيْسُواْ سَوَاء مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ أُمَّةٌ قَآئِمَةٌ يَتْلُونَ آيَاتِ اللّهِ آنَاء اللَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ  يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ  وَمَا يَفْعَلُواْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلَن يُكْفَرُوْهُ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالْمُتَّقِينَ (١١٣- ١١٥)

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَن تُغْنِيَ عَنْهُمْ أَمْوَالُهُمْ وَلاَ أَوْلاَدُهُم مِّنَ اللّهِ شَيْئًا وَأُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ  مَثَلُ مَا يُنفِقُونَ فِي هِـذِهِ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَثَلِ رِيحٍ فِيهَا صِرٌّ أَصَابَتْ حَرْثَ قَوْمٍ ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَتْهُ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللّهُ وَلَـكِنْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ (١١٦ - ١١٧)

Believers!1 If you yield to a group from among these People of the Book,2 they will turn you back from belief to disbelief.3 [Be forewarned of this] and [just reflect] how can you disbelieve when God’s verses are being recited to you and His own Messenger is among you.4 [So hold fast to God] and [remember that] he who holds fast to God5 [then know that] he shall be guided to the straight path. (100-101)

Believers! Fear God as you rightly should,6 and when you leave this world leave it as followers of Islam whatsoever7 and together cling to the rope8 of God and let nothing divide you and remember the favour God has bestowed upon you: when you were enemies of one another so He united your hearts and with His grace you became brothers and [remember] when you stood at the very brink of an abyss of fire; then He saved you from it.9 Thus God explains to you His revelations so that you may be guided.10 And let there be appointed among you a community who calls towards righteousness, enjoin virtue and forbid evil. [Diligently arrange for this] and [remember that those who do so] will only attain salvation.11 (102-104)

[Do this] and do not be like those who became divided into sects and who differed after very clear guidance had come to them.12 And [now] it is they for whom there is grave punishment on the day when some faces will be bright and others blackened. The black-faced [will be asked]: “Did you become disbelievers after embracing faith? So taste then the punishment because of this disbelief.” As for those whose faces will be bright, they shall abide in God’s mercy; they will remain in it forever. These are the verses of God which We recite to you in all truth and [recite to you because] God desires no injustice to mankind. [So, like these People of the Book, do not remain in false hopes] and [remember] all that the heavens and the earth contain belongs to God only and all affairs are presented before Him only.13 (105-109)

[Believers! with the blessing of God at this time] you are an excellent group raised up [to bear witness to the truth] before mankind. You enjoin justice and forbid evil and have true belief in God.14 And had these People of the Book professed faith [in the Qur’ān], it would surely have been better for them.15 [Undoubtedly] some among them are believers, but [alas] most of them are disobedient. They can cause you but a slight hurt; and [rest assured that] if they fight against you, they will turn their backs and run away. Then there shall be none to help them.16 Ignominy shall be stamped upon them wherever they are seen; however, because of a covenant with God or with people, they can receive support. They have incurred the wrath of God and cowardice has been stamped upon them.17 This is because they have remained disbelievers in God’s revelations and have killed his prophets unjustly because they were disobedient and always crossed the limits.18 (110-112)

[It should however remain clear that] all People of the Book are not alike. One group is abiding by its promise.19 They recite the revelations of God at night and prostrate [before] Him; they truly believe in God and the Last Day; they enjoin justice and forbid evil and vie with each other in good deeds and are among the pious servants of God. [No doubt that they are true seekers of the truth] and [because of this attitude of theirs] whatever good they do its reward shall not be denied to them20 and God well knows these virtous. (113-115)

[On the other hand], those who have decided to remain disbelievers, neither their wealth nor their children21 shall protect them from God and they are the companions of the Fire; there they shall remain forever. In the life of this world whatever they spend [apparently in the way of God] is like a freezing wind that smites the crop fields of men who have wronged themselves, laying it waste.22 [They deserve only this treatment] and [in reality] God is not unjust to them; they are unjust to their own souls. (116-117)

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1. The first section of the sūrah ends on verse 99. From here begins the next section. The address in the first section was directed at the People of the Book. After their deliberate denial of the truth, from this verse onwards the address is directed towards the Muslims. Consequently, now in this second section, Muslims are first warned of the deviant schemes of the People of the Book which they would employ to turn away the Muslims from the path of the truth. After this, the subject of purification of the Muslims and isolating them from the disbelievers begins. In it, they are given the necessary directives to combat this important phase of trial; they are told that they can truly discharge the obligation of following Islam by only holding steadfast to the rope of God and by fully obeying God and His Prophet (sws) when faced with trials and tribulations.

2. This is a reference to the same group among the People of the Book whose animosity and trait of implanting evil suggestions in the minds of people are mentioned earlier. It is evident from the Qur’ān that one group among the People of the Book adhered to justice. Consequently, the Almighty has taken into consideration this fact at all times so that no injustice should befall them.

3. The implication is that Muslims think that these people are religious and so cannot think of misleading people; in reality, all their religiosity is pretentious. They are such grave enemies of the real religion that they not only themselves are its disbelievers they will also lead the Muslims into disbelief if the Muslims are led away by them.

4. The implication is that if in spite of this they disregard the truth then it is their own misfortune and bad luck. They will now have no excuse to present before the Almighty which in other words would mean that they have slipped in broad daylight.

5. “To hold fast to God” means that in good and bad circumstances a person adheres to the truth and does not swerve in any way from the directives of God and the teachings of His Book.

6. This is an explanation of what holding fast to God actually means: it means to fear God the way a person rightly should. Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī writes:

Fearing God is required to the extent that a person is capable of. The Qur’ān itself has explained this in 64:16. However, there is a great difference between fearing God and fearing others. For this reason it was said that one should fear God as one rightly should. Firstly, the obligations a person owes to God are ones which he owes to no other person. Secondly, the limits and bounds set by God and the punishments for violating them have been prescribed for the worldly and next-worldly benefit of people; God does not stand to gain from obeying these limits; it is they who stand to gain. Thirdly, God is watching over everything; so much so, He even knows what is in the hearts of people. Fourthly, no one can save a person from God’s punishment and the Almighty can punish a person both in this world and in the Hereafter and this punishment can be eternal. Unless a person keeps an eye on all these aspects of fearing God, he cannot grasp the real meaning of fearing God what to speak of fearing Him in a befitting manner. The basic fault of people who out of fear of human beings forsake God and His sharī‘ah is that they do not realize the difference between the opposition of people and the wrath of God. (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), 152)

7. Fearing God and being diligent in His obedience is a lifelong attitude. One should not afford a break in it. This struggle will begin when a person reaches mental maturity and will continue till one’s last breath. So people should be aware that if before the completion of this period a person breaks this process, he may end up losing the labours of his hard work. Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, while highlighting another aspect of this, writes:

… hidden in the style of the verse is the fact that this terrain is not very smooth; in fact there are many ups and downs on the way; one will have to encounter many trials and tribulations and face many incursions from the devils and come across many hitches and obstacles from enemies. At times, greed will try to lure people and, at others, fear will try to intimidate them. Those who passed through all these phases while protecting their faith and reached their destination and died in this state are the ones who in reality feared God the way He should have been feared and these are the people who were actually able to hold fast to God. (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), 154)

8. This refers to the Qur’ān because this is the rope which is stretched from the heavens to the earth between God and His servants. It is this rope which is the means to reach God and it is also our covenant with Him. Consequently, holding firmly the rope of God means nothing but to firmly grasp the Book of God and in no situation leave it. Holding steadfast is qualified by the word جَمِيعًا  and the prohibition وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ. This means that this requirement is from Muslims in their collective capacity. The Almighty wants that all these people should firmly grasp this rope and not become divided by forsaking it. While being united they should adhere to the Qur’ān, read it and reflect on its verses. They should gather counsel from it, turn to it in all their affairs considering it to be a barometer of justice and before its verdicts give no importance to any other thing whatsoever.

9. This is a reminder of the great favour reaped by the Arabs only because of the Qur’ān. Before the revelation of this Book, every tribe was an enemy of the other and they would be engaged in fighting and warfare. Their was no unifying thread between them on basis of religion also. Each tribe had its own deities. Their interests clashed with one another in the fields of politics and economics as well. However, when in the form of the Qur’ān, this rope was handed to them, then in the words of Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī it knitted them together and weaved them into a locket of pearls and foes became friends and well-wishers.

10. The implication is that with this explanation this reminder has been sounded because a slight mistake in this matter can result in grave trials. Thus people should be well aware that if they want to sustain love and unity among them they must hold fast to this Book otherwise they will revert to the age of ignorance they used to be in. It was undeniable that they were standing at the brink of an abyss of fire when the Almighty caught them by their hands and saved them from it. So now if they forsake this Book, there is a strong chance that they will fall in this abyss and then will not be able to save themselves from its flames.

11. This directive is given to the Muslims in their collective capacity: in order to hold steadfast to this directive of the Qur’ān they must depute some people from among themselves to enjoin good and forbid evil. It is evident from this that this directive relates to those in authority. Consequently, in an Islamic state, the pulpit of the Friday prayer and the department of police serve this very purpose. Through the Friday sermon, those in authority call them towards righteousness and urge them to refrain from wrong-doings while the police holds people accountable who perpetrate acts which are considered as crimes as per law.

12. ie merely because of arrogance they refused to accept it. Further down this attitude is called reverting back to disbelief from the state of belief.

13. If the verses of this paragraph are deliberated upon, then the facts which come to light can be stated in the words of Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī thus:

Firstly, after being deprived of holding fast to the rope of God, the People of the Book became divided and disunited and in reality this division and disunity is synonymous to turning back to disbelief after belief.

Secondly, if people who are granted success and authority by the Almighty by being handed over His rope by Him put other yokes in their necks because of their own ill-ways, they will end up in failure on the Day of judgement commensurate with this success. The faces of only those people will shine who grasp this rope in all circumstances. Indeed, these people will be worthy of God’s blessings and mercy.

Thirdly, all these warnings are bound to materialize. People who think that they are mere warnings will only hasten their own doom through their own hands and as such they themselves will be entirely responsible for it. The Almighty has sent a reminder to them in the form of the Qur’ān because He does not want to punish people without communicating the truth to them to such an extent that they have no excuse to deny it.

Fourthly, in the heavens and the earth, all authority rests with the Almighty. All affairs will be presented before Him and only His decision shall be implemented. If a person has pinned his hopes on someone, they will be dashed to the ground and it will be a mere mirage once the reality manifests itself. (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), 155)

14. These words sound an assurance and give glad tidings to the Ishmaelites that they are an excellent community; hence none of their enemies can harm them. The law of the Almighty was no different for the Israelites; alas they earned the everlasting wrath of God because of their defiance in various matters. Obviously, there is also a warning for the Ishmaelites in this: the position of leadership that has been bestowed upon them is not because of race and creed but because of adhering to the truth both in their beliefs and in their deeds and because of being virtuous. Therefore, this position is conditional to certain characteristics they must adhere to and certain responsibilities they must discharge. If they fulfill these responsibilities, they will remain on this position of leadership and if they evade them, they too will necessarily meet the fate these People of the Book have met in spite of repeated warnings from the Almighty.

15. In the words of Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, the brevity and ambiguity found in this sentence reflects the utter anger of the speaker that it cannot be expressed in words.

16. This prediction materialized word for word and all the tribes of Arabia were humiliated to such an extent that no one came to their help and they were ousted from it in sheer disgrace.

17. The implication is that not only here, they live in disgrace in every part of the world and shall continue to do so till the Day of Judgement. About the progeny of Abraham (sws), the law of the Almighty is that if they adhere to the truth, they shall be granted the leadership of this world and if they deviate from it, they will be punished for deviation in this very world. Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī writes:

This is a mention of the misfortune and doom of the Jews which their deeds have led them to: the very place from which they were to reap the treasure of honour and of world leadership, it is their misfortune that from that very place they have earned the wrath of the Almighty as a result of which disgrace was stamped on them. The Almighty had entrusted them with leadership and the position of shahādah. If they had discharged their duties and kept their promise they would have been blessed with a high status both in this world and in the Hereafter. However, because of their spinelessness and lust for worldly pleasures they were not able to fulfill the obligation of shahādah and thus became worthy of God’s wrath. (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), 162)

18. Cited here is the reason because of which they denied the revelations of God and killed His prophets. The implication is that the habits of disobedience and crossing the bounds set by God was the reason that they committed such heinous crimes.

19. This refers to keeping the promise of attesting the prophets of God and following the sharī‘ah brought by them. They are fully adhering to it.

20. The Arabic words used are: فَلَن يُكْفَرُوْهُ. The verb كَفَرُوا is transitively used towards two objects because here it encompasses the meaning of “deprivation”. The implication is that though these People of the Book have yet to profess faith, among them are true believers and hence each and every good deed done by them will be rewarded. The Almighty does not deprive people of the reward of good deeds except those who deliberately deny the truth.

21. This refers to the wealth and children which are a means of making a person indifferent to the Almighty and the teachings of His prophets.

22. Just as it is mentioned above that each and every virtuous deed done by true seekers of the truth will be rewarded, it is mentioned here that no virtuous deed will avail those who deliberately deny the truth. Charity and spending in the way of God is a great virtue. However, on the Day of Judgement such spending would be like a crop smitten by freezing winds which completely destroy it.