Verse No. 15

“Indeed, the rope of Allah is His Caliph on the earth.”

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى:

﴿وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا﴾[1]

Translation:

God Almighty has said:

“Hold firmly to the rope of God all together and do not become divided into groups”.

Considerations

1 . أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ الطَّبَرِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَنْ حَبْلِ اللَّهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا﴾، فَقَالَ: مَا يَقُولُ هَؤُلَاءُ؟ قُلْتُ: يَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُ الْقُرْآنُ، فَقَالَ: الْقُرْآنُ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ، وَكَانَ حَبْلُهُ النَّبِيَّ، أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَتَفَرَّقُوا مَا دَامَ النَّبِيُّ فِيهِمْ، فَلَمَّا مَاتَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَالْقُرْآنُ فِيهِمْ؟! فَكَانَ حَبْلُ اللَّهِ النَّبِيَّ مَا دَامَ فِيهِمْ، فَلَمَّا مَاتَ كَانَ رَجُلًا مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ يُبَيِّنُ لَهُمْ سُنَّتَهُ كَامِلَةً، وَلَا يَزَالُ كَذَلِكَ حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِنَّ حَبْلَ اللَّهِ خَلِيفَتُهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ، فَإِنِ اعْتَصَمْتُمْ بِهِ لَنْ تَتَفَرَّقُوا، وَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا لَنْ تَجْتَمِعُوا! أَلَا وَاللَّهِ قَدْ بَيَّنْتُ لَكُمْ بَيَانًا شَافِيًا، فَلَا تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَذَا غَافِلِينَ!

Translation:

Abdullah ibn Habib al-Tabari informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the rope of God in His words that has said: “Hold firmly to the rope of God all together and do not become divided into groups”, so he said: What do they say? I said: They say it is the Quran, then he said: The Quran is the Book of God, and the rope of God is the Prophet. Do you not see that they were not divided into groups as long as the Prophet was among them, so when he passed away, they were divided into groups whereas the Quran was among them?! So the rope of God was the Prophet as long as he was among them, then when he passed away, it was a man from his Ahl al-Bayt who taught them his Sunnah perfectly, and it will always be the same until the Day of Judgment arrives. Then he said: Indeed, the rope of God is His Caliph on the earth, so if you hold firmly to him, you will never be divided into groups, and if you do not do so, you will never be united! Be aware that I swear to God I explained to you with a healing statement, so do not say on the Day of Judgment that we were unaware of this!

2 . أَخْبَرَنَا وَلِيدُ بْنُ مَحْمُودٍ السِّجِسْتَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعَ الْمَنْصُورُ قَارِئًا يَقْرَأُ قَوْلَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿أَنْ أَقِيمُوا الدِّينَ وَلَا تَتَفَرَّقُوا فِيهِ﴾[2]، فَقَالَ: يَقْرَؤُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَهُ، كَأَنَّهُمْ بَبَّغَاوَاتٌ نَاطِقَةٌ! أَنَّى لَهُمْ أَنْ يُقِيمُوا الدِّينَ كُلَّهُ وَلَا يَتَفَرَّقُوا فِيهِ إِلَّا إِذَا كَانَ لَهُمْ إِمَامٌ وَاحِدٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ يُعَلِّمُهُمْ كُلَّهُ وَيَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ فِيمَا هُمْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ؟! قُلْتُ: جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ وَالسُّنَّةَ يَكْفِيَانِهِمْ لِذَلِكَ، وَلَا حَاجَةَ لَهُمْ إِلَى مِثْلِ هَذَا الْإِمَامِ، قَالَ: وَيْلَهُمْ، أَلَيْسَ فِيهِمُ الْقُرْآنُ وَالسُّنَّةُ مُنْذُ أَرْبَعَةِ عَشَرَ قَرْنًا يَخُوضُونَ فِيهِمَا لَيْلًا وَنَهَارًا؟! فَمَا لَهُمْ لَا يُقِيمُونَ الدِّينَ كُلَّهُ وَهُمْ فِيهِ مُتَفَرِّقُونَ؟! فَهَلْ يَفْقِدُونَ إِلَّا إِمَامًا وَاحِدًا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ يُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْقُرْآنَ وَالسُّنَّةَ كُلَّهُمَا وَيَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ فِيمَا هُمْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ؟! وَيْلَهُمْ، كَيْفَ يَقُولُونَ أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ وَالسُّنَّةَ كَافِيَانِ لِإِقَامَةِ الدِّينِ؟! وَمَا الدِّينُ إِلَّا الْقُرْآنُ وَالسُّنَّةُ، وَكَيْفَ يَقُولُونَ أَنَّهُمَا كَافِيَانِ لِرَفْعِ الْخِلَافِ؟! وَمَا الْخِلَافُ إِلَّا فِيهِمَا! ﴿أَفَلَا يَعْقِلُونَ﴾[3]؟! ﴿بَلْ قَالُوا مِثْلَ مَا قَالَ الْأَوَّلُونَ﴾[4]، وَمَا كَانَ حُجَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ قَالُوا: ﴿إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِمْ مُهْتَدُونَ﴾[5]! كَلَّا، بَلْ لَا يَزَالُونَ يُضَيِّعُونَ الدِّينَ وَيَتَفَرَّقُونَ فِيهِ حَتَّى يَجْتَمِعُوا عَلَى إِمَامٍ وَاحِدٍ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ يُعَلِّمُهُمْ وَيَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ، كَمَا اجْتَمَعُوا عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذْ كَانَ فِيهِمْ.

Translation:

Walid ibn Mahmud al-Sajistani informed us, he said: Mansoor heard a reciter recite these words of God Almighty: “that you should establish the religion and do not become divided therein”, then he said: They recite the Quran, but do not ponder on it, as if they are talking parrots! How can they establish the entire religion and not be divided therein, unless when there is an Imam from God who teaches them the entire religion and judges among them about what they disagree on?! I said: May I be sacrificed for you, they say the Quran and the Sunnah are sufficient for this purpose, and they do not need such an Imam, he said: Woe to them, have the Quran and the Sunnah not existed among them for fourteen hundred years and they immerse in them day and night?! So why do they not establish the entire religion, and why have they become divided therein?! Do they not find something other than an Imam from God that teaches them the entire Quran and the Sunnah and judges among them about what they disagree on?! Woe to them, how can they say the Quran and the Sunnah are sufficient for them to establish the religion?! While the religion is nothing but the Quran and the Sunnah, and how can they say that the two are sufficient to resolve disagreements?! While disagreements are only about the two! “So do they not use the intellect”?! “Rather they say the like of what their predecessors said”, and their proof is nothing but to say: “We found our fathers following a sect, and we have been guided by following them”! It is not so, rather they will always spoil the religion and will be divided therein until they gather around an Imam from God who teaches them and judges among them, as they gathered around the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, when he was among them.