Verse No. 15

“Indeed, the rope of Allah is His caliph on Earth.”

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى:

﴿وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا﴾[1]

Translation:

Allah Almighty has said:

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

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 Allah in His statement, where He has said: “Hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided.” So he said: “What do they say?” I said: “They say it is the Quran.” So he said: “The Quran is the Book of Allah, and the rope of Allah is the Prophet. Do you not see that they did not become divided as long as the Prophet was among them, but when he passed away, they became divided while the Quran was among them?! So the rope of Allah 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 his Sunnah to them perfectly. And it will always be the same until the Day of Judgment arrives.” He then said: “Indeed, the rope of Allah is His caliph on Earth. So if you hold firmly to him, you will never become divided, and if you do not, you will never be united! Know that, by Allah, I clarified to you with a healing statement, so do not say on the Day of Judgment, ‘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 Mahmoud al-Sajistani informed us, he said: Mansoor heard a reciter reciting this statement of Allah Almighty: “That you establish the religion and do not become divided concerning it.” So he said: “They recite the Quran but do not reflect on it, as if they are talking parrots! How can they establish the entire religion and not become divided concerning it, except when there is a single Imam from Allah for them, who teaches them the entire religion and judges among them concerning what they disagree on?!” I said: “May I be sacrificed for you, they say the Quran and the Sunnah suffice them for this purpose, and they do not need such an Imam.” He said: “Woe to them! Has it not been fourteen hundred years that the Quran and the Sunnah have been among them, and they delve into them day and night?! So why do they not establish the entire religion, and why are they divided concerning it?! Do they not find anything other than an Imam from Allah that teaches them the entire Quran and the Sunnah and judges among them concerning what they disagree on?! Woe to them! How can they say the Quran and the Sunnah suffice them to establish the religion?! While the religion is nothing but the Quran and the Sunnah. And how can they say these two are sufficient to resolve discord?! While discord is about nothing but those two themselves! ‘So do they not use the intellect’?! ‘Rather, they say something like what their predecessors said,’ and their proof is nothing but to say: ‘We have found our forefathers upon a religion, and we have been guided by following them!’ It is not so. Rather, they will always waste the religion and become divided concerning it until they gather around a single Imam from Allah who teaches them and judges among them, just as they gathered around the Prophet when he was among them.”