His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims." "And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided."

The address in this verse encompasses all believers. The intended audience at the time of its revelation were the Aws and Khazraj, who had disputes among themselves due to the instigation of Shas ibn Qais.

And 'taqwa' is a noun with the pattern of 'fa'ala', its root being 'taqiya'. It has been previously mentioned in His words: "Except that you practice taqwa from them." [Aal Imran: 28]. It is correct that 'taqwa' in this verse can be a plural of the doer, even if it has not been modified, as in 'ramat' and 'rami', or it can be a plural of 'taqi' since 'fa'il' and 'fa'il' are equivalent. The meaning in this case is: Fear Allah as it is right for those who fear Him, and for this reason they are attributed to the pronoun of Allah, the Most High.

The scholars differed regarding His saying: "as He should be feared"; one group said: The verse was revealed in its general wording, and it obligated the Ummah to fear Allah to the utmost degree of taqwa so that there would be no deficiency in anything. Then Allah abrogated that for the Ummah with His saying: "So fear Allah as much as you are able." [At-Taghabun: 16] and with His saying: "Allah does not burden a soul except with that within its capacity." [Al-Baqarah: 286]. This was said by Qatadah, Al-Suddi, Al-Rabi' ibn Anas, Ibn Zayd, and others.

A group of scholars said: There is no abrogation in any of this, and these verses are in agreement. The meaning of this is: Fear Allah as He should be feared as much as you are able, and that "as He should be feared" is according to His commands and prohibitions. And indeed, the Most High has made the religion easy. This is the correct statement, and that a son of Adam should not disobey at all, neither in small matters nor in large matters, and that he should not slacken in worship is a matter that is difficult in human nature. If Allah had obligated this, it would have been a burden that cannot be borne. No one has committed to this in the interpretation of this verse, but they expressed in the interpretation of this verse that Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "As He should be feared" means to obey Him and not disobey, to be grateful and not ungrateful, to remember and not forget. Likewise, Al-Rabi' ibn Khaytham, Qatadah, and Al-Hasan expressed this. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The meaning of His saying, exalted is He: "Fear Allah as He should be feared" is to strive in Allah's cause as He should be striven for, and there is no abrogation in the verse. And Tawus said regarding the meaning of His saying, exalted is He: "Fear Allah as He should be feared": He says, if you do not fear Him and cannot do so, then do not die except as Muslims.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And do not die except as Muslims" means: Remain upon Islam until death comes to you while you are upon it. This is the essence of the matter in meaning, and the expression has come in this elegant and concise structure. An analogy to this is what Sibawayh narrated from their saying: I do not want to see you here, and what is meant is: Do not be here so that my seeing you is not possible. And "Muslims" in this verse is the comprehensive meaning in belief and deeds, and it is the religion with Allah, which is based on five.

'And His saying, exalted is He: "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah" means to refrain and take refuge in it. The holding fast may be by grasping with the hand, by climbing the heights, or by other means that provide protection. Among these is the 'asīm in the mountain, and among them is the protection of marriage. The rope in this verse is a metaphor, as the reason for which one holds fast is a connection extended between the protector and the protected, and a relationship between them. This is likened to a rope, which is meant to connect one thing to another. Covenants and agreements are also called ropes. This is reflected in the saying of al-A'sha: 'And when the ropes of a tribe are extended, they take from the lower to you their ropes.' And also in the saying of another: 'Indeed, I am connected to you by your rope...' And from the saying of Allah, exalted is He: "Except by a rope from Allah and a rope from the people" [Aali Imran: 112]. The phrases of the interpreters differ regarding the intended meaning of the 'rope of Allah' in this verse. Ibn Mas'ud said: The rope of Allah is the community. Anas ibn Malik narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "Indeed, the Children of Israel split into seventy-one sects, and my nation will split into seventy-two sects, all of which will be in the Fire except one." It was said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what is this one?' He then clasped his hand and said: 'The community,' and recited: "And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah." Ibn Mas'ud also said in a sermon: 'All of you must adhere to obedience and the community, for it is the rope of Allah that He commanded with.' Qatadah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'The rope of Allah that He commanded to hold fast to is the Qur'an.' Al-Suddi said: 'The rope of Allah is the Book of Allah,' and this was also said by Ibn Mas'ud and al-Dahhak. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The Book of Allah is the rope of Allah extended from the heavens to the earth." Abu al-Aliyah said: 'The rope of Allah in this verse is sincerity in monotheism.' Ibn Zayd said: 'The rope of Allah is Islam.' Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'And it was said otherwise, all of which is close to one another.' And His saying, exalted is He: "All together" is a state of the pronoun in His saying: "Hold fast," meaning: Be united in your holding fast. "And do not be divided" refers to the division that does not allow for unity in jihad and the protection of the religion and the word of Allah, exalted is He. This is the division caused by trials and the division in beliefs. As for the division in matters of branches and jurisprudence, it does not fall under this verse. Rather, that is what the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The disagreement of my nation is a mercy." The companions differed in branches (p-307) greatly, yet they were united against every disbeliever. As for the fitnah against Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, it is from the prohibited division. However, it is indeed the interpretation that led many of the companions, may Allah be pleased with all of them, to enter into that.

And remember the favor of Allah upon you when you were enemies, and He brought your hearts together, so by His favor you became brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes clear His signs to you, so that you may be guided. This verse indicates that the address in this verse is specifically to the Aws and Khazraj. This is because although this term is applicable to all Arabs, at the time of the revelation of this verse, they had not yet united in Islam nor had their hearts come together. Rather, it was during the story of Shas ibn Qays at the beginning of the Hijrah that this verse was revealed. It is about the Aws and Khazraj, who had animosity and wars between them, such as the Day of Bu'ath and others. These wars and animosity lasted between the two tribes for one hundred and twenty years until Allah lifted it with Islam. Then six men from the Ansar came to Mecca as pilgrims. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, presented himself to them and recited the Qur'an to them as he used to do with the tribes of the Arabs. They believed in him and wanted to go out with him, but they said: 'O Messenger of Allah, if you come to our land with the animosity and war that exists between us, we fear that what we want from you will not be achieved. However, we will go and spread your message among the people, and our appointment with you is next year.' So they went and did that. The Ansar came the following year, and it was the second pledge of Aqabah, and they were twelve men, among them five of the first six. Then they came in the third year, and it was the great pledge of Aqabah, attended by seventy men, among them twelve leaders. The description of this story is detailed in the biography of Ibn Hisham. Allah, glorified and exalted is He, facilitated for the Ansar to embrace Islam in two ways. One of them is that the Children of Israel were their neighbors, and they used to say to those among the Arabs whom they threatened: 'A prophet will be sent to us, and we will kill you with him like the killing of 'Aad and Iram.' When the group of Ansar saw Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, some of them said to each other: 'This is, by Allah, the prophet that the Children of Israel mention, so do not let anyone precede you to him.' The other reason is the war that had devastated them and annihilated their leaders. They hoped that Allah would unite them through him as He had done before. So Allah, glorified and exalted is He, enumerated His favor upon them in bringing them together after animosity and reminded them of it. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'So you became' is an expression of continuity, even though the term is specific to a certain time. This term is specified with this meaning as it is the beginning of the day, and in it is the beginning of actions. The state that a person feels in himself during it is the state that he continues with throughout his day, most of the time. From this is the saying of Al-Rabi' ibn Dhab'.

And the brothers: is the plural of brother, and it is gathered as ikhwa. These two are the most famous forms of gathering in it. However, Sibawayh, may Allah have mercy on him, sees that ikhwa is a name of gathering, and it is not a construction of gathering because fa'ala is not gathered upon fi'lah. Some people said that the brother in religion is gathered as ikhwan, and the brother in lineage is gathered as ikhwa: thus, their usage has become common.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And in the Book of Allah, the Exalted: "Indeed, the believers are brothers" [Al-Hujurat: 10] and in it: "Or the sons of their brothers" [An-Nur: 31]. So it is correct that they are said in lineage, and they are said in religion.

And the shafa: is the edge of every mass that has a descent, like a pit, a well, a cliff, a ceiling, a wall, and the like. It is added in usage to the upper side, as in His saying: "the edge of a cliff" and to the lower side, as in His saying: "the edge of a pit." It is doubled as shafawain. So the Exalted compared their disbelief, which they were upon, and their war, which was near to death, to the shafa, because they were constantly falling into Hell. So Allah saved them with Islam. The pronoun in "from it" refers back to the fire or to the pit, and returning to the nearest is better. Some people said, as narrated by Al-Tabari: that the pronoun refers back to the shafa, and the feminine pronoun was used because the shafa was added to a feminine noun. The verse is like the saying of Jarir:

I saw the passing of the years taking from me as the secrets took from the crescent.

And other examples.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the matter is not as mentioned, and the verse does not need this craftsmanship, unless there is no return for the pronoun except to the shafa. However, if there is a feminine word that the pronoun returns to, supported by the meaning being discussed, then there is no need for that craftsmanship.

And His saying, the Exalted: "Thus Allah clarifies to you His signs" is an indication of what He clarified in these verses, meaning: so Allah clarifies to you other than them. And His saying: "Perhaps you" is a hope regarding humanity, meaning: whoever among you contemplates the situation hopes for guidance.