Verse of I'tisam
The Verse of I'tisam (Arabic: آیه اعتصام) is verse 103 of Surah Al 'Imran, which asks Muslims to hold fast to the rope of God and not to become divided. Imam Khomeini has paid attention to the Verse of I'tisam in his works and addressed the reality of i'tisam (holding fast) and opinions regarding Habl Allah (the rope of God).
Importance and Position of the Verse of I'tisam
The Verse of I'tisam refers to verse 103 of Surah Al 'Imran, in which Muslims are asked to hold fast to the rope of God and not to become divided.[1] The Verse of I'tisam, with the content: "And hold fast to the rope of God all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of God upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together so you became, by His favor, brothers,"[2] expresses a fundamental principle that God the Almighty has put forward in the Qur'an as His divine rope, and by commanding the Muslims, has considered holding fast to it as the only way of unity. Islamic exegetes, using the Verse of I'tisam, have provided numerous proofs for the necessity of unity and avoiding division, and have addressed the discussion of the divine rope and its multiple possibilities.[3]
Imam Khomeini has also paid attention to the Verse of I'tisam and addressed the reality of i'tisam and opinions regarding Habl Allah in his works.[4]
The Reality of the Verse of I'tisam
Islamic exegetes, regarding the reality of the Verse of I'tisam, believe that i'tisam is taking refuge and holding fast to the divine rope, which consists of preservation of obedience to God. Relying on the verse "And hold fast to the rope of God all together and do not become divided,"[5] they believe that holding fast to God means ascending the ladder of progress to the point where the wayfaring servant sees other-than-God as imaginary and relative, and is liberated from every doubt and hesitation; because holding fast guarantees the wayfarer's direction toward the Right Path and immunity from straying.[6]
Imam Khomeini also, in explaining the reality of the Verse of I'tisam by citing the verse "And hold fast to the rope of God all together and do not become divided," believes that i'tisam is the very taking refuge and holding fast to the rope of God, meaning the religious commands that bring man closer to God and cause his elevation and progress. In his view, the command of the verse "And hold fast to the rope of God" is a firm and saving command of the Qur'an that must be kept in mind, and one must avoid division and dispute. Imam Khomeini believes that the Verse of I'tisam is a message composed of a command and a prohibition; a command that orders holding fast to Habl Allah, and a prohibition that restrains from division. According to him, if the Muslim society dispute with one another and forget unity, they will fall into division.[7]
The Instance of Habl Allah
Some exegetes believe that the Verse of I'tisam was revealed in Medina regarding a dispute between the tribes of Aws and Khazraj, a dispute that began between two individuals of these tribes and quickly turned into a large tribal conflict, and the two tribes prepared for war, so the Prophet (s) reached them to prevent the clash, and this verse was revealed.[8] The majority of Islamic exegetes consider the instance of Habl Allah in the Verse of I'tisam to be the Qur'an and the Ahl al-Bayt (a).[9] Imam Khomeini also considers the instance of Habl Allah in the Verse of I'tisam to be the Qur'an and the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (s). Of course, according to some narrations, he introduces Habl Allah as Commander of the Faithful 'Ali (a) for two reasons: first, because the path of the Qur'an, the Prophet (s), and the path of 'Ali (a) are not separate from each other. Second, because each of these can be one of the instances of Habl Allah; therefore, they do not contradict one another.[10]
Notes
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 3, p. 32.
- ↑ Qur'an 3:103.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 21; Māturīdī, Taʾwīlāt ahl al-sunna, vol. 2, p. 444; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 25, p. 194; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 2, p. 805; Khādimī, Jāygāh-i imāmat dar āya-yi iʿtiṣām, pp. 7-8; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 3, pp. 370-371.
- ↑ Imām Khumaynī, Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām, vol. 10, p. 533; Kashf-i asrār, pp. 139-140; Taqrīrāt-i falsafa, vol. 2, pp. 265-266; Sharḥ-i ḥadīth-i junūd-i ʿaql wa jahl, p. 343.
- ↑ Qur'an 3:103.
- ↑ Kāshānī, Sharḥ Manāzil al-sāʾirīn, pp. 203-204; Kubrā, al-Taʾwīlāt al-najmiyya, vol. 2, p. 60; Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 22; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 2, p. 396.
- ↑ Imām Khumaynī, Taqrīrāt-i falsafa, vol. 2, p. 265; Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām, vol. 3, p. 318, vol. 8, p. 422; vol. 12, p. 216.
- ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 2, p. 236; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 2, p. 804; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm, vol. 2, p. 77.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, p. 264; ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, vol. 1, p. 194; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 24, p. 85; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 85.
- ↑ Imām Khumaynī, Sharḥ-i ḥadīth-i junūd-i ʿaql wa jahl, p. 343; Kashf-i asrār, pp. 137-142; Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām, vol. 10, p. 534.
References
- Ibn Kathīr, Ismāʿīl, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm, Egypt, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, n.d.
- Imām Khumaynī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh, Taqrīrāt-i falsafa-yi Imām Khumaynī, Tehran, Muʾassasa-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khumaynī, 1385 Sh.
- Imām Khumaynī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh, Sharḥ-i ḥadīth-i junūd-i ʿaql wa jahl, Tehran, Muʾassasa-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khumaynī, 1387 Sh.
- Imām Khumaynī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh, Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām, Tehran, Muʾassasa-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khumaynī, 1389 Sh.
- Imām Khumaynī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh, Kashf-i asrār, Tehran, Muʾassasa-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khumaynī, n.d.
- Ālūsī, Maḥmūd, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1415 AH.
- Khādimī, Muḥammad, Imāmat dar āya-yi iʿtiṣām bā takiya bar maʿnā-yi ḥabl Allāh, Faṣlnāma-yi Imāmat Pazhūhī, 1391 Sh.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad ʿAlī, al-Amālī, Tehran, Nashr-i Kitābchī, 1376 Sh.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn, Tafsīr al-Mīzān, Qom, Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1417 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Ḥasan, Majmaʿ al-bayān, Beirut, Dār al-ʿUlūm, 1379 Sh.
- Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr, Jāmiʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, Beirut, Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1412 AH.
- ʿAyyāshī, Muḥammad b. Masʿūd, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, Tehran, Nashr-i ʿIlmiyya-yi Islāmīyya, 1380 Sh.
- Kāshānī, ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Sharḥ Manāzil al-sāʾirīn, edited by Bīdārfar, Qom, Intishārāt-i Bīdār, 1385 Sh.
- Māturīdī, Muḥammad, Taʾwīlāt ahl al-sunna, Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1426 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir, Biḥār al-anwār, Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Wafāʾ, 1404 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, Tafsīr-i namūna, Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1385 Sh.
- Najm al-Dīn Kubrā, Aḥmad b. ʿUmar, al-Taʾwīlāt al-najmiyya fī l-tafsīr al-irshādī al-ṣūfī, Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1971.