Keeping to the “Rope” Of Allah

“Once, some people of Yemen came to Medina. The Prophet (sw) said: “They come to you gently.” When they came to the Prophet (sw), he said: “They are people of gentle hearts and deep-rooted faith. From among them, there will be al-Mansoor. He will come with seventy thousand soldiers. He will support my descendant and my guardian’s descendant. The sheaths of their swords are from musk.” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, who is your guardian?”
The Prophet (sw) said: “It is he, whom Allah has ordered you to keep to when He has said: (And hold fast by the covenant (rope) of Allah all together and be not disunited).” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, will you declare to us what this rope is?” He said: “It is the saying of Allah, ‘save (where they grasp) a rope from Allah and a rope from men.’ The rope from Allah is His Book and the rope from people is my guardian.” They asked: “O Messenger of Allah, who is your guardian?” He said: “It is he about whom Allah has revealed, ‘Lest a soul should say: O woe to me! For what I fell short of my duty to Allah.’” They asked: “O Messenger of Allah, what is this duty to Allah?” He said: “It is what Allah has said about, ‘And the day when the unjust one shall bite his hands saying: O! would that I had taken a way with the Messenger.’ It is my guardian and the way that leads to me.” They said: “O Messenger of Allah! By Him, Who has sent you with the truth, declare him to us. We are so eager to know who he is.” He said: “It is he, whom Allah has made as a sign for the true believers. If you look at him with a look of (him who has a heart, or gives ear with full intelligence), you will know that he is my guardian as you have known that I am your prophet. Go through the rows and stare at the faces then see towards whom your hearts incline. It will be him because Allah has said: (therefore make the hearts of some people yearn towards them). It means towards him and his progeny (as).” Then Abu Aamir al-Ash’ari, Abu Ghurra al-Khawlani, Dhabyan, Uthman bin Qays, Arana ad-Dousi and Lahiq Bin Alaqa from among their tribes went through the rows, stared at the faces and held the hand of the bald, stout man and said: “O Messenger of Allah, towards this man our hearts yearned.” The Prophet (sw) said: “You are the elite of Allah where you recognized the Prophet’s guardian before you have been told about him. How did you know that he was him?” They began crying and said: “O messenger of Allah, we looked at the people but our hearts did not incline to any of them. When we saw this man our hearts trembled and then our souls felt assured, our eyes shed tears and our chests became pleased as if he was our father and we were his children.” The Prophet (sw) recited: “But none knows its interpretation except Allah and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge.” You are near them in your good position and you are far away from Hell. These men remained loyal until they fought with Imam Ali (as) in the battles of al-Jamal (the camel) and Siffeen, in which they were martyred. May Allah have mercy upon them. The Prophet (sw) had brought them good news to be in Paradise and had predicted that they would have been martyred with Imam Ali (as).”

“One day the Prophet (S) was sitting with his companions in the mosque. He said: “A man will come to you from this gate. He will be one of the people of Paradise. He asks about what concerns him.” Then a tall man looking like the people of Mudhar came in. He advanced, greeted the Prophet (S) and sat down. He said: “O messenger of Allah, I have heard Allah saying in His Book: (And hold fast by the covenant (rope) of Allah all together and be not disunited). Then what is this “rope” that Allah has ordered us to keep to and not to separate from?” The Prophet (S) pondered long and then raised his head and pointed with his hand to Ali bin Abu Talib (as) saying: “This is the “rope” of Allah. He, who keeps to him, will be saved in his life and will not be deviant in his afterlife.” The man jumped and embraced Imam Ali (as). He said: “I have kept to the rope of Allah and the rope of His messenger.” Then he left. A man from among the people got up and said: “O messenger of Allah, do I follow after him and ask him to pray Allah to forgive me?” The Prophet (S) said: “Then you find him pleased.” He followed him and asked him to pray Allah for him. He said to him: “Did you understand what the Prophet (S) said to me and what I said to him?” He said: “Yes, I did.” He said: “If you keep to that rope, then Allah will forgive you; otherwise He will not forgive you.” If the Prophet (S) had not declared for us the rope of Allah that He had ordered us in His Book to keep to and not to separate from, then the opponents would have interpreted it according to their fancies and turned it away to other than what Allah and his messenger had meant. But the Prophet (S) had said in his speech he made in the mosque of al-Khayf during the last hajj (farewell hajj): “I shall precede you (to Paradise) and you will come to me at the pond, whose width is as between Busra and San’aa. It has cups as much as the stars of the sky. I have left to you the two weighty things; the great one is the Qur’an and the minor one is my family. They both are the rope of Allah. It is extended between you and Almighty Allah. If you keep to it, you will never go astray at all. One of its ends is in the hand of Allah and the other is in your hands.” It has this addition according to another tradition: “The Most Kind has told me that they will not separate until they come to me at the pond (of Paradise) together like these two forefingers. (He gathered his two fingers).” The same was narrated by Abdul Wahid bin Abdullah bin Younus al-Moossili from Muhammad bin Ali bin Ibraheem bin Hashim from his father from his grandfather from Muhammad bin Abu Omayr from Hammad bin Eessa from Hurayz from Abu Abdullah Ja’far bin Muhammad bin Ali (as-Sadiq) from his father from his forefathers from Imam Ali (as). Also it was narrated by Abdul Wahid bin Abdullah from Muhammad bin Ali from his father from his grandfather from al-Hasan bin Mahboob and al-Hasan bin Ali bin Fadhdhal from Ali bin Aqaba from Abu Abdullah (Imam as-Sadiq). And the same was narrated by Abdul Wahid bin Muhammad bin Ali from his father from his grandfather from al-Hasan bin Mahboob from Ali bin Ri’ab from Abu Hamza ath-Thimali from Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Ali al-Baqir (as). The holy Qur’an always has been with Ahlul Bayt and they always have been with the holy Qur’an. They both are the rope of Allah. They never separate as the Prophet (S) has told. This is an evidence for any one, whom Allah has guided to His true religion, showing that whoever resorts to other than the holy Qur’an and Ahlul Bayt, whom Allah has made the guardians after the Prophet (S) and made obeying them as one of the necessary obligations of religion, in looking for knowledge and orders of the Qur’an and all the religious affairs, definitely will go astray and perish and cause others to perish. Ahlul Bayt were those, whom the Prophet (S) had offered as the highest examples to his umma. He said: “My family to you is like the Ark of Noah. Whoever rides on it will be safe and whoever lags behind it will drown.” He also said: “The example of my family to you is like the Gate of Forgiveness of the Israelites. Whoever enters it his sins will be forgiven and will deserve mercy and blessing of Allah.” Allah has said: “…And enter the gate making obeisance, and say, forgiveness. We will forgive you your wrongs and give more to those who do good (to others).” Imam Ali (as) said in one of his speeches: “The knowledge that Adam has brought from the Heaven to the earth and all the virtues of the prophets until the last of them, Prophet Muhammad, have been granted to Ahlul Bayt. So whereto do you go astray? Where do you go, O you, who have been derived from the people of the Ark? As some only had been saved there, here also some only will be saved. Woe to one, who opposes them (the infallible imams).” He also said: “We, to you, are like the cave to the People of the Cave and like the Gate of Forgiveness, which is the gate of peace. So be in peace all of you.” He also said through his speech: “The loyal companions of Muhammad are certain that he has said: “I and my family are infallible. Do not precede them in order not to go astray, do not lag behind them in order not to fall in mistakes, do not object to them in order not to be ignorant and do not teach them because they are much more aware than you. They are the most aware when young and the most aware when old. Follow the truth and its people wherever they are and be far away from the untruth and its people wherever they are.” But unfortunately people brushed all that aside. They considered the orders of the Prophet (S) as ridiculous and raving. They refused to follow those, whom Allah and His messengers had ordered to be obeyed. Allah said: “So, ask the followers of the reminder if you do not know.” “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you.” The Prophet (S) confirmed many times that safety was bound by keeping to Ahlul Bayt, doing according to their sayings, submitting to their orders, learning from them and walking in their path; nevertheless people resorted to others than them and ascribed their virtues to those others. They became pleased with those others and so Allah deprived them from the true knowledge. They began to interpret according to their fancies and analogies and they became satisfied with their own minds away from the guidance of Allah, His messenger and the infallible imams, whom Allah had appointed to be the guides for His people. When they brushed all that aside and depended on their own opinions, Allah left them to stray in confusion and deviation and consequently they perished and caused others to perish. Allah said: “Say: Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in (their) deeds. (These are) they whose labor is lost in this world’s life and they think that they are well versed in skill of the work of hands.” As if people had not heard the saying of Allah: “And the day when the unjust one shall bite his hands saying: O! would that I had taken a way with the Messenger. O woe is me! would that I had not taken such a one for a friend.” So was that “messenger” but Muhammad (as)? And who was that “one” mentioned in the verse? Immediately after that Allah said: “Certainly he led me astray from the reminder after it had come to me.” It meant after acknowledging Islam and becoming a Muslim. Then what was that “reminder” which that one’s friend had led him astray from? Was it not the holy Qur’an and Ahlul Bayt? Allah had called the Prophet (S) as “reminder” when He said: “Allah has indeed revealed to you a reminder; a messenger.” And when He said: “So, ask the followers of the reminder if you do not know.” Was the “reminder” mentioned in the verse but the Prophet (S)? And who were the “followers of the reminder” save the Prophet’s family? Then Allah said: “…And the Satan fails to aid man.” Definitely the Satan would lead his followers away from the “reminder” and then they would lose in this life and the afterlife. Allah said expressing the Prophet’s situation: “And the Messenger cried out: O my Lord! surely my people have treated this Qur’an as a forsaken thing.” They became indifferent to the Qur’an, to which and to Ahlul Bayt Allah had ordered them to keep. Did this blame not concern the people, to whom the Qur’an had been revealed? Did it not concern the people of this umma, who had wronged their Prophet’s family and left the Qur’an aside? It was they, whom the Prophet (S) would witness against on the Day of Resurrection for they had preferred the pleasures of this life to their religion out of doubting Muhammad (as) and envying his family because Allah had favored them with great excellences. The Prophet (S) said: “On the Day of Resurrection, some of my companions will quiver right and left. I will say: O my God, they are my companions. It will be said: O Muhammad, you do not know what they have committed after you. Then I will say: Away with them! Away with them!” Allah confirmed this by saying: “And Muhammad is no more than a messenger; the messengers have already passed away before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels will by no means do harm to Allah in the least and Allah will reward the grateful.” This verse had a certain evidence that there would be some people, who would turn back on their heels after the death of the Prophet (S) and who would deny the orders of Allah and His messenger. Allah said: “…Then let those beware who withstand the Messenger’s order, lest some trial befall them, or a grievous penalty be inflicted on them.” Allah would double torment and disgrace for those, who wronged the Prophet’s family and deprived them of their rights and who changed the orders of Allah when He ordered that they (the Prophet’s family) were to be obeyed, loved and taken as guides. Allah said: “Say: No reward do I ask of you for this except the love of those near of kin.” “… Is then He Who gives guidance to truth more worthy to be followed, or he who finds not guidance (himself) unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you? How judge ye?” The true believers of the umma had agreed upon that Imam Ali (as) was the guardian of the Prophet (S). He guided the companions to the truth often and always and none of them ever guided him. They all were in need of him but he was not in need of any of them. He knew and taught all kinds of knowledge but none of them ever taught him a bit. They did wrong to Fatima, the infallible Prophet’s daughter, to a degree that she (as) recommended in her will to be buried secretly at night and that none of her father’s umma was to offer the prayer (prayer for the dead) for her except those few ones she had mentioned. If there was no calamity in the history of Islam bringing shame and disgrace other than the calamity of Fatima (sa) until she left to the better world angry with her father’s umma leaving her bitter will that no one was to attend her burial except very few loyal companions, it would be sufficient evidence for the ignorant and for those, whose hearts were sealed, to see what a great sin they had committed when they wronged Fatima, her husband and her sons (peace be upon them) and when they preferred the oppressors to the Prophet’s family, who were the elite of Allah. Allah said: “For surely it is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts which are in the breasts.” This blindness will cling to the enemies of the Prophet’s family until the Day of Resurrection. Allah said: “Certainly you were heedless of it, but now We have removed from you your veil, so your sight today is sharp.” “The day on which their excuse shall not benefit the unjust, and for them is curse and for them is the evil abode.” Then how odd it was when those blind and deaf people pretended that the holy Qur’an had not had all things about the obligations and the laws needed by people; therefore when they did not find all things, they used their analogies in deriving the laws and they fabricated lies and ascribed them to the Prophet (S) that he had permitted them to do according to their own derivations whereas Allah had said in His Book: “… And We have revealed the Book to you explaining clearly everything.” “We have not neglected anything in the Book.” “And We have recorded everything in a clear writing.” “And We have recorded everything in a book.” “I do not follow aught save that which is revealed to me.” “And that you should judge between them by what Allah has revealed.” One, who says that something of the affairs of this life and the afterlife, the laws of religion, the obligations and everything that people need is not available in the Qur’an, about which Allah has said, “… and We have revealed the Book to you explaining clearly everything,” refutes the saying of Allah, ascribes lying to Allah and does not believe in His Book. By Allah, they showed the reality of themselves and of the imams, whom they imitated, when they said that they had not found everything in the Qur’an because they were not among the people of the Qur’an nor among those, who had been given the knowledge of the Qur’an nor had Allah and His messenger given them a share of that because Allah had granted all the knowledge of the Qur’an to the Prophet’s family, who were the trustees, the heirs and the interpreters of the Qur’an. If they submitted to the order of Allah when saying: “…And if they had referred it to the Messenger and to those in authority among them, those among them who can search out the knowledge of it would have known it.” “So ask the followers of the reminder if you do not know.” Allah would get them to the light of guidance, would teach them what they had not known and would make them not need analogy or derivation according to their own opinions and then the differences between the laws of religion would disappear and they would not need to ascribe fabricated traditions to the Prophet (S) claiming that the Prophet (S) had permitted it (deciding according to one’s analogy) whereas the Qur’an had prohibited it when saying: “And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many a discrepancy.” “And be not like those who separated and disputed after clear arguments had come to them.” “And hold fast by the covenant (rope) of Allah all together and be not disunited.” The Qur’anic verses talking about disagreement and separation are innumerable. Disagreement and separation in religion lead to deviation. Nevertheless they permitted that and claimed that the Prophet (S) had permitted it whereas Allah had prohibited it by saying: “And be not like those who separated and disputed after clear arguments had come to them.” Is there something clearer than this? Do people have any excuse before Allah after that? We pray Allah not to let us go astray and not to let us submit to our minds and fancies in deciding the matters of our religion. We pray Him to firm our guidance and faith, to keep to His guardians, to do according to what they have ordered and to refrain from what they have prohibited in order to meet Him with our faith and loyalty. We pray Him not to let us precede His guardians nor lag behind them for he, who precedes them, will apostatize, who lags behind them will drown, who opposes them will perish and who keeps to them will succeed as the Prophet (S) has said.