Explanation of "And hold fast to the rope of Allaah, all of you together, and do not split and divide ... (3:105)"
Firstly: The true meaning of this verse in accordance with the tafseer (exegesis) of the Salaf us-Salih is the following:
that the rope of Allaah is the Qu'ran.
that the rope of Allaah is Islam.
that the rope of Allaah is the Jamaa'ah.
that the rope of Allaah is His covenant (i.e. to worship Him alone) and His Command (i.e. His Sharee'ah)
that the rope of Allaah is singling Him out with Tawheed in all sincerity.
Thus the meaning of this verse is to adhere to the Qur'aan, the Jamaa'ah, the Covenant of Allaah, and to the Tawheed of Allaah with sincerity. Refer to Tafseer at-Tabaree.
Some of the narrations from at-Tabaree regarding this verse:
Abdullaah bin Mas'ood: "It is the Jamaa'ah"
Qataadah: "The Rope of Allaah regarding which He ordered adherence to is this Qur'an"
As-Sudee: "As for the Rope of Allaah it is the Qur'an".
'Ataa: "The covenant (al-ahd)".
Abul-Aaliyah: "Hold fast to sincerity to Allaah alone"
As for the saying of Allaah: "And do not split and divide":
At-Tabaree says: "Do not split and divide from Allaah's religion and covenant which He has made binding upon you in His Book of harmony and unity upon His obedience and obedience of the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) and ending only at his command ... and Abul-Aaliyah said: "Do not harbour enmity over it" he says over sincerity to Allaah, and be brothers upon it".
And then at-Tabaree quotes the hadeeth of iftiraaq, the splitting of the Ummah into sects. Anas bin Malik reports that the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said: Indeed Bani Israil split into seventy-two sects and indeed my ummah will split into seventy-two sects, all of them are in the Fire except for one. He said: It was said "O Messenger of Allaah, which is this one?". He then grabbed his hand and said, "al-Jamaa'ah".
Sidenote
And Ishaaq ibn Raahawaayah (d.238), the teacher of Imaam Bukhaare, said: "If you were to ask the ignorant people about the Great Majority they would say: The majority of people. They do not know that al-Jamaa'ah is the Scholar who clings to the narrations from the Prophet and his way. So whoever is with him (the scholar) and follows him, then he is al-Jamaa'ah" Reported by Abu Nu'aym in Hilyat ul-Awliyaah.
And Imaam ash-Shaatibee (d. 790H) said:"So consider what he (Ishaaq bin Raahawaih) quotes and it will then be clear to you the error of those who think that the Jamaa'ah is the main body or the majority of people, even if there is no scholar amongst them. This is the understanding of the common people - not the understanding of the Scholars. So the person who desires right guidance in this matter should place his feet firmly in those places where slips occur, so that he does not deviate from the correct way - and there is no well-being and correct guidance except from Allaah" Al-I'tisaam (2/267)
Ibn Katheer says, "And they were made to fear splitting and differing, and that has occurred in this Ummah. They have split into seventy-three seects amongst them is just one that is delivered to Paradise and saved from the punishment of the Fire, and they are the ones who are upon what the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) and his companions were upon."
And al-Qurtubee says in his tafseer of this verse, "Abul-Faraj al-Jawzee said: "If it is said that these sects are well known, then the the answer is that we know the splitting and the foundations of the sects, and that every sect has further divided into more sects, even if we do not know the names of those sects and their madhaahib. For the usool (foundations) of the sects of the Harooriyyah, the Qadariyyah, the Jahmiyyah, the Murji'ah, the Raafidah and the Jabariyyah are apparent to us". [al-Qurtubi continues] And some of the people of knowledge have said, "The foundation of the astray sects are these six sects", and each sect has divided into 12 sects, and thus they became seventy-two sects."
Secondly: It is known that the Qur'an is explained by the Qur'an and thus other verses in the Qur'an help us to understand this issue further. Allah the Most High says, "And this is my Straight Path so follow it and do not follow the other paths lest they divert you away from His Path" (6:153).
Imaam us-Shaatibee said:
quote:
The `Siraat ul-Mustaqeem? (Straight Path) is the path to which Allaah has called and that is the Sunnah. And `Subul (other paths) are the paths of the people of disagreement who turn away from the Straight Path, and they are the People of Innovation. And the intent here is not the `paths of disobedience? because no one makes disobedience a path that he continuously treads upon - in imitation of and resemblance to the legislation, but rather this description is specifically for the invented innovations.
And what Ismaa?eel has narrated from Sulaimaan bin Harb gives evidence to this: ?Hammaad bin Zaid narrated to us from `Aasim bin Bahdalah from Abu Waa?il from Abdullaah [Ibn `Abbaas] who said: `One Day the Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) drew for us a long, straight line? and then Sulaimaan drew for us a long, straight line, `and then he drew lines to its right and to its left and then said: This is the Path of Allaah. Then he drew lines to its right and to its left and said: These are different paths, upon each of these ways is a devil calling to it?, and then he recited the verse:
And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths? [Al-An?aam 6:153]
meaning these paths
?for they will separate you away from His Path Al-An?aam 6:153]
Bikr bin `Alaa said: ?He meant the devils amongst men and these are the innovations and Allaah knows best.
... And Mujaahid said about the saying of Allaah:
...and follow not (other) paths [Al-An?aam 6:153]
"The innovations and doubts."
And ash-Shaatibee says about the verse in al-An'aam (6:159), "This is a verse that was revealed - according to the Mufassireen - regarding the people of innovations" (al-I'tisaam 3/167) and ash-Shaatibee also said regarding the same verse, "Verily those who split their religion and become sects ...", he said, "So he made this division related to the religion, and the word "deen (religion)" includes beliefs (aqaa'id) and other than them". (al-I'tisaam 3/174).
And Ibn Katheer said about this verse, "And what is apparent is that the verse is general regarding everyone who separated from the deen of Allaah and became opposed to it. For Allah sent His Messenger with the guidance and true religion to make it prevail over all other religions and His legislation is one, there is no differing therein, and nor division. Thus whoever differed regarding it and became parties, meaning sects, such as the various beliefs, creeds, desires and misguidances, then Allah the Most High, has freed the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) from that which they are upon..."
At Tabaree quotes:
Abu Hurairah: "This verse was revealed regarding this Ummah".
Abu Hurairah: "They are the people of misguidance".
And he [at-Tabaree] also says about the end of this verse, "Verily their affair is with Allaah", He says, ""He [Allah] says: I am the one to whom will come the affair of those mushriks who separated from their religion and became sects, and the innovators from your ummah who deviated your way, as opposed to (coming to) you and anyone else."
And al-Qurtubee said: "And everyone who innovated and came with that which Allah has not commanded has split his religion."
And al-Baghawee said regarding this verse: "They are the people of innovations and desires" (Sharh us-Sunnah 1/210).
In fact, all of the verses that prohibit splitting and differing are of this meaning in accordance with the tafseer of the Salaf, those most knowledgeable of the intended meanings and applications of the verses of the Qur'aan.
Thirdly: It is now established from the above (and the quotations in this regard from the mufassireen, the ulamaa' and the salaf in general are numerous) that the meanings of the above verses are summarised as follows: That we are commanded to hold onto the deen of Allaah which is His Book, His Tawheed, His Commands, obedience to Him and His Messenger, to adhere to the Jamaa'ah which is whoever is upon the truth, to not split and differ in the religion (i.e. in religious issues in the beliefs and foundations of the religion) and that those who do so are the people of innovations and desires who are to be shunned and avoided, and that unity is only based upon the Rope of Allaah and freedom from all that opposes it from the innovations, doubts, desires, sects and groups.
This is the meaning that has been transmitted from the Sahaabah, the Taabi'een, their followers and those following upon their path.
http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=6237&srow=21&erow=40
Ibn Jawzi in Talbees Iblees p.371 said that ash-Shaf'ee said,
"The sanity of a person never returned to the one who continued to stay with a Sufi for 40 days."