The leader of the People's Partnership Madam Kamla Persad Bessesser in her Homecoming speach tonight; Saturday 19th October 2013, quoted an Ayah from the Quran; Ayah 3:103. This Ayah was indeed taken out of context. Following is a proper explanation of the Ayah in context with today's َpolitical landscape.َ
"And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Quran), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah's Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided." (Quran 3:103).
Meaning; they should remain steadfast in their obedience and loyalty to God Almighty.
The expression 'cable of Allah', in this verse, refers to the 'religion of God Almighty'. The reason for use of the word 'cable' (habl) is that it both establishes a bond between man and God Almighty and joins all believers together. To take a firm hold on this cable means that the believers should attach profound importance to their religion (Islam): This should always be the centre of their concerns; they should continually strive to establish it; and the common desire to serve it should make them co-operate with each other.
As soon as Muslims turn their attentions away from the fundamental teachings of their religion and lose sight of establishing its hegemony in life they begin to concern themselves with matters of secondary importance. And, just as they rent the communities of the former Prophets, enticing people away from their true objective in life, so schisms and dissensions are bound to plague their lives. If Muslims do this they are bound to suffer indignity and disgrace both in this world and the Next as happened with the followers of the previous Prophets.
This refers to the state of the Arabs on the eve of the advent of Islam. There were animosities among the tribes which regularly broke out into fighting; every now and then there was much bloodshed. Things had reached a point that the entire Arabian nation seemed to be on the verge of destroying itself. It was due to the blessings of Islam alone that it was saved from being consumed by the fire to which this verse alludes. The people of Madina had embraced Islam some three or four years before these verses were revealed. They had witnessed the blessing of Islam as it unified into one brotherhood the Aws and Khazraj, two tribes which had long been sworn enemies. Moreover, both tribes treated the migrants from Makka in a spirit of sacrifice and love seldom seen even among members of the same family.
If they had eyes to see they could conclude for themselves whether their salvation lay in adhering firmly to this religion or in abandoning it and reverting to their former state; i.e. decide whether their true well-wishers were God Almighty and His Messenger or those Jews, polytheists and hypocrites who strove to plunge them back into their former state.
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