وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ فَأَنْقَذَكُمْ مِنْهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ ﴿۱۰۳﴾ وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ ﴿۱۰۴﴾ وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَأُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿۱۰۵﴾
﴾103﴿ Wa'tasimoo bi Hablil laahi jamee'anw wa laa tafarraqoo; wazkuroo ni'matal laahi alaikum iz kuntum a'daaa'an fa allafa baina quloobikum fa asbah tum bini'matiheee ikhwaananw wa kuntum 'alaa shafaa hufratim minan Naari fa anqazakum minhaa; kazaalika yubaiyinul laahu lakum aayaatihee la'allakum tahtadoon
﴾104﴿ Waltakum minkum ummatuny yad'oona ilal khairi wa ya'muroona bil ma'roofi wa yanhawna 'anil munkar; wa ulaaa'ika humul muflihoon
﴾105﴿ Wa laa takoonoo kallazeena tafarraqoo wakhtalafoo mim ba'di maa jaaa'ahumul baiyinaat; wa ulaaa'ika lahum 'azaabun 'azeem
﴾103﴿ And all of you hold firmly to the rope of Allah, and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, and by His grace you became brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of fire, but He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes clear to you His commandments so that you may be guided.
﴾104﴿ And there should be a group among you who call towards good, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and it is they who will be successful.
﴾105﴿ And do not be like those who became divided and differed among themselves after clear commandments had come to them, and for such people there is a great punishment.
[103] This is the second principle, and its purpose is the reformation of the pillars of the community, so that discord and disputes do not arise. The point is that all should firmly adhere to the Noble Quran and the Sunnah of the Messenger (May Allah bless him and give him peace), and resolve their matters according to these two sources. There are two benefits in this: (1) enmity turns into friendship, and (2) you are saved from Hellfire. This was also the condition of the noble Companions (the Ansar).
[104] This is the third principle, and its purpose is the reformation of outsiders and the propagation and spreading of the true religion.
It means that there should be such a group that calls people to goodness, and this is a communal obligation (fard kifayah).
“Al-khayr” (the good) refers to the Noble Quran and the Sunnah.
“Bil-ma‘ruf” (what is right) means anything that is in accordance with the Quran and the Sunnah, with the first priority being tawhid (the Oneness of Allah), then the Sunnah.
“Al-munkar” (the evil) means anything that is against the Quran and the Sunnah, with the first being shirk (associating partners with Allah), then innovation (bid‘ah) and sinfulness (fisq).
“Ya’murūn” (they enjoin) is the explanation of “yad‘ūn” (they call).
This is proof that complete invitation (da‘wah) is not accomplished by only enjoining right or only forbidding wrong, but both must be done together.
[105] In this verse, it is indicated that if someone abandons the call to goodness, division and corruption will arise among that people, and it becomes a cause for great punishment.
“Like those who became divided and differed”—first, division in beliefs and opinions arises, and that leads to differences in actions and eventually conflict and fighting.
The example of this is the Jews and Christians.
Qurtubi has said that this verse includes all groups of innovators (those who introduce bid‘ah).