The Correlation of Taqwa with Living Congregational Life,

By: Imaam Yakhsyallah Mansur

Imam Al-Ghazali said: the word taqwa in the Quran has three meanings, first, it means fear (haibah), second, it means obedience and worship, and third, it means cleansing the heart from sins.

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala in Surah Ali-Imran [3]: 103.

وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا ۚ وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ فَأَنْقَذَكُمْ مِنْهَا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

“And all of you hold on to the rope (religion) of Allah in congregation, and do not be divided, and remember Allah’s favor upon you when you were enemies (in the Jahiliyah period), so Allah united your hearts, then you became because of Allah’s favor, people who are brothers and you were on the edge of the abyss of hell, then Allah saved you from it. Thus Allah explains His verses to you, that you may be guided.”

The above verse instructs believers to hold on to the Quran and Sunnah while in congregation. This verse also forbids the believers from doing things that can plunge themselves into discord, division, conflict and enmity.

It was seen from the point of view of tanasubul verse was-suwar (correlation of verses in a surah in the Quran), this congregational order comes after the commandment of taqwa, this shows how close the relationship between taqwa and congregation is.

This verse also reminds believers to always remember the gift of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala which was given when they used to be enemies with each other before the arrival of Islam. In fact, they are easy to fight even if it is only a trivial matter, trivial and not principal things.

Then, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala unites the hearts of believers with Islam, so that thanks to His grace, the Muslims can become brothers.

Taqwa in the sense of carrying out His commands and leaving His prohibitions, followed by the command to live in congregation, and among the prohibitions in that verse is not to be divided.

In relation to these two verses, Ali Imran 102 and Ali Imran 103, Shaykh Abdurrahman bin Nasir As-Sa’di in “Tafsir As-Sa’di” explains, these verses contain Allah’s command to His servants, the believers, to give thanks for the great favors, fear Him with true piety, and so that they obey Him and leave disobedience sincerely. (www.tafsirweb.com/1235-quran-surat-ali-imran-verse-103.html).

Furthermore, so that they hold fast to the rope of Allah, namely the religion of Islam and His book by living in congregation, in one unit, led by an imam who is obeyed and does not fall apart.

All of that must be done with continuous istiqamah, and be consistent about it until they die, still holding on to the ropes of Islam, namely the Al-Quran and As-Sunnah.

Reinforcing this, in the Tafsir Ibn Kathir explained the content of Ali Imran 103, that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala ordered the believers to settle in Al-jamaah and forbade them to do firqah-firqah.

As in the hadith, the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wasallam.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَرْضَى لَكُمْ ثَلَاثًا، وَيَسْخَطُ لَكُمْ ثَلَاثًا، يَرْضَى لَكُمْ أَنْ تَعْبُدُوهُ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا، وَأَنْ تَعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا، وَأَنْ تُنَاصِحُوا مَنْ وَلَّاهُ اللَّهُ أَمْرَكُمْ، وَيَسْخَطُ لَكُمْ ثَلَاثًا: قِيلَ وَقَالَ، وَكَثْرَةَ السُّؤَالِ، وَإِضَاعَةَ الْمَالِ

Meaning: “Indeed, Allah is pleased with you in three matters and angry with you in three matters. Allah is pleased with you when you worship Him and you do not associate Him with anything, and if you all hold fast to Allah’s rope in congregation and do not fall apart, and if you advise one another with those who are authorized by Allah to take care of your matters. Allah is angry with you in three things, namely arguing a lot, asking a lot and wasting wealth.” (H.R. Muslim)

As for the relation with piety, in the sense of obedience in the life of Al-Jama’ah, among others, it is mentioned in the hadith:

مَنْ خَلَعَ يَدًا مِنْ طَاعَةٍ لَقِيَ اللَّهَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا حُجَّةَ لَهُ وَمَنْ مَاتَ وَلَيْسَ فِي عُنُقِهِ بَيْعَةٌ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً

“Whoever removes his hand from obedience, then he will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection without proof, and whoever dies with no bai’at on his shoulders, then he will die like the death of ignorance.” (H.R. Muslim).

So, to be able to realize real taqwa as the series of words of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala above is to realize life in congregation.

Islam is the only religion that invites brotherhood and unity and condemns division and discord. So the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam as the bearer of the message of Islam always directs his people to maintain unity (Al-Jama’ah) and stay away from disputes and divisions (Al-Firqah).

With the pattern of living in congregation, guided in one unit, Muslims will be able to feel the blessings of brotherhood. With a strong conscience, Muslims will be able to help the weak, oppressed and persecuted, uphold justice, create peace and free people from slavery and colonialism.

By living in congregation, Muslims will receive Allah’s instructions, as at the end of verse 103 above, that Allah’s guidance will be given to those who hold fast to the ropes of Allah’s religion in congregation.

In another hadith, the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:

اَلْجَمَاعَةُ رَحْمَةٌ وَ اْلفُرْقَةُ عَذَابٌ

“Al-Jamaah is a mercy and division is a punishment.” (HR. Ahmad).

Let us always maintain faith and taqwa, defend Islam until the end of life, face Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala in a state of surrender to His law, and can live within the framework of community life and stay away from division. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)