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wa-man yuslim wajhahū ʾilā llāhi wa-huwa muḥsinun fa-qadi stamsaka bi-l-ʿurwati l-wuthqā wa-ʾilā llāhi ʿāqibatu l-ʾumūri
Whoever surrenders his heart to Allah and is virtuous, has certainly held fast to the firmest handle, and with Allah lies the outcome of all matters.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Luqman – Verse 22
22. “And whoever submits himself (truly) to Allah and he be a doer of good, he indeed has taken hold of the firmest hand-hold (a rope); and unto Allah is the end of all affairs.”
Submitting oneself to anything other than Allah is slavery and captivity, but submitting one’s self to Allah is freedom, growth and development. That is why the Qur’an in this verse implies that the one who submits his heart and soul to Allah and obeys His commandments while he is a good doer, he has grasped a firm hand-hold. The verse says:
The purpose of the Qur’anic phrase /yuslim wajhahu ’ilallah/ (submits himself (truly) to Allah) is, in fact, an implicit indication to a perfect attention wholly to the Pure Essence of Allah, because the word /wajh/ (face) has ironically been used for His Essence for the sake that the face is the most honoured part of the body and it is the centre of the most important senses of a person. The application of the Qur’anic phrase /huwa muhsinun/ (he is a doer of good) is of the kind of mentioning ‘righteous deed’ next to ‘faith’.
The Qur’anic phrase: ‘Having taken hold of the firmest hand-hold’ is a tender simile from this fact that for being delivered from the depth of the valley of materials and elevating to the highest peak of knowledge, and spirituality man needs a firm and certain true means. This means is not anything but faith and righteous deed. Except this, all other things are not reliable and will be the cause of fall and death. Moreover, it is only this mean that remains and all other means are perishing, so, at the end of the verse, the Qur’an says:
There is a tradition recorded in Tafsir-i-Burhan, cited by the Sunnites, saying that it has been narrated from Imam Ali-ibn-Mus-ar-Rida (as) from the Prophet of Islam (S) who said:
“'After me there will be a dark sedition. Only those can deliver from it who take hold of the firmest handhold.”
Then it was said what the firmest handhold was, and he said:
“It is the mastership of sayyid-ul-Wasiyyin.”
They said:
“O’ Messenger of Allah! Who is this Sayyid-ul-Wasiyyin?”
He answered:
“Amir-ul-Mu’minin!”
They asked:
“O’ Messenger of Allah! Who is Amir-ul-Mu’minin?’
He answered:
“(He is) the master of the Muslims and their leader after me.”
They asked:
“O’ Messenger of Allah! Who is the master of the Muslims and their leader after you?”
He answered:
“(He is) my brother, Ali-ibn-’Abitalib (as)”
There have been narrated some other traditions in this field, too, indicating that the purpose of /‘urwatul-wuθqa/ is the friendship of Ahlul Bayt (as), or the friendship of the progeny of Muhammad (S), or the friendship of the Imams out of the descendants of Imam Husayn (as). We have repeatedly said that these interpretations are the statement of some clear expansions, and they do not contrast with other expansions, such as: Monotheism, piety, and the like.