The Rope: One of the Names of the Quran

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) said that among the names of the Quran is "al-Ḥabl (the Rope): ﴿And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together﴾ [Al Imran: 103]; in the tafsir: it is the Quran, and it was named this only because the one who holds fast to it in the matters of his religion is delivered by it from the punishment of the Hereafter and the torment of this world, just as the one who clings to a rope is saved from drowning and perils; and from this the Prophet ﷺ called it a safeguard, saying: ”“This Quran is a safeguard for whoever holds fast to it” “ because it safeguards people from sins."

I say: A rope is used for pulling, pushing, and hauling, and it is used for rescue and relief, and the Quran pulls you to Allah, pulls you along, even if a person does not want guidance and resists it; for merely holding onto one end of it (even a little reading and listening) keeps pulling him and pushing him up from the depths of the well of sins, darkness, and ignorance until it raises him, little by little, to the heaven of close allegiance to Allah and piety, and complete knowledge, virtue, and elevation in the first life and the Hereafter.

And it is the confirmation of the authentic hadith:

“I am leaving among you that which, if you hold fast to it, you will never go astray after me, one of them greater than the other: the Book of Allah, a rope extended from the heaven to the earth, and my family, the people of my household; and they will not separate until they come to me at the Pond, so look at how you will succeed me regarding them”

And this rope is the means by which one is given victory in this world and the Hereafter, and the evidence is the saying of the Exalted (Whoever should think that Allah will not support him in this world and the Hereafter, let him extend a rope (sabab) to the sky)

And the sabab is the rope according to most exegetes. And the rope is the Quran, by which the one who clings to it is given victory in this world and the Hereafter, and whoever cuts it, Allah leads him astray.

And reflect on his saying “so look at how you will succeed me (takhlufūnī) regarding them,” where he used the vocabulary of succession and appointing successors, while the Quran used derivatives of inheritance and heritage (Then We caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants).

It is the inheritance of prophethood left to us (how you will succeed me regarding them). So look at how your state is with it! And set it right, set it right.

— Shoroog Almehmadi