Quran

Quran 3:103, hold firmly to the rope of Allah

Surah Al-Imran, ayah 103: "And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your..." Read it in Arabic with transliteration and the Sahih International translation, with the ayah before and after it, and listen to it recited.

3:102Before

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ ﴿١٠٢﴾

Yaaa ayyuhal lazeena aamanut taqul laaha haqqa tuqaatihee wa laa tamoontunna illaa wa antum muslimoon

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].

3:103This ayah

وَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِحَبْلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًۭا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا۟ ۚ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَآءًۭ فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِۦٓ إِخْوَٰنًۭا وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ ﴿١٠٣﴾

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

And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.

3:104After

وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌۭ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى ٱلْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ ۚ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ ﴿١٠٤﴾

Waltakum minkum ummatuny yad'oona ilal khairi wa yaamuroona bilma 'roofi wa yanhawna 'anil munkar; wa ulaaa'ika humul muflihoon

And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful.

Arabic: Tanzil, Uthmani script. English: Sahih International. Audio: EveryAyah. Transliteration is a learning aid; read from the Arabic when you can.

Meaning and lessons

What Quran 3:103 means, in brief

Hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not be divided. Remember Allah's favour on you when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together, so that by His favour you became brothers. Ibn Kathir reports that "the rope of Allah" is His covenant or the Quran, citing Ibn Masud, and that the ayah refers to the Aws and Khazraj of Madinah, who had fought for generations before Islam united them.

The ayat around it form one passage (3:102 to 105): fear Allah as He should be feared and die only as Muslims, hold together, let there be a group that calls to good, and do not be like those who split after clear proofs came to them. The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah is pleased for you that you worship Him without partners and hold together to His rope (Sahih Muslim 1715).

Summarised in our own words from Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Quran 3:103. Translation of the ayah: Sahih International.

Lessons from this ayah

  • The Quran is the rope that holds the community together.
  • Unity is a favour from Allah to be protected.
  • Old enmities can be healed by faith.

Where Quran 3:103 is in the mushaf

Ayah 103 of Surah Al-Imran (آلِ عِمۡرَانَ), "The Family of Imraan", surah 3 of the Quran, a Medinan surah of 200 ayat revealed in Madinah. It is in juz 4 (para 4), hizb 7, on page 63 of the standard Madinah mushaf. People search for it as 3/103, 3 103 or Quran 3 103.

Questions

Good to know

What does Quran 3:103 say?

And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided. (Sahih International)

What is Quran 3:103 about?

Hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not be divided. Remember Allah's favour on you when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together, so that by His favour you became brothers. Ibn Kathir reports that "the rope of Allah" is His covenant or the Quran, citing Ibn Masud, and that the ayah refers to the Aws and Khazraj of Madinah, who had fought for generations before Islam united them.

Which surah and juz is 3:103 in?

It is in Surah Al-Imran, surah 3 of the Quran, in juz 4 (para 4), on page 63 of the Madinah mushaf.

What comes before and after 3:103?

The ayah before, 3:102, says: "O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]." The ayah after, 3:104, says: "And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful."