Al-Baqara • EN-AL-QUSHAIRI-TAFSIR
﴿ لَآ إِكْرَاهَ فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ ٱلرُّشْدُ مِنَ ٱلْغَىِّ ۚ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱلطَّٰغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱسْتَمْسَكَ بِٱلْعُرْوَةِ ٱلْوُثْقَىٰ لَا ٱنفِصَامَ لَهَا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴾
“THERE SHALL BE no coercion in matters of faith. Distinct has now become the right way from [the way of] error: hence, he who rejects the powers of evil and believes in God has indeed taken hold of a support most unfailing, which shall never give way: for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.”
There is no compulsion in religion. The arguments are clear and the proofs plain and evident. Rectitude has become clear from error; The night is distinguished by its darkness from the day and its light. The eternal truths ḥuqūq [of the Real] are given facts while the basic limits ḥudūd [of created things] are subject to other causes. [The truths of the Real] are [known] through the property of timeless eternity naʿt al-qidam while [the limits of created things] are [known] through the attribute of privation waṣf al-ʿadam. so whoever disbelieves in the false deity The false deity is anything that distracts one from his Lord. and believes in God Belief is the life of the heart ḥayāt al-qalb through God. has laid hold of the most firm handle Laying hold of the most firm handle is holding to the command and pro- hibition al-amr wa-l-nahy which is traveling the path of al-MuṣṬafā ﷺ. unbreaking; God is Hearing Knowing. Anyone who realizes the truth of it inwardly and holds to it outwardly will win in the two abodes and will be happy in both worlds.