2/256 — "There is no compulsion in religion"
إِكْرَاه — root ك-ر-ه: to dislike. A verbal noun of Form IV: to make someone do what he dislikes, to compel.
The construction of the sentence must be recorded: the lā here is the lā that negates the genus (lā nāfiya li'l-jins). Not "let there be a little compulsion": the very category of compulsion is removed.
And the ground comes immediately afterwards: qad tabayyana'r-rushdu mina'l-ghayy — "right guidance has been distinguished from error."
| Word | Root | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| رُشْد | ر-ش-د | Finding the right way, maturity, hitting the mark |
| غَىّ | غ-و-ي | Going off the way in pursuit of desire |
The logic of the ground is plain: if the distinction is in the open, there is no need for compulsion. Compulsion is needed only where the way to choice is blocked.
فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱلطَّٰغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱسْتَمْسَكَ بِٱلْعُرْوَةِ ٱلْوُثْقَىٰ — "he has taken hold of the firmest handle."
عُرْوَة — the part of a vessel or a garment by which it is held, a handle. وُثْقَىٰ — the feminine of awthaq: the firmest, what does not break.
The comparison is concrete: that what is held to does not break comes not from the strength of the one holding but from the firmness of the handle. And the verb is istamsaka — Form X: to hold on firmly of one's own accord. There is no one compelling in the sentence; there is one holding on.
لَا ٱنفِصَامَ لَهَا — "there is no breaking in it." The root ف-ص-م: a thing's cracking, coming apart, without breaking off. The lexicographers record the difference between faṣm and qaṣm: one is a complete breaking off, the other a crack without separation. The verse denies even the finer of the two.