Luqmān 31:22 commentary

31/22

وَمَن يُسْلِمْ وَجْهَهُۥٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَقَدِ ٱسْتَمْسَكَ بِٱلْعُرْوَةِ ٱلْوُثْقَىٰ

"Whoever surrenders his face to God while doing good has taken hold of the firmest handle."

A construct shared with al-Baqara

The construct al-ʿurwa al-wuthqā was analysed in detail at 2/256 in al-Baqara: ʿurwa — the part of a vessel or a garment by which it is held; wuthqā — the firmest. And what was recorded there can be carried over here: what is taken as decisive is not the strength of the one who holds on but the firmness of the handle. I do not repeat it.

The conditions in the two verses differ, and the difference must be recorded:

Place	The condition for taking hold of the handle
al-Baqara 2/256	Man yakfur bi'ṭ-ṭāghūti wa yuʾmin bi'llāh — to reject and to believe
Luqmān 31/22	Man yuslim wajhahu ila'llāhi wa huwa muḥsin — to surrender and to do good

In al-Baqara two acts of belief; in Luqmān a surrender and a deed. I record this as my own reading: the same result is reached by two separate paths, and the two complete one another.

يُسْلِمْ وَجْهَهُ — "to surrender one's face". In Arabic the face is used for the person himself and for the direction he turns towards. The same construct occurred at 2/112 in al-Baqara; I rely on that treatment.