What is the Most Trustworthy Handhold?

The "firmest handhold" (al-urwah al-wuthqa) is mentioned in the Holy Quran in two verses: The first is in Surat al-Baqarah (2:256), describing those who grasp it as "whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah." The second is in Surat Luqman (31:22), describing those who grasp it as "whoever submits his face to Allah while being a doer of good."

It was also mentioned in the Sunnah in a hadith narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim, in which the Companion Abdullah ibn Salam recounts a vision that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, interpreted, making the firmest handhold a symbol of Islam and steadfastness upon it until death.

The pious predecessors interpreted the firmest handhold with similar meanings, including "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah), the Quran, faith, Islam, love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah. Ibn Kathir stated that all these sayings are correct and not contradictory. Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen indicated that it refers to Islam, which leads to Paradise.