وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَى ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ فَٱخْتُلِفَ فِيهِ ۚ وَلَوْلَا كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَتْ مِن رَّبِّكَ لَقُضِىَ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَفِى شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مُرِيبٍ 110
Translations
And We had certainly given Moses the Scripture, but it came under disagreement. And if not for a word that preceded from your Lord, it would have been judged between them. And indeed they are, concerning it [i.e., the Qur’ān], in disquieting doubt.
Transliteration
Wa-laqad ātaynā Mūsā al-Kitāba fa-khtulifa fīh. Wa-lawlā kalimatun sabaqat min Rabbika la-qudiya baynahum. Wa-innahum la-fī shakkin minhu murīb.
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah granted Musa (Moses) the Torah, yet people disputed about it and fell into disagreement regarding its teachings and rulings. However, Allah's prior decree of respite (giving people time to believe and disbelieve) prevented immediate punishment for their rejection and discord. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the 'word that preceded' (kalimatun sabaqat) refers to Allah's established decree to delay the final judgment until the Day of Resurrection, allowing people free choice in their belief or disbelief. The ayah emphasizes that despite receiving clear divine guidance, the Children of Israel remained in grave doubt and uncertainty about the Torah's authenticity and applicability.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Hud (a Meccan surah), where Allah addresses the Prophet Muhammad and the Meccans by recounting the histories of previous prophets and their peoples' responses to divine guidance. The context illustrates the pattern of how past nations received the message, yet many rejected and disputed it—a parallel warning to the Quraysh who similarly rejected Muhammad's message despite its clarity.
Related Hadiths
This ayah relates thematically to the hadith in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet (ﷺ) mentions the disagreement among the Children of Israel: 'The Jews split into seventy-one sects, and the Christians split into seventy sects, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects.' This emphasizes the recurring pattern of sectarian division when people receive divine scripture.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that receiving divine guidance does not guarantee acceptance or unity—people's hearts, egos, and desires often lead them to dispute even the clearest truths. For modern believers, it serves as a humbling reminder to approach the Quran and Islamic knowledge with sincerity, free from preconceived biases, and to recognize that sectarian divisions often stem from prioritizing personal interpretations over submission to Allah's clear message.