فَٱخْتَلَفَ ٱلْأَحْزَابُ مِنۢ بَيْنِهِمْ ۖ فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن مَّشْهَدِ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ 37
Translations
Then the factions differed [concerning Jesus] from among them, so woe to those who disbelieved - from the scene of a tremendous Day.
Transliteration
Fakhtalafa al-ahzabu min baynahum fa-waylun lilladhina kafaroo min mashadi yawmin adheem
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes how the religious groups (sects and communities) became divided regarding Jesus (Isa), with each group adhering to their own interpretation. The ayah then issues a stern warning of destruction and ruin (wail) for those who disbelieved on the Day of Resurrection, a day of immense significance and majesty. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir emphasize that the 'groups' (ahzab) refer to the Jews, Christians, and others who disputed about the nature of Jesus, and the warning applies particularly to those who rejected the truth about him and Allah's oneness.
Revelation Context
This ayah concludes the narrative about Jesus (Isa) and his mother Mary in Surah Maryam, a Meccan surah that addresses the polytheists of Mecca and clarifies Islamic doctrine about Jesus. The context addresses the theological divisions that arose among people regarding Jesus's identity and nature—his miraculous birth, his humanity, and his role as a messenger—divisions that persist among different faiths and sects.
Related Hadiths
The hadith of the Seventy-Three Sects narrated in Jami' at-Tirmidhi relates to divisions in the Ummah. Additionally, Sahih Muslim contains hadith about the Day of Judgment being a great and awesome day, emphasizing the severity of standing before Allah unprepared.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that disagreement and division on fundamental truths have serious consequences, and that the ultimate accountability on the Day of Judgment is with Allah alone. It encourages Muslims to hold firm to the clear teachings about Jesus and other matters of faith while warning against arrogance in disbelief.
Related Ayahs
إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ يَـٰٓأَبَتِ لِمَ تَعْبُدُ مَا لَا يَسْمَعُ وَلَا يُبْصِرُ وَلَا يُغْنِى عَنكَ شَيْـًٔا
[Mention] when he said to his father, "O my father, why do you worship that which does not hear and does not see and will not benefit you at all?
وَٱذْكُرْ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ إِدْرِيسَ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ صِدِّيقًا نَّبِيًّا
And mention in the Book, Idrees. Indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet.
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى وَهَنَ ٱلْعَظْمُ مِنِّى وَٱشْتَعَلَ ٱلرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا وَلَمْ أَكُنۢ بِدُعَآئِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا
He said, "My Lord, indeed my bones have weakened, and my head has filled with white, and never have I been in my supplication to You, my Lord, unhappy [i.e., disappointed].
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ مِن ذُرِّيَّةِ ءَادَمَ وَمِمَّنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّةِ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَإِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ وَمِمَّنْ هَدَيْنَا وَٱجْتَبَيْنَآ ۚ إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ خَرُّوا۟ سُجَّدًا وَبُكِيًّا ۩
Those were the ones upon whom Allāh bestowed favor from among the prophets of the descendants of Adam and of those We carried [in the ship] with Noah, and of the descendants of Abraham and Israel [i.e., Jacob], and of those whom We guided and chose. When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell in prostration and weeping.