Ash-Shuraa · Makki · ayah 14 of 53

Ash-Shuraa 42:14

وَمَا تَفَرَّقُوٓا۟ إِلَّا مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَهُمُ ٱلْعِلْمُ بَغْيًۢا بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ وَلَوْلَا كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَتْ مِن رَّبِّكَ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى لَّقُضِىَ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أُورِثُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ لَفِى شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مُرِيبٍ

“And they did not become divided until after knowledge had come to them - out of jealous animosity between themselves. And if not for a word[1413] that preceded from your Lord [postponing the penalty] until a specified time, it would have been concluded between them. And indeed, those who were granted inheritance of the Scripture after them are, concerning it, in disquieting doubt.”

Saheeh International

Essence

People split apart not for lack of knowledge but out of rivalry, and those who inherit a scripture without living it inherit restless doubt.

A reflection

They knew, and they split anyway

The ayah says something uncomfortable. People did not divide because they lacked knowledge. They divided after knowledge had reached them. The commentaries say what knowledge: that division is misguidance and corruption, warned against on the tongues of the prophets. They knew, and they split anyway.

Why? One word: baghyan, out of rivalry among themselves. An early commentator explains it as envy, hostility and the pursuit of this world. One classical reader is more specific. Pride and the love of leadership drove each faction to found its own school. Each called people to it and condemned the rest, seeking fame and position.

This is one of the most honest diagnoses of human conflict anywhere. We like to think our disagreements are about principle. Often they are about who gets the credit.

Picture a band of four friends who started in a garage and became successful. Ten years in, they split over songwriting credits. Each side forms a new band and gives interviews about "creative differences". Fans take sides. But all four know the songs came out of the same garage on the same afternoons. The split was never about the music.

Religious communities are not immune. Groups that share the same Qur'an, the same prayer and the same Prophet ﷺ can end up refusing to pray in each other's mosques. The ayah suggests asking a hard question whenever we feel the pull to separate. Is this division about truth, or about who leads?

Knowledge, it turns out, is not enough to keep people together. Knowledge can even become a weapon in the rivalry. What keeps people together is humility: the willingness not to be first.

If you find yourself in a split, ask honestly what you would lose if the other side were right. If the answer is mostly status, the ayah has already named your motive. That is painful to hear, and it is also the beginning of healing.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.