"And say: Lo! I, even I, am a plain warner,
Such as We send down for those who make division,
Those who break the Qur'an into parts.
Them, by thy Lord, We shall question, every one,
Of what they used to do." (15:89-93) Surah Al-Hijr, Noble Quran. These verses are immensely important to understand, retain in our minds and implement in our lives.
To begin with, the reference here is to the Jews. The Messenger of Allah Almighty is being commanded to warn "
those who make division," meaning the Jews (schismatics) who had split their religion into many parts and caused divisions in it. The "
Qur'an" here refers to the original Torah. The term "
Qur'an" is taken according to its root meaning or dictionary definition, that is, a 'lecture.' Just as the Final Message of Allah, the Glorious Quran, means "a lecture," similarly, Allah also refers to the Torah as a lecture or "
Qur'an" which He sent to the Jews but the Jews changed it. They believed in certain parts of it and rejected other parts. They removed certains things from it that didn't suit their personal interest and added their own ideas to it which suited their selfish interest. Thus, they divided the Torah into parts and subsequently also got divided themselves into many sectarian groups which were opposed to one another. Allah Almighty warns such people that on the Day of Judgment, they will be questioned for every such act they carried out which amount to creating lies against Allah.
Similar issue has also been addressed in Surah Al-Baqrah, Verse 2:85.
"Yet ye it is who slay each other and drive out a party of your people from their homes, supporting one another against them by sin and transgression ? - and if they came to you as captives ye would ransom them, whereas their expulsion was itself unlawful for you - Believe ye in part of the Scripture and disbelieve ye in part thereof ? And what is the reward of those who do so save ignominy in the life of the world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be consigned to the most grievous doom. For Allah is not unaware of what ye do." (2:85)The above verse 2:85 refers to the divisions within the Jewish tribes of Al-Madinah. There were 3 Jewish tribes living in Madinah during the time of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). These 3 tribes were called Banu Qurayza, Banu Qunaiqa and Banu Nadir. The 2 non-Jewish tribes of the locals of Madinah at that time were called Aus and Khazraj. Both Aus and Khazraj were supported by different Jewish tribes, thus, Jews pit against Jews.
Also, in verse 2:85 Allah Almighty refers to the habit of the Jews of selectively studying the Torah by accepting certain parts of it and rejecting other parts. In this verse too, Allah warns them that the retribution for their violations in the Day of Judgment will be severe.
Returning to verses 15:89-93 of Surah Al-Hijr, these verses contain several warnings from Allah, The Almighty, for the misguided which are as follows.
(1) The verses warn against selective study of the Message of Allah which many so-called Muslims are also doing with the Noble Quran. Of course, they can never change the original Quran as the Jews did with the Torah, but they are similarly promoting their selfish interests through incorrect translations and misinterpreted tafsirs (or commentaries) of the Quran.
(2) Allah Almighty warns against dividing the community into sects or groups, which is something which the Jews and Christians did, and unfortunately the Muslims too repeated history. These verses are yet again a clear warning against sectarianism and the creation of madhabs, that is, Sunnis, Shiias, shafis, maliks, hanafis, isna-e-ashri, zaidis etc. all of which are totally Haram. For more, please study our post
DIVIDING OUR FAITH. (3) If you read verse 15:94 of Surah Al-Hijr which says
"So proclaim that which thou art commanded, and withdraw from the idolaters." you will realize that the preceding verses 15-89-93 are also meant to warn the disbelievers (idolaters) that they should learn a lesson from the plight of the Jews who neglected the warning that was given to them by Allah and they persisted in their wrong doings. In other words, it means telling the idolaters that "
you are beholding the degradation of the Jews. Do you like to meet with the same fate by neglecting this warning?"
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