6. Sura al-Anam

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُواْ دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُواْ شِيَعًا لَّسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ...

6:159. As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, thou hast no part in them in the least:

C985. Divide their religion: farraqu: i.e.,

1. make a distinction between one part of it and another, take the part which suits them and reject the rest; or

2. have religion one day of the week and the world the rest of the six days; or

3. keep "religion in its right place," as if it did not claim to govern the whole life; make a sharp distinction between the secular and the religious; or

4. show a sectarian bias, seek differences in views, so as to break up the unity of Islam.

...إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُمْ إِلَى اللّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَفْعَلُونَ ﴿١٥٩﴾

their affair is with Allah:

He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did.

Asad’s Version:

6:159 VERILY, as for those who have broken the unity of their faith and have become sects - thou hast nothing to do with them ¹⁶¹ Behold, their case rests with God: and in time He will make them understand what they were doing.

[[ Asad’s notes - 161 A reference primarily, to the Jews and the Christians, who have departed from the fundamental religious principles which they had originally shared in their entirety, and have gone different ways in respect of doctrine and ethics (cf. 3:105). Beyond this "primary" reference,
however, the above verse connects logically with verse 153 above, "this is the way leading
straight unto Me: follow if, then, and follow not other ways, lest they cause you to deviate
from His way" - and thus relates prophetically to the followers of the Qur'an as well: in
other words, it expresses a condemnation of all sectarianism arising out of people's intolerant,
mutually-exclusive claims to being "the only true exponents" of the Qur'anic teachings. Thus,
when asked about the implications of this verse, the Prophet's Companion Abu Hurayrah is
reported to have answered, "It has been revealed with reference to this [our] community"
(Tabari). ]]