Commentary
And when the clear, ancient path necessitated gathering upon it and agreement when following it, it became clear that they caused a deviation from it with this admonition, as He said: ﴿So they differed﴾. And it was made clear that they increased in differing by His saying: ﴿the factions﴾. This means that they were not just two groups, but many factions. And since it is customary for there to be disagreement between two nations or tribes and the like, and that the disagreement of one group is strange, it was made clear that they are of the people of division, so He said: ﴿from among them﴾, meaning a disagreement that originated among the Children of Israel, whom We made an example for them. And He said to them: I have come to you with wisdom. So the cause of their disagreement was His saying: ﴿So woe﴾. It could have been said to them, but He mentioned the description that necessitates woe in general and conditional to the ruling by it. And when it was in the context of wisdom, which is placing something in its most perfect position, the description of the injustice that led to the disagreement was made, so He said: ﴿for those who have wronged﴾, meaning they placed something in the wrong position, opposing what was brought to them by blessings and peace be upon him from wisdom ﴿of the punishment of a painful day﴾, meaning painful. And if the day is painful, what is the assumption regarding its punishment?
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