His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "So the factions differed among themselves. So woe to those who disbelieved from the sight of a great day." "Listen to them and see on the day they come to us. But the wrongdoers today are in clear error." "And warn them of the day of regret when the matter has been decided while they were in heedlessness and they do not believe." "Indeed, We will inherit the earth and whoever is on it, and to Us they will be returned." This is the beginning of news from Allah, exalted and glorious is He, to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, that the Children of Israel differed into factions, meaning: groups. His saying: "among themselves" means that the difference did not come from outside them, but they were the ones differing. It has been narrated from Qatadah that the Children of Israel gathered from among themselves four scholars who were of the highest status and dignity among them. They asked them to clarify the matter of Jesus, peace be upon him. One of them said: "Jesus is Allah who descended to the earth, gave life to whom He willed, and then ascended." The other three said to him: "You have lied," and the Jacobites followed him. Then it was said to the three, and one of them said: "Jesus is the son of Allah." The other two said to him: "You have lied," and the Nestorians followed him. Then it was said to the two, and one of them said: "Jesus is one of three: Jesus is a god, Mary is a god, and Allah is a god." The fourth said to him: "You have lied," and the Israelites followed him. Then it was said to the fourth, and he said: "Jesus is the Spirit of Allah and His Word which He bestowed upon Mary." Each of the four was followed by a group from the Children of Israel. Then they fought, and the believers were defeated and killed, and the Jacobites prevailed over all. It has been narrated that regarding this, the verse was revealed: "Indeed, those who disbelieve in the signs of Allah and kill the prophets unjustly and kill those who command justice among the people, give them tidings of a painful punishment." (Al-Imran: 21). And "woe" means: sadness and destruction. It has been said: Woe is a valley in Hell. And the sight of a great day is the sight of the Day of Resurrection. It is possible that by "the sight of a great day" is meant the day the believers were killed when the factions differed. Qatadah, may Allah have mercy on him, pointed to this meaning. And His saying, exalted is He: "Listen to them and see," means: what He made them hear and see on the day they return to us and see what We do to them of punishment. For their turning away then will cease, and they will turn to the truth when it will not benefit them to turn to it, while they were in the world deaf and blind; for looking will not benefit them with their turning away. Then He said: "But they today in the world are in error," which is ignorance of the path. And "the clear" means: evident in itself even if it has not been made clear to them. Al-Tabari narrated from Abu Al-Aliyah that he said: "Listen to them and see" means a command to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, that is: make the people hear today and see them, and what will be done to them of punishment when they come gathered and defeated.

And there is a difference of opinion regarding "the Day of Regret." The majority said: It is the Day of the Slaughter of Death. In this, there is a sound hadith that occurred in Al-Bukhari and others, "Death will be brought in the form of a white ram." And Ubayd ibn Umayr said: "It is as if it is a creature, and it will be slaughtered on the Sirat between Paradise and Hell, and it will be called out: O people of Paradise, eternal life with no death, and O people of Hell, eternal life with no death." It is narrated that the people of Hell will stretch their necks towards it, hoping to escape from what they are in, and that the people of Paradise will stretch their necks in fear of what they are in. And "the decisive matter" is the slaughtering of the ram, which is the example of death. This is according to the experts among the scholars, as it is said: "The calamities are buried and the dust is placed underfoot," and at that time, the people of Hell will experience a regret unlike any other regret.

Ibn Zayd and others said: The Day of Regret is the Day of Resurrection. This is because the people of Hell have been in the wrath of Allah and His command from the very beginning, so they are in a state of regret. The decisive matter - in this case - is the decree upon them of punishment and the manifestation of its enforcement upon them. Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Day of Regret is when the disbelievers see their seats that they missed in Paradise had they been believers.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is possible that the Day of Regret is a generic name because there are many regrets in various places, including the Day of Resurrection, and the time of taking the book with the left hand, and others.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And they are in heedlessness," means: in the world now while they do not believe likewise.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Indeed, We are the inheritors of the earth," is a metaphor and an expression of the annihilation of the creatures and the permanence of the Creator. It is as if it is inheritance. Qari Asim, Nafi, Abu Amr, Al-Hasan, and Al-A'mash read: "They will be returned" with a ya. Al-A'raj read: "You will be returned" with a ta from above. Abu Abd al-Rahman, Ibn Abu Ishaq, and Isa read: "They return" with a ya opened and the jim broken, and Abu Amr narrated from them: "You return" with a ta.