Is a warning or reaction against today’s congregations in question in verse 32 of the chapter of ar-Rum?

- How should we understand that verse?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The chapter of ar-Rum, verses 31-32:

"Turn ye back in repentance to Him, and fear Him: establish regular prayers, and be not ye among those who join gods with Allah,- Those who split up their Religion, and become (mere) Sects,- each party rejoicing in that which is with itself."

The explanations of the Verses:

The part of the verse 31 that is translated as "Turn ye back in repentance to Him..." means "Turning back in repentance to Him" since it is a subordinate clause. When it is explained grammatically in tafsirs, it is either attributed to the sentence "So set thou thy face steadily and truly to the faith" mentioned in the previous verse and it is accepted that the subject of the sentence is the Prophet (pbuh) and all believers or to a main clause that will be regarded as "Turn" as the sentence "be not ye among those who join gods with Allah" indicates. This part of the verse can also be translated as "turn to Him, repent, or continue obeying Him", according to the lexical meaning of the root of the word "munibin". (Shawkani, IV, 258)

Verse 32 explains the last sentence of the previous verse; it shows that those who divided the religion and split into sects fell into a kind of shirk (polytheism) because they did not accept the religion and the requirements of nature as they were. The reason why that attitude is described as polytheism is that the people in question regard their own will and personal desires as equivalent to divine will and declaration and hence partially obey the religion and nature, prefer to be self-directed when it does not suit their book, and raise their own desires to the level of the religion because they adhere to them by showing bigotry. Thus, those people approach the meaning of shirk (polytheism) that comes to mind first, that is, they fall within the scope of associating other beings with Allah.

The verse is generally interpreted by tafsir scholars as follows: What is meant by the verse is Jews and Christians who are divided into different sects, those who abandon the true religion of Islam, or those who develop innovations within the Islamic ummah and incite division.

Some tafsir scholars (for example, see Baydawi, V, 46) state that the polytheists who chose a deity according to their personal tendencies and preferences and fell into disagreement are meant in the verse. In any case, it is clear that the verse includes heavy criticism of those who cause division by using religion as a tool to dominate the masses and hence try to distort it from its original identity, and it is also an important warning against Muslims in the light of historical experience.

Naturally, it does not mean condemnation of ijtihad, which means making efforts for a healthy understanding of the religion, and differences in ijtihad. For, the activity within that framework was praised and encouraged by the Messenger of Allah himself. The last sentence of the verse can also be translated as follows: "Every sect is pleased with its own opinion..." (see Diyanet Tefsiri, Kur’an Yolu: IV/288-291.)

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