الَّذي هُم فيهِ مُختَلِفونَ

The one about which they differ?

EXEGESIS

Mukhtalifūn: people who differ and disagree with one another, as a conscious choice and a voluntary stand (because it is in the form iftiʿāl).^{‎[1]Raghib, under kh-l-f; Tahqiq, under kh-l-f.} This is how it has been used mostly in the Quran and it fits the context of these verses. Another possible meaning for ikhtilāf is consecutive coming and going after one another, like the alternation of night and day (2:164, 3:190, 10:6, 45:5), and What is the matter with the faithless that they scramble toward you from the left and the right in batches? Does each man among them hope to enter the garden of bliss? (70:36-38).

Some have suggested that verses 2 and 3 can also be read as questions, in line with the first verse. An interrogative tone here would serve to rebuke, censure, and warn the audience. They would be rhetorical questions that explain why the doubt and question of the audience is not justifiable.^{‎[2]Bursawi, 10/292.} This is not the apparent tone of the verse, although it can be accepted as a secondary meaning.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

The idea that the people (the polytheists) differed about the hereafter (or whatever is the subject of their difference and question) may suggest that some of them believed in it and had true beliefs, as opposed to others. The exegetes have suggested the following explanations for this difference: 1. The verse includes Muslims who also used to discuss and debate over the hereafter with the disbelievers, or ask the Prophet about it.^{‎[3]Zamakhshari, 4/684; Kashif, 7/498.} 2. It includes some polytheists or People of the Book who had some belief in resurrection, although not an accurate one (41:50).^{‎[4]Razi, 31/6.} 3. It is about different aspects and stages of the hereafter: they all believed in the truth of death, but they denied what comes afterwards.^{‎[5]Tabari, 30/3, narrated from Qatādah.}

However, the tone of the verses is that of rebuke, as seen more explicitly in the following verses. Hence, the verse concerns their overall doubt and uncertainty about the matter. Moreover, mere difference about something does not mean that some of them are right, although it does necessitate that not all of them can be right. It could be that all of them are wrong, each in a different way.^{‎[6]Zamakhshari, 4/684, with some elaboration.} In other words, the verse is talking about their difference and divergence from the truth, or from the Messenger of God.

[1] Raghib, under kh-l-f; Tahqiq, under kh-l-f.
[2] Bursawi, 10/292.
[3] Zamakhshari, 4/684; Kashif, 7/498.
[4] Razi, 31/6.
[5] Tabari, 30/3, narrated from Qatādah.
[6] Zamakhshari, 4/684, with some elaboration.