“And as for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, thou hast no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all they did” (Al An’am: 159)
‘Farraqu’ is the Quranic idiom for causing the ‘Divide’ and to ‘Divide the Religion’ implies partial acceptance of the principles and guidelines laid down by the religion. It could mean acceptance of what is deemed to be suitable in the given space and time and the rejection of what is taken to be unsuitable, while as holistic acceptance of what religion lays down is commanded and commended by Allah (SwT). Divide could also imply showing a sectarian bias and breaking up the bonds of unity.
Messengers of Allah (SwT) were provided with the message to be conveyed to the people in different time phases. They did their part, as did Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) what the people made of that message is an affair between the people who got the message and Allah (SwT) the ultimate judge of how the message was taken. Allah (SwT) will in the end tell them the truth of all they did, as is laid down:
”He that doth good shall have ten times as much to his credit: he that doth evil shall only be recompensed according to his evil: no wrong shall be done unto (any of) them” (Al An’am: 160)
Justice of Allah (SwT) implies generosity in reward that could be ten times as much as the implied good, however in punishment, the justice done is proportional to the evil committed—Allah (SwT)’s mercy is boundless!