هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا قُلِ انْتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنْتَظِرُونَ ﴿۱۵۸﴾ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا لَسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ ﴿۱۵۹﴾

﴾158﴿ Hal yanzuroona illaaa an ta'tiyahumul malaaa'ikatu aw ya'tiya Rabbuka aw ya'tiya ba'du Aayaati Rabbik; yawma ya'tee ba'du Aayaati Rabbika laa yanfa'u nafsan eemaanuhaa lam takun aamanat min qablu aw kasabat feee eemaanihaa khairaa; qulin tazirooo innaa muntaziroon
﴾159﴿ Innal lazeena farraqoo deenahum wa kaanoo shiya'allasta minhum fee shaiyy'; innamaaa amruhum ilallaahi summa yunabbi'uhum bimaa kaanoo yaf'aloon

﴾158﴿ They are only waiting for the angels (of death) to come to them, or for your Lord to come (in a manner befitting His majesty), or for some of the signs of your Lord to come. On the day when some of the signs of your Lord come, no soul will benefit by believing if it had not believed before, or had not earned any good through its faith. Say, “Wait then; we too are waiting.”
﴾159﴿ Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects—you have no part with them in the least. Their affair is only with Allah; then He will inform them about what they used to do.

[158] This is a warning of worldly punishment for those who deny and turn away from the Qur’an — meaning: the proofs have been presented to them, and the Qur’an has come, yet they still refuse to accept it. Instead, they await punishment or death, thinking they will believe then — but belief at that time will not be accepted.
(Ya’tiya rabbuka) — this is among the mutashābihāt (ambiguous verses). According to the apparent meaning, it should be accepted without interpretation (ta’wīl), distortion (taḥrīf), likening (tamthīl), or comparison (tashbīh). The true nature of this is known only to Allah the Exalted.
(Ba‘ḍu āyāti rabbika) — refers to the moment of ghargara (death rattle — when the soul reaches the throat), or the rising of the sun from the west. In both cases, repentance and accepting faith are no longer valid.
(Aw kasabat fī īmānihā khayran) — has two interpretations:
1. It means that a soul will not benefit from a good deed (i.e., repentance) if it did not perform that deed while in a state of faith. Here, "good" means repentance. Ibn Kathīr explains this as: A soul will not benefit from repentance if it had not earned any good while in faith.
The reconstructed meaning: “A soul that did not earn any good in its state of faith will not benefit from it later.”
2. It means that even faith itself will not benefit the person if they had not accepted it earlier, or that faith alone will not benefit fully unless it is accompanied by righteous deeds. Full benefit is defined as entering Paradise without punishment.
According to this interpretation, the verse does not absolutely deny benefit, but sets a condition: lack of both faith and good deeds. And from the opposite meaning (mafhum mukhālafah), it becomes clear that benefit comes when both are present.
Both explanations refute the argument of the Mu‘tazilah, who claim that the second part of the verse implies: if someone had faith but did no good deeds, their faith is of no benefit — meaning they will remain eternally in Hell. This, they argue, proves that someone who commits a major sin will be in Hell forever.
But this belief contradicts other clear Islamic evidences and is therefore invalid.
So, based on both interpretations of this verse, the objections raised by the Mu‘tazilah do not hold.
[159] This is a warning to those who have abandoned the Qur’an and Sunnah and split into various sects.
According to a hadith from ʿĀ’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), these are the innovators (ahl al-bid‘ah) of this ummah — but the chain of transmission for this hadith is not authentic, as stated by Ibn Kathīr.
(Farraqū) — in its direct meaning refers to those who divided the religion, meaning they fragmented it and claimed each fragment to be the complete religion.
Alternatively, farraqū can be interpreted as fāraqū (they separated), as found in another qirā’ah (recitation), meaning they separated themselves from Islam.
This description of division and fragmentation is also found in the Jews and Christians, as seen in verse 3 of Surah Al-Bayyinah and verse 150 of Surah Al-Nisā’ — but the ruling in this verse is general, applying to all who divide the religion.
Division in beliefs and actions comes first; afterward, sects and groups are formed, who then engage in mutual hostility, enmity, and sectarian bias.
This is why after mentioning farraqū (they divided), Allah says kānū shiyaʿan (they became sects).
This same idea is also found in verse 32 of Surah Al-Rūm.
(Lasta minhum) — means: You (O Prophet) have no connection with them whatsoever, and you will not be questioned concerning them.