كَمَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَى ٱلْمُقْتَسِمِينَ
Important Words:
کما (because) is usually interpreted as "just as," but the more appropriate meaning here is "because." The word has been used in this sense in 2:152 and 8:6.
المقتسمین (those who have formed themselves into groups) is the plural of المقتسم which is derived from اقتسم which again is derived from قسم which means, he divided or distributed. اقتسمواالمال بینھم means, they divided the property among themselves, each taking his respective share (Aqrab). The word اقتسم does not signify, as some have thought, the act of swearing.
Commentary:
This verse, when read along with the preceding one, means that Divine punishment was about to overtake the Meccans because they had left no stone unturned to bring the Holy Prophet and his followers to grief and had even gone so far as to apportion among themselves the task of persecuting them. Different groups of disbelievers had taken upon themselves different duties with regard to putting obstacles in the way of the Holy Prophet. Some had undertaken to prevent visitors from approaching him, others to tease him when he was engaged in worship, and yet others had assumed the duty of persecuting the poor Muslims in diverse ways. It is to these various unholy tasks which the enemies of the Holy Prophet had set themselves that the word المقتسمین (those who have formed themselves into groups) refers. Some commentators interpret the word المقتسمین as "those who divide the Quran into parts," accepting some and rejecting others, but the more correct rendering is the one given above. In any case it is against accepted Arabic idiom to interpret the word as "those who swear" even though some scholars have supported this interpretation. For a detailed discussion of this verse, see "Tafsir-e-Kabir" by Hadrat Khalifatul Masih II, Second Successor to the Promised Messiah.
The Meccans had formed themselves into several groups and had taken upon themselves different duties to put obstacles in the way of the Holy Prophet, or these different groups had assigned to themselves different roles when they had resolved to kill him; Muqtasimin also signifying, 'those who allotted different duties to one another.'