The Quran

Preface

أَم لَهُم شُرَكاءُ شَرَعوا لَهُم مِنَ الدّينِ ما لَم يَأذَن بِهِ اللَّهُ ۚ وَلَولا كَلِمَةُ الفَصلِ لَقُضِيَ بَينَهُم ۗ وَإِنَّ الظّالِمينَ لَهُم عَذابٌ أَليمٌ

Ali Quli Qarai

Do they have partners [besides Allah] who have ordained for them a religion which has not been permitted by Allah? Had it not been for the conclusive word,¹ decision would have been made between them. For the wrongdoers there is indeed a painful punishment.

Or ‘the final word.’ That is, Allah’s promise to provide the faithless and to grant them a respite before retribution. See 2:36, 126; 9:68-69; 15:3; 31:23-24.