A Study of the Verses Including the Word Ekhtelāf and its Derivations in the Qurʾān

What does the Quran mean by dispute over the book or disagreement after knowledge came? Who are those who differ? Are all of them wrong or some are right? Could prophets’ believers and followers be among those who differ and be one side of the dispute or not? If all of those who dispute are wrong, why is there any need to make judgement between them, like when the Quran says: »it had been judged between them«? And if some of them are right, why the Quran says:» Those who dispute as regards The Book, they are in a wide schism, Far from the Truth«. “Indeed, those who differ over the Book are in extreme dissension”? When would or does this disagreement happen? Did the dispute happen after prophets had delivered the Message and it was between Messengers’ followers? If so, why have all of those who differ been despised and have not seekers after the truth been exempt? When the Quran discusses those who dispute, does it refer to the deniers? If so, who are those who differ over prophets’ messages. And why have they been warned of divine punishment for differing and not for denying? These ambiguities make it necessary to scrutinize the meaning of “to differ” in the verses of Quran. This paper aims to show that “differing” or “disputing”, that the Quran reprehends, has a different meaning than what we use today.