“But people later cut up their religion into bits, each group rejoicing in what they have. So leave them immersed in their heedlessness till an appointed time.” (Al-Qur’ān – 23:53-54)
All Prophets, right from the Prophet Noah to Jesus, called their respective people to the same teaching – to affirm the Oneness of God and the reality of the Hereafter. It is clear, therefore that Islam, meaning submission to the One True God, is the true, primordial religion of the human species. All other religions that we find today are nothing but distorted forms of this primordial religion. They are an ensemble of some truths of the original faith, albeit in distorted form, along with doctrinal accretions that have accumulated over the course of time.
Now, if anyone is in the wrong, it is those who follow these distorted religions rather than the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) who, shunning them called people to embrace the true faith.
In order to appreciate the statement made here, ‘Leave them immersed in their heedlessness’, we ought to bear in mind that it was made after it had been fully shown that the true faith has always been one and the same and that those religions invented later are false. In this context, the above statement amounts to saying in a reproachful tone: ‘Well, if these people still refuse to accept the truth and wish to exult in their erroneous ways, just leave them alone.’
Here the use of the imperative ‘leave them’ is simply meant to jolt people out of their heedlessness.