Al-Layl: (4) "Indeed, your efforts are diverse."

"Indeed, your efforts" (your strivings); for the genitive verbal noun (masdar) implies universality, thus becoming plural in meaning. This is why it is predicated by a plural form, namely His, the Almighty’s saying, "diverse" (shatta). For "shatta" is the plural of "shatit," meaning disparate/scattered.

It is also permissible not to consider "your efforts" in the plural sense, in which case "shatta" would be a feminine noun (masdar) similar to "dhikra" (remembrance) and "bushra" (glad tidings), serving as a predicate for it by assuming a genitive construct, meaning "possessors of diversity," or by interpreting it as an adjective, meaning "disparate," or by making it synonymous with the act of separation itself as a form of hyperbole.

Regardless of the interpretation, the sentence is the response to the oath, as recorded by Ibn Jarir on the authority of Qatadah. It is also permissible that the response is implied, as has been mentioned previously. The intent behind the diversity of these efforts is their difference regarding the recompense.