The Ant
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE[27:76]
BEHOLD, this Qur’ān explains to the children of Israel most [of that] whereon they hold divergent views;

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* v.76 : For this rendering of the verb yaqussu, see note 5 on 12:3.
* I.e., where they differ from the truth made evident to them in their scriptures. The term “children of Israel” comprises here both the Jews and the Christians (Zamakhsharī) inasmuch as both follow the Old Testament, albeit in a corrupted form. It is precisely because of this corruption, and because of the great influence which Jewish and Christian ideas exert over a large segment of mankind, that the Qur’ān sets out to explain certain ethical truths to both these communities. The above reference to “most” (and not all) of the problems alluded to in this context shows that the present passage bears only on man’s moral outlook and social life in this world, and not on ultimate, metaphysical questions which – as the Qur’ān so often repeats – will be answered only in the hereafter.