(159) “And among the people of Moses is a community”—that is, a group—“who guide by the truth and dispense justice by it.” That is, they guide people by it when teaching them and issuing rulings to them, and they judge between them justly by it when deciding their cases. As Allah Most High says, “And We made from among them leaders who guided by Our command when they patiently persevered and had certain faith in Our signs.” This demonstrates the virtue of the people of Moses (peace be upon him): Allah Most High ⦗306⦘ raised among them guides who guided by His command.

The inclusion of this noble verse appears to serve as a qualification of what preceded it. Allah Most High had previously mentioned a number of the Children of Israel’s faults, which were incompatible with perfection and contrary to guidance. Someone might therefore suppose that this applied to all of them, so Allah Most High stated that among them was an upright group who guided others and were themselves rightly guided.