19 Preface وَما كانَ النّاسُ إِلّا أُمَّةً واحِدَةً فَاختَلَفوا ۚ وَلَولا كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَت مِن رَبِّكَ لَقُضِيَ بَينَهُم فيما فيهِ يَختَلِفونَYusuf AliMankind was but one nation,1 but differed (later). Had it not been for a Word2 that went forth before from thy Lord, their differences would have been settled between them.Cf. 2:213. All mankind was created one, and God’s Message to mankind is in essence one, the Message of Unity and Truth. But as selfishness and egotism got hold of man, certain differences sprang up between individuals, races, and nations, and in His infinite Mercy He sent them messengers and messages to suit their varying mentality, to test them by His gifts, and stir them up to emulation in virtue and piety (5:48).Cf. 6:115, 9:40, and 4:171. “Word” is the Decree of God, the expression of His Universal Will or Wisdom in a particular case. When men began to diverge from one another (see last note). God made their very differences subserve the higher ends by increasing their emulation in virtue and piety, and thus pointing back to the ultimate Unity and Reality, (see also 20:129). (R).