Attributing Action and Its Result to Humans

The apparent meaning of the verse under discussion attributes the action to humans and attributes the result of the action to them through acquisition (kasb); because both the pronoun in “they do” (yaʿmalūn) and the pronoun in “it has earned” (kasabat) refer to the community, just as the intended meaning of the pronoun in “you have earned” (kasabtum) refers to the addressed humans. In analyzing the nature of human agency, various opinions have been proposed among theologians, philosophers, and mystics, some of which will be alluded to in the section on allusions and subtleties.