Commentary on the Koran: Surah 73 (No. Q073)

Pickthall Translation with Bible Quotes from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

Introduction

We have seen the concept of the 70 in Surah 70 and then we went on to deal with the fall of the Host and mankind in Surah 71 “Noah.” In Surah 72 we saw the Jinn dealt with and in the introduction there we explained how the Jinn were replaced by the elect after their ordination. We now see the establishment of the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper for the clothing of the elect. These are the white robes of the Faith and the First Resurrection through the death of the Messiah, on the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb, which was the Christ at 3pm on 14 Abib. The Feast of the Passover from the Exodus was instituted by the church as the Night of Observations following the Lord’s Supper which commenced from 30 CE as the expectation of the Resurrection at the end of the three days and nights in accordance with the Sign of Jonah. These aspects are explained in the papers dealing with The Lord’s Supper (No. 103) and (No. 103A), The Passover (No. 098), Significance of the Footwashing (No. 099), Significance of the Bread and Wine (No. 100), Timing of Crucifixion and the Resurrection (No 159) and The Wave Sheaf Offering (No. 106B) and then The Forty Days Following Christ’s Resurrection (No. 159A)).

The comment in verse 1 is enigmatic and only a baptised member of the elect, who has taken part in the Lord’s Supper, can understand it. The numerical structure of the sequence is also of significance, but again, only to the elect. The number at 72 as stated represented the rule of the nations on the earth under the Jinn and the replacement of them by the church councils, as symbolised by the Hebdomekonta (Duo) of Luke 10:1, 17, by which the demons were made subject to the leaders of Church of God under the 144,000 over the two millennia, and that rule extends now forever into the City of God (No. 180) and beyond.

The number of ayats or verses was 19 when the Surah was first delivered to the church at Becca at the beginning of the Mission of the church as the Council of Muhammad under the prophet Qasim. It is directed at the baptised elect.

The number represents judgment and in this case within the Body of Christ. The twentieth ayat was added after the flight to Medinah in consolidation of the requirements of the elect to maintain the Lord’s Supper and the Passover, in order to maintain their garments. Their watching was answered in the Resurrection of the Messiah at the end of that following weekly Sabbath. After his return and then his ascension forty days later, after he had spoken to the Jinn (1Pet. 3:18ff. and cf. also 159A above) and then to the church and briefed them on their mission, he returned to God. Since then, every Passover the church has kept the Lord’s Supper and the Night of Observation on 14 and 15 Abib waiting for his return following the 1260 days of The Witnesses (including the Two Witnesses) (No. 135).

This Surah is to remind them of their duty in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper to retain their robes white and their place in the church and their duty to watch for the Messiah. The variations allowed for in verses 1-4 are so that the children may be cared for and not remain in vigil, and the women can do the necessary activities. The men and women not so engaged may watch for a longer vigil. The Samaritans and the Churches of God did that in accordance with the Temple Calendar based on the conjunction until their lapses in the Twentieth century under the Hillel system.

The text is tied to Surah 5 The Table Spread which deals with the Lord Supper and is explanatory of that event in addition to this text.

*****

73.1. O thou wrapped up in thy raiment!

73.2. Keep vigil the night long, save a little –

73.3. A half thereof, or abate a little thereof

73.4. Or add (a little) thereto - and chant the Qur'an in measure,

The text refers in verse 1 to the Lord’s Supper on the night beginning 14 Abib. The vigil refers to the “Night of Watching” or “Night of Observation” when believers are required to stay up well after midnight maintaining a vigil with other likeminded individuals with them. It is a period of time when the word is expounded to the audience seated at table to assist all to grow in spiritual knowledge and understanding.

Exodus 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover. (KJV)

Exodus 12:42 It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. (KJV)

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Hebrews 4:2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

The believer is urged to keep awake at night when the rest of the world is asleep. All wrapped up in his raiment as if all ready for some event to occur while studying or reading the words of Scripture in measured tones so as to be able to reflect on the meanings of the Scripture being recited. It is a memorial of the past event and looks forward to the future exodus.

73.5. For we shall charge thee with a word of weight.

The calling of the person comes with some heavy responsibility.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

2Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

73.6. Lo! the vigil of the night is (a time) when impression is more keen and speech more certain.

Psalm 55:17 Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.

Daniel 6:10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Praying when we do not have the cares and concerns and the distractions of this earthly life is more beneficial. When it is quiet around you and you are all alone by yourself your mind will turn to focus on God and His awesome creation. Together the opportunity exists to educate the young and those who are not yet baptised to the faith.

73.7. Lo! thou hast by day a chain of business.

Psalm 104:23 Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.

The Fourteenth Day is not a Holy Day but the preparation day for the Feast of the Passover and Unleavened Bread. The Holy Day of the 15th begins that night at EENT. We are required to keep the Feast out of your gates (Deut. 16:5-8).

73.8. So remember the name of thy Lord and devote thyself with a complete devotion –

Matthew 22:37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Malachi 3:16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

John 12:25-26 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

73.9. Lord of the East and the West; there is no God save Him; so choose thou Him alone for thy defender –

Psalm 50:1 The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 94:22 But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.

Refer to Isaiah 45:5-6 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 27 (No. Q027) at ayat 44.

73.10. And bear with patience what they utter, and part from them with a fair leave-taking.

73.11. Leave Me to deal with the deniers, lords of ease and comfort (in this life); and do thou respite them awhile.

73.12. Lo! with Us are heavy fetters and a raging fire,

73.13. And food which choketh (the partaker), and a painful doom

73.14. On the day when the earth and the hills rock, and the hills become a heap of running sand.

Jude 1:4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

2Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

1Timothy 1:13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,

1Timothy 2:4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Proverbs 11:21 Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.

Zephaniah 1:14-15 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. ¹⁵A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

See 1Corinthians 6:9-10 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 50 (No. Q050) at ayat 50.30; 2Peter 3:9 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 20 (No. Q020) at ayat 129 and Revelation 21:8 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 23 (No. Q023) at ayat 98.

73.15. Lo! We have sent unto you a messenger as witness against you, even as We sent unto Pharaoh a messenger.

73.16. But Pharaoh rebelled against the messenger, whereupon We seized him with no gentle grip.

Refer to 2Chronicles 36:15-16 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 21 (No. Q021) at ayat 15.

Exodus 9:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Exodus 15:4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.

Surah 10 verse 47:

And for every nation there is a messenger. And when their messenger cometh (on the Day of Judgment) it will be judged between them fairly, and they will not be wronged. (Pickthall’s translation)

Surah 16 verse 36:

And verily We have raised in every nation a messenger, (proclaiming): Serve Allah and shun false gods. Then some of them (there were) whom Allah guided, and some of them (there were) upon whom error had just hold. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequence for the deniers! (Pickthall’s translation)

Surah 40 verse 78:

Verily We sent messengers before thee, among them those of whom We have told thee, and some of whom We have not told thee; and it was not given to any messenger that he should bring a portent save by Allah's leave, but when Allah's commandment cometh (the cause) is judged aright, and the followers of vanity will then be lost. (Pickthall’s translation)

73.17. Then how, if ye disbelieve, will ye protect yourselves upon the day which will turn children grey,

73.18. The very heaven being then rent asunder. His promise is to be fulfilled.

73.19. Lo! This is a Reminder. Let him who will, then, choose a way unto his Lord.

The text ends with the responsibility upon the elect to identify the Body of Christ charged with the responsibility of the work of God and signified by the lampstand (See the paper the Lampstand in the Last Days (No. 170A); cf. also Zephaniah 1:14-15 at ayat 73.14 above.)

Amos 5:18-19 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD, For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light; ¹⁹As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him. (NASB)

2Thessalonians 1:8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

1Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Isaiah 45:22 Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?.

Refer to Micah 7:18 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 10 (No. Q010) at ayat 107.

Addition at Al-Madinah

The following verse was added after the flight from Becca to Medinah in 622 CE to remind the brethren of their continuing duty to keep the Lord’s Supper and the Feast of the Passover.

73.20. Lo! thy Lord knoweth how thou keepest vigil sometimes nearly two-thirds of the night, or (sometimes) half or a third thereof, as do a party of those with thee. Allah measureth the night and the day. He knoweth that ye count it not, and turneth unto you in mercy. Recite, then, of the Qur'an that which is easy for you. He knoweth that there are sick folk among you, while others travel in the land in search of Allah's bounty, and others (still) are fighting for the cause of Allah. So recite of it that which is easy (for you), and establish worship and pay the poor-due, and (so) lend unto Allah a goodly loan. Whatsoever good ye send before you for your souls, ye will find it with Allah, better and greater in the recompense. And seek forgiveness of Allah. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

This verse shows it concerns the church generally and reminds of the tithes and offerings for the activity (cf. Tithing (No. 161)) with others of the faith referred to in the first four verses above.

Refer also to Deuteronomy 10:12-13 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 10 (No. Q010) at ayat 108; Hebrews 4:13 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 20 (No. Q020) at ayat 7; Micah 6:8 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 22 (No. Q022) at ayat 54; James 1:27 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 30 (No. Q030) at ayat 30 and Ecclesiastes 12:13 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 33 (No. Q033) at ayat 2.

Romans 2:13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Psalm 103:13-14 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. ¹⁴For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. (NASB)

Psalm 74:16 Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.

Psalm 136:7-9 To Him who made the great lights, For His lovingkindness is everlasting: ⁸The sun to rule by day, For His lovingkindness is everlasting, ⁹The moon and stars to rule by night, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. (NASB)

Galatians 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.

1Thessalonians 1:3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Kings 8:23 and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;

Psalm 86:5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Psalm 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

PO Box 369, WODEN ACT 2606, AUSTRALIA