Christian Churches of God

No. Q019

 

 

 

Commentary on the Koran:  Surah 19 “Maryam”

 

(Edition 3.0 20170826-20171014-20200507)

 

 

Surah 19 was one of the earliest texts revealed and was issued in order to protect the Church of God in Arabia in its first major persecution.

 

Christian Churches of God

PO Box 369,  WODEN  ACT 2606,  AUSTRALIA

 

E-mail: secretary@ccg.org

 

 

 

(Copyright © 2017, 2020 Wade Cox and Alan Brach)

 

This paper may be freely copied and distributed provided it is copied in total with no alterations or deletions. The publisher’s name and address and the copyright notice must be included.  No charge may be levied on recipients of distributed copies.  Brief quotations may be embodied in critical articles and reviews without breaching copyright.

 

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http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org

 

 


 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 19 “Maryam”


 

Pickthall Translation with biblical quotes from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

 

Introduction

Surah 19 “Maryam” is named by some (e.g. Pickthall) as Mary, being the putative name of the mother of the Messiah.  However, the mother of the Messiah was named Mariam and her sister, the wife of Clophas, was named Mariah in the Greek text and She is also named Maryam in the Koran.

 

Mary is the Anglo Saxon or British corruption of the Latin application of “Maria.” The Surah “Maryam” takes its name from verses 16ff.

 

The Surah was of Beccan origin (cf. also Q001D). Most date it to the Fifth year of the Prophet’s mission in what was known as the 1st Hijrah when the persecuted poor of the church at Becca were forced to flee to Abyssinia and take refuge with their Biblical Unitarian counterparts in the Church of God in Abyssinia (cf. the paper General Distribution of the Sabbath-keeping Churches (No. 122); cf. also Pickthall intr). There they would not be persecuted for the worship of the One True God Eloah.

 

This year was 613CE, the Ninth year before the Flight to Al-Madinah from Becca/Petra  in 622 CE, which is the 2nd Hijrah, but the one most understood by the term. The Prophet’s mission, from this dating, began in 608 CE when he was called by the Spirit and educated in the Scriptures.

 

Pickthall draws attention to the fact that they were not Trinitarians. The Beccans cleverly used their position as Biblical Unitarians to claim they were not true Christians as Trinitarians. The idolatrous Beccans, in order to persecute them, sent ambassadors to the Negus for their extradition.

 

The Negus, against the wishes of the Beccan envoys, sent for the spokesmen of the refugees and questioned them in the court in front of the bishops of the churches in Abyssinia. The cousin of the Prophet, Ja’far ibn Abi Talib, was the spokesman for the church seeking refuge. What he said is known and recounted by Pickthall from the writings of Ibn Ishaq. He is recorded as saying:

 

 “We were folk immersed in ignorance, worshipping idols, eating carrion, given to lewdness, severing the ties of kinship, bad neighbours, the strong among us preying on the weak; thus were we till Allah sent to us a messenger of our own, whose lineage, honesty, trustworthiness and chastity we knew, and he called us to Allah (Eloah) that we should acknowledge His unity and worship Him and eschew all of the stones and idols that we and our fathers used to worship beside Him and ordered us to be truthful and restore the pledge and observe the ties of kinship, and be good neighbours and to abstain from things forbidden and blood, and forbade us false speech, and prey upon the wealth of orphans, and accuse good women, and commanded us to worship Allah only, ascribing nothing unto Him as partner, and enjoined upon us legal alms, and fasting. The scribe continues: (And he enumerated for him the teachings of Islam). He continues:

 “So we trusted him and we believed in him and followed that which he has brought from Allah and we worshipped Allah only, and ascribed no things as partner upon him. And we refrained from that which was forbidden to us and indulged in that which was made lawful for us. And our people became hostile to us and tormented us, and sought to turn us from our religion that they might bring us back to the worship of idols from the worship of Allah Most High, and that we might indulge in those iniquities which before we had deemed lawful.”

“And when they had persecuted and oppressed us and hemmed us in, and kept us from the practice of our religion, we came forth to thy land, and chose thee above all others, and sought thy protection, and hoped that we should not be troubled in thy land, O King!

“Then the Negus asked him: Hath with thee aught of that which he brought from Allah? Ja’far answered: Yes. Then the Negus said: Relate it to me, and Ja’far recited to him the beginning of Kaf, Ha, Ya, A’in, Sad,”

 

Pickthall says of this: “The Arabic letter with which this Surah begins, such letters being generally used instead of titles by the early Muslims. Therefore this Surah must have been revealed and well known before the departure of the emigrants for Abyssinia.” 

 

This text is held to be an Early Beccan Surah, with the exception of verses 59 and 60 which are held to have been revealed at Al-Madinah

 

The Koran had not been compiled at this time and the text was obviously written so that these persecuted churchmen could use the revelations among their brethren in Abyssinia. See that they understood the absolute sovereignty of the One True God Eloah and that the Trinitarian and Binitarian and Ditheist systems were wrong. The text preserved by Ibn Ishaq (cf. Pickthall) refers to the Laws of God (L1) and to the Food Laws (No. 015) and also to the Tithes (No. 161) as the lawful alms required by God. This episode in the church occurred well before the Surahs concerning the distribution of alms from warfare and is among the earliest Surahs. This account is exactly what we would expect one of our spokesmen to say before the authorities as a declaration of our faith over the 1900 years until the Ditheism (No. 076) of the Twentieth century was allowed to corrupt some of our people.

 

*****

This is the beginning of this early Surah recited by Ja’far the cousin of the Prophet to the Negus of Abyssinia when the Beccan idolaters sought to have the emigrants who had fled Becca/Petra to the sister Church of God in Abyssinia for which this Surah appears to have been written in the main. The reference to Maryam is no accident. Read the address to the Negus above. These are Biblical Unitarian Christians appealing for assistance to Biblical Unitarian Christians.

 

19.1.Kaf. Ha. Ya. A'in. Sad.

 

John 5:26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

 

2Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,

 

Isaiah 40:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.


Psalm 25:5
Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

 

Psalm 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; and every one of thy righteous ordinances endures for ever. (RSV)

 

The reference is to the High Priest of the division of Abijah, Zechariah father of John the Baptist. It begins the Christian Revelation and this text was to serve that purpose. This text from verses 19:2-15 was to establish the credentials of the church in Arabia before the leaders of the Abbyssinians. The entire structure of the bishops was assembled to hear it.

 

19.2. A mention of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zachariah. 

19.3. When he cried unto his Lord a cry in secret,

19.4. Saying: My Lord! Lo! the bones of me wax feeble and my head is shining with grey hair, and I have never been unblest in prayer to Thee, my Lord. 

19.5. Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren. Oh, give me from Thy presence a successor 
19.6. Who shall inherit of me and inherit (also) of the house of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, acceptable (unto Thee). 

19.7. (It was said unto him): O Zachariah! Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is John; we have given the same name to none before (him). 
19.8. He said: My Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached infirm old age? 
19.9. He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me, even as I created thee before, when thou wast naught.

19.10. He said: My Lord! Appoint for me some token. He said: Thy token is that thou, with no bodily defect, shalt not speak unto mankind three nights. 
19.11. Then he came forth unto his people from the sanctuary, and signified to them: Glorify your Lord at break of day and fall of night. 

19.12. (And it was said unto his son): O John! Hold

fast the Scripture. And we gave him wisdom when a child, 

19.13. And compassion from Our presence, and purity; and he was devout,

19.14. And dutiful toward his parents. And he was not arrogant, rebellious.

19.15. Peace on him the day he was born, and the day he dieth and the day he shall be raised alive!

 

The summary above refers to the following texts of the Injil or Gospels. The Scriptures are paramount in the recitations of the Prophet and of the faith of the Church of God in Arabia.

 

Luke 1:5-25 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." 18And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." 19And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." 21And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25"Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."


Luke 1:57-66
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60but his mother answered, "No; he shall be called John." 61And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by this name." 62And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And they all wondered. 64And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.


Luke 1:76-80
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." 80And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

 

The reference to the three days for the period of Zechariah’s restriction of speech refers to the remainder of the period of which he was on duty as High Priest of the Eighth division of Abijah before returning to his home when the division had completed its shift. He remained dumb until the birth of John nine months later.

 

Maryam is with child

19.16. And make mention of Mary [Maryam] in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East, 

19.17. And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man.

19.18. She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the Beneficent One from thee, if thou art God-fearing.

19.19. He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son. 

19.20. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste? 

19.21. He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained.

19.22. And she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far place. 

19.23. And the pangs of childbirth drove her unto the trunk of the palm-tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died ere this and had become a thing of naught, forgotten! 

19.24. Then (one) cried unto her from below her, saying: Grieve not! Thy Lord hath placed a rivulet beneath thee, 

19.25. And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward thee, thou wilt cause ripe dates to fall upon thee. 

19.26. So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.

19.27. Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing. 

19.28. O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot. 

19.29. Then she pointed to him. They said: How can we talk to one who is in the cradle, a young boy? 

19.30. He spake: Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet,

19.31. And hath made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and hath enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive, 

19.32. And (hath made me) dutiful toward her who bore me, and hath not made me arrogant, unblest. 

19.33. Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive! 

19.34. Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt.

 

Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" 29But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" 35And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God." 38And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

 

Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah happened in this way. When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they lived together she was discovered to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to disgrace her, decided to divorce her secretly. 20After he had thought about it, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," he said, "don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he is the one who will save his people from their sins." 22Now all this happened to fulfill what was declared by the Lord through the prophet when he said, 23"See, a virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel," which means, "God with us." 24When Joseph got up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary as his wife. 25He did not have marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son; and he named him Jesus. (ISV)

 

Luke 24:5-8 While the women remained terrified, bowing their faces to the ground, the men asked them, "Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is living? 6He is not here, but has been raised. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day.'" 8Then the women remembered Jesus' words.  (ISV)

 

19.35. It befitteth not (the Majesty of) Allah that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is.

 

Christ was not conceived as a result of natural union between a husband and wife. God just said the word and Christ was conceived in the womb of Mariam his mother. Thus he and all the sons of God were created by divine fiat both in the heavens and with the Christ on earth.

 

Psalm 33:9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

 

Lamentations 3:37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?

 

19.36. And lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So serve Him. That is the right path. 

 

John 20:17 Jesus told her, "Don't hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" (ISV)

 

Proverbs 14:2 Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD, but he who is devious in his ways despises him.

 

Job 28:28 And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

 

19.37. The sects among them differ: but woe unto the disbelievers from the meeting of an awful Day. 
19.38. See and hear them on the Day they come unto Us! yet the evil-doers are to-day in error manifest. 
19.39. And warn them of the Day of anguish when the case hath been decided. Now they are in a state of carelessness, and they believe not.

 

2Peter 3:3-4  First of all you must understand this: In the last days mockers will come and, following their own desires, will ridicule us 4by saying, "What happened to the Messiah's promise to return? Ever since our ancestors died, everything continues as it did from the beginning of creation." (ISV)

 

2Peter 2:1-2 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. 2And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

 

Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

 

See Revelation 20:12 below.

 

19.40. Lo! We, only We, inherit the earth and all who are thereon, and unto Us they are returned.

 

The text thus refutes the doctrine of the Eternal Soul.

 

Psalm 24:1 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

 

Ecclesiastes 12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.


Job 34:14-15
If he should take back his spirit to himself, and gather to himself his breath, 15all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. (RSV)


Psalm 146:4  
When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish. (RSV)

 

19.41. And make mention (O Muhammad) in the Scripture of Abraham. Lo! he was a saint, a prophet.

 

It is important that the faith understands from where it was to arise. This will be emphasised over the Koran in the sequence of the prophets and patriarchs to the Messiah and then on to the Church of the One True God which is the purpose of the revelation of this Surah to the church in Arabia and in their flight to Abyssinia. However, because of the Beccans and Arabs falling away, the way of truth has been blasphemed.

 

Genesis 20:7 Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."


Genesis 23:6
"Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead."

 

19.42. When he said unto his father: O my father! Why worshippest thou that which heareth not nor seeth, nor can in aught avail thee? 

19.43. O my father! Lo! there hath come unto me of knowledge that which came not unto thee. So follow me, and I will lead thee on a right path. 

19.44. O my father! Serve not the devil. Lo! the devil is a rebel unto the Beneficent. 

19.45. O my father! Lo! I fear lest a punishment from the Beneficent overtake thee so that thou become a comrade of the devil.

 

See Genesis 20:7 above. 

 

Psalm 115:4-6 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.

 

Revelation 12:12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!

 

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

 

1Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

 

Abraham was called the Friend of God.

Genesis 26:5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

 

James 2:23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.

 

19.46. He said: Rejectest thou my gods, O Abraham? If thou cease not, I shall surely stone thee. Depart from me a long while! 

19.47. He said: Peace be unto thee! I shall ask forgiveness of my Lord for thee. Lo! He was ever gracious unto me.

19.48. I shall withdraw from you and that unto which ye pray beside Allah, and I shall pray unto my Lord. It may be that, in prayer unto my Lord, I shall not be unblest. 

19.49. So, when he had withdrawn from them and that which they were worshipping beside Allah, We gave him Isaac and Jacob. Each of them We made a prophet. 
19.50. And we gave them of Our mercy, and assigned to them a high and true renown.

 

See James 2:23 above.

 

Hebrews 11:8-9 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

 

Luke 13:28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.

 

The sequence of the prophethood then steps to Moses wherein the law was established in written form and the priesthood through Aaron, who was also a prophet, again to the descendants of Abraham.

 

19.51. And make mention in the Scripture of Moses. Lo! he was chosen, and he was a messenger (of Allah), a prophet.

19.52. We called him from the right slope of the Mount, and brought him nigh in communion. 
19.53. And We bestowed upon him of Our mercy his brother Aaron, a prophet (likewise). 

 

Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD your God will raise up a prophet like me for you from among your relatives. You must listen to him. (ISV)

 

Acts 7:37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.'

 

Exodus 3:1-2 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.


Exodus 7:1
And the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

 

Then Ishmael was made a prophet also.

19.54. And make mention in the Scripture of Ishmael. Lo! he was a keeper of his promise, and he was a messenger (of Allah), a prophet. 

19.55. He enjoined upon his people worship and almsgiving, and was acceptable in the sight of his Lord.

Genesis 17:18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"

 

Genesis 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.

 

Genesis 17:25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

 

Genesis 21:13, 20 13And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.

20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He

lived in the wilderness and became an expert with

the bow.

 

19.56. And make mention in the Scripture of Idris. Lo! he was a saint, a prophet; 

19.57. And We raised him to high station. 

 

The reference here is understood to refer to Enoch who was elevated and taken away by God. Many Muslims identify this as the Biblical Enoch who was taken by God at 365 years of age. It is given unto all men once to die but Enoch and Elijah did not die and were taken forward in time to be witnesses to the world in the final 1264 days before the Messiah. We are told that Elijah will be sent to us by the prophet Malachi 4:5. It has always been the understanding of the Churches of God that Enoch and Elijah were to be sent forward in time as the Two Witnesses until the Sardis and Laodicean systems completely lost understanding and became heretical. This line is actually proof that the Prophet was a prophet of the Churches of God and the church in Arabia was issuing further indication of their bona fides to the Churches of God in Abyssinia (cf. The Witnesses (including the Two Witnesses) (No. 135)).

 

Some Muslims claim that he cannot be identified out of a complete desire to conceal the identities of the prophets of the last days.

 

Genesis 5:24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

 

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.

 

These are the Two Witnesses of the Last Days. They preach for 1260 days from Jerusalem and they are killed and left to lie in the streets for 3.5 days. On the morning of the Fourth day the Messiah returns and raises them from the dead with the entire First Resurrection.

 

19.58. These are they unto whom Allah showed favour from among the prophets, of the seed of Adam and of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Noah, and of the seed of Abraham and Israel, and from among those whom We guided and chose. When the revelations of the Beneficent were recited unto them, they fell down, adoring and weeping.

The prophets noted in the preceding ayats were some of the prophets to whom God showed favor and guided them. The prophet Enoch stood against the demons before the flood and was chosen because of it.

 

19.59. Now there hath succeeded them a later generation whom have ruined worship and have followed lusts. But they will meet deception. 

The later generations went astray and did what seemed right in their own eyes and ended up deceived. In the Seventh century the Church had been infiltrated and was deceived by the Baal system of Baal and Ashtoreth or Easter and they had become Binitarians and then Trinitarians and corrupted the faith and persecuted the Churches of God everywhere.

 

Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

 

2Chronicles 24:19 Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the LORD. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.     

 

Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (NIV)

 

Romans 3:12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

 

Messiah will deal with all tribes and nations at his return.

 

19.60. Save him who shall repent and believe and do right. Such will enter the Garden, and they will not be wronged in aught – 

 

Thus they must repent to achieve the First Resurrection and judgment in the Second Resurrection.

 

Proverbs 13:13 Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.

 

One cannot assert that God has lost His Scriptures and not be punished.

 

Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

 

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.

 

They attain eternal life in the first garden of paradise as stated in Revelation 20:6 below.

 

19.61. Gardens of Eden, which the Beneficent hath promised to His slaves in the unseen. Lo! His promise is ever sure of fulfilment – 

19.62. They hear therein no idle talk, but only Peace; and therein they have food for morn and evening. 
19.63. Such is the Garden which We cause the devout among Our bondmen to inherit. 

 

Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (ISV)

 

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.


2Peter 1:4
Through these he has given us his precious and wonderful promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, seeing that you have escaped the corruption that is in the world caused by evil desires. (ISV)

 

Revelation 22:12 See! I am coming soon! My reward is with me to repay everyone according to his action.

 

Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

 

God’s command of the Angelic Host is declared from this text and confirms Scripture.

 

19.64. We (angels) come not down save by commandment of thy Lord. Unto Him belongeth all that is before us and all that is behind us and all that is between those two, and thy Lord was never forgetful

19.65. Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them! Therefor, worship thou Him and be thou steadfast in His service. Knowest thou one that can be named along with Him? 

 

Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?  


1Chronicles 29:11-12
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. 12Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.


Isaiah 46:9-10
Remember the former things from long ago, Because I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like me. 10I declare from the beginning things to follow, and from ancient times things that have not yet been done; saying, 'My purpose will stand, and he will accomplish everything that I please.' (ISV)


Luke 4:8
But Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him."

 

Psalm 86:8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.

 

The texts below speak also of the Second Resurrection and the judgment of the demons after they are brought forth from the pit (cf. the paper Judgment of the Demons (No. 080)).

 

19.66. And man saith: When I am dead, shall I forsooth be brought forth alive?

19.67. Doth not man remember that We created him before, when he was naught? 

19.68. And, by thy Lord, verily We shall assemble them and the devils, then We shall bring them, crouching, around hell. 

19.69. Then We shall pluck out from every sect whichever of them was most stubborn in rebellion to the Beneficent.

19.70. And surely We are Best Aware of those most worthy to be burned therein.

19.71. There is not one of you but shall approach it. That is a fixed ordinance of thy Lord. 

 

Daniel 12:2 Many of those who are sleeping in the dust of the earth will awaken—some to life everlasting, and some to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

 

Isaiah 26:19 But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Those who live in the dust will wake up and shout for joy! For your dew is like the dew of dawn, and the earth will give birth to the dead. (ISV)


Ezekiel 37:3-6
The LORD asked me, "Son of Man, will these bones ever live?" "Lord GOD," I replied, "you know the answer to that!" 4Then the LORD told me, "Prophesy to these bones. Tell them: 'You dry bones, listen to the message from the LORD: " 5This is what the Lord GOD says to you dry bones! 'Pay attention! I'm bringing my Spirit into you right now, and you're going to live! 6I'm going to grow tendons on you, regenerate your flesh, cover you with skin, and make you breathe again so that you can come back to life and learn that I am the LORD.'" (ISV)

 

Psalm 37:38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.


Read also Revelation 20:11-15 as quoted in previous Surahs.

 
Ezekiel 28:9
Will you still say, 'I am a god,' in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you?


Psalm 82:6-7
I said, "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; 7nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince."

 

19.72. Then We shall rescue those who kept from evil, and leave the evil-doers crouching there. 

19.73. And when Our clear revelations are recited unto them, those who disbelieve say unto those who believe: Which of the two parties (yours or ours) is better in position, and more imposing as an army?

19.74. How many a generation have We destroyed before them, who were more imposing in respect of gear and outward seeming! 

19.75. Say: As for him who is in error, the Beneficent will verily prolong his span of life until, when they behold that which they were promised, whether it be punishment (in the world), or the Hour (of doom), they will know who is worse in position and who is weaker as an army. 

19.76. Allah increaseth in right guidance those who walk aright, and the good deeds which endure are better in thy Lord's sight for reward, and better for resort. 

19.77. Hast thou seen him who disbelieveth in Our revelations and saith: Assuredly I shall be given wealth and children?

19.78. Hath he perused the Unseen, or hath he made a pact with the Beneficent?

19.79. Nay, but We shall record that which he saith and prolong for him a span of torment. 

19.80. And We shall inherit from him that whereof he spake, and he will come unto Us, alone (without his wealth and children). 

 

These revelations referred to here are those of the Scriptures. It is impossible that they refer to the Koran as it was not even spoken let alone compiled.


Read also Revelation 20:4-6 as quoted in previous Surahs.

 

Romans 2:4 Or are you unaware of his rich kindness, forbearance, and patience, that it is God's kindness that is leading you to repent? (ISV)

 

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.


Psalm 25:9
He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.


Psalm 23:3
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.


Ecclesiastes 2:26
For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.


Proverbs. 13:22
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous.


Job 1:21
And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

 

1Timothy 6:7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

 

Ecclesiastes 5:15 As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.


Psalm 37:28
For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. The righteous shall be preserved for ever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. (RSV)

 

19.81. And they have chosen (other) gods beside Allah that they may be a power for them. 

 

Trinitarianism was littered with idols and images of those they called saints and the Binitarians and Ditheists had others beside Eloah who was Ha Elohim.  The demons occupied these places.

 

Deuteronomy 4:35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him.

 

Isaiah 43:10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.


Psalm 146:3
Do not look to nobles, nor to mere human beings who cannot save. (ISV)

 

19.82. Nay, but they will deny their worship of them, and become opponents unto them.

 

See 1Peter 5:8 above.

 

19.83. Seest thou not that We have set the devils on the disbelievers to confound them with confusion? 

 

1Corinthians14:33 For God is not of confusion, but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints. (LITV)

 

Isaiah 45:16 All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.

 

19.84. So make no haste against them (O Muhammad). We do but number unto them a sum (of days). 

 

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

 

Psalm 39:4 O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!

 

Proverbs 2:22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.

 

19.85. On the day when We shall gather the righteous unto the Beneficent, a goodly company. 

 

Here the First Resurrection is indicated as the goodly company (cf. Revelation chapter 7).

 

Amos 3:3 Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?


1John 1:3 T
hat which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.


John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

 

Revelation 7:15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

 

Then the grave is the place of the sinners until the Second Resurrection.

 

19.86. And drive the guilty unto hell, a weary herd, 

19.87. They will have no power of intercession, save him who hath made a covenant with his Lord. 

 

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Psalm 9:17 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.

 

The wrongdoers are consigned to the Second Resurrection to face correction and judgment to lead them to repentance and if they do not repent during the 100 years they will face the second death

 

19.88. And they say: The Beneficent hath taken unto Himself a son. 

19.89. Assuredly ye utter a disastrous thing 

19.90. Whereby almost the heavens are torn, and the earth is split asunder and the mountains fall in ruins, 

19.91. That ye ascribe unto the Beneficent a son, 

19.92. When it is not meet for (the Majesty of) the Beneficent that He should choose a son. 

 

The attribution of a single sonship to God is improper when it is a status of the Created Host according to Scripture.

 

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.


Job 2:1
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.

 

Job 38:7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

 

John 20:17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

 

God has many sons that were generated by Him. He just gave the command and they came to be as stated in Psalm 33:9 above.

 

19.93. There is none in the heavens and the earth but cometh unto the Beneficent as a slave. 

19.94. Verily He knoweth them and numbereth them with (right) numbering. 

19.95. And each one of them will come unto Him on the Day of Resurrection, alone.

19.96. Lo! those who believe and do good works, the Beneficent will appoint for them love.

 

Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.


1Peter 2:16
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

 

2Timothy 2:19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."

 

See Job 1:21 above. We return alone and give an account to God for all of our deeds.

 

19.97. And We make (this Scripture) easy in thy tongue, (O Muhammad) only that thou mayst bear good tidings therewith unto those who ward off (evil), and warn therewith the froward folk. 

19.98. And how many a generation before them have We destroyed! Canst thou (Muhammad) see a single man of them, or hear from them the slightest sound?

 

Luke 4:43 but he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose."


Ezekiel 33:9 B
ut if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

 

Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

 

Psalm 21:8-11 Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you. 9You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger; The LORD will swallow them up in His wrath, And fire will devour them. 10Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men. 11Though they intended evil against You And devised a plot, They will not succeed. (NASB)

 

And so the Church of God in Arabia bore witness of its bona fides to the Churches of God in Abyssinia by the testimony of this Surah and established its credentials as a Sabbatarian Church of God in good standing and was saved in its first persecution of 613 CE as its First Hijrah.Top of Form


 

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