Commentary on the Koran: Surah 34 (No. Q034)

Pickthall Translation; ESV used unless otherwise stated.

Introduction

Surah 34 Sheba or “Saba” takes its name from verses 15ff., a region in the Yaman or Yemen.

Saba had a rich kingdom based on agriculture and irrigation and was considered the Sheba of the Bible. The system existed from ca. 800 BCE to the collapse of its dam system ca. 570 CE.

Using some of the records we find in the Wikipedia articles, we see the following. At the time of the earliest historical sources originating in South Arabia the territory in Southern Arabia was under the rule of the Kingdom of Saba', the centres of which were situated to the east of present-day Sana'a in Ṣirwāḥ and Ma'rib. The divisions of South Arabia at that time consisted of several larger kingdoms, or rather tribal territories: Awsān, Qatabān and the Ḥaḑramawt; and on the other hand an uncertain number of smaller states, such as the city states of Ḥaram

(Yemen) and Nasq in al-Jawf. Shortly after, Yitha'amar Watar I had united Qatabān and some areas in al-Djawf with Saba', the Kingdom reached the peak of its power under Karib'il Watar I, who probably reigned some time around the first half of the 7th century BCE, and ruled all the region from Najrān in the south of modern South Arabia right up to Bāb al-Mandab, on the Red Sea. The formation of the Minaean Kingdom in the river oasis of al-Jawf, north-west of Saba' in the 6th century BCE, actually posed a danger for Sabaean hegemony, but Yitha'amar Bayyin II, who had completed the great reservoir dam of Ma'rib, succeeded in reconquering the northern part of South Arabia. Between the 8th and 4th centuries the state of Da'amot emerged, under Sabaean influence in Ethiopia, which survived until the beginning of the Christian era at the latest. The exact chronology of Da'amot and to what extent it was politically independent of Saba' remains in any case uncertain.

The success of the Kingdom was based on the cultivation and trade of spices and aromatics including frankincense and myrrh. These were exported to the Mediterranean, India, and Abyssinia where they were greatly prized by many cultures, using camels on routes through Arabia, and to India by sea.

Agriculture in Yemen thrived during this time due to an advanced irrigation system which consisted of large water tunnels in mountains, and dams. The most impressive of these earthworks, known as the Ma'rib Dam was built c. 700 BCE, provided irrigation for about 25,000 acres (or 101 km²) of land^[12] and stood for over a millennium, finally collapsing in 570 CE after centuries of neglect. The final destruction of the dam is noted in the Qur'an and the consequent failure of the irrigation system provoked the migration of up to 50,000 people.

The Sabaean kingdom, with its capital at Ma'rib where the remains of a large temple can still be seen, thrived for almost 14 centuries. The Wikipedia claims that some have argued that this kingdom was the Sheba described in the Old Testament. However, there is not much doubt in the minds of the Arabs, Jews or Christians that this was the Sheba involved with Solomon.

The final collapse of the Dam system after years of neglect some 40 years before the call of Qasim to the church in Becca was then used as an example of the evils of affluence and this Surah records that it was destroyed by a flood.

This Early Beccan Surah was a warning to Becca and the Arabians generally (using the fact of the Temple there no doubt) in also warning the idolaters at Becca and later Mecca of what lies before them. In the Last Days, the current Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been devastated with hundreds of billions of US equivalent in fraud and corruption and they are worse now than they have ever been.

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34.1. Praise be to Allah, unto Whom belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. His is the praise in the Hereafter, and He is the Wise, the Aware.

34.2. He knoweth that which goeth into the earth and that which cometh forth from it, and that descendeth from the heaven and that which ascendeth into it. He is the Merciful, the Forgiving.

1Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Jude 1:25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Psalm 24:1-2 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, ²for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

John 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

1John 3:20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

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

John 1:51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Psalm 104:13-14 From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. ¹⁴You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth

God states that He knows whatever goes down into the earth and whatever comes out of it. We are aware that the rain waters the earth and causes new growth to come out of the earth. In a similar way man goes back to the earth when his term comes to its end and he will be raised again as a new creation to give an account for his deeds and given the opportunity of eternal life.

This area of Saba was over an artesian basin and one of the causes of the collapse was the depletion of the artesian basin.

34.3. Those who disbelieve say: The Hour will never come unto us. Say: Nay, by my Lord, but it is coming unto you surely. (He is) the Knower of the Unseen. Not an atom's weight, or less than that or greater, escapeth Him in the heavens or in the earth, but it is in a clear Record,

Refer to the following: Habakkuk 2:3 at ayat 18.82 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 18 (No. Q018); 2Peter 3:9 at ayat 20.129 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 20 (No. Q020) and Jeremiah 23:24 at ayat 24.18 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 24 (No. Q024).

Luke 21:34 But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

Daniel 2:22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

34.4. That He may reward those who believe and do good works. For them is pardon and a rich provision.

Titus 3:8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

34.5. But those who strive against Our revelations, challenging (Us), theirs will be a painful doom of wrath.

Colossians 3:25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

Matthew 25:41 Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Refer to Revelation 21:8 at ayat 23.98 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 23 (No. Q023).

34.6. Those who have been given knowledge see that what is revealed unto thee from thy Lord is the truth and leadeth unto the path of the Mighty, the Owner of Praise.

Psalm 119:160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 43:3-4 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! ⁴Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

34.7. Those who disbelieve say: Shall we show you a man who will tell you (that) when ye have become dispersed in dust with most complete dispersal still, even then, ye will be created anew?

34.8. Hath he invented a lie concerning Allah, or is there in him a madness? Nay, but those who disbelieve in the Hereafter are in torment and far error.

34.9. Have they not observed what is before them and what is behind them of the sky and the earth? If We will, We can make the earth swallow them, or cause obliteration from the sky to fall on them. Lo! herein surely is a portent for every slave who turneth (to Allah) repentant.

Refer to John 5:28-29 at ayat 23.11 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 23 (No. Q023) and 2Chronicles 36:15-16 at ayat 21.15 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 21 (No. Q021).

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

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

Acts 24:15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Psalm 49:20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Hebrews 2:4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

34.10. And assuredly We gave David grace from Us, (saying): O ye hills and birds, echo his psalms of praise! And We made the iron supple unto him,

34.11. Saying: Make thou long coats of mail and measure the links (thereof). And do ye right. Lo! I am Seer of what ye do.

Isaiah 55:12 For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Psalm 98:8 Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together,

David made extensive use of iron in his many battles as 1Chronicles 28:3 states that he was a man of war. He ruled from Sinai to the Euphrates and waged war north of that into what is now Iraq and beyond. At the return of Messiah that area will be again under David with Messiah as king over all mankind.

34.12. And unto Solomon (We gave) the wind, whereof the morning course was a month's journey and the evening course a month's journey, and We caused the fount of copper to gush forth for him, and (We gave him) certain of the jinn who worked before him by permission of his Lord. And such of them as deviated from Our command, them We caused to taste the punishment of flaming Fire.

1Kings 10:22 or the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

2Chronicles 9:21 For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

2Chronicles 1:11-12 God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, ¹²wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.”

34.13. They made for him what he willed: synagogues and statues, basins like wells and boilers built into the ground. Give thanks, O House of David! Few of My bondmen are thankful.

These are detailed in 2Chronicles chapters 3 and 4 and in 1Kings chapters 6 to 7.

1Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Ephesians 5:20 always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

34.14. And when We decreed death for him, nothing showed his death to them save a creeping creature of the earth which gnawed away his staff. And when he fell the jinn saw clearly how, if they had known the Unseen, they would not have continued in despised toil.

34.15. There was indeed a sign for Sheba in their dwelling-place: Two gardens on the right hand and the left (as who should say): Eat of the provision of your Lord and render thanks to Him. A fair land and an indulgent Lord!

34.16. But they were froward, so We sent on them the flood of 'Iram, and in exchange for their two gardens gave them two gardens bearing bitter fruit, the tamarisk and here and there a lote-tree.

The Flood of ‘Iram is the flood that was used to destroy the ancient city of ‘Iram in Saba or Sheba. Some say it was mythical, but it was never a myth to the Arabs. The waters that flow to the Ma’rib Dam flow from rivers in the area of the three mountains there and the flood damaged the region.

34.17. This We awarded them because of their ingratitude. Punish We ever any save the ingrates?

Ecclesiastes 3:13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.

Psalm 107:33-34 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, ³⁴a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.

Read Deuteronomy 28 to understand the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience. Disobedience will result in the blessings being taken away.

34.18. And We set, between them and the towns which We had blessed, towns easy to be seen, and We made the stage between them easy, (saying): Travel in them safely both by night and day.

34.19. But they said: Our Lord! Make the stage between our journeys longer. And they wronged themselves, therefore We made them bywords (in the land) and scattered them abroad, a total scattering. Lo! herein verily are portents for each steadfast, grateful (heart).

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

1Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain,

Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. ¹¹When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

Proverbs 23:4-5 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. ⁵When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.

The curses that follow disobedience are meant to bring the lawless ones to their senses with the hope that they will repent and live in compliance with the commandments of the Almighty God. If they still do not repent captivity follows.

34.20. And Satan indeed found his calculation true concerning them, for they follow him, all save a group of true believers.

34.21. And he had no warrant whatsoever against them, save that We would know him who believeth in the Hereafter from him who is in doubt thereof; and thy Lord (O Muhammad) taketh note of all things.

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Matthew 25:46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

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 2Corinthians 4:4 at ayat 24.40 and Daniel 12:2 at ayat 24.42 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 24 (No. Q024) and also Deuteronomy 29:29 at ayat 21.15 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 21 (No. Q021).

The group that keeps the Commandments of God and the Testimony or Faith of Messiah attain eternal life in the First Resurrection as the saints or the elect (Rev. 12:17; 14:12). The second group that do what seems right in their own eyes get sent to the Second Resurrection to face corrective punishment and reeducation to lead them to repentance.

34.22. Say (O Muhammad): Call upon those whom ye set up beside Allah! They possess not an atom's weight either in the heavens or in the earth, nor have they any share in either, nor hath He an auxiliary among them.

Deuteronomy 10:14 Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.

Jeremiah 25:6 Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.

Exodus 15:11 Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Judges 10:14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”

2Kings 19:18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.

34.23. No intercession availeth with Him save for him whom He permitteth. Yet, when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: What was it that your Lord said? They say: The Truth. And He is the Sublime, the Great.

See Psalm 119:160 at ayat 34.6 above.

1Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Proverbs 21:30 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.

Psalm 97:9 For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

34.24. Say: Who giveth you provision from the sky and the earth? Say: Allah, Lo! we or you assuredly are rightly guided or in error manifest.

Leviticus 26:4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

Physical and spiritual provisions for His people are gifts of God.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 4:4 But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

34.25. Say: Ye will not be asked of what we committed, nor shall we be asked of what ye do.

Refer to Ezekiel 18:20 at ayat 17.13 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 17 (No. Q017) and Psalm 28:4 at ayat 24.13 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 24 (No. Q024).

Revelation 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.

34.26. Say: Our Lord will bring us all together, then He will judge between us with truth. He is the All-knowing Judge.

Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

2Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Psalm 9:8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.

34.27. Say: Show me those whom ye have joined unto Him as partners. Nay (ye dare not)! For He is Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.

Refer also to Jude 1:25 at ayat 34.2 above.

Psalm 40:5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.

34.28. And We have not sent thee (O Muhammad) save as a bringer of good tidings and a warner unto all mankind; but most of mankind know not.

2Kings 17:13-14 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets. ¹⁴But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God.

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."

34.29. And they say: When is this promise (to be fulfilled) if ye are truthful?

34.30. Say (O Muhammad): Yours is the promise of a Day which ye cannot postpone nor hasten by an hour.

Refer to Habakkuk 2:3 at ayat 18.82 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 18 (No. Q018) and to 2Peter 3:9 at ayat 20.129 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 20 (No. Q020).

Mark 13:32 But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Acts 1:7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

34.31. And those who disbelieve say: We believe not in this Qur'an nor in that which was before it; but oh, if thou couldst see, when the wrong-doers are brought up before their Lord, how they cast the blame one to another; how those who were despised (in the earth) say unto those who were proud: But for you, we should have been believers.

34.32. Those who were proud say unto those who were despised: Did we drive you away from the guidance after it had come unto you? Nay, but ye were guilty.

34.33. Those who were despised say unto those who were proud: Nay but (it was your) scheming night and day, when ye commanded us to disbelieve in Allah and set up rivals unto Him. And they are filled with remorse when they behold the doom; and We place carcans on the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they requited aught save what they used to do?

34.34. And We sent not unto any township a warner, but its pampered ones declared: Lo! we are disbelievers in that wherewith ye have been sent.

34.35. And they say: We are more (than you) in wealth and children. We are not the punished!

Refer to Romans 1:19-25 at ayat 16.3 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 16 (No. Q016).

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Acts 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

Jeremiah 51:15 It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

Jeremiah 5:21 Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not.

2Kings 17:15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them.

Ephesians 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

They can continue to blame the others but they are without any excuse whatsoever. They will reap the consequences for the choices they made in this life. The softer and more affluent they become the weaker they are. So also the people of the last days are weak and turn from God as did these Beccans and later Meccans of old.

34.36. Say (O Muhammad): Lo! my Lord enlargeth the provision for whom He will and narroweth it (for whom He will). But most of mankind know not.

Romans 9:15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 34:10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Proverbs 13:25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

34.37. And it is not your wealth nor your children that will bring you near unto Us, but he who believeth and doeth good (he draweth near). As for such, theirs will be twofold reward for what they did and they will dwell secure in lofty halls.

1Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Proverbs 21:3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Mark 12:33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

See Micah 6:8 at ayat 22.54 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 22 (No. Q022).

34.38. And as for those who strive against Our revelations, challenging, they will be brought to the doom.

Refer to 2Chronicles 36:15-16 at ayat 21.15 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 21 (No. Q021).

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

Isaiah 66:24 "And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."

Refer to Revelation 21:8 at ayat 23.98 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 23 (No. Q023).

34.39. Say: Lo! my Lord enlargeth the provision for whom He will of His bondmen, and narroweth (it) for him. And whatsoever ye spend (for good) He replaceth it. And He is the Best of Providers.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 34:10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Proverbs 13:25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

Proverbs 11:25 A liberal man will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. (RSV)

34.40. And on the day when He will gather them all together, He will say unto the angels: Did these worship you?

34.41. They will say: Be Thou Glorified. Thou (alone) art our Guardian, not them! Nay, but they worshipped the jinn; most of them were believers in them.

James 2:19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Revelation 19:10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God." For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Revelation 22:9 but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God."

1Corinthians 8:5-6 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— ⁶yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

34.42. That day ye will possess no use nor hurt one for another. And We shall say unto those who did wrong: Taste the doom of the Fire which ye used to deny.

Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Proverbs 10:24 What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

Isaiah 66:4 I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them, because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.

Wrongdoers are consigned to the Second Resurrection and if they do not repent during the 100 years of correction and intensive training will face the second death and the Lake of Fire.

34.43. And if Our revelations are recited unto them in plain terms, they say: This is naught else than a man who would turn you away from what your fathers used to worship; and they say: This is naught else than an invented lie. Those who disbelieve say of the truth when it reacheth them: This is naught else than mere magic.

34.44. And We have given them no scriptures which they study, nor sent We unto them, before thee, any warner.

34.45. Those before them denied, and these have not attained a tithe of that which We bestowed on them (of old); yet they denied My messengers. How intense then was My abhorrence (of them)!

Here we see an apparent contradiction in verses 44 and 45. Verse 44 says that they have been given no Scriptures which they study nor were they given a message until the Prophet was sent to them.

Yet 45 is making it clear God is speaking of the generation of that time and that they had messengers sent before to them and warnings from the messengers that they denied. With that they earned God’s abhorrence. This is again a rebuke and a reference to coming retribution of God as we see in Surah 15 Al Hijr (No. Q015) following on from S11 Hud and the other prophets and patriarchs.

Refer to 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 at ayat 21.15 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 21 (No. Q021).

Nehemiah 9:26 Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.

Mark 7:9 And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!

34.46. Say (unto them, O Muhammad): I exhort you unto one thing only: that ye awake, for Allah's sake, by twos and singly, and then reflect: There is no madness in your comrade. He is naught else than a warner unto you in face of a terrific doom.

Hosea 9:7 The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred.

The elect of God are considered to be mad because they are the bonded slaves of the Almighty and live in compliance with His laws and His commandments and they do not follow the crowd who do whatever pleases them. The elect are led by God’s Holy Spirit to lead a life worthy of His calling. These prophecies refer not just to the idolatrous Becca of the Arabs of the Seventh century. They also refer forward to the subjugation of the Arabs of the 21st century under Messiah and the elect servants of God from the First Resurrection.

34.47. Say: Whatever reward I might have asked of you is yours. My reward is the affair of Allah only. He is Witness over all things.

Psalm 58:11 Mankind will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."

Isaiah 3:10 Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.

Job 28:24 For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

34.48. Say: Lo! my Lord hurleth the truth. (He is) the Knower of Things Hidden.

34.49. Say: The Truth hath come, and falsehood showeth not its face and will not return.

See Psalm 119:160 at ayat 34.6 above.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

See Proverbs 19:9 at ayat 22.30 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 22 (No. Q022).

34.50. Say: If I err, I err only to my own loss, and if I am rightly guided it is because of that which my Lord hath revealed unto me. Lo! He is Hearer, Nigh.

See 2 Peter 1:21 at ayat 22.49 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 22 (No. Q022).

2Samuel 23:2 " The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; his word is on my tongue.

Psalm 145:18-19 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. ¹⁹He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

34.51. Couldst thou but see when they are terrified with no escape, and are seized from near at hand,

Proverbs 10:24 What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

Proverbs 1:27 when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.

Refer to Job 34:21-22 at ayat 24.21 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 24 (No. Q024).

34.52. And say: We (now) believe therein. But how can they reach (faith) from afar off,

34.53. When they disbelieved in it of yore. They aim at the unseen from afar off.

34.54. And a gulf is set between them and that which they desire, as was done for people of their kind of old. Lo! they were in hopeless doubt.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2Corinthians 4:18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Belief, repentance and change are allowed and possible before the age is closed with the death of the Witnesses and the return of the Messiah. It is the same for all men, those who claim Christianity and Islam and all religion of all mankind. Once the Messiah returns, all the unbaptised and evildoers are consigned to the Second Resurrection. The elect of the prophets and the Churches of God throughout the world will lead mankind into its inheritance and no person that does not keep the Law and teaches against the Law of God and the Testimony of the Faith will be allowed to live.

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