Commentary on the Koran: Surah 61 (No. Q061)

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

Introduction

As-Saff The Ranks takes its name from a word in verse 4. It was held to have been revealed at Becca. If that were to be so then (according to Pickthall) it had to have been revealed while the Prophet and the companions were encamped in the valley of Becca when the truce of Hudeybiyah was being negotiated, as the contents evidently refer to the Al-Madinah period. Tradition reportedly associated some of the text with that period. Thus it is allocated by Pickthall and others as being from the Sixth year of the Hijrah in 627/8 CE.

This Surah is a great stumbling block to Islam. The use of the word Ahmad, meaning the Comforter or the Holy Spirit, is incorrectly applied as a name of the Prophet where the praised one referred to in Verse 6 is associated with Christ and refers to the Comforter as the Holy Spirit, which was announced by Christ and made available by his sacrifice and acceptance as the Wave Sheaf Offering on the Sunday morning for his acceptance at the Throne of God. He returned that afternoon to the apostles with the power to convey the Holy Spirit to and on them (cf. John 20:22; and see the paper The Forty Days After the Resurrection of Christ (No. 159A)).

Pickthall confirms this misunderstanding with which he himself is corrupted and appears in his footnote 1 to verse 6 (p. 583) and he then attributes the misunderstanding as being accepted by many Christian communities of the East as being a prophet yet to come and he then holds that “and most of them accepted Muhammad as that prophet” which is a blatant false statement on a number of counts. It involves a complete rejection of the fundamental purpose of the Messiah in making the Holy Spirit available to mankind at Pentecost 30 CE, which was his primary purpose in being and the intent of this Surah.

No other error of understanding and false teaching has done more harm to the faith than this heresy in Arabia.

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61.1. All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth glorifieth Allah, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.

Refer to Revelation 4:11 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 39 (No. Q039) at ayat 4.

Revelation 5:13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Jeremiah 10:6 There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.

Job 12:13 With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding.

61.2. O ye who believe! Why say ye that which ye do not?

61.3. It is most hateful in the sight of Allah that ye say that which ye do not.

Psalm 15:4 Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the LORD, and keep their promises even when it hurts. (NLT)

James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

61.4. Lo! Allah loveth them who battle for His cause in ranks, as if they were a solid structure.

Ephesians 4:11-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

1Corinthians 12:28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.

Ephesians 2:19-21 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

61.5. And (remember) when Moses said unto his people: O my people! Why persecute ye me, when ye well know that I am Allah's messenger unto you? So when they went astray Allah sent their hearts astray. And Allah guideth not the evil-living folk.

Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.

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.

Luke 16:31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’

Hebrews 3:16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?

Psalm 81:11-12 But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. ¹²So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.

Proverbs 5:22-23 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. ²³He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

61.6. And when Jesus son of Mary said: O Children of Israel! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was (revealed) before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a messenger who cometh after me, whose name is the Praised One. Yet when he hath come unto them with clear proofs, they say: This is mere magic.

The text here refers to the Ahmad and is the praised one or Comforter which came with miracles and great power at Pentecost 30 CE and has nothing to do with the Prophet but is the power of God possessed by the Church of God. If the Prophet thought that the name of the Spirit would be applied to him he would have rent his garments in anguish at the heresy.

Refer to John 16:13 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 17 (No. Q017) at ayat 84 and Matthew 5:17 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 44 (No. Q044) at ayat 2.

Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.

Acts 3:22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.

John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

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.

61.7. And who doeth greater wrong than he who inventeth a lie against Allah when he is summoned unto Al-Islam? And Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.

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

2Timothy 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, ⁴and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Psalm 53:3 They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Romans 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

61.8. Fain would they put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light however much the disbelievers are averse.

Isaiah 45:24 “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

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

Isaiah 14:24 The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.

God’s plan will not fail so light will prevail against darkness and truth cannot be stamped out.

Psalm 33:10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

61.9. He it is Who hath sent His messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may make it conqueror of all religion however much idolaters may be averse.

Refer to John 14:6 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 43 (No. Q043) at ayat 64.

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Acts 10:43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

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

1Peter 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

61.10. O ye who believe! Shall I show you a commerce that will save you from a painful doom?

61.11. Ye should believe in Allah and His messenger, and should strive for the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives. That is better for you, if ye did but know.

61.12. He will forgive you your sins and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, and pleasant dwellings in Gardens of Eden. That is the supreme triumph.

61.13. And (He will give you) another (blessing) which ye love: help from Allah and present victory. Give good tidings (O Muhammad) to believers.

61.14. O ye who believe! Be Allah's helpers, even as Jesus son of Mary said unto the disciples: Who are my helpers for Allah? They said: We are Allah's helpers. And a party of the Children of Israel believed, while a party disbelieved. Then We strengthened those who believed against their foe, and they became the uppermost.

This text refers back to the establishment of the church in Israel and the removal of Judah under the Sign of Jonah (cf. The Sign of Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 013))

See also Deuteronomy 10:12-13 in Surah 59 at ayat 18 and Mark 10:29-30 in Surah 60 at ayat 2.

Also refer to Micah 6:8 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 30 (No. Q030) at ayat 31; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 43 (No. Q043) at ayat 64 and Revelation 20:6 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 44 (No. Q044) at ayat 57.

Daniel 7:27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 37:9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.

Psalm 37:22 for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

Luke 9:62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 19:28-29 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

1John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1John 5:4-5 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The elect will be exalted as they will attain the First Resurrection which is a better resurrection. The rest of humanity the disbelievers will be consigned to the Second Resurrection.

The major problem is that those claiming to be of al-Islam in the Middle East and elsewhere have been blinded to the purpose and function of the Holy Spirit and have been prevented from Salvation through repentance and conversion and the First Resurrection through the heresies of the Imams trying to corrupt the faith and maintain error and division in Islam. The Ahmad is the means of Salvation and becoming one with God and can only be conferred through baptism.

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