Commentary on the Koran: Surah 29 (No. Q029)

Pickthall Translation; English Standard Version used throughout unless otherwise noted.

Introduction

Surah 29 Al-‘Ankabut “The Spider” is named from verse 41 where false beliefs are likened to a spiders web for frailty. Most of the Surah is attributed to the Middle or Last Beccan period. There is confusion as to the origin. Some authorities attribute verses 7 and 8 and many others attribute the whole latter section of the Surah to the period at Al-Madinah. It gives comfort to the community under persecution.

In this text we again get Haman linked with the time of Moses and again the Amalekites are tied in to the period with Egypt. It has to be considered that Haman may have been a traditional ancestral name of the Amalekites that Moses and the Israelites fought in the last year of the Exodus near Kadesh. There seems little doubt that the Prophet is tying the Arabs in as the latter day Amalekites in the last wars of the end time persecutions.

The text introduces the concept of testing by affliction those of the faith who believe.

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29.1. Alif. Lam. Mim.

Isaiah 46:9-10 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, ¹⁰declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'

Job 21:22 Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those who are on high?

Psalm 33:13-15 The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; ¹⁴from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, ¹⁵he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.

Hebrews 4:13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

29.2. Do men imagine that they will be left (at ease) because they say, We believe, and will not be tested

with affliction?

29.3. Lo! We tested those who were before you. Thus Allah knoweth those who are sincere, and knoweth those who feign.

1Peter 1:6-7 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

1Peter 5:10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Hebrews 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

Jeremiah 17:10 “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

29.4. Or do those who do ill-deeds imagine that they can outstrip Us? Evil (for them) is that which they decide.

Psalm 9:5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever.

Job 5:12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.

Isaiah 1:28 But rebels and sinners shall be broken together, and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

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."

Isaiah 66:23 deals with the Sabbaths and New Moons, where death is the punishment for their breach.

29.5. Whoso looketh forward to the meeting with Allah (let him know that) Allah's reckoning is surely nigh, and He is the Hearer, the Knower.

Romans 13:11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

James 5:8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

See Psalm 33:13-15 and Hebrews 4:13 as at ayat 29.1 above.

29.6. And whosoever striveth, striveth only for himself, for lo! Allah is altogether Independent of (His) creatures.

Psalm 50:9-12 I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. ¹⁰For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. ¹¹I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. ¹²If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.

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

Jeremiah 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?

The One True God granted the son to have life in himself, which he did not possess before his incarnation and Resurrection; and so also he made mankind to have life in himself as coheirs from the Resurrections from the dead.

29.7. And as for those who believe and do good works, We shall remit from them their evil deeds and shall repay them the best that they did.

Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

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.

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

Deuteronomy 28:1 And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

Psalm 128:2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

Proverbs 12:14 From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.

29.8. We have enjoined on man kindness to parents; but if they strive to make thee join with Me that of which thou hast no knowledge, then obey them not. Unto Me is your return and I shall tell you what ye used to do.

Deuteronomy 5:16 Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

2Kings 17:35-38 The LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, ³⁶but you shall fear the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. ³⁷And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, ³⁸and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods,

Here the covenant is given the Sabbath as a Sign of the faith as we saw in Surah 4:154 and Tithing is the sign of the return to God in Malachi 3:6-12.

Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.

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

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

29.9. And as for those who believe and do good works, We verily shall make them enter in among the righteous.

Romans 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."

James 2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

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.

James 1:25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

29.10. Of mankind is he who saith: We believe in Allah, but, if he be made to suffer for the sake of Allah, he mistaketh the persecution of mankind for Allah's punishment; and then, if victory cometh from thy Lord, will say: Lo! we were with you (all the while). Is not Allah Best Aware of what is in the bosoms of (His) creatures?

29.11. Verily Allah knoweth those who believe, and verily He knoweth the hypocrites.

29.12. Those who disbelieve say unto those who believe: Follow our way (of religion) and we verily will bear your sins (for you). They cannot bear aught of their sins. Lo! they verily are liars.

29.13. But they verily will bear their own loads and other loads beside their own, and they verily will be questioned on the Day of Resurrection concerning that which they invented.

So also are they liars that teach an ascent to heaven for those who obey them in violence, rape and murder, and in the Hadith.

See Job 28:24 at ayat 29.8 above.

1Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,

Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

1Peter 2:20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

Psalm 139:4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

Psalm 4:3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

Psalm 14:3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Matthew 23:13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Galatians 6:5 For each will have to bear his own load.

Romans 14:12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

29.14. And verily we sent Noah (as Our messenger) unto his folk, and he continued with them for a thousand years save fifty years; and the flood engulfed them, for they were wrong-doers.

29.15. And We rescued him and those with him in the ship, and made of it a portent for the peoples.

Genesis 9:29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

Genesis 7:23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.

2Peter 2:5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

1Corinthians 10:6, 11 ⁶Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.

¹¹Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.

29.16. And Abraham! (Remember) when he said unto his folk: Serve Allah, and keep your duty unto Him; that is better for you if ye did but know.

29.17. Ye serve instead of Allah only idols, and ye only invent a lie. Lo! those whom ye serve instead of Allah own no provision for you. So seek your provision from Allah, and serve Him, and give thanks unto Him, (for) unto Him ye will be brought back.

29.18. But if ye deny, then nations have denied before you. The messenger is only to convey (the message) plainly.

29.19. See they not how Allah produceth creation, then reproduceth it? Lo! for Allah that is easy.

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

Genesis 18:19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.

Exodus 3:6 And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

1Chronicles 16:26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

Psalm 145:15-16 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. ¹⁶You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 104:28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

Psalm 100:2-3 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! ³Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Mark 6:4 And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household."

2Chronicles 36:16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

Daniel 9:6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

Psalm 104:30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

Psalm 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

Isaiah 65:17-19 For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. ¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. ¹⁹I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.

See Jeremiah 32:27 at ayat 29.6 and Ecclesiastes 12:7 at ayat 29.8. above.

The original creation became tohu and bohu and God recreated the earth for the arrival of the human species. So also will it become again tohu and bohu but God will not make a full end (Jer. 4:23-27). The earth will be restored in the Millennial system. Then God will create the new heavens and the new earth in the near future as stated in Isaiah 65:17 above and Revelation 21:1 at ayat 29.20 below.

29.20. Say (O Muhammad): Travel in the land and see how He originated creation, then Allah bringeth forth the later growth. Lo! Allah is Able to do all things.

See Jeremiah 32:27 at ayat 29.6 above.

Psalm 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

Psalm 104:30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

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

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

29.21. He punisheth whom He will and showeth mercy unto whom He will, and unto Him ye will be turned.

Exodus 33:19 And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Romans 9:18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Proverbs 16:4 The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.

2Samuel 14:14 We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.

Job 30:23 For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living.

29.22. Ye cannot escape (from Him) in the earth or in the sky, and beside Allah there is for you no friend or helper.

Psalm 139:7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?

Jeremiah 23:24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.

Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 40:17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

29.23. Those who disbelieve in the revelations of Allah and in (their) Meeting with Him, such have no hope of My mercy. For such there is a painful doom.

The only ones who meet with Him are those that survive the Second Resurrection and overcome and repent and are presented to Him on His coming for the City of God in Revelation chapters 21 and 22. He shall be our God and we shall be His sons (Rev. 21:7).

Isaiah 1:4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

Isaiah 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Isaiah 57:17 Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.

Psalm 92:7 that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever;

29.24. But the answer of his folk was only that they said: "Kill him" or "Burn him." Then Allah saved him from the Fire. Lo! herein verily are portents for folk who believe.

Psalm 4:3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

Psalm 31:23 Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.

Psalm 107:43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

Hosea 14:9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

29.25. He said: Ye have chosen only idols instead of Allah. The love between you is only in the life of the world. Then on the Day of Resurrection ye will deny each other and curse each other, and your abode will be the Fire, and ye will have no helpers.

1Corinthians 8:4-6 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." ⁵For 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.

Isaiah 41:23-24 Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified. ²⁴Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.

1John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

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

Read also Revelation 20:11-15 as quoted at ayat 17.15 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 17 (No. Q017).

29.26. And Lot believed him, and said: Lo! I am a fugitive unto my Lord. Lo! He, only He, is the Mighty, the Wise.

2Peter 2:7-8 And if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked ⁸(for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

1Timothy 1:17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

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.

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

29.27. And We bestowed on him Isaac and Jacob, and We established the prophethood and the Scripture among his seed, and We gave him his reward in the world, and lo! in the Hereafter he verily is among the righteous.

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.

Genesis 22:17-18 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, ¹⁸and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."

Acts 3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Romans 4:13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Galatians 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

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.

29.28. And Lot! (Remember) when he said unto his folk: Lo! ye commit lewdness such as no creature did before you.

29.29. For come ye not in unto males, and cut ye not the road (for travellers), and commit ye not abomination in your meetings? But the answer of his folk was only that they said: Bring Allah's doom upon us if thou art a truthteller!

29.30. He said: My Lord! Give me victory over folk who work corruption.

29.31. And when Our messengers brought Abraham the good news, they said: Lo! we are about to destroy the people of that township, for its people are wrong-doers.

29.32. He said: Lo! Lot is there. They said: We are best aware of who is there. We are to deliver him and his household, all save his wife, who is of those who stay behind.

29.33. And when Our messengers came unto Lot, he was troubled upon their account, for he could not protect them; but they said: Fear not, nor grieve! Lo! we are to deliver thee and thy household, (all) save thy wife, who is of those who stay behind.

29.34. Lo! We are about to bring down upon the folk of this township a fury from the sky because they are evil-livers.

29.35. And verily of that We have left a clear sign for people who have sense.

Genesis 18:20-21 Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, ²¹I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.

Genesis 18:22-23, 32-33, ²²So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. ²³Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

³² Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” ³³And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Genesis 19:5-7 And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them." ⁶Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, ⁷and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.

Genesis 19:24-29 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. ²⁵And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. ²⁶But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. ²⁷And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. ²⁸And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. ²⁹So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

2Peter 2:6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

Jude 1:7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

29.36. And unto Midian We sent Shu'eyb, their brother. He said: O my people! Serve Allah, and look forward to the Last Day, and do not evil, making mischief, in the earth.

29.37. But they denied him, and the dreadful earthquake took them, and morning found them prostrate in their dwelling place.

29.38. And (the tribes of) A'ad and Thamud! (Their fate) is manifest unto you from their (ruined and deserted) dwellings. Satan made their deeds seem fair unto them and so debarred them from the Way, though they were keen observers.

Messengers were sent to the community in Midian and to the tribes of A’ad and Thamud to warn them to repent of their sins and mend their ways and worship Allah only. Those who did not heed the warning ended up ruined and destroyed.

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

2Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

2Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Refer also Revelation 20:12 as quoted at ayat 17.15 in Surah 17 (No. Q017).

29.39. And Korah, Pharaoh and Haman! Moses came unto them with clear proofs (of Allah's Sovereignty), but they were boastful in the land. And they were not winners (in the race).

29.40. So We took each one in his sin; of them was he on whom We sent a hurricane, and of them was he who was overtaken by the (Awful) Cry, and of them was he whom We caused the earth to swallow, and of them was he whom We drowned. It was not for Allah to wrong them, but they wronged themselves.

Exodus 14:28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained.

Numbers 26:10 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning.

2Chronicles 19:7 Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”

Romans 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!

It pays to heed the warnings of the messengers. Those who refuse like the people of Noah’s time, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, Pharaoh and his hosts, or those who participated in Korah’s rebellion, or those of the Amalekites and the sons of Haman, all faced destruction and ruin because they chose not to repent and mend their wicked ways. We now see the weakness of the rebellious as those who build the house of the spider and fail to construct the house of God on rock.

29.41. The likeness of those who choose other patrons than Allah is as the likeness of the spider when she taketh unto herself a house, and lo! the frailest of all houses is the spider's house, if they but knew.

29.42. Lo! Allah knoweth what thing they invoke instead of Him. He is the Mighty, the Wise.

29.43. As for these similitudes, We coin them for mankind, but none will grasp their meaning save the wise.

Job 8:13-15 Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish. ¹⁴His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider's web. ¹⁵He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.

1Timothy 1:17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

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.

Job 9:4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength—who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?

29.44. Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth. Lo! therein is indeed a portent for believers.

See Jeremiah 32:27 at ayat 29.6 above.

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

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

Psalm 64:9 Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done.

29.45. Recite that which hath been inspired in thee of the Scripture, and establish worship. Lo! worship preserveth from lewdness and iniquity, but verily remembrance of Allah is more important. And Allah knoweth what ye do.

Psalm 119:11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 40:8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.

Psalm 119:24 Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.

Colossians 1:10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

Psalm 105:4-5 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! ⁵Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

Proverbs 24:12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?

29.46. And argue not with the People of the Scripture unless it be in (a way) that is better, save with such of them as do wrong; and say: We believe in that which hath been revealed unto us and revealed unto you; our God and your God is One, and unto Him we surrender.

29.47. In like manner We have revealed unto thee the Scripture, and those unto whom We gave the Scripture aforetime will believe therein; and of these (also) there are some who believe therein. And none deny Our revelations save the disbelievers.

The People of the Scripture are the Churches of God who have believed over time; and these Scriptures have been given to the Arabs so they may understand also but they lie and blaspheme God and say that Allah has lost His Scriptures so they continue in sin for sin is transgression of the Law (1John 3:4).

Refer also to Deuteronomy 29:29 as seen in many previous Surahs.

2Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

1Corinthians 2:10-14 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. ¹¹For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. ¹⁴The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Romans 8:6-8 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. ⁸Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

29.48. And thou (O Muhammad) wast not a reader of any scripture before it, nor didst thou write it with thy right hand, for then might those have doubted, who follow falsehood.

The text was revealed by divine revelation to the Arabian Prophet. The Prophet began by reading the Scriptures when commanded from his calling ca. 608 CE. The term “Muhammad” is inserted here which is incorrect as the Councils of the Churches of God, including here in Arabia, were the guardians of the Scriptures for centuries and still are so.

2Peter 1:21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

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

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.'

29.49. But it is clear revelations in the hearts of those who have been given knowledge, and none deny Our revelations save wrong-doers.

See Psalm 119:160 at ayat 29.44 above.

Titus 1:15-16 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. ¹⁶They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

Psalm 119:142 Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.

Psalm 19:7-9 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; ⁸the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; ⁹the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

29.50. And they say: Why are not portents sent down upon him from his Lord? Say: Portents are with Allah only, and I am but a plain warner.

29.51. Is it not enough for them that We have sent down unto thee the Scripture which is read unto them? Lo! herein verily is mercy, and a reminder for folk who believe.

See Luke 16:31 at ayat 29.48 above.

Jeremiah 25:4 You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets,

Proverbs 3:3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Colossians 3:2-3 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

The messenger delivers the warning. Signs and miracles are the work of God who does what He pleases according to His timing.

29.52. Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Allah sufficeth for witness between me and you. He knoweth whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth. And those who believe in vanity and disbelieve in Allah, they it is who are the losers.

Psalm 37:20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

See Hebrews 4:13 and Psalm 33:13-15 at ayat 29.1 above.

29.53. They bid thee hasten on the doom (of Allah). And if a term had not been appointed, the doom would assuredly have come unto them (ere now). And verily it will come upon them suddenly when they perceive not.

29.54. They bid thee hasten on the doom, when lo! hell verily will encompass the disbelievers

29.55. On the day when the doom will overwhelm them from above them and from underneath their feet, and He will say: Taste what ye used to do!

2Peter 3:4, 9, ⁴They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."

⁹The 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.

Isaiah 5:19 who say: "Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!"

1Thessalonians 5:2-3 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Revelation 16:18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.

The vast majority of mankind will be consigned to the Second Resurrection as they have been deceived by Satan, the god of this world. They will undergo intensive corrective training to lead them to repentance during that White Throne Judgment period of 100 years. Those who refuse to repent will face the second death.

29.56. O my bondmen who believe! Lo! My earth is spacious. Therefor serve Me only.

29.57. Every soul will taste of death. Then unto Us ye will be returned.

29.58. Those who believe and do good works, them verily We shall house in lofty dwellings of the Garden underneath which rivers flow. There they will dwell secure. How sweet the guerdon of the toilers,
29.59. Who persevere, and put their trust in their Lord!

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

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

Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

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.

Psalm 91:2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

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.

2Chronicles 15:7 But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.

See Ecclesiastes 12:7 at ayat 29.8. above.

29.60. And how many an animal there is that beareth not its own provision! Allah provideth for it and for you. He is the Hearer, the Knower.

See Psalm 145:15-16 at ayat 29.19 above.

1John 3:19-20 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; ²⁰for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

Psalm 34:17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

29.61. And if thou wert to ask them: Who created the heavens and the earth, and constrained the sun and the moon (to their appointed work)? they would say: Allah. How then are they turned away?

Jeremiah 32:17 'Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

Psalm 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

Psalm 136:8-9 the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever; ⁹the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;

2Chronicles 29:6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD and turned their backs.

2Timothy 4:4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

29.62. Allah maketh the provision wide for whom He will of His bondmen, and straiteneth it for whom (He will). Lo! Allah is Aware of all things.

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

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."

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

Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

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.

29.63. And if thou wert to ask them: Who causeth water to come down from the sky, and therewith reviveth the earth after its death? they verily would say: Allah. Say: Praise be to Allah! But most of them have no sense.

Isaiah 30:23 And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures,

Psalm 107:31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

Psalm 49:20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. (cf. Psalm 146:1).

29.64. This life of the world is but a pastime and a game. Lo! the home of the Hereafter - that is Life, if they but knew.

See 1John 2:17 at ayat 29.25 above.

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.

Psalm 102:26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

Hebrews 9:15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

29.65. And when they mount upon the ships they pray to Allah, making their faith pure for Him only, but when He bringeth them safe to land, behold! they ascribe partners (unto Him),

29.66. That they may disbelieve in that which We have given them, and that they may take their ease. But they will come to know.

(cf. also Psalm 107:23-30 above)

Psalm 106:13 But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.

Psalm 78:11 They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.

The easy way is to follow the crowd and learn the way of the nations. They stray from the true God and lust after their idols and go to their own destruction.

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

29.67. Have they not seen that We have appointed a sanctuary immune (from violence), while mankind are ravaged all around them? Do they then believe in falsehood and disbelieve in the bounty of Allah?

29.68. Who doeth greater wrong than he who inventeth a lie concerning Allah, or denieth the truth when it cometh unto him? Is not there a home in hell for disbelievers?

29.69. As for those who strive in Us, We surely guide them to Our paths, and lo! Allah is with the good.

Surah 29:68 is a Metaphorical question for the grave or Sheol.

Read also Revelation 20:11-15 as quoted at ayat 17.15 in Surah 17 (No. Q017) as above.

Psalm 31:23 Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.

Psalm 37:28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

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.

2Peter 3:16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Psalm 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

Psalm 147:11 but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

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