Summary of the Commentary on the Qur'an or Koran (No. QSB)

Section 3

This section deals with the Middle Meccan Surahs and their increase in the declarations of the faith to the pagan idolaters at Mecca.

Middle Meccan Surahs

SS 30, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 50, 67, 69,

015, 017 (- vv 81 and 76-82), 018, 021, 025 (-v 68-70 (AH)), 026 (-224-227 (AH)), 027, 031 (mid or last Meccan period –vv27-28 (AH)), 032.

30 The Romans Commentary on the Koran: Surah 30 (No. Q030)

Surah 30 Ar-Rum “The Romans” takes its name from a word in the first verse. The history is repeated from the Introduction to the Surah as it is important to the historical sequence and understanding.

The Roman-Persian wars were, in essence, the longest running series of wars in human history. The conflicts began in essence after the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians and the Persian invasion of Greece as the Torso of Silver of Daniel Chapter 2. The Greeks under Alexander symbolised by the “He goat” ran at the “Ram” of Persia and took over from Persia as the Babylonian kings of the North. The Seleucid Empire was the successor to the Greek system and after its fall the Seleucid system ruled the east. The Romans ruled the west from Rome succeeding the Greeks as the legs of Iron in Daniel Chapter 2 and then developed the empire in the east from Byzantium ruled from Constantinople from the rule of Constantine.

The Parthians ruled from Persia and Arabia and came into conflict with Rome from 54 BCE and this section of the conflict was to last through the late Republic and until the fall of the Parthian Empire (and the move of a number of their tribes into NW Europe in the Second century); and through the rule of the Sasanian Persian Empire.

There were several vassal kingdoms in the form of buffer states as well as several allied nomadic nations who also played a role.

After the fall of the Parthians the border between the empires shifted from north of the Euphrates to the east to the Tigris River and north into Armenia and the Caucus.

The wars were ended by the Arab Muslim invasions, which led to the Fall of the Sasanian Empire and huge territorial losses for the Byzantine Eastern Roman Empire, shortly after the end of the last war between them.

The war lasted for seven centuries up until the rise of Islam and the border remained relatively stable between them but towns near the border and often provinces were sacked. The Paulicians in the area were persecuted. While the Unitarian churches there and in Arabia were persecuted, they could not be subdued. With the rise of Islam the face of the Middle East changed.

By the Sixth century the armies there had adopted each other’s tactics and were more or less evenly matched. This was the scene for Surah 30. It was delivered in the Middle Meccan period ca. 615-616 some seven years before the Hijrah in 622. In 613 the persecutions saw the poor of the church flee from Mecca to Abyssinia and seek refuge under the Negus and the Sabbatarian church in Abyssinia. We see the details from the Introduction to the Surah 19 “Maryam.”

The Persians had defeated the armies of the Eastern Roman Empire in all the territories near Arabia. In 613 CE, at the time of the first Hijrah, Jerusalem and Damascus fell and in 614 Egypt fell. At the time of this Surah a Persian Army had invaded Anatolia and was threatening Constantinople itself.

The pagan Arabs rejoiced in Persian victories over the Muslims as they, like the Romans, were believers in one God, even as a triune system, whereas the Persians were not. Thus the claims of the Supremacy of Allah were being refuted by the victories of the Persians. That view however was destroyed after the subsequent battles, from Badr onwards, and the fall of Mecca as we saw in Surahs 8 and 9 following.

The Roman-Persian wars proved catastrophic for both empires. Exhausted and vulnerable they were faced with the Caliphate which invaded both empires a few years after the last Roman-Persian war.

With the rise of Islam, the Caliphate then took over the Persian conquests and the former Roman possessions of the Levant and the Caucasus, Egypt and the rest of North Africa.

Surah 30 opens with two prophecies. The first being that the Romans would overcome and have victory over the Persians. The second was that within ten years the Muslims would have reason to rejoice also. In 624 the Muslims had their first victory at the Battle of Badr and then subsequently they were to overcome the Meccans, then build the Armies of Islam.

By 624 the Romans had defeated the Persians and entered Persian territory. This conflict was in fact to extend to the Last Days under the prophecies of Daniel to which the Prophet referred; although Islam does not understand these prophecies because they do not study, not being baptised with the Holy Spirit.

The connection to the Book of Daniel is clear. Even Pickthall understands that the prophecies were only the prelude to the universal Kingdom of God which was to be established by Messiah as we see from the “Stone uncut by human hands” that strikes the empire of the last days on the feet of the Ten Toes of “iron and miry clay” (cf. Daniel chapter 2:41-45). The text also shows a knowledge of the Roman aspects of the Feet of Iron and Miry clay of the Holy Roman Empire (590-1850 CE) and the impact of the last empire of the Ten Toes of Daniel chapter 11 also.

The text then deals with the Laws of God as laws of nature in the Physical sphere and subject to the Laws which proceed from His very Nature. They are subject to His Mercy but are equal and just and not subject to respect of persons. None can escape them by wisdom or cunning. His Law surrounds all, and the same standard of judgment applies to all. Those doing good earn His favour and those doing evil earn His wrath no matter what their creed or tribe. All judgment is according to the Laws of God in which there is no respect of persons.

36 Ya Sin Commentary on the Koran: Surah 36 (No. Q036)

Ya Sin is generally held to signify Yah Insan (O Man). This Surah is held by scholars to be a Surah held in special reverence and is recited in adversity, illness, fasting and on the approach of death.

This is a Middle Meccan Surah and is intended to warn the Meccans, whose fathers were held to not have been warned. The Meccans are stated here to have been made a stiff necked people and their warnings are irrelevant as they are stiff necked and will not believe.

The text refers to the open opponents of God and the Meccans who worship the god Hubal or Baal and the Goddess. They keep neither the Sabbath under the Covenant (4:154), nor the message of the Koran and they will be punished soon.

37 Those Who Set The Ranks Commentary on the Koran: Surah 37 (No. Q037)

As Saffat takes its name from the text of verse 1 being Those Who Set the Ranks in Battle Order. It is from the Middle group of Meccan Surahs and refers back to the Scriptures as the Word.

The traditions attributed to the coming of the Prophet were that the soothsayers and astrologers throughout the East were baffled by the appearance of a comet and many meteors contrary to their understanding of science and made them afraid to sit on the high peaks observing the stars as was their general custom. They told enquirers that their familiars were at a loss to explain matters to them and all were afraid.

It is this theme that is given in explanation of verses 7-9 and of the similar text in S72 (LXXII): 8-10 and also S 67 (LXVII):5. S72 refers to the Jinn or “elemental spirits” and also the “clever” foreigners such as those who served Solomon. It is thus also called “The Congregation” for the three variations of meaning in the Koran. These are the congregation of the elect.

38 Sad (Saad) Commentary on the Koran: Surah 38 (No. Q038)

Sad. This surah takes its name from the first letter which stands alone as the First verse. Tradition holds that the first ten verses were revealed when the leaders of the Qureysh tried to persuade Abu Talib to withdraw his protection of the Prophet. Others suggest it was when Abu Talib died. The former is considered the most probable. It is an early Surah of the Middle Meccan group.

The text in the first eleven verses contains reference to the fallen Host and their multiple demons and idols and draws attention to the inability of the Meccans and others to understand that there is only One True God.

39 The Troops Commentary on the Koran: Surah 39 (No. Q039)

Az-Zumar “The Troops” has its name derived from a peculiar word meaning troops or companies occurring in verses 71 and 73. Pickthall holds that it belongs manifestly to the Middle Group of Meccan Surahs, although Noldeke places it in his last group, and some authorities hold that verses 53 and 54 were revealed at Al-Madinah.

The text from verses 71 to 73 refers to the sequence of the Resurrections again where the elect are sent in companies or troops to the Garden of Paradise of the First Resurrection and the others are sent in troops to wait in the grave of Sheol or the pit to await the Second Resurrection. This basic and recurrent theme of the Koran is reinforced Surah after Surah so that there can be no doubt among the Arabs and those associated with them that the dead face judgment according to the Laws of God and the Faith and Testimony of the Scriptures under Messiah and the elect. Anyone claiming to be of the Faith and who says that when they die they go to heaven is a Baal worshipping infidel.

The text deals with the supremacy of the One True God in the creation and the fate of those within it.

40 The Believers Commentary on the Koran: Surah 40 (No. Q040)

Al Mumin, “The Believer” takes its name from verses 28-45 describing the attempts of a believer in the house of Pharaoh to dissuade his people from opposing Moses and Aaron. It is more appropriately termed The Believers.

This text is the first of seven Surahs beginning with the letters Ha Mim and all of which are referred to as the Ha Mim.

It is from the Middle Group of Meccan Surahs although some authorities claim verses 56 and 57 were revealed at Al Medinah.

The text concerns mankind from Noah through the messengers sent to mankind and the disbelievers. It goes on to the punishment of the Second Death making reference to the two lives granted mankind and the two deaths allotted to the disbelievers at the end of the Judgment (verses 10-22). Then from verse 23 we see the disbelievers who refuse to repent in the faith. God sent Moses to Egypt and to Haman the Amalekite and to Korah the Israelite regarding their rebellion and disbelief.

The end of the disbelievers is stated from verses 50-85. In verse 51 we see that the messengers are aided by God to assist those who believe in the life of the world and when the Witnesses arise (cf. Revelation 11:3ff) and this reference is to the Witnesses. From verse 53 we see that Moses was given the guidance and Eloah caused the Children of Israel to be given the Scriptures. They maintain this responsibility to this day and it is not placed with Judah nor their converts but with the Ten Tribes and the Churches of God.

41 Fusilat Commentary on the Koran: Surah 41 (No. Q041)

The Surah is the second of the series of seven Surahs known as Ha Mim from the opening letters.

The term Fusilat or “They are expounded” comes from the text in 41:3 as the second verse. The text refers to the exposition of the Scriptures as a lecture in Arabic for people who have knowledge and thus assumes prior knowledge of the faith.

Like Surah 40 “The Believers” above it is a warning to the idolaters at Mecca and a call to the study of the Scriptures and to repentance and obedience so that the people may be granted their place in the First Resurrection and warned of the dangers of the Second Death in the Second Resurrection.

The Arabs are warned here of the thunderbolts as we saw from the previous Surahs on Surah 11 “Hud”, Surah 13 “The Thunder” and Surah 15 “Al Hijr” above that destroyed the A’ad and Thamud and which will ultimately destroy Amalek and the subsequent Arabs due to the unbelief, idolatry and disobedience.

The theme of the seven “Ha Mim” is summarised in the Seventh of the sequence Surah 46 in which we see the calling of the faithful and a reference is made to the Children of Israel, with a reference to the Scriptures given to Moses and the Children of Israel and a summation of the works of the prophets (and reference to Hud is allegedly made) and of the Scriptures given to the later prophets and revealed to the Gentiles for which the word djinn (or Jinn) is sometimes used as clever or biblically knowledgeable non-Arabs.

42 Consultation Commentary on the Koran: Surah 42 (No. Q042)

This text is the third of the Ha Mim series. “Counsel” or “Consultation” takes its name from a word in verse 38. It belongs to the Middle Group of Meccan Surahs. As stated, it is directed at the Qureysh as the centre of the Arabs at Mecca and is a specific warning to them and the Arabs generally.

The warning has so far not been heeded except in the very short term.

43 The Gold Adornments Commentary on the Koran: Surah 43 (No. Q043)

Surah 43 (XLIII) Az-Zukruf or “The Gold Ornaments” or adornments (also called “Ornaments of Gold” from the word meaning “Golden Ornaments” in verse 35. These refer to the disbelievers that seek the riches of this world such as the “doors of silver” and the “ornaments of gold” to no avail.

It is the Fourth of the Ha Mim Surahs written in the Middle Group of Meccan Surahs. It refers to the Scriptures and is here summarised to be made plain to the Arabs as a Quran. This word is translated as “lecture” as it makes clear that the Scriptures are rendered as a Quran to the Arabs in Arabic so they might understand. However, only the called will understand as the texts show again and again. The Hadithic Imams pretend that the Scriptures were lost and the terms refer only to the Koran which is false.

The text attacks the false teachings of the idolatrous Arabs and their failure to follow the Scriptures. The Prophet reinforces the roles of Moses and Jesus, the Messiah, who gave the laws and commandments of God (v. 63). He also reiterates in verse 81 that the Benificent One had no son (meaning by procreation, in that the Messiah was one of the creation by divine fiat, as we see in the many Surahs dealing with the subject).

44 The Smoke Commentary on the Koran: Surah 44 (No. Q044)

The Fifth of the Ha Mim series, Al Dukban or “The Smoke” takes its name from a word in verse 10 that reportedly came from the conditions of dust and haze at Mecca during the drought that occurred just before the conquest of Mecca by the forces of the Prophet and the church.

Unless this text was to be a prophecy of the destruction of Mecca many years later and the pseduo-conversion of its people then it could not have been written at Mecca many years prior as a Ha Mim text of the Middle Group of Meccan Surahs. It is in reality a prophecy of the Last Days under the pseudo-Muslims and applies to the penalty of the people of Egypt under Pharaoh when they rejected Moses (vv. 17ff.). The text then refers to the Children of Israel in their deliverance at verse 30 and their selection as the chosen of God (v. 32). The text then refers also to the Arabs as the people of Tubb’a as successors to the Amalekites in the last days and the fate of the idolatrous Arabs (see S 15 Al Hijr above).

45 The Kneeling Commentary on the Koran: Surah 45 (No. Q045)

The Surah 45 is Al-Jathiyah named from verse 28 where the nations are all brought before God. Pickthall translates it as “the Crouching” but it refers to the nations when they are brought before God in Judgment and is thus more appropriately termed “the Kneeling”.

It is the Sixth of the Seven Ha Mim series and is specifically a warning to the Arabs both in Mecca and Arabia then and in the Last Days for the Judgment in the Two Resurrections of the Dead.

The text shows clearly that the Children of Israel were given the Scriptures, the Command and the Prophethood and with Christ it was vested in the Church of God as the Children of Israel, and the nations would be judged according to the Commands given to them (vv. 16-17).

46 The Wind-curved Sandhills Commentary on the Koran: Surah 46 (No. Q046)

Here we see the last of the Ha Mim series as the Warning to the Arabs and the World generally.

Al Akhaf is what is technically a Barquand. It is readily seen in the sandy deserts of the world. It is understood to have especially characterised the area of the A’ad at Al Hijr in Arabia (see S15 Al Hijr). The text derives its name from verse 21. The warning is specific and follows the texts that were directed at the Arabs from the A’ad to the Amalekites generally and their successors.

It is from the Middle Group of Meccan Surahs but verses 10, 15-18 and 35 were added at Al-Medinah and Pickthall states that in his commentary.

Summary of the Ha Mim texts:

As we see above Surah 40 is a warning to the idolaters at Mecca and among the Arabs and is a call to the study of the Scriptures and to repentance and obedience so that their people may be granted their place in the First Resurrection and are warned of the dangers of the Second Death in the Second Resurrection.

Surah 41 Fusilat deals with the exposition of the Scriptures in Arabic to people who are assumed to have prior knowledge of the Scriptures. It thus establishes that knowledge of the Scriptures is essential to an understanding of the Koran and of the Faith. The Surah takes up the warnings from Surah 11 “Hud,” Surah 13 “The Thunder” and Surah 15 “Al Hijr.” These texts portray the sequence of the destruction of the Arabs and Amalekites over the ages into the Last Days for their idolatry and the rejection of the Scriptures and the Command of God.

Surah 42 “The Consultation” or Counsel is directed at the Qureysh and the Arabs generally based from Mecca. It is a specific warning to the Arabs generally for their idolatry and rejection of the Laws of God. The entire Ha Mim are directed to this purpose of the conversion of the Arabs and their salvation which to date has not been effected.

Surah 43 “The Gold Adornments” also termed “The Ornaments of Gold” derived from a word in verse 35 is the Fourth of the Ha Mim. The text refers to the Scriptures and the fact that the Koran is a summary in Arabic to make plain the meaning of the Scriptures. Indeed that is why the Arabic was reduced to a written language ca 470 CE by the Christians under the Himyarites. It is not a substitute for them. The Hadithic Imams pretend that the Scriptures were lost and that the terms refer only to the Koran which is false. The text attacks the false teachings of the idolatrous Arabs and their failure to follow the Scriptures and is in fact prophecy. The Prophet reinforces the role of Moses, and that the Messiah, the Christ gives the Laws and the Commandments of God (v. 63). He also reiterates in verse 81 that the Benificent One had no son (meaning by procreation), in that Messiah was born by divine fiat, as we see in previous Surahs, as were the other sons of God (Job 1:6; 2:1 and 38:4-7).

Surah 44 “The Smoke” refers to the conditions of the Last Days but the Hadithic scholars attempt to limit it to the conditions before the conquest of Mecca following the drought there before the armies of the Prophet and the Church conquered Mecca and took in the thousands of unconverted and later unbaptised infidels as Muslims.

It is a prophecy of the Last Days for those under the pseudo-Muslims (and pseudo-Christians) and applies the penalty of the people of Egypt under Pharaoh when they rejected Moses (vv. 17ff). Then the text refers to the Children of Israel in their deliverance (v. 30) and their selection as the chosen of God (v. 32). The Arabs are then referred to as the People of Tubb’a as successors to the Amalekites and the fate of the idolatrous Arabs (see also Surah 15 Al Hijr at Q015).

Surah 45 Al Jathiyah “The Kneeling” also termed “the Crouching” is named from verse 28 where the nations are all brought before God in judgment and thus more appropriately termed “the Kneeling.” This is the Sixth of the Seven Ha Mim and is specifically a warning to the Arabs both in Mecca and Arabia then and in the Last Days for the Judgment in the two Resurrections of the Dead.

The text shows clearly that the Children of Israel were given the Scriptures, the Command and the Prophethood; and with Christ it was vested in the Churches of God as the Children of Israel and the nations would be judged according to the commands given to them (vv. 16-17).

The Ha Mim are clear prophecy of the Faith and the 7^th, “The Barquands” or the “Wind Blown Sandhills” is a final reinforcement of the warning to the Arabs of the Scriptures and the Commands of God and the fate of them and the nations in the Last Days. It is direct rebuke of the Binitarians/Ditheists and Trinitarians of their placement of any of the Host with Allah or Eloah and their fate in the Judgment (vv. 4-6).

The Prophet denies he is any new thing among the prophets of God and that he is another mere warner as were the prophets before him (v. 9).

The Koran states that it is a confirming Scripture of the Scriptures before it from Moses onwards (v. 12) and cannot therefore be read independent of the Scriptures, and cannot therefore contradict them.

It also says that those who refuse to believe the Scriptures say that this is an ancient lie (vv. 11, 30), which is exactly what these false teachers did to the Koran with the Hadith and they will be judged and punished in the Second Resurrection.

The text places the Fifth Commandment as the basis of the acceptance of the elect and also even as we saw with Samuel at such a young age (vv. 15-16).

We see that the Arabs and the nations will all be punished for not following the Laws of God and for praying to others aside from the One True God (vv. 19-28). The Arabs from the A’ad on down are identified, and also it is from the A’ad that we derive the name of the Wind-curved Sandhills and warning of the early Prophet to the A’ad, whom they disregarded.

All who died and were not baptised and converted of the Saints will be in the Second Resurrection as will those who pray to other than the One True God Eloah or Allah. Thus, those who pray to Christ, let alone the dead, such as Mariam and the saints, will also be punished.

The text summarises the requirements for acceptance in the First Resurrection following on from the warnings of the previous Ha Mim.

There is only One Lord; One Faith; and One Baptism and those who teach against the Faith and the Scriptures will die and go to the Second Resurrection.

50 Qaf Commentary on the Koran: Surah 50 (No. Q050)

The text takes its name from the Arabic letter that stands alone at the head of the first verse.

It is asserted to belong to the Middle Group of Meccan Surahs. It reinforces the Resurrection of the Dead and the failure of the Meccans to understand that they were not and are not going to heaven. That was their belief as Baal worshippers along with the Sunday worshipping pseudo-Christians who were also Baal worshippers within the structure of the Triune god. The later idolaters under Islam, prevented from moving the Sabbath to Sunday by the Trinitarian occupation of Sunday from the Sun and Mystery cults, were faced with declaring the preparation period of the Friday as the Jumaah in order to avoid the Fourth Commandment and thereby negate the Laws of God.

67 The Dominion Commentary on the Koran: Surah 67 (No. Q067)

The Surah Al-Mulk takes its name from the word for Dominion or Sovereignty in the first verse. The number of verses is 30 which delineates the inner council of the Sovereignty of God in Revelation 4 and 5 which is the 24 Elders or Elohim under the Messiah as High Priest (as explained in Surah 2 above) with the four cherubim and God as seated on the throne in the centre. So this is the inner council of the thirty.

This sequence of the Thirty and the Seventy continues through Surahs 67 through to 70 and 72 and they are important texts.

69 The Reality Commentary on the Koran: Surah 69 (No. Q069)

At-Haqqah takes its name from the word in the first three verses which poses the question as to the reality but it could also be termed “The Inevitable” in that the Judgment is applied to all.

It belongs to the Middle Group of Meccan Surahs.

The text begins with a rebuke of the A’ad and Thamud who disbelieved in the Judgment to come. Thamud was destroyed by lightning and A’ad was destroyed by a fierce roaring wind after they had disregarded the prophets, Salih and Hud, sent to them as we saw in Surah 15.

So also Egypt was punished after rejecting Moses and those before were also punished from Noah onwards as a memorial.

Verses 13 to 17 refer to the Judgment. The reference in verse 17 to the eight angels around or upholding the throne refers to the covering cherubs but is in the advanced phase of the City of God where the combined Host are present and the four cherubim of the Host are combined with the leaders of the Temple of God of the Human Host upholding the Throne of God (cf. Revelation chapters 21-22 and also The City of God (No. 180)).

The texts from verse 18 to 31 deal with those placed under Judgement and placed on the right and left hand of God for reward and correction. Verses 32ff. deal with the fettering of those under correction and those exposed to the Second Death of Revelation chapter 20. The reference to poets and diviners is a derogatory message to the idolatrous Lords of Mecca concerning their rites of divination, which they practice to this day. The false sayings of the Imams and the Hadith will be punished and soon.

015, 017 (- vv 81 and 76-82)

Al-Hijr Commentary on the Koran: Surah 15 (No. Q015)

(Reference links are to the various Wikipedia articles.)

Al Hijr takes its name from what appears to be a place name derived from verses 80-84. These people were, from the text of the Surah, cave dwellers who carved dwellings out of the hills. They sinned and ignored the prophets (e.g. Hud and Salih) cf. Surahs above) sent to them and appear to have been destroyed (except for one tribe).

Al Hijr is the locale of the tribe of Thamud who succeeded the A’ad as rulers in Arabia. The Surah Al Qamar describes how they of Thamud were destroyed by a bolt of lightning which later academics have rationalised as a volcanic eruption. Modern authorities agree that there is only one tribe of the Thamud left and that is the tribe of the Banu Thaqif south of Mecca.

These, as we saw, were derived from the sons of Shem and not Abraham and they were Arabs, and so we must deduce that the Arabs are derived from the descendants of Shem and are much more widespread than just being the sons of Keturah and the sons of Ishmael.

In their history we see that the ruling tribes descended from the sons of Shem according to Ibn Kaldun (cf. Wikipedia for ease of access).

“Historian and scholar, Ibn Khaldun

also mentions the Thamud several times in his universal history al-Kitābu l-ʻibar (Arabic: الـكـتـاب الـعـبـر‎‎) (the Book of the Evidence) written in the late 14th century, but only in passing, seldom giving much information.

This can be illustrated by what happened among the nations. When the royal authority of ʿĀd was wiped out, their brethren, the Thamud, took over. They were succeeded, in turn, by their brethren, the Amalekites. The Amalekites were succeeded by their brethren, the Himyar. The Himyar were succeeded by their brethren, the Tubba's, who belonged to the Himyar. They, likewise, were succeeded, by the Adhwa'.130 Then, the Mudar came to power.

— Muqaddimah ("Introduction"), Chapter II ^[8]

The Yemen, al-Bahrayn, ‘Oman, and the Jazirah

have long been in Arab possession, but for thousands of years, the rule of these areas has belonged to different (Arab) nations in succession. They also founded cities and towns (there) and promoted the development of sedentary culture and luxury to the highest degree. Among such nations were the ‘Ad and the Thamud, the Amalekites and the Himyar after them, the Tubba‘s, and the other South Arabian rulers (Adhwa) . There was a long period of royal authority and sedentary culture. The coloring of (sedentary culture) established itself firmly. The crafts became abundant and firmly rooted. They were not wiped out simultaneously with (each ruling) dynasty, as we have stated. They have remained and have always renewed themselves down to this time, and they have become the specialty of that area. Such (special Yemenite) crafts are embroidered fabrics, striped cloth, and finely woven garments and silks.”

— Muqaddimah Chapter V ^[9]

From this text we must deduce that the Amalekites are an Arab tribe which carries their line and sovereignty. The final battle faced by authority is of Amalek. The last war of Israel will be with the Amalekites according to prophecy. The Koran is written to bring them to repentance and save them, but it is unlikely they will repent and the final wars will occur as foretold. The aim is to save some of them.

The Ḥimyarite Kingdom, which was a Yemeni Kingdom, was the dominant polity in Arabia until 525 CE. Its economy was based on agriculture, and foreign trade centered on the export of frankincense and myrrh. It took over from the Amalekites ca 110 BCE and then was in turn replaced from 525 CE by the Tubba, brethren of the Himyar involving the area of Aksum in Ethiopia involving the Negus there and was Christian. They were the ruling polity up until the rise of Islam under the Arabian Prophet and the Rightly Guided Caliphs from ca 622 CE onwards.

In examining this period we see the effect of the Jewish conversions in Himyar in the Arabian Peninsula and the Jewish-Pagan wars with the Christians both Unitarian and seemingly Binitarian/Trinitarian. Many of the Jews were converted from Arab tribes in part or in whole. After the Jews had been expelled from Judea by the Romans from 70 CE to 135 and onwards they moved into the neighbouring countries and many conversions occurred. The last major conversion to Judaism was in the north in the Black Sea and Steppes area of the Khazars in 730 CE. These people became the bulk of the Ashkenazi Jews.

The end of the Amalekites coincided with the capture and conversion of the Edomites by John Hyrcanus of the Maccabees. He was a Hasmonean (Maccabeean) leader and a Jewish High Priest of the 2nd century BCE (born 164 BCE, reigned from 134 BCE until his death in 104 BCE). He opposed the rise of the Parthians and their occupation of Hyrcania which is a conjectural origin of his name.

Amalekite power in the West from Petra was broken with Edomite subjection and when they ceased to control the Arabian and Edomite system in the West and at Petra. Their demise over the Arabian south-west led to the weakening of the Amalekite power and trade.

Their influence with the Phoenicians continued and led to the military influence of Herod with the Romans through the battle of Actium (2^nd September 31 BCE) which enabled the Idumean Kingdom to be established from Judea with Herod as king with the rise of the Roman power into Syria and the Levant with the Parthians in control of the East, including Arabia and Persia and Iraq.

The Battle of Actium was a naval battle off a promontory in the north of Acarnania, on the western coast of Greece, where Octavian (known as the emperor Augustus after 27 BCE by his decisive victory over Mark Antony) became the undisputed master of the Roman world. Herod was empowered by supporting Octavian against Mark Anthony and the Egyptians under Cleopatra.

The weakening of the Amalekite power from the rise of the Parthians and the Maccabees in Judea, though opposed initially, enabled the rise of the Himyar in the Yemen. They became the heirs of the Amalekites.

Early Rule of Himyar (115 BCE-300 CE)

The "Homerite Kingdom" as it was termed by the Mediterranean powers is described in the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula in the 1st century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (cf. Wikipedia links). During this period, the Kingdom of Ḥimyar conquered the kingdoms of Saba' and Qataban and took Raydan/Zafar for its capital instead of Ma'rib; therefore, they have been called Dhu Raydan (Ar: ذو ريدان). In the early 2nd century CE Saba' and Qataban split from the Kingdom of Ḥimyar; yet in a few decades Qataban was conquered by Hadhramaut (conquered in its turn by Ḥimyar in the 4th century), whereas Saba' was finally conquered by Ḥimyar in the late 3rd century.^[4]

The Nabataeans ruled from Petra to Damascus and East into Arabia after the demise of the Idumean kingdom and the destruction of Jerusalem. The Nabatæan kingdom ended under Trajan with the nearer portions of it brought into the Roman province of Arabia. In 106 CE, so Schurer records, Arabia belonged to Petra; in other words, Nabataean Arabia was made a Roman province by Cornelius Palma, governor of Syria on the orders of Trajan (Schurer., p. 585) (see also the history in Descendants of Abraham Part III: Ishmael (No. 212C)).

The defeat of the Parthians by the Romans after they were weakened by a conflict with the Persians caused major dislocations in the area and a vast section in the north moved into Europe and the Himyar rule was free to develop in Arabia.

The horde going into Europe included the Angles, Saxons and Jutes as well as the Norse groups and the Lombards, Heruli and the Vandals and Goths. These tribes were of two groups. They were two thirds Hg. R1b and some Hg G. and one third Hg I Semitic tribes. The Anglo-Saxon calendar was based on the New Year from the March Equinox equivalent to the Israelite Calendar with the New Year on 25 March as a standard date. The calendar was called the Almanac which is Arabic for “the Counting.” There is a copy extant in the Cambridge Library. All months are based on the New Moon Conjunctions and are 59 day bi- months.

The Wikipedia article states “The Himyarite kings appear to have abandoned polytheism and converted to Judaism around the year 380, several decades after the conversion of the Ethiopian Kingdom of Aksum to Christianity (340), though no changes occurred in its script, calendar, or language (unlike Aksum).^[5] This date marks the end of an era in which numerous inscriptions record the names and deeds of kings, and dedicate buildings to local (e.g. Wagal and Simyada) and major (e.g. Almaqah) gods. From the 380s, temples were abandoned and dedications to the old gods ceased, replaced by references to Rahmanan, ‘the Lord of Heaven’ or ‘Lord of Heaven and Earth’.^[6] The political context for this conversion may have been Arabia's interest in maintaining neutrality and good trade relations with the competing empires of Byzantium, which first adopted Christianity under Constantine the Great and the Sasanian Empire, which alternated between Zurvanism and Manichaeism.^[7]

One of the first Jewish kings, Tub'a Abu Kariba As'ad (r. 390-420), is believed to have converted following a military expedition into northern Arabia in an effort to eliminate Byzantine influence. The Byzantine emperors had long eyed the Arabian Peninsula and sought to control the lucrative spice trade and route to India. The Byzantines hoped to establish a protectorate by converting the inhabitants to Christianity. Some progress had been made in northern Arabia but with little success in Ḥimyar.”^[7]

Abu-Kariba's forces reached Yathrib and, meeting no resistance, they left the king's son behind as governor over the city. The forces of Yathrib killed Abu-Kariba’s son. He turned back on the city. After cutting down the palm trees from which the inhabitants derived their main income, he laid siege to the city. The Jews of Yathrib are recorded to have fought side by side with their pagan neighbors.

“During the siege Abu-Kariba fell severely ill. Two Jewish scholars in Yathrib, Ka'ab and Asad by name, called on the king in his camp and used their knowledge of medicine to restore him to health.” (cf. Wikipedia art.) They healed the king and pleaded with him to lift the siege and make peace. He was persuaded and he called off his attack. He also embraced Judaism along with his entire army.

The Jewish scholars accompanied the Ḥimyarite king back to his capital, where he demanded that all his people convert to Judaism. Initially reluctant, many Himyarites embraced the truth of the Jewish faith, and supported Judaism. Some historians argue that Judaism, by its philosophical, simplistic and austere nature, was attractive to the nature of the Semitic people.^[8]

Abu-Kariba met his death under unclear circumstances. Perhaps his own soldiers killed him. He left three sons, Ḥasan, 'Amru, and Zorah, all of whom were minors at the time. After Abu-Kariba's death, a pagan named Dhū-Shanatir seized the throne.^[7]

“The first Aksumite invasion took place sometime in the 5th century and was triggered by the murder of some Byzantine merchants. Two Christian sources, including the Zuqnin Chronicle once attributed to Dionysius I Telmaharoyo, which was written over three centuries later, [indicate] the Himyarite king motivated the killings by stating, "This is because in the countries of the Romans the Christians wickedly harass the Jews who live in their countries and kill many of them. Therefore I am putting these men to death."^[11] In retaliation the Aksumites invaded the land and thereafter established a bishopric and built Christian churches in Zafar.

The Jewish monarchy in Ḥimyar ended with the reign of Yṳsuf, known as Dhū Nuwās, who in 523 attacked the Christian population of Najrān. ^[12] By the year 500, on the eve of the regency of Marthad'īlān Yanūf (c. 500-515) the kingdom of Himyar exercised control over much of the Arabian peninsula.^[13] It was during his reign that the Himyarite kingdom began to become a tributary state of Aksum, the process concluding by the time of the reign of Ma'dīkarib Yafur (519-522), a Christian appointed by the Aksumites. A coup d'état ensued, with Dhu Nuwas, who had attempted to overthrow the dynasty several years earlier, assuming authority after killing the Aksumite garrison in Zafār. He then proceeded to engage the Ethiopian guards, and their Christian allies in the Tihāma coastal lowlands facing Abyssinia. After taking the port of Mukhawān, where he burnt down the local church, and advanced south as far as the fortress of Maddabān overlooking the Bab-el-Mandeb, where he expected Kaleb Ella Aṣbeḥa to land his fleet.^[6] The campaign eventually killed between 11,500 and 14,000, and took a similar number of prisoners.^[13] Mukhawān became his base, while he dispatched one of his generals, a Jewish prince by the name of Sharaḥ'īl Yaqbul dhu Yaz'an against Najrān, a predominantly Christian oasis, with a good number of Jews, who had supported with troops his earlier rebellion, but refused to recognize his authority after the massacre of the Aksumite garrison. The general blocked the caravan route connecting Najrān with Eastern Arabia”.^[6]

(cf. Wikipedia article Himyar)

The Amalekites were removed by the Himyar but they did not disappear and up until 110 BCE they had been the ruling influence in Arabia.

The Book of Esther records that they were stopped in their attempted destruction of the Jews under Haman during the reign of the Persians, during the Jewish captivity (cf. Commentary on Esther (No. F017)).

The Amalekites: One or more peoples

Scripture portrays the Amalekites as descendants of Amalek, a grandson of Esau,^[5] through Eliphaz of Teman (and Timna his Horite concubine the sister of Lotan), who derive their origins from Edom (Genesis 36:11–12, 15–16). Genesis 14:7 shows that the use of "Amalekites" refers to a people in the area of Kadesh that was in place in the days of Abraham. That area was not occupied by the sons of Esau, i.e. the Edomites, until the captivity of Judah. Rashi holds that this reference refers to the later occupation and other scholars agree with this position that it is a later editorial insertion (i.e. Freedman). The likelihood, however, of the sons of Amalek numbering or rivalling Israel under Joash and being named for one of the grandsons of Esau is difficult. However, Eliphaz was with Job son of Issachar in the Arabian peninsula and they may have merged with the Arabian elements before the time of Moses when he went to Midian. Job has been attributed to Moses in the time of his sojourn in Midian.

The Wikipedia article on Amalek and the Amalekites refers to later Arabic scholars. It states that “During the Islamic Golden Age, certain Arabic writings claimed that the Amalekites existed long before Abraham.^[13] Some Muslim historians claimed that the Amalekites who fought Joshua were descendants of the inhabitants of North Africa. Al-Masudi said that the Amalekites originated in the region of Mecca well before the days of Abraham.^{[citation needed]} Ebn Arabshah purported that Amalek was a descendant of Ham, son of Noah”.^[12][13]

It is, however, possible that the name Amalek may have been given to two different nations from two different ancestors. “The Arabians mention Imlik, Amalik, or Ameleka among the aborigines of Arabia, the remains of which were mingled with the descendants of Joktan and Adnan and became Mostarabs or Mocarabes, that is, Arabians mixed with foreigners”.^[12]
(Ibid)

The probable explanation is that there were two or more groups in the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai named Amalek and they became mingled over time. Their rule over the area succeeded the tribe of Thamud from A’ad the grandson of Shem in Arabia and that they actually came from that area South of Mecca adjacent to the Ishmaelite Qureysh at Mecca. The accounts of the Arabs mix them with Joktan Hebrews which moved into the area of Persia and as far as the Indus. The text in Genesis 14 links them as Allies of the Elamites and the Nations that were in the invasion of Sodom and the Jordan area and opposed and defeated by Abraham after the capture of Lot. It was for the reason that Abraham had killed the grandsons of Shem that he may have tithed to him as Melchisedek, priest of God.

Wikipedia holds that: “By the 19th Century, there was strong support by Western theologians for the idea that the nation of Amalek could have flourished before the time of Abraham. Matthew George Easton advocated that the Amalekites were not descendants of Amalek, by taking the literal approach to Genesis 14:7.^[14] However, the modern biblical scholar David Freedman uses textual analysis to glean that the use of Amalekite in Genesis 14:7 is actually an anachronism,^[9] a chronological inconsistency of (in this case) a group of people in a misplaced time. Also in the early 19th century, Richard Watson enumerated several speculative reasons for having a "more ancient Amalek" than Abraham.^[13]

In the exegesis of Numbers 24:20 concerning Balaam's utterance: "Amalek was the first one of the nations, but his end afterward will be even his perishing", Richard Watson attempts to associate this passage to the "first one of the nations" that developed post-Flood.^[13] According to Samuel Cox, the Amalekites were the "first" in their hostility toward the Israelites.”^[15]

The article also states that many nomadic groups from the Arabian desert, apparently including Amalekites, have collectively been termed "Arab(s)".

We all understand that while considerable knowledge about nomadic Arabs has been recovered through archeological research, no specific artifacts or sites have been linked to Amalek with any certainty.^[9] However, it is possible that some of the fortified settlements in the Negev highlands and even Tel Masos (near Beer-sheba) have Amalek connections.^[16] Easton claims that the Babylonian inscription Sute refers to the Amalekites, as well as the Egyptian term Sittiu. Easton also claims that the Amarna tablets refer to the Amalekites under the general name Khabbatti, or "plunderers".^[14]

It appears without doubt that the Amalekites referred to in Scripture were associated with the Elamites. They also were associated with the early sons of Shem. Eliphaz the Temanite features also in the book of Job. He was the father of Amalek of Edom.

The Amalekites occupied and ruled Arabia after the destruction of Thamud and that the area occupied by the descendants of Thamud were adjacent to Ishmaelite Qureysh of Mecca and that this Surah takes the name of that area as its title and holds a direct place in prophecy in relation to the last days in Scripture. The rejection of Scripture by Arabs probably stems from the prophecies of the Bible that deal with the events of the last days that show Middle East conflicts and the demise of the Arabian Peninsula, and the Syrians, Lebanese, Gazans, Iraqis and many Persians due to their own wilful idolatrous disobedience following the Sharia and the structure of the Baal system.

The Children of Israel or Night Journey Commentary on the Koran: Surah 17 (No. Q017)

Surah 17 “Bani Israel” begins and ends with references to the Israelites as “Children of Israel.” In verse 1 the Prophet relates his vision where he was carried by night on a steed from Mecca/Madinah to the location of the Temple at Jerusalem: Hence the alternate title of “Night Journey.”

At this time the Temple Mount had become a rubbish tip under the Trinitarian Christians who did not understand the faith at all. It would take the moblisation of Islam under Omar to retake it and to clean it up. This text was to make the reclamation possible and show it was necessary.

Here we refer back to the laws of Moses and the Scriptures. It seems that this recurrent theme is because the Arabs simply will not accept Scripture, and it is so to this very day. The lineage of the Faith from Noah through Shem to Abraham and thence to Moses and the Israelites to the prophets and Messiah and the Churches of God is a constant theme, as we will see later in the texts on The Ranks and Those Who Set The Ranks.

Like Trinitarian Christianity, Islam does not study even the Koran, and they have no idea of the Scriptures. They in fact blasphemously teach that God has allowed the Scriptures to be lost and destroyed. Most of Islam is being taught, by Paganised Baal worshippers, that when they die they go to heaven and those that die in battle then are gifted seventy-two virgins. Yet the Koran clearly tells those deluded people again and again that they are to work for the resurrections of the dead to the Gardens of Paradise (see above Surahs and below). Many are called but few are chosen. Even two of the last divisions of the Churches of God are excluded from the First Resurrection due to their Binitarian/Ditheism and the keeping of the Babylonian intercalations and the Hillel Calendar, as was done at Mecca under the worship of Hu-Bal according to the calendar under the control of the Bani Kinana of the Qureysh (see the paper Role of the Fourth Commandment in the Historical Sabbath-keeping Churches of God (No. 170)).

Surahs 018, 021, 025 (-v 68-70 (AH))

The Cave Commentary on the Koran: Surah 18 (No. Q018)

This text was placed in sequence following Surah 17 for good reason. The Surah 17 mentions the journey of the Prophet to Jerusalem. It concerns the place of Jerusalem as the centre of worship of the Faith. The prophet Zechariah and the many texts of Scripture place Jerusalem as the centre of the Faith during the Millennium and afterwards as the centre of the rulership of the universe. This text of S18 shows the sequence of the Faith in history and its place until the return of the Messiah. These aspects are explained also in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.

“Al-Kahf” or “The Cave” was written after the idol worshipping taunters of Mecca were given a series of three questions by the Jewish doctors of Yathrib to test his prophethood. The third question regarding the Holy Spirit is answered at Surah 16:85ff. The first question regarding the Cave is a story of the youths who took refuge in the cave from persecution (verses 10-27) and were preserved as if asleep there for some time.

The text is identified by western writers (such as Gibbon) as being of the legend of the seven sleepers at Ephesus. This would identify the prophets as answering the story of the legend among the early church. However, later tradition of Hadithic writers asserted that it was associated with Arab tradition along with Dhu’l Qarneyn (The Two Horned One) verses 83-89 and possibly that of Moses and the Angel, verses 61-82. These texts were revealed to the Prophet to refute the questions the Jews at Yathrib (Madinah) posed through the idolaters to test the Prophet.

The later tradition is probably to divorce the Prophet from the earlier Christian and Jewish faith, which was a later Hadithic ploy. The Koran makes no such effort.

Pickthall recounts the questions of the Rabbis of the Jews at Yathrib as being:

Ask him of some youths who were of old, what was their fate? For they have a strange story.
Ask him of a much travelled man who reached the sunrise regions of the earth and the sunset regions. What was his history?
Ask him of the Spirit. What is it?

The tormentors of the Prophet returned to Mecca and they put these questions to the Prophet. They had told the people there that it was to be a crucial test.

The Prophet improperly said that he would surely answer them on the morrow as though God would do his bidding on the questions. He should have ended with “if God wills.”

As a result of the omission God withheld the answers for some days. When the answer was given it included the rebuke in verse 24 (cf. Pickthall).

The Jews must have been satisfied by the answers as they made no further reference to the matter after the flight of the church to Yathrib (Al-Madinah) from Mecca. They taunted the Prophet daily about all sorts of other matters. Pickthall holds the view that the questions must all relate to Jewish lore rather than the Christian legend of the sleepers at Ephesus. The story of the two horned one actually does belong to Jewish lore (cf. also Pickthall). The text belongs to the Middle Group of Meccan Surahs.

The first reference actually concerns the Seven Churches of God and the Angels of the Seven Churches, the first of which was the Ephesian church under the apostle John and those who knew the Messiah in his lifetime (see the paper Fate of the Twelve Apostles (No. 122B) and also Death of the Prophets and Saints (No. 122C)). Hence the sleepers are called the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. Their collective treatment and the 309 years allotted to them are specific identifications of the persecution of the churches until the appointment of Constantine as emperor at York in 309 CE and the edict of Toleration in 313.

The eras of the Seven Churches are named for the churches at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These eras are named for the churches based in Anatolia in what is now Turkey. They represent the ages of the Churches of God over 2000 years until the return of the Messiah

They are each given the lampstand in turn and the first three eras of Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamos were concerned with the church from Asia and into Arabia and the Taurus Mountains and into Europe.

The first era was raised and trained by John at Ephesus and the Seventy ordained and spread by Christ across the world from Britain to India. This was known as the First love of the Faith.

Smyrna trained the bishops after the death of John under Polycarp. Rome was corrupted by the worshippers of Mithras and Attis as forms of the worship of Baal and the goddess Easter. The worship of Adonis corrupted the Greeks and Egypt was corrupted by the rituals of Osiris, Isis and Horus. It was from these Sun cults that Sunday worship and Christmas and Easter festivals arose (see also Origins of Christmas and Easter (No. 235)).

Pergamos became the warlike phase of the Faith when the churches in Arabia and the Paulicians to the west were forced to fight to survive against Byzantium and the idolatry at Mecca and the East generally.

These eras are explained in detail in the paper Role of the Fourth Commandment in the Historical Sabbath-keeping Churches of God (No. 170). The distribution is explained in the paper General Distribution of the Sabbath-keeping Churches (No. 122). The last four eras have elements alive at the return of the Messiah, when we will rule from Jerusalem.

Read also Revelation chapter 2:1-29 for The message to the church at Ephesus.

Pergamos started in the Middle East and led to the rise of what is now understood as Islam. (vv. 12-17)

The above text refers to the era in which the Prophet existed and wrote. These comments apply to that era and their sins and shortcomings. The next era, Thyatira, existed through the massive persecutions of the Middle Ages that led up to the Reformation. Elements exist now but they are to be given no further burden (vv 18-29)

The Morning Star mentioned in the section on Thyatira is the rulership and education of the world under the Messiah. We have dealt with this more in the Surah At Tariq, the Morning Star and below in the final sections.

The final eras in Revelation chapter 3 refer to the Sardis, Laodicean and Philadelphian eras. Sardis and Laodicea are rejected by God and sent to the second Resurrection.

Revelation 3:1-22 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: `The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. "`I know your works; you have the name of being alive, and you are dead. ²Awake, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. ³Remember then what you received and heard; keep that, and repent. If you will not awake, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. ⁴Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵He who conquers shall be clad thus in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ⁶He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' ⁷"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: `The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens. ⁸"`I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut; I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie -- behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and learn that I have loved you. ¹⁰Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the earth. ¹¹I am coming soon; hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. ¹²He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. ¹³He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ¹⁴"And to the angel of the church in La-odice'a write: `The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. ¹⁵"`I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. ¹⁷For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. ¹⁹Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent. ²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. ²¹He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²²He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"

Sardis and Laodicea are the two eras of the Seven that are removed from the First Resurrection. Philadelphia is the last era before the Messiah that has the lampstand. In this era Judah and the elements of the church that refers to itself as Islam and the last four eras of the Churches of God will be called to repentance and prepared to serve under the Messiah. Those that do not will be killed by Messiah and the elect, with the prophets, and sent to the Second Resurrection.

No unrepentant person will survive and be allowed to enter the Millennium under Messiah.

S 21 The Prophets Commentary on the Koran: Surah 21 (No. Q021)

Surah 21 Al-Anbiya “The Prophets” is named from its subject matter which is the history of the former prophets. The speaker in verses 4 and 112 is the Holy Spirit giving voice to every prophet. There is no historical reference or tradition to enable the scholars to fix a date. It is considered to be of Meccan origin and Pickthall and others think that it lacks the characteristics of the latest and earliest Meccan Surahs. Thus they place it in the Middle Group of Meccan Surahs. It’s dealing with the prophets and their subjects incline to the earlier groups laying out the basis of the faith from Scripture. Its position in the Quran following 19 and 20 indicates it is an earlier Surah around the time of the flight to Abyssinia.

The subject of the coming judgment on mankind (and especially those of Mecca) supports such a view.

The Criterion Commentary on the Koran: Surah 25 (No. Q025)

Surah 25 Al-Furquan “The Criterion” takes its name from the subject in verse 1 The Criterion (of Right and Wrong). This is the preparation in the Holy Spirit of the elders of the Muhammad or Council of the Church in their preparation to become messengers to the faithful and to mankind under direction of the Holy Spirit. These are the ones who become the 144,000 and the Great Multitude of Revelation chapter 7 to be called out over the 2000 years as the 72 of the elect councils per year of the 144,000 (and with the Great Multitude) of the called and chosen of the Churches of God. These elements are explained in the paper The Harvests of God, the New Moon Sacrifices, and the 144,000 (No. 120).

Surah 026 (-224-227 (AH))

The Poets Commentary on the Koran: Surah 26 (No. Q026)

Surah 26 Ash-Shu’ara “The Poets” takes its title from verses 224ff. where the difference between poets and a prophet is pointed out. The Koran was delivered to the often illiterate Arabs as poetry and prose. The text carries on from the previous Surah dealing with the criterion of the elect as the true believers and the leaders of the faith in prophecy. The elect live by faith and never lie no matter what the reason. The poets are referred to as they are those who say things they often do not mean. The pagan Arabs believed the work of poetry and its inspiration to be the work of the jinn or demons.

The persecution of the prophets and the elect of the faith and the Churches of God is not a new thing and the persecuted of the church there are given this text to sustain and reassure them. The prophets have been persecuted and killed over the centuries as recorded in Scripture and that was the inspiration of the Prophet in Arabia under this persecution. Pickthall makes the comment here in his introduction that it is the persecutors that always suffer in the end and the Hadithic persecutors of pseudo-Islam will indeed be made to suffer in these days.

This text shows that the prophets of true Islam of the Scriptures always came with the same message and the Prophet here had the same message as did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Moses and Aaron to Elijah and John and Messiah and the apostles and the Muhammads or councils of the Churches of God. There is one God, one Faith, and one Baptism.

The text comes from the Middle group of Meccan Surahs with the exception of verses 224-227 which were edited at Al-Madinah. The texts were taken from the Scriptures for the inspiration of the church under persecution as the Prophet declared at the beginning.

Surahs 027, 030, 031 (mid or last Meccan period –vv27-28 (AH))

The Ant Commentary on the Koran: Surah 27 (No. Q027)

Surah 27 An-Naml “The Ant” gets its name from the ant in verse 18 that gives the warning in the Valley of the Ants to the other ants regarding the impending approach of Solomon’s army.

It was Solomon that instructed the sluggard to go to the ants to consider their ways. Here the ant takes the place of the Prophet metaphorically as the warner or prophet to the idolatrous sluggards in Mecca. The Surah comes from the Middle Group of the Meccan Surahs.

Some commentators sense that it was a warning to the Arabs and claimed that the ants was reference to an old Arab tribe perhaps at the time of Solomon, and the birds depict cavalry. They identify the Hudhud (the hoopoe) as a man’s name. Indeed it is the duplicate of the prophet Hud who was sent to warn the sequence of the tribes from the Aa’d (S11) to the Thamud and the Amalekites, Himyarites and the rest of the Arabs symbolised by the inhabitants of the area Al-Hijr (S15) symbolising Arab rulership under the control of the valley south of and adjacent to Mecca. This does not seem to be understood; although the jinn are explained as the foreign troops. Certainly the demons undermined the Arabs and destroyed the meaning of the Qur’an with the Hadith and the traditions.

Solomon was symbolic of the church over the last 40 jubilees and to the coming of Messiah. The ant represents the last warning of the Church of God before the Witnesses.

Again we are directed to the Scripture being for the Believers as were the previous Surahs 24, 25 and 26.

Luqman Commentary on the Koran: Surah 31 (No. Q031)

Surah 31 Luqman takes its name from verse 12ff. The Arabs try to divorce the text from the Bible and attribute it to a black slave who was wise, and they then associate the slave and the wisdom of the Surah with Aesop’s fables (according to Pickthall and other scholars) and associate the two. The reality is that the text of Luqman associates with the Book of Luke and the message of the Gospel according to the apostle.

The text encourages the elect under persecution and has nothing to do with Greek fables.

The Surah was given in the latter stages of the Meccan persecution. The texts regarding the Resurrection from the dead at verses 27-28 are attributed to the post-Hijrah at Al Madinah from late 622 CE. There seems to be little reason for the assertion given the context but let us examine the text. The Hadith purposes to dissociate the texts from the Scriptures.

Refer also to the papers The Fate of the Twelve Apostles (No. 122B) and The Death of the Prophets and Saints (No. 122C).

032 The Prostration Commentary on the Koran: Surah 32 (No. Q032)

This Surah is a direct reference to the Revelations of the One True God in Scripture. It contains thirty Ayat or verses which is symbolic of prophecy. The Hadithic heretics, despite the clear texts, seek to confine the term for Scriptures to the Koran or Qur’an only and do not understand their heresy and the punishment that awaits them. This was given to them in the Middle group of Meccan Surahs and they continued to deny and persecute the faith.

The Middle Meccan Series then began to deal further with the history of the Meccans and Arabs and their idolatry, which infuriated the Meccans and they rose to new heights of persecution.

The History of the church was also given here in Surah 18 The Cave and the 309 years of persecution and the end of that period with the appointment of Constantine as emperor at York in 309 CE and then the issue of the edict of Toleration in Milan.

This next section of Late Meccan Surahs emphasises the Dominion of God over His creation and the place of the Host in that creation.

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