The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 4
which in fact, is a branch of Judaism, so would Islam attain the heights of glory and eminence and would prevail over other Faiths through the missionary efforts of the followers of the Messiah of the Islamic Dispensation who from time to time would have to seek refuge in places of shelter from persecution and oppression. Then towards the close of Surah Kahf mention was made of the Isrā' (Spiritual Ascension) of Moses which symbolically hinted that jealousy and hatred would arise between the Mosaic and Islamic Dispensations. The Mosaic Dispensation would begin to view with envy the rise of the followers of Islam who unfortunately lulled into a false sense of security would relapse into complacency. Their adversaries—the followers of Jesus Christ—the standard-bearers of the Mosaic Dispensation in the time of the Messiah of Islamic Dispensation-taking full advantage of this complacency of the Muslims would vanquish them and break their power. Then to further elucidate the similarity between the two Dispensations a brief mention was made of how through Dhul-Qarnain the Jews regained their lost glory. This implied that when the power and glory of Islam would sink to its lowest ebb, God would save its followers from national ruin through a Dhul-Qarnain-the Promised Messiah, who would lead them to renewed glory and prosperity. See 18:84. Thus both Surahs, Banī Isrā'il and Kahf, dealt with the striking parallelism that existed between the two Dispensations, laying added emphasis on the fact that just as the Mosaic Dispensation got a new lease of life through Jesus who was the culminating point of that Dispensation, in the same way Islam would regain its departed power and glory through its own Messiah, the Khātamul-Khulafā i. e. The greatest Khalifah of the Prophet of Islam. But as real opposition to Islamic Dispensation at the time of its decline was to have come from the followers of Jesus Christ, so was Islam, at the time of its resuscitation, destined to meet real opposition from the same people—― the followers of Jesus Christ. Thus, the lesson was brought home to Muslims that Christianity was the real enemy of Islam. After having explained in Surah Kahf that Muslims would sustain national eclipse at the hands of followers of the Messiah of Mosaic Dispensation and would regain their lost glory under the guidance and lead of the Messiah of the Islamic Dispensation, the present Surah proceeds to give a brief history of the Christian Faith. It does so to tell Muslims that the 1918