The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 209
PT. 17 AL-ANBIYA' shall inherit the earth. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be forever. . . For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut; The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever. The word may also refer to Torah, the Book of Moses. There is a prophecy in Deuteronomy (28:11 & 34:4) that Palestine was to be given to the Israelites: For when I shall have brought them into the land which I swore unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant And the Lord said unto him, this is the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed. . . . . . The Israelites rose to great power after Moses and in the time of David and Solomon their rule extended far and wide till it embraced in its orbit far-off lands. Then they fell on evil days. They sinned and transgressed and killed God's Prophets with the result that Divine nemesis overtook them. First Samaria was conquered and ravaged by the Assyrians about 733 B. C. and the whole country north of Israel was annexed by them. Then under Pharaoh Necho, the Egyptians ravaged Judah in 608 B. C. and last of all the greatest blow fell on Israel when Nebuchadnezzar, the 2123 CH. 21 Babylonian king, laid waste Judah, killed in cold blood the inhabitants of Jerusalem and burned and razed the holy Temple of Solomon to the ground and carried away in captivity the members of the royal family and their Prophets. After wandering in wilderness for about a century the Israelites were restored to Jerusalem and to some of their lost glory through the instrumentality of Cyrus, the Persian king and his successors. To this restoration the following passage of the Bible makes prophetic reference from the mouth of Moses: a And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee- thou shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. . . . And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers (Deut. 30:1-5). Again the Israelites relapsed into sin and iniquity. They opposed and persecuted God's Messengers and the cup of their wickedness became full to the brim when they hung on the cross Jesus, their last great Prophet. Then God's wrath fell upon them. The Roman hordes under Titus attacked them in 70 A. D. and amid