Introduction
This is the third and last in a series of articles based upon the book by Dr. Israr Ahmad (late) “Lessons from history — Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Two Muslim Communities.” According to the Qur’an there has been only one true religion throughout human history, i.e. Islam (surrender and obedience to God), all other systems of belief and worship, as they exist today are nothing but corrupted and distorted versions of the originally pure and natural teachings of various Messengers of God. History is the arena in which His Will is made manifest, His Dominion is expressed, and His Commitment to the fulfillment of its Divinely ordained rules is evidenced. And yet, in the Islamic understanding, it is not God alone who is responsible for the historical process. Every individual shares in the responsibility insofar as he has assumed through his heritage and according to the verification of the Qur’an a part of the God-given legacy to be a vicegerent, to represent the Divine Will on earth. That role which the Jews and Christians relinquished by veering away from the true obedience of the one God (and non adherence to His commandments, and law) is assumed by Muslims as their full and final responsibility. Islam thus bears the obligation to make known to the world the reality of the historical revelation of the Qur’an, that which provides for the proper understanding of God’s continuing action in history.
In the previous articles the linkage between Islam and the previous revealed religion, Judaism and Christianity was established. They deviated from the right path by abandoning the true teachings of prophets and corruption of scriptures. The ultimate outcome of this line of thought is the eventual religious disassociation of the prophets of these two communities — particularly those of the Jews from their followers. The entire line of Biblical personages is then claimed for Islam.
The beginning of the third and final phase of rise for the Muslims is coincidental with the temporary upswing of the Jews. It can be seen that, at the present moment, the upward trend in the history of the Muslim Ummah is not only very slow and gradual, but that it is still in its initial stages. On the other hand, the same trend among the Jews not only started much earlier, but that it has shown a far more rapid and swift progress. Thus, the ingenious scheme prepared by the “Elders of Zion” in 1897 and the political Zionism of Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), bore fruit within a short period of twenty years, resulting in the Balfour Declaration by the British Government in 1927, paving the way for the “establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” The illegitimate state of Israel came into existence in 1948. Presently Israel herself is not only a formidable military power, but the entire Western world is also there to support and patronize her, both economically and with respect to arms supply. The “Supreme Power” of our time — the United States of America is practically in the tight grip of a small Jewish minority, who is able to exert an immense amount of control over its international policies. More importantly, the global financial system is virtually in the hands of Jewish bankers, who, through the institution of interest or usury, have become powerful enough to command the obedience of entire governments. Finally, the monarchs and rulers in most of the Arab countries have either made their peace with Israel or are desperately looking for opportunities to demonstrate their servile acquiescence. [The present situation projects Israel as a dominant power]. It seems, therefore, that there is no power on earth that can prevent the establishment of “Greater Israel.”
Under these apparently hopeless circumstances only the predictions of the Holy Qur’an and Hadith can reassure us. According to these predictions, the third phase of rise for the Muslims will be accompanied by the global domination of Islam which will last till near the end of the world, whereas the present rise of the Jews is going to be ephemeral. Moreover, as mentioned before, the conflict between the Jews and the Muslims is going to result, ultimately, in the total extermination of the former, according to the Divine law of “annihilation of the worst.” However, the most significant role in this conflict — which is gradually warming up to its grand finale is going to be played by a third power, the Christians.
Third of the Trinity: The Christians
An interesting theme that is common to all pagan religions is the idea of “henotheism”; wherever there was a group of people that worshipped a number of divine beings, we find that there was always a Supreme Deity that was considered to be above all other gods and goddesses. This trend is most prominent in Hinduism, in the Greek and Roman mythologies, and among the pagan Arabs of the pre-Islamic era. However, what is really important to note in such religions is that, in actual practice, the smaller gods and goddesses always get the lion’s share in the attention and devotion of their worshipers, while the Supreme God disappears in the background, as He is carelessly ignored and casually brushed aside by the worshipers.
Applying this analogy to the three Abrahamic faiths, we can say that although Christianity is the biggest among them in terms of the number of adherents, yet in reality — except for the name and personality of Prophet Isa (Pbuh) there is hardly anything in this religion that can be described as “Christian.” That is to say, the doctrines and practices of Christianity, as they exist today, have more to do with the innovations of St. Paul than with the real teachings of Prophet Isa (Pbuh). As such, the present-day Christianity actually belongs to the realm of philosophical religions — along with Hinduism, Taoism, and Confucianism — instead of the domain of Revealed religions like Judaism and Islam.
Coming back to the original topic of our discussion, it is significant to note that the Christian nations have played a crucial role vis-à-vis the second phase of decline with regard to both the Jews and the Muslims. Thus, we find that the torture, persecution, genocidal killings, and exile suffered by the Jews during the last sixteen hundred years were caused exclusively by the Christians. Ever since the conversion of Romans to Christianity in the fourth century C.E. Jews have continuously been made the target of various allegations, and executed by the thousands on one pretext or the other. Similarly, it was the Christians who were responsible for the brutal massacre suffered by the Muslims during the Crusades, and then the subjugation and exploitation of the Muslims at the hands of Western Imperialism. From even a superficial survey of Jewish and Muslim histories, therefore, it becomes clear that Almighty Allah (SWT) has been using the Christian nations as an instrument of His punishment, or the whip of His retribution, for both the Jews and Muslims of the world.
However — and this is vital to keep in mind — there has been a profound metamorphosis in the nature of the relationship between the Jews and Christians; this change started from the days of the Renaissance, reaching its climax only during the present century. As a result of this change, the Christian world — particularly the White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or WASP have become devoted comrades and staunch supporters of the Jewish nation, although they are, in fact, only being cleverly used and manipulated by the latter. On the other hand, the highly ruthless historical role of the Christians in relation to the Muslim Ummah is still very much intact. As such, there is a clear possibility of another massive assault, a ‘la Crusades, that can work havoc upon the Muslims, particularly the Arab world. Such an event can obviously result in killings and destruction on a huge scale, a minor glimpse of which has already been witnessed by the world during the Operation Desert Storm.
The way in which the “threat” of militant and fundamentalist Islam is being hyperbolized by the Western media betrays an attempt to create public hatred against the Muslims, as was done before and during the Crusades. This process of brainwashing is exemplified, at the popular level, by the PBS documentary Jihad in America and the Reader’s Digest article A Holy War Heads Our Way; prominent examples of the same trend at an intellectual level include The Clash of Civilizations by Samuel P. Huntington and The Roots of Muslim Rage by Bernard Lewis. Similarly, a campaign was recently launched in the Western media so as to inculcate the notion, with reference to the writings of Nostradamus, that the “Antichrist” is going to be a Muslim leader from among the Arabs.
The very idea of Muslims going back to their roots — the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is being depicted as a dangerous combination of extremism, terrorism, and fanaticism. Unfortunately, after the end of Cold War and the demise of Communism, Islam and Muslims are increasingly being used to fill the vacuum of the “Great Menace” against which the West can test her powers. With ever rising zeal, Islamic fundamentalism is being portrayed as the ultimate evil against which the forces of decency must unite. Despite this continuing campaign of disinformation about the hazards of Islam, the fact remains that, in the history of Muslim-Christian relationship, it was always the Muslims who suffered heavily at the hands of various Christian nations and not the other way round. It appears that the history might repeat itself in the form of a real clash of civilizations.
A B C Of Christianity
According to the Qur’an, there has been only one true religion throughout human history i.e. Islam [submission to will of God] all other systems of belief and worship, as they exist today, are nothing but corrupted and distorted replicas of the originally pure and simple teachings of the various messengers of God. Most versions of these teachings have been perverted beyond recognition, and the historical continuity and doctrinal similarity of only two of them — Judaism and Christianity can at present be linked with Islam. Among these three major faiths, as mentioned earlier, only the followers of Judaism and Islam can be described as Ummahs: Jews or the Israelites as the previous Muslim Ummah, and the followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the present and final Muslim Ummah. According to the prophecies as they appear in the Hadith literature, the ultimate conflict of the future is going to take place between the Jews and the Muslims, although a very significant initial role will be played by the Christian nations. In order to correctly interpret and fully comprehend these prophecies, it is imperative for us to understand the nature and history of Christian faith.
A set of three doctrines is common to the followers of most of the Christian denomination viz. the Trinity, Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and Atonement. The most basic creed of modern Christianity is, of course, the belief that God is one, in three persons, and in one substance: God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit are not three gods, but one God.
The Holy Qur’an emphatically rejects and condemns this polytheistic view.
“O People of the Book, do not be fanatical in your faith, and say nothing but the truth about God. The Messiah who is Isa, son of Maryam, was only a messenger of God, and a command of His which He sent to Maryum, as a mercy from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and do not say “Three.” For God is only one God.” (Al-Nisa 4:171)
They are surely infidels who say: “God is the Messiah, son of Maryam.” …Disbelievers are they surely who say: “God is the third of the Trinity”; but there is no god other than God the One. (Al-Ma’idah 5:72,73)
The Holy Qur’an also repudiates their belief that Prophet Isa (Pbuh) was humiliated and executed on the cross, and thus indirectly refutes the theory of Atonement — the belief that the great sacrifice from the so-called “Son of God” was necessary to remove the burden of the Original Sin from the shoulders of humanity. According to the Qur’an:
“And (the Jews were punished, among other things, because) of saying, “We killed the Messiah, Isa, son of Maryam.” who was a Messenger of God — but they neither killed nor crucified him, though it so appeared to them. They have no knowledge about it, other than conjecture, and surely they did not kill him.” (Al-Nisa 4:157)
Although the myth of the Crucifixion of Prophet Isa (PBUH) is narrated in all the four Gospels, there is absolutely no substance whatsoever in them for the doctrine of Trinity or that of the Divine Sonship of Jesus. The earliest evidence of the last two doctrines first appeared in the writings of St. Paul, and these were adopted as official beliefs of Christianity only after extensive debate, and following a long-standing controversy which included, at times, violent episodes between Unitarians and Trinitarians. These dogmas were confirmed as official beliefs of the Church, after much deliberation, during the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E., almost three centuries after the departure of Prophet Isa (Pbuh).
Five Points of Convergence
As far as the personality of Prophet Isa (Pbuh) is concerned, we find that there are at least five significant points which are common between the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith on the one hand, and the four Canonical Gospels on the other. It is indeed significant that more than half of the world’s population is in agreement regarding these points, three of which are in clear opposition to the normal physical laws of the universe. We shall discuss these points one by one.
(1) The Gospel of Matthew (1:18-24) and Luke (1:26- 38) mention that Jesus Christ was conceived without a human father, as a miracle from Almighty God; so does the Holy Qur’an (Aal-e-Imran 3:45-47 & Maryam 19:17-21)
(2) Jesus Christ performed the most astonishing of miracles — unparalleled in the history of Prophet hood with respect to their unambiguous and unmistakable nature. These miracles are described in various sections of the Gospels (see, for example, Matthew, Chapters 8 & 14) as well as in the Holy Qur’an (Aal-e-Imran 3:49 & Al-Ma’idah 5:110)
(3) Jesus Christ forcefully and incisively called upon his fellow Israelites to mend their perverted ways, to give up sinful and unethical practices, to repent with the true spirit of repentance, and to purify themselves from all spiritual and moral corruption. He severely criticized the pretentious religiosity, the emphasis on hollow but legally spotless rituals, and the servile adherence to the letter of the law without regard to its spirit — the hallmark of the religious establishment of his time. (Matthew 23, and the Holy Qur’an Al-Ma’idah 5:78). As a result, he became the sole target of the acrimony and malevolence from the rabbis, the priests, and the pharisees. [The Pharisees, a Jewish school of thought, which believed that the Law that God gave to Moses was twofold, consisting of the Written Law and the Oral Law—i.e. the teachings of the prophets and the oral traditions of the Jewish people. Whereas the priestly Sadducees taught that the written Torah was the only source of revelation, the Pharisees admitted the principle of evolution in the Law: men must use their reason in interpreting the Torah and applying it to contemporary problems.]
(4) The message and proclamation of Jesus Christ attracted the attention of the population both in and around Jerusalem, but it was accepted only by a very minute section of the Jews, of which even fewer became his dedicated companions. The number of these close comrades, according to the Gospels, was twelve, although the matter of their names is controversial.
(5) Jesus Christ was raised up alive from the earth, and he will reappear some time before the end of the world. This has been mentioned in Matthew 28:6,7; Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51, John 20:17. Ascension and reappearance of Prophet Isa (PBUH) has also been alluded to in the Holy Qur’an (Al-Nisa 4:157, 158 and Al-Zukhruf 43:61), but these hints are explained more explicitly in the Hadith.
Innovations by Paul
Then we have two very important points regarding which the Qur’an and Hadith as well as the four Gospels are unanimous, but which have been radically changed by St. Paul during the period immediately following the departure of Prophet Isa (Pbuh). These innovations have transformed what was only a reform movement among the Jews into a philosophical religion full of pagan conceptions.
(1) It is abundantly clear from Matthew 5:17-19, Luke 16:17 and Mark 13:31, that Jesus Christ had no intention whatsoever to give any new law, nor to rescind and abolish the Mosaic law, as he was sent by Almighty God only to renew and reinforce the law of the Torah, to purify his people from spiritual and moral degeneration, and to revive the authentic spirit of Deen. He was, obviously, one of the Jews and was not supposed to become the founder of a new religion and a new community. However, preaching in the name of Jesus Christ, the actual founder of Christianity, St. Paul, simply abrogated the Mosaic law (Romans 4:15).
The historian Michael Hart has the following to say in his book “The Hundred”:
“Paul, more than any other man, was responsible for the transformation of Christianity from a Jewish sect into a world religion. His central ideas of the divinity of Christ and of justification by faith alone have remained basic to Christian thought throughout all the intervening centuries … Indeed, the influence of Paul’s ideas has been so great that some scholars have claimed that he, rather than Jesus, should be regarded as the principal founder of the Christian religion.” [Michael Hart]
(2) According to the Holy Qur’an, Prophet Isa (Pbuh) was appointed a prophet only for the Israelites (Aal-e-Imran 3:49 & Al-Saff 61:6), and this is confirmed by his sayings which appear in the Gospels (Matthew 10:5,6& 15:24), where he forbids his disciples from extending their evangelistic activity outside that circle. However, a controversial step was taken in this respect by St. Paul, who persuaded the small number of early followers of Prophet Isa (Pbuh) after a period of serious dispute — to preach among the non-Jews as well. As it happened, Paul had met with little success among the Israelites, but his sweeping innovations made the new faith much more palatable for the neighboring pagan people, and thus his brand of Christianity rapidly gained popularity among these nations.
The Myth of Crucifixion
Last, but not the least, is the matter of the alleged crucifixion of Prophet Isa (Pbuh), regarding which there is a crucial disagreement between the Islamic belief and the account of the four Canonical Gospels. According to the latter, the supreme Jewish authority in Roman Palestine — the Sanhedrin — convicted Jesus of blasphemy and insisted for death sentence, which was carried out by the Roman governor Pilate Pontius by way of crucifixion. Afterwards, on the third day, the dead body of Jesus Christ was miraculously resurrected and revived; the Christ then met with his disciples, and, after giving them some instructions, ascended into the heaven.
On the other hand, the Holy Qur’an strongly rejects the idea of Prophet Isa (Pbuh) having been crucified, and according to the authentic Prophetic traditions or Hadith — he was saved from such an accursed and humiliating death by direct Divine intervention and raised up alive into the heavens. It has also been unequivocally explained to us by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that Prophet Isa (Pbuh) will reappear on earth to live out the rest of his life, and then he will die like any other mortal.
The only void left in this Islamic tradition, however, concerns the “when” and “where” of the ascension of Prophet Isa (Pbuh), and the question regarding “who” actually got crucified in his place. This vacuum can be satisfactorily filled with the help of the narration in the “Gospel of Barnabas” according to which, when the traitor Judas Iscariot came ahead of the Roman soldiers and entered the garden where Prophet Jesus Christ was hiding, God the Almighty caused his face and voice to be changed so that he looked and talked exactly like Jesus, while in the meantime the prophet himself was raised up into the heavens. Thus it was the traitor who was crucified, while Prophet Jesus Christ was miraculously saved by direct Divine intervention. It may be pointed out here that, unlike Barnabas who was a close disciple and companion of Prophet Jesus, none of the writers of the four so-called authentic gospels — i.e., Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John — ever met with the prophet himself. These gospels were written between 70 C.E and 115 C.E. but their earliest available manuscripts date back to the fourth century C.E, making their authenticity rather dubious. A number of different gospels were in circulation throughout the early period of Christianity, the manuscripts of which were freely altered and amended by the copyists in order to suit the doctrines of their particular sect. The four gospels that are included in the New Testament were accepted as genuine by the Church and the rest were rejected as apocryphal, and their possession prohibited not on the basis of merit, but only because these four books were in conformity with the official Church dogma. The Gospel of Barnabas was among the books that were banned in 325 C.E by the Nicean Council; it was forbidden by the Decree of the Western Churches in 382 C.E; it was again banned by Pope Innocent in 465 C.E, and then by the Glasian Decree in 496 C.E. To this day, Christian authorities refuse to accept the Gospel of Barnabas as authentic, despite striking similarities between this Gospel and the documents discovered in 1947 in the caves of Qumran, popularly called the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is because the Gospel of Barnabas proclaims absolute Divine Unity, criticizes the pagan innovations of St. Paul, declares the truth about the myth of Crucifixion, and, above all, contains unambiguous prophecies regarding the advent of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), all of which is enough to destroy the very foundations of the Christian faith as it exists today. However, any unbiased comparative study of the New Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Gospel of Barnabas is bound to reveal that this gospel is the correct and genuine account of the life and teachings of Prophet Isa (Pbuh), notwithstanding the flimsy objections being raised by the Christians.
Allies of One Another
The early Christians were generally considered as nothing more than a Jewish sect, but with the passage of time the alien concepts implanted by St. Paul — Trinity, Atonement, Abolition of the Mosaic Law — made them a different people altogether. The initial three centuries of the Common Era were characterized by severe persecution being inflicted upon the Christians, a considerable segment of which still consisted of Unitarians, at the hands of both the Jews and the Romans. However, the whole situation changed dramatically when the Roman Empire embraced Christianity, as a result of which the Jews became the target of official harassment and oppression. As the Christians saw it, Jews were guilty of “deicide,” the murder of their God, and therefore they excluded the latter from the mainstream of socio-economic life. This trend continued unabated in the Middle Ages, often manifesting as wholesale killings of the Jews. In 1096, for example, the Crusaders on their way through France and Germany massacred thousands of Jews. Widespread killings took place in 1146 by the armies of the second Crusade. More than a thousand Jews were hanged in England in 1234 for allegedly circumcising a Christian boy. In 1290, Jews were banished from England by King Edward. In 1350, they were held responsible for the spread of plague and hundreds of thousands were murdered in Europe. They were forced to live together under subhuman conditions called “Ghettos.” Religious courts, or “Inquisition,” ordered the burning of thousands of Jews during the 15th century and these events were witnessed and celebrated as popular holidays.
Ironically enough, during more than a thousand years of humiliation and persecution, the only respite of peace and prosperity enjoyed by the Jews was in the Muslim territories. Jewish historians like Abba Eban and Solomon Grayzel have acknowledged and recognized their “Golden Age of Diaspora” the period of Jewish affluence and growth in Muslim Spain. When the Arab rule came to end in 1492, and the Jews were immediately expelled from Spain by the Christian rulers Ferdinand and Isabella, they were given refuge and asylum in the Ottoman Empire. Large population of Jews continued to prosper peacefully in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Egypt, during the time when their brethren were suffering miserably in Europe, particularly in the Russian lands.
According to the Holy Qur’an, the hatred and enmity between the Jews and the Christians will last till the end of the world (Al-Ma’ida 5:14 & 64). However, we can clearly see that their mutual rancor underwent a very slow and gradual decline during the last few hundred years. The Qur’an seems to be saying, therefore, that the present coalition between the Jews and the Christians is only superficial and cosmetic as well as transient, and also that the end of the world is not very far.
We know that the Jews had always viewed themselves as a special breed of people, superior to the rest of the humanity as the “Chosen People of the Lord,” who are born to rule the Gentiles. As a result, they couldn’t come to terms with their shockingly unexpected humiliation, and thus the episodes of Divine retribution — instead of softening their hearts and producing in them a desire to repent and the willingness to atone for their collective crimes has produced in them a revengeful and malicious envy and a sort of diabolical bitterness.
It would of course be unfair to make sweeping generalizations because individual persons vary greatly, but as far as the collective psyche of the Jewish nation is concerned, it is undeniable that they have developed a deeply ingrained tendency to conspire and to maneuver things surreptitiously for their own gain, without ever appearing on the stage. It may be pointed out that this character of the Jews was already prominent during the days of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and that it is this very inclination towards behind-the-scene subversive activities that has produced the present state of alliance and so-called friendship between them and the Christians.
The persecuted Jews were well aware that the only way to turn the tables on their arch enemy, the Christians, was by way of minimizing the influence of religion over them and by debilitating the authority of the Church. Thus, they ingeniously used the spirit of rationalism — that was already spreading from Muslim Spain into Christian Europe to make a breach in the bastion of Christian faith. As a matter of fact, the highly irrational and almost ridiculously illogical dogmas being enforced by the Church in the name of religion were never in a position to stand against the tide of Reason. The Renaissance in Europe was characterized by an intense interest in the physical world and in the knowledge derived from concrete sensory experience, and a decline in metaphysical beliefs and interest in the life after death, both of which were prominent themes during the Middle Ages. This rise of Reason, therefore, turned out to be the beginning of the end for Christianity and the onset of the domination of materialism and pragmatic morality. The European Jews by playing a key role in polluting the essence of rationalism with the evils of licentiousness and promiscuity, as well as with that of intellectual vagrancy which is euphemistically called “liberalism” were able to increase their influence in the Christian society. The rise of sexual permissiveness and the resulting breakdown of traditional family values in the West represents only one aspect of the defeat of Christian morality against the financial interests and the growing influence of the Jews.
At the same time, the rise of Protestantism and the movement for “Reformation” opened the gates of unlimited individual freedom and destroyed the unity of Christendom. Although usurious money-lending activity of the Jews had existed on a small scale throughout the middle Ages, the weakening of the Church, along with the liberal views of John Calvin (1509-1594) in Economics, ultimately led to an enormous rise in the previously prohibited practice of usury. The acceptance by the Christians that such transactions are unavoidable for economic growth and material prosperity made them willing hostages of the money-lending institutions — banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges and the like — all of which were, and still are, strongholds of the Jewish people. Today these financial institutions are the uncontested rulers of the Western World, particularly of Great Britain and the United States. The introduction of paper money instead of gold and silver has also greatly bolstered this wicked web of control and exploitation. This is how the Jews were able to take control of the affairs of the world without really exposing or endangering themselves.
This unnatural and artificial alliance between the Jews and the Christians — the basis of the so-called New World Order is actually nothing more than the relationship between a parasite and its host, or between a master and his slave. One of the recent manifestations of this bizarre friendship is the decree issued by the Pope exonerating the Jews from the two-thousand years old charge of crucifying Jesus Christ. The Holy Qur’an had prophetically warned us of the dangers of this coalition thus:
“O Believers, do not hold Jews and Christians as your allies. They are allies of one another; and anyone who makes them his friends is surely one of them; and God does not guide the unjust. (Al-Ma’ida 5:51)
Kindness and Equity
Muslims are encouraged to act towards all the non-Muslims living in Islamic state with kindness and equity. As per Qur’an;
“As for such (of the unbelievers) as do not fight against you on account of your faith, and neither drive you forth from your homelands, Allah does not forbid you to show them kindness and to behave towards them with full equity. Indeed, Allah loves those who act equitably”(Qur’an;60:8).
There are numerous Hadiths, which encourage Muslims to be kind to other religious communities, especially those who constitute minorities in the Muslim State. As a result many deserving non Muslims were able to get very high positions in the Muslim hierarchy. Islam does not forbid engagement in respectful and peaceful dialogue with others, especially the People of the Book, provided that neither side exploit the illiteracy or dire financial need of others so as to psychologically manipulate them in the name of outreach.
Before the Doomsday
It is an essential part of our faith as Muslims that we take the universe in which we live as created and contingent and not eternal. Unlike the early Greeks, who thought that the universe had always existed, the Holy Qur’an teaches us that ours is a very large but finite universe in terms of both space and time, and as such it has a definite beginning and a certain end. The following scenario emerges when we study modern cosmology from an Islamic perspective.
In the beginning, Almighty Allah (SWT) created a concentrated core of light-energy, and then, later on, He caused it to explode in a Big Bang, leading to the creation of time, space, and matter. This phenomenon of creation out of nothing represents the manifestation of divine command “Be!” The Big Bang did not happen at any specific place, as the “space” itself was created with this explosion. Similarly, it did not occur at any particular instant, as the “time” itself came into being with the Big Bang.
Since then, the universe has been continuously expanding, rotating, and evolving. At a predetermined point in the future, it will stop expanding, and from then on the contraction or folding-back phase of the universe will commence — either due to the gravitational pull of the unseen matter exceeding the forces of expansion, or as a result of the swallowing up of entire galaxies by Black Holes — leading ultimately to the Big Crunch, which is the disappearance of the cosmos in a catastrophic implosion, like the Big Bang in reverse.
The Big Crunch will be followed by another Big Bang, leading to the creation of a new universe that will last forever, and which will be totally different from our present universe, utterly beyond the realm of our imagination. We believe, on the authority of the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), in the rebirth of all humanity, their final judgment, the Hell and the Paradise, though the exact nature of that state of existence is simply inconceivable.
As far as the end of our own world is concerned, it seems that a major catastrophe will befall, destroying a part of our galaxy including the sun and the earth, and that this will happen well before the universal doomsday or the Big Crunch. It is this local doomsday that is referred to in the Holy Qur’an as the “Startling Calamity” or the “Inevitable.”
The Ascendancy of Islam
There are a few cryptic remarks in the Holy Qur’an regarding the events which will precede the Doomsday; these points are fully explained in the form of detailed prophecies that appear in the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). According to these prophecies four major events will happen before the end of the world; in chronological sequence, they are as follows:
(1) The Ultimate World War of human history, which will be fought predominantly in the Middle East;
(2) The appearance of Anti-Christ, or Dajjal, in the final phase of that war — a leader who will inflict huge sufferings and destruction on Arab Muslims;
(3) The reappearance of Prophet Isa (PBUH), who will cause the extermination of Dajjal and his Jewish followers; and finally,
(4) The establishment of the system of Khilafah, or the domination of Islam, over the entire globe.
Except for the reappearance of Prophet Isa (Pbuh), there is nothing supernatural or incredible in these prophecies, as we shall discuss shortly. The very idea of the global domination of Islam however, seems like a fool’s fantasy, keeping in view the present state of humiliation of the Muslims and their virtual enslavement by the New World Order.
Under the existing state of affairs, which is both distressing and disheartening, we must keep on reminding ourselves that the ascendancy of Islam over the entire globe is bound to come, as this has been emphatically foretold by none other than the Last Messenger of Allah (SWT) himself, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. Although there is no such explicit and unequivocal guarantee in the Holy Qur’an, we find that both the minor and major premises of this syllogism are repeatedly mentioned, the inescapable conclusion of which is the ultimate establishment of world-wide supremacy of Islam. The major premise consists of the fact that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was appointed a messenger and envoy of Almighty Allah (SWT) for the whole humanity (Al-Qur’an Al-A‘raaf 7:158; Al-Anbiya 21:107; Al-Furqan 25:1; Saba 34:28; & Al-Jumu’ah 62:2,3), whereas the minor premise is represented by the Divine assertion that the true way of life or Deen al-Haq will be made superior over the entire system of life (Al-Tawbah 9:33; Al-Fath 48:24; & Al-Saff 61:9), and that God the Almighty is going to perfect His Light despite all the resistance from the unbelievers (Al-Tawbah 9:32 & Al-Saff 61:8). The logical conclusion that necessarily follows from these premises is that the real purpose and the ultimate aim of the advent of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) will be fulfilled only with the establishment of the ascendancy of Islam over the entire mankind, all over the world.
This has been promised by Almighty Allah (SWT) in these words:
“God has promised that He will surely make those of you who believe and do the right, vicegerents in the land, as He had made those before them, and He will surely establish their Deen which He has chosen for them, and He will surely change their state of fear into peace and security.” (Al-Noor 24:55)
The Ascent of Humanity
The global domination of Islam also appears inevitable in the context of the idea of cosmic evolution, as explained in the following paragraphs:
In sharp contrast to all the materialistic theories of modern science, the Holy Qur’an teaches us that Allah (SWT) is the only real force behind every creative activity that takes place in the universe. The clear and obvious signs of purpose and direction in the cosmos indicate that there is an intelligent mind at work, as pure chance could only have produced total chaos. The cosmic existence, as the Holy Qur’an proclaims again and again, is something profoundly meaningful. The evolution of the universe in the direction of a predetermined goal is what provides everything with a single grand purpose. The universe is continuously in a process of evolution, constantly working to perfect itself.
According to Dr. Muhammad Rafiuddin (whose philosophy of history was mentioned earlier), the cause of the evolution of the cosmos is the desire or the will of the Creator. This desire or will of Allah (SWT) is flowing in the universe as a current of consciousness, changing the universe with a view to bringing it to the stage of its highest perfection. This cosmic evolution can be described as taking place in several stages, as follows:
1. The first stage was that of physical evolution, from the Big Bang up to the time when simple chemical compounds grew into complex organic molecules, leading to the emergence of life on earth. This stage of purely physical change was directed by the Divine current of consciousness that continuously runs through all matter, causing it to behave in specific ways, commonly known as the “laws of nature.”
2. The second stage was that of biological evolution, when the same current of consciousness took the form of an indwelling life-force (compare Bergson’s élan vital), which directed the process towards the creation of the perfect animal, the Homo sapiens. It has been theorized on the basis of the pointers in the Holy Qur’an that, at this stage, Almighty Allah (SWT) selected a single pair of these human-animals, and endowed them with their spiritual souls; this was the creation of Adam and Eve, the primordial human pair.
3. The third stage was that of intellectual evolution, when the current of consciousness took the form of an urge for Beauty and Perfection, expressing itself in the love of an ideal (compare Freud’s Libido), guiding the process towards the climax of intellectual and psychological development, that was finally achieved in the personality of Prophet Ibrahim (Pbuh).
4. The fourth stage was that of the collective social evolution of humanity, reaching its zenith in the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), when the true way of life or Deen al-Haq was perfected and the ideal system of social, economic, and political Justice was presented to the mankind in its final form.
At the present moment, humanity is passing through the final stage of its evolution. The Divine current of consciousness is still active in the collective mind of humanity, urging and guiding us towards the ultimate state of human perfection i.e. towards the establishment of the global culture-civilization that will be based upon the teachings of the Qur’an. In this way the philosophy of Ideals, as developed by Dr. Muhammad Rafiuddin, makes it even more understandable how the global domination of Islam before the end of the world is inevitable from an evolutionary standpoint.
This global domination of Islam has been clearly predicted in the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), three of which are quoted below:
(1) According to a tradition that is narrated by Imam Ahmad (RA) on the authority of Nauman Bin Bashir (RA), Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said to his Companions: “The period of Prophet hood will remain among you so long as Allah wills, then He shall cause it to end. After that, there will be Khilafah among you on the pattern of Prophet hood, and this will last as long as Allah wills, and then He shall cause it to end. After that, there will be a reign of oppressive monarchy, and this will also last as long as Allah wills, and then He shall cause it to end. After that there will be a period of enslavement, and this will last as long as Allah wills, then He shall cause it to end. Finally, there will again be Khilafah on the pattern of Prophet hood.”
(2) In another tradition narrated by Imam Muslim (RA) on the authority of Thawban (RAA), the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “Allah (SWT) folded up the whole earth for me (in a vision), so that I was able to see all the easts and all the wests, and surely the domination of my followers will be established over all those places that were shown to me by thus folding the earth.”
(3) Imam Ahmad (RA) has narrated, on the authority of Miqdad Ibn Aswad (RAA), that the Prophet of God (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “There shall be no house on the entire earth — neither of bricks nor one made of camel’s skin but Allah (SWT) will cause the word of Islam to enter it, either with the honor of the one who deserves honor, or with the subjugation of the one who is defeated.” (That is to say, God will confer honor on some and they will embrace Islam, and He will cause the others to give up fighting and they will surrender before the rule of Islam.)
The Way to God’s Kingdom
Belief in the most certain event of Doomsday is part of our faith as Muslims, and, in this context, the global happenings of our age clearly indicate that the end of the world is probably a matter of near future. This opinion is based upon the predictions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), many of which have already come true in the world around us, and the stage is obviously being set for the final set of events before Doomsday — the grand finale of the global drama. We shall now discuss these coming events which will precede the establishment of the domination of Islam, as disclosed by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Indications regarding the greatest World War of human history that appear in the Hadith collections are, in general, couched in allegorical language. It seems that the War will take place in three phases, and will be fought predominantly in the Middle East. During the first phase, Muslim and Christian armies will join hands and fight against a third force, the identity of which is uncertain. The allies will defeat their common enemy, but then serious discord and hostility will break out between them, leading to the second phase of The War characterized by fierce fighting between the Muslim and Christian armies. Initially the Christians will have the upper hand, and the Muslims will lose important strongholds like Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Although during the first and second phases the Jews themselves will not take part in the battle, their resources, technical know-how, and their propaganda machinery will be used with utmost destructive effect against the Muslims.
According to the prophecies, at this point the Muslims will select a rightly guided man as their military and political leader. This leader, called Mahdi in Hadith literature, will organize and unite the Muslim forces against the Christians, shifting the fortunes of The War in favor of the Muslims.
The third phase of The War will commence with the appearance on the scene of an exceedingly cunning Jewish leader — Dajjal or Anti-Christ. From then onwards the Jews will start to take active part in the fighting, and the combined forces of Jews and Christians will inflict heavy losses on the Muslims. At this stage — Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has told in unequivocal words — Prophet Isa (Pbuh) will reappear to strengthen and reinforce the Muslim armies. He will deliver the final installment of Divine punishment to the Jews, and will kill their leader, Dajjal. The reappearance of Prophet Isa (Pbuh) will mark the end of Christianity as a separate religion, and the most glorious and peaceful era of human history will commence. This will be “God’s Kingdom on earth,” when the Deen of Allah (SWT) will reign supreme, and the world will enjoy unprecedented bounties and blessings of the Lord.
This period of Khilafah on the pattern of Prophet hood will last so long as Almighty Allah (SWT) wills; then, after this blissful era, the world will once again be filled with wickedness. All the faithful population of the world will die peacefully and calmly one day, just before the end of the world. In this way, only the unbelievers and the wicked shall be left to face the dreadful events of the Doomsday.
Armageddon!
It is interesting to note that prophecies regarding an ultimate World War between the forces of Good and the forces of Evil are also found in the Christian tradition. The highly cryptic and symbolic language of the last book in the New Testament — the Revelations of John — is often difficult to interpret, but the references to the beast and the false prophet resembles closely the Muslim concept of Dajjal; the woman riding the beast most probably refers to the Jews and their revival; the rider coming on the white horse seems like representing the Second Coming of Prophet Isa (Pbuh). Here are a few excerpts:
“I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. These are demonic spirits with power to work out miracles, sent out to muster all the kings of the world for the battle on the great day of God the sovereign Lord.” (16:13,14)
“ …I saw a woman mounted on a scarlet beast which was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns… I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s people, and with the blood of those who had borne their testimony to Jesus… the angel said… the beast you saw was once alive, and it is alive no longer, but has yet to ascend out of the abyss before going to be destroyed.” (17:3,6-8)
I saw heaven wide open, and a white horse appeared; its rider’s name was Faithful and True, for he is just in judgment and just in war… The armies of heaven followed him… Out of his mouth came a sharp sword to smite the nation; for it is he who will rule them with a rod of iron… I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies mustered to do battle against the rider and his army. The beast was taken prisoner, along with the false prophet who has worked miracles in its presence and deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire with its sulfurous flames. The rest were killed by the sword which came out of the rider’s mouth, and the birds all gorged themselves on their flesh (19:11,14,15,19-21) I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the Devil, or Satan, and chained him up for a thousand years; he threw him into the abyss, shutting and sealing it over him, so that he might not seduce the nations again till the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let loose for a little while. (20:1- 3)
The site of the final battle against the Antichrist is said to be Armageddon (Revelation 16:16), located in the ancient stronghold of Megiddo, roughly 15 miles south-east of Jerusalem.. The word Armageddon has now come to mean the final battle between the forces of Good and the forces of Evil.
Dajjali System of Life
It is important to distinguish between Dajjal the individual, and Dajjal as a world-wide intellectual and social phenomenon based on materialism and atheism. The latter is manifested as the philosophical outlook that has taken shape during the last few centuries in Europe, as well as the culture and lifestyle based upon that Godless outlook. The system of life which is predominantly materialistic and which dominates the entire globe today is actually the “Dajjalic System” itself, whereas the greatest defender of that system will be Dajjal the individual.
As we have seen earlier, the innovations introduced by St. Paul in the original teachings of Prophet Isa (PBUH) had led to the genesis of a completely new and different religion. The highly irrational claim of Trinity ultimately resulted in the divorce between two natural allies, religion and reason. The conversion of Caesar Constantine in 313 C.E., and of the entire Roman Empire during the next hundred years or so, turned out to be the starting point for the establishment of Christian Theocracy in Europe. The huge vacuum created by the Pauline idea of abolition of the Mosaic law was then filled with the virtually unlimited authority of the Church, represented by the infallible Pope. During the Middle Ages the Church and the clergy ruled the masses with an iron hand, oppressing and exploiting them in the name of religion, while discouraging any inclination towards science or rationalism.
The Aristotelian system of cosmos, as adopted by Ptolemy, was already incorporated into the Christian theology. As a result, when Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo opposed the Geocentric doctrine and proposed Heliocentric views based on their scientific observations, the Church condemned and vehemently opposed them as heretics, thus starting the unfortunate rivalry and rift between Science and Religion.
The scientific and rationalistic movement in Europe, therefore, came face to face with the powerful religious establishment of the Church. The latter used all its resources to halt this new wave of progress towards knowledge and learning, but succeeded only in producing among the masses a deep mistrust of all things connected with religion. The ruthlessly unfavorable attitude of the clergy caused a reactionary feeling of hatred against the Church, and then against the very idea of religion itself.
The development of science and philosophy in Europe, therefore, was forced to take place in an environment which was hostile to religion, and this hostility has since then permeated deep down into the very roots of Western thought. The world-view and civilization that grew out of this materialistic frame of mind is what we call the “Dajjalic System” of life. The hallmark of this system is a profound shift of emphasis — from God the Almighty to the material universe and laws of nature, from spiritual pursuits to sensual gratification, and from salvation in the life-after-death to material prosperity in this world.
Human beings have been endowed by Almighty Allah (SWT) with two distinct sources of knowledge, that is:
(a) information gathered by the senses and their interpretation by means of reason, intellect, and logic; along with;
(b) Revelation, in order to acquire knowledge of the ultimate realities and also the practical guidance for living a just, virtuous, and balanced life.
However, the unfortunate shift of emphasis mentioned above resulted in a serious imbalance in the modern thinking process. Thus, while humanity has made an incredible amount of progress with regard to science and technology, we see that, correspondingly, religion and morality have undergone unprecedented decay and decline. As such, the Western civilization can be described as possessing only a single eye, epistemologically speaking. In other words, it has invested everything it had into a single source of knowledge — Reason and Science — while totally ignoring the other, equally important, source of knowledge — Revelation from the Heavens.
The system of life resulting from this materialistic mental attitude is characterized by a morbid preoccupation with collecting things and accumulating money. The cornerstone of the Dajjalic System is the producer-consumer process, which is promoted as the ideal way of life. Highly sophisticated means are employed to convince the masses that they want newer and more expensive products, so that they can be made to work continuously in order to earn the money to pay for the goods and services they don’t even need.
The life blood of the Dajjalic System is usury, which is used to subjugate individuals as well as entire nations so that they can be controlled and manipulated by a financial aristocracy.
The masses are encouraged to work hard, to enjoy their weekends, to uncritically digest whatever the media feeds them, and to invest all their time and energy in the pursuit of material well-being and sensual gratification. Humans are being reduced to the level of beasts. Endless consumption of products has become the dominant life-style of our times, and people have been made conditioned to measure each other on the basis of wealth and affluence, rather than character and morals. A whole entertainment industry has been created to keep the minds of the masses occupied whenever they are not working.
The entire system is geared so that the overwhelming majority is deprived of either the time or the energy to give any serious thought to the nature of existence, to the Creator, to the accountability in the Hereafter — or to the exploiters. Dajjal the individual will represent the interests of those who are financially exploiting the whole world, against those who are being exploited. After the Armageddon, a Just Social Order will replace the present Dajjali System, and there shall be no more exploitation.
The Identity of Dajjal
The ultimate battle between the forces of Good and those of Evil requires a world that is highly polarized along ideological lines and this has already started to take shape. The various Islamic movements throughout the world are clear proofs that more and more people are realizing the defects and inherent evils of the Dajjalic System, and are coming in contact with the true sources of knowledge, that is, the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The guardians of the status quo and the defenders of the New World Order, along with their agents and stooges, have already smelled the revolution that is taking shape in the form of Islamic Resurgence, and have started to try and suppress the idea whose time has come. The ultimate futility of their efforts is inevitable.
The Western and predominantly Christian countries of the world, as we have discussed above, are virtually being controlled by a very powerful Jewish minority — a recent accomplishment of which was the destruction of the military might of Iraq in the Gulf War. The next item on the Jewish agenda is the creation of Greater Israel, as well as the reconstruction of Solomon’s Temple at the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque. It seems likely that the Jews would try to orchestrate another war between the West, mainly the United States, and the Arab Muslims, most probably on the pretext of dealing with the threat of Islamic fundamentalism.
[Recent developments in Middle East point towards this aspect]
Along with their sinister plan to gain control over the whole world through financial institutions — much of which has already been achieved — the Jews are also waiting for their Promised Messiah who would help them recapture the glory of David and Solomon. The Messiah was, in fact, none other than Prophet Isa (Pbuh), but they opposed and rejected him and tried their very best to have him cru9cified, though he was miraculously saved by Almighty Allah.
During the long series of imminent battles in the Middle East, Dajjal the individual would come forward — who is most probably going to be an orthodox and fundamentalist Jew claiming to be the Promised Messiah and would lead his followers to the de facto creation of Greater Israel (which is supposed to include parts of Egypt, whole of Jordan and Syria, major portions of Iraq, southern Turkey, and northern Hijaz up to the holy city of Medinah). It will be at this crucial juncture of history that Almighty Allah (SWT) will send the real Christ, with the mission of exterminating the Jews and their leader, Dajjal, the false prophet.
About Prophet Isa (PBUH)
Although the exact nature of the ascension and reappearance of Prophet Isa (Pbuh) is incomprehensible to us, and although these events are beyond the realm of normal human experience, they are by no means impossible. The rationalists among us tend to express serious doubts and lack of conviction about this authentic Islamic belief, but the fact is that our belief in the ascension and reappearance of Prophet Isa (Pbuh) is based upon various indicators of the Holy Qur’an as well as explicit and unequivocal traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The prevalence of materialistic thinking, especially under the influence of the now outdated Newtonian Physics, has caused many of our intellectuals to reject the possibility of miracles. But it must be kept in mind that a miracle, by definition, represents a breakdown in the usual physical laws of the universe, and a special creative feat of Almighty God is manifested from out of the ruins of that broken law. All natural laws have been established by Allah (SWT), and He is able to suspend any of them for any period of time. He is Omnipotent, able to do all things.
It seems, on the basis of the predictions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), that both the Jews and the Arab Muslims will become the targets of Divine retribution in the final battles — but with a marked distinction. The condemned Children of Israel are going to be completely destroyed at the hands of their own prophet, Prophet Isa (Pbuh), just as numerous other nations were removed from the face of the earth because they committed the crime of rejecting their respective messengers. On the other hand, the Muslims — especially the Arabs — will receive their share of punishment for turning away from the Holy Qur’an, but afterwards the survivors will be able to repent and mend their ways, paving the way for the beginning of the second phase of the domination of Islam.
From Dishonor to Exaltation
We had started our discussion with the assertion that the Muslim Ummah of today is a pathetic, miserable, and extremely humiliated group of people. The cause of this unfortunate state of affairs, as we have seen, is our own wrongdoing, our own sinful behavior, our own deviations from the straight path. It follows that the only way to escape from continuing Divine punishment and to regain our lost glory is to repent with the true spirit of repentance and to rectify our corrupted ways.
We the Muslims are the custodians of the last message of Allah (SWT), representatives of the God-given system of life (Deen al-Haq), and intermediaries between Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the entire humanity. This means that it is our primary duty to struggle for the establishment of the perfect way of life, viz., Islam and its system of Social Justice, initially in a specific territory and then throughout the entire globe. According to the Holy Qur’an:
“You are the best of community that has been raised up for the (guidance of) humanity; you (are therefore supposed to) enjoin the good, forbid the evil, and keep your own faith firm in God. (Aal-e-Imran 3:110)
Strive in the way of God with an endeavor worthy of Him. He has chosen you…in order that the Prophet be a witness against you, and you be witnesses against mankind.” (Al-Hajj 22:78)
“Thus We have appointed you a middle people (between the Prophet on one hand and the humanity on the other), so that you be witnesses against mankind, and the Messenger be a witness against you.” (Al-Baqarah 2:143)
Although this formidable but sacred duty of delivering the message of Islam to the entire mankind is the collective responsibility of the whole Muslim Ummah, God the Almighty does not burden any soul beyond its capacity, and therefore it is primarily the obligation of Arab Muslims, as the Holy Qur’an was revealed in their own language.
However, after the termination of Prophet hood, Allah (SWT) made a special arrangement to renew and revive the Ummah and her mission. Thus, after every three or four generations i.e. after about every hundred years or so, a pious reformer appears among the Muslims to clarify and rejuvenate the original teachings of Islam. What is most significant in this respect is the fact that, during the first millennium of Islam, all of these reformers appeared almost exclusively in the Arab world.
After the destruction of Baghdad in 1258, the academic and intellectual center of Islam started to shift towards the Indian subcontinent until, at the start of the second millennium, this part of the world became the main nucleus of Islamic reforms and revivalist movements. Thus, unusually great personalities have appeared here during the last four centuries, including Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi (11th century Hijrah), Shah Waliullah Dehlvi (12th century), Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi (13th century), and more recently, Maulana Mehmood Hassan Deobandi, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Maulana Muhammad Ilyas, and Maulana Abul A‘la Maududi (14th century). Now the question arises: Are all these sincere efforts of the last four hundred years to go in vain? We believe the answer is an emphatic NO!
It seems that the burden of Arab Muslims has largely been shifted onto the shoulders of the Muslims belonging to the Indian subcontinent, and, especially after the claims and promises made during the movement for independence, the task of reviving Islam as a living force has now become the paramount responsibility of Pakistani Muslims. In view of the efforts undertaken during the last four centuries, this also appear to be their destiny. Especially significant in connection with the role of Pakistani Muslims are the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which allude to the fact that our part of the world is going to be the starting point for the global Islamic domination; these traditions are given below:
(1) Ibn Maja (RA) has narrated on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Harith (RAA), that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said that during the battles before the Doomsday: “Armies emerging from the East shall advance, and after conquering one country after another, they shall help and strengthen the authority of Mahdi.”
(2) According to another tradition narrated by Imam Tirmidhi (RA), on the authority of Abu Hurairah (RA), Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “Black banners shall emerge from Khurasan (i.e., areas which are now included in Afghanistan and Pakistan), and no force will be able to stop them until they are inserted in Aelia (Jerusalem).”
These prophecies mean that there shall be in the future an Islamic State in the areas which today comprise Afghanistan and Pakistan (and perhaps also those which are included in Iran and Central Asia), so that during the final series of battles in the Middle East, armies from this part of the world will advance to fight against Dajjal under the leadership of Mahdi. A similar prophecy is also found in the Book of Revelation:
“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the Great River, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up to prepare a way for the kings from the east (16:12)
It must be understood that now, after the subjugation of the entire Arab world at the hands of the New World Order, it is only our part of the world that has the potential for standing up against the nefarious designs of the global power-brokers, and to resist the rising tides of the Jewish/Zionist hegemony. In view of the traditions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) given above, we are sure that the areas now included in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran (the ancient Khurasan) have a very special significance in the Divine scheme.
[Note: The terrorists organizations like Daesh/ISIS, TTP have falsely tried to use these terms and names for justification and legitimacy their their evil designs, rejected by scholars.]
The State of our Affairs
We believe — on the basis of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and also because of the fact that the revivalist efforts of the last four hundred years have largely been concentrated in the Indian subcontinent — that the process of the global Islamic Revolution is going to start from our part of the world. Despite these high hopes and optimism, however, one must admit that the conditions are extremely depressing and almost totally hopeless at the moment.
As far as our own homeland is concerned, the history of the last half a century is clear proof of the truth that we have done everything in this country except what we were supposed to do in order to promote and substantiate its Islamic ideological character. We have followed every ideology except the one we should have. We have utterly and completely failed to live up to the claims and promises made during the struggle for independence in the 1940s.
During the years just prior to independence, we openly made solemn promises with Allah (SWT) that Pakistan would represent a true Islamic State. This meant that we had recognized Islam not just as a system of beliefs and individual morality alone, but also as the only sources and criterion for our social, legal, cultural, economic, and political systems.
The sense of a separate identity that became the basis of the idea of Muslim Nationhood was neither racial or linguistic in origin, nor based upon a common homeland, but it was founded upon our unique ideology viz. our deep affiliation with and commitment to Islam.
The most crucial purpose behind the idea and struggle for Pakistan was Islamic renaissance and revival. As the ideologue of Pakistan Allama Muhammad Iqbal explained in his famous presidential address at Allahabad, a Muslim state was meant to be “for Islam an opportunity to rid itself of the stamp that Arabian imperialism was forced to give it, to mobilize its law, its education, its culture, and to bring them into closer contact with its own original spirit and with the spirit of modern times.”
This means that today we are living in a paradox. Although our country owes its existence to the Islamic ideology, we have so far failed to make any meaningful progress towards the implementation of that ideology. This also means that by refusing to honor our pledge with Almighty Allah (SWT), we are ourselves responsible for inviting His anger and His retribution. The pathetic state of our affairs is, therefore, nothing but a manifestation of Divine punishment.
At an ideological level, our intelligentsia is almost completely in the favor of liberalism and permissiveness, a point of view based upon the materialistic and atheistic frame of mind which has been imported from the West. Thus, immodesty and licentiousness is being promoted in the name of entertainment and culture as the ideal standards of behavior for our young men and women. Morally, we are probably the worst group of people on the face of the earth. What to speak of Islamic ethics, we are even devoid of basic human values, as lying, cheating, and hypocrisy have become integral parts of our national character.
As for Islam itself, the majority of our uneducated and semi-educated population tend to treat their faith as only a set of dogmas which has nothing to do with a person’s value structure. Among the educated classes, most are suffering from various degrees of atheism, skepticism, and agnosticism. A big chunk of our religious community is busy running after wealth and power, and the menace of sectarianism, which is continuously being fuelled by them has added another ominous dimension to the already worsening national chaos. And those who should help stop this madness — our political leaders — are themselves busy competing for their domination. The dangerously irresponsible and often illogical rhetoric that appears regularly in our national press is ample evidence that most of them don’t care about anything but power. They make lovely promises of prosperity for the common man, but that poor fellow is often the last person on their list of beneficiaries.
Impending Doom
Under the prevailing circumstances, therefore, the possibility of an Islamic Revolution in Pakistan in the foreseeable future is almost non-existent. But to give up all hopes would be tantamount to giving in against the forces of disbelief. As a matter of fact, nothing is beyond the power of Almighty God, and it is only on the basis of our reliance on His succor that we are able to keep the hopes of a bright future alive.
Moreover, we also have in our minds a similar phase during the struggle of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when, after the death of his only apparent support — his uncle Abu Talib — in the 10th year of Prophet hood, the chances of an Islamic Revolution in Arabia appeared thin and bleak. It could have been assumed that the leaders of Quraysh would kill the Prophet and thereby terminate the whole movement. Desperate to find a new base, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) went to Ta’if but was violently rejected there and forced out of the town. Returning to Makkah he realized that he would be immediately killed upon entering the city, and was therefore forced to ask for the protection of Mut‘im Ibn Adi. The gentleman — who never embraced Islam — arrived at the outskirts of Makkah, and, together with his six armed sons, escorted Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to the city, announcing his protection. Even after these utterly hopeless conditions, however, the Islamic movement not only survived, but the greatest revolution of all times was achieved in the Arabian peninsula within the next ten years.
Thus, even though the present conditions in Pakistan are extremely discouraging — especially in relation to the growing influence of Washington, which has a particular antipathy towards Islamic fundamentalism and revivalism — we are still hopeful that our country and the adjoining areas would form, sometime in the very near future, a genuine Islamic State. As for the question “When shall that be?” the following answers can be quoted from the Holy Qur’an:
“ They surely take it to be far away, but We see it very near! (Al-Ma‘arij 70:6,7) and Say: “I do not know if what is promised to you is near, or if my Lord will prolong its term.” (Al-Jinn 72:25)
However, there are two distinct possibilities for our immediate future: Either we will turn towards Allah (SWT) in repentance, in which case the impending punishment shall hopefully be revoked, or we will continue to sink even deeper into sinfulness, in which case and it is not easy to face these bitter realities — we might suffer a really major disaster, and only then shall we wake up from our slumber. The choice is ours, though, unfortunately, we have so far been opting for the latter.
Aldous Huxley had said that the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach is that men do not learn very much from the lessons of history. The events of the last four thousand years, as narrated very briefly in these pages, clearly show how God the Almighty punishes His “beloved” people whenever they transgress His commands. In this context, Pakistani Muslims are already feeling the pangs of minor punishments from Allah (SWT), and, unless we repent, a major episode of Divine retribution seems imminent, the signs of which are already in the air. In the words of Jesus Christ, “Already the ax is laid to the roots of the trees; and every tree that fails to produce good fruit is cut and thrown on the fire” (Luke 3:9).
Repentance: The Only Way to Salvation
What needs to be done, therefore, if we are to escape from the impending catastrophe, is to turn towards Allah (SWT), repent truly, and make a solemn vow to practice Islam in its totality.
The starting point of collective repentance of a nation is repentance by its individual members. This must include a real feeling of regret, a firm resolve never to repeat the sins, followed by actual change in behavior, and, in the case of any violation of the rights of other human beings, an appropriate compensation or asking for forgiveness from the aggrieved party. This individual repentance, if performed with its true spirit, does guarantee forgiveness from Almighty Allah (SWT) in the Hereafter. It does not mean, however, that the individual will escape any collective Divine punishment that might befall his nation (Al-Qur’an Al-Anfaal 8:25), except in the case when he had used all available resources and had tried his utmost to persuade others to give up their sinful practices (Al-Qur’an Al-A‘raaf 7:165).
The desired state of collective repentance can be achieved only when first of all a considerable number of individuals would repent and mend their ways; then they unite themselves into a cohesive force and change the main trend of the society by their exhortation and persuasion, their enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, leading to a revolution in thought as well as behavior. And then, in order to change the whole politico-socio-economic setup, a popular resistance movement would have to be launched, which will bring about the desired transformation through a non-violent revolutionary struggle. At the same time, a strong nucleus of Iman or true faith has to be created within the educated classes, especially among the intelligentsia, which would act as a center for rekindling the light of Iman throughout the whole society, and thus generate an intellectual base and popular support for the revolutionary struggle The establishment of the Islamic System of Social Justice would then represent our collective repentance.
Epilogue
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has prophesied that a time would come when the Muslims, though great in number, would be as weak and ineffective as the scum on the surface of flood waters. One can hardly doubt that we are living in that age. Our miserable state of existence, as we have seen, is the direct result of our own deeds: Our turning away from the guidance of the Holy Qur’an and the way of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Fortunately, our salvation in the Hereafter and our prosperity, honor, and domination in this world are a matter of choice rather than luck.
We have been suffering from the ill effects of our sins for too long. Has the time not yet come for the hearts of the believers to be moved and soften? Or are we waiting for The Punishment to appear right before our eyes?
It’s time to wake up; it is also the time to act.
Concluded…
Works by Brig Aftab Khan and collection available at:
www.SalaamOne.com
