The Key to the subject of the Last Hour
But the Qur’an has also conveyed information concerning the Sa‘ah and the Signs of the Sa‘ah in verses which must be interpreted. And it is precisely in connection with such verses that those bent on Fitnah have been hard at work with their misinterpretations. They do so in order to mislead those who are deceived into accepting those false interpretations. An example of this is the critically important verse which identifies ‘someone’ or ‘something’ as the ‘Ilm (i.e. knowledge) of the Sa‘ah. That ‘someone’ or ‘something’ therefore constitutes the veritable key with which to both unlock the subject of the Last Hour as well as to recognize the Sa‘ah when it arrives and it is from that ‘Ilm that we derive the core of the system of meaning of our subject:
“And he (or it) is the ‘Ilm (of the coming) of the Hour (i.e. the Last Hour: therefore have no doubt about the (Last Hour) but follow ye Me: this is the straight way.” (Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:61)
Most commentators of the Qur’an interpret the pronoun ‘he’ to refer to Jesus, and hence to his return. There are some modern commentators (e.g., Muhammad Asad) however, who persuaded themselves that Jesus died. Hence they rejected belief in his return. (We propose to take up the subject in detail, Insha’ Allah, in our forthcoming book entitled ‘An Islamic View of the Return of Jesus’.) They are of the view that the pronoun in the above verse should, rather, be understood to refer to the ‘Qur’an’ itself, rather than to Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam).
According to Arabic grammar the pronoun can refer to all three, i.e. the ‘person of Jesus’, the ‘case of Jesus’ and the ‘Qur’an’. But the context in which the pronoun is used is such that it must refer to the ‘person of Jesus’ (‘alaihi al-Salam). The return of Jesus and the (prior) appearance of Dajjal are, therefore, events that cause us to know (i.e. to acquire 'Ilm) that the Sa‘ah has arrived. Neither the ‘case of Jesus’ (i.e. lessons and discussions about Jesus) nor the ‘Qur’an’, can cause us to know that the Sa‘ah or Last Hour has arrived. Allah Most High has repeatedly informed us in the Qur’an that no one except Him knows when the Sa‘ah will occur. And so the Qur’an cannot cause us to know when the Sa‘ah would arrive. Only the return of the true Messiah and the (prior) appearance of the false Messiah (i.e. Dajjal) would cause us to know that the Sa‘ah has arrived. These two events are not just signs or portents (ashrat), but real knowledge ('Ilm) of the time of the Sa‘ah.
A careful examination of the context in which the verse occurs would confirm as correct, the interpretation which recognises the pronoun ‘he’ or ‘it’ to refer to the person of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam). Here is the passage in which the verse occurs. The reader should pay careful attention to the use of pronouns in this passage:
“Now whenever (the events connected with) the son of Mary are set forth as a case (or example for study), (O Muhammad) lo! your people raise an outcry concerning him/it (in both instances the pronoun refers to Jesus, either to his person, or to the case of Jesus). (Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:57)
and they respond, “Which is better - our deities or he (the pronoun ‘he’ clearly referring to Jesus)?” (But) it is only for the sake of argument that they make this comparison before you: yea, they are contentious folk! (Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:58)
“Surely he (the pronoun clearly refers to Jesus) was nothing but (a human being) a servant (of Ours) We had bestowed grace on him (the pronoun clearly refers to Jesus), and We made him (the pronoun clearly refers to Jesus) a parable for the Israelite people (that they will have to carefully study and decipher). (Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:59)
“And had We so willed We could indeed have made from you angels succeeding one another on Earth! (Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:60)
“And surely he/it (the pronoun refers either to the person of Jesus or to the case of Jesus) is indeed a means to know the Last Hour; hence, have no doubt whatever about it (the pronoun is in the feminine hence it refers to the Last Hour), but follow Me: this (alone) is a straight way. (Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:61)
“And let not Satan bar you (from recognizing the truth of this matter) - for, verily, he (the pronoun clearly refers to Satan) is your open enemy! (Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:62)
“Now when Jesus came with all evidence of the truth, he (the pronoun clearly refers to Jesus) said: “I have now come unto you with wisdom and to make clear unto you some (matters) that you are at variance with it (the pronoun refers to the matters): hence, be conscious of God and pay heed unto me. (Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:63)
“Verily, Allah is my Lord-God as well as your Lord-God; so worship none but) Him (the pronoun refers to Allah): this (alone) is a straight way! (Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:64)
“But factions from among those who came after (the reference is to those who came after Jesus) began to hold divergent views: woe, then, unto those who are bent on evildoing – (woe) for the suffering (that will befall them) on a grievous Day!” (Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:65)
The prophesies of Prophet Muhammad pbuh indicate to us that the moment when Jesus pbuh returns would ipso facto remove all divine veils which had hitherto clouded the recognition and penetration of the subject of Signs of the Last Hour and would make it readily perceptible that the Sa‘ah (Last Hour) has arrived. Consider the following:
“ . . . It will be at this very time that Allah will send the Messiah, son of Mary. He will descend at the white minaret on the eastern side of Damascus, wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he lowers his head, there will fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he raises it up, beads like pearls will scatter from it. Every Kafir (i.e. disbeliever) who smells the odour of his body will die and his breath will reach as far as he is able to see . . . .” (Sahih Muslim)
[Note: This writer finds it strange and perplexing that the miraculous return of Jesus pbuh should occur in Damascus rather than Jerusalem, and Allah knows best!)
“By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, the son of Mary will soon descend among you as a just judge. He will break crosses; kill pigs and abolish Jizyah and wealth will be so distributed that no one would accept charity and one prostration (before Allah Most High) will be better than the world and what it contains.” (Sahih Bukhari)
It is clear from the above that the moment of the return of the true Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, would arrest attention in such wise as to completely and convincingly validate Islam’s claim to truth. Indeed a proper understanding of the verse would have made it possible for the dissenters to have recognized all the Signs of the Last Hour to have been connected in one way or another to Jesus pbuh and to his return. In other words, the system of meaning of this subject is built on this event.
Both the moment of his return as well as the moment of the end of the material universe would come suddenly and quickly:
And Allah’s (alone) is the knowledge of the hidden reality of the Samawat and the Earth. And so, the advent of the Last Hour will but manifest itself (in a single moment,) like the twinkling of an eye, or closer still: for, behold, Allah has the power to will anything. (Qur’an, al-Nahl, 16:77)
The Qur’an has made a crucially important declaration concerning that moment when Jesus pbuh returns. It says that every Christian and Jew (who had rejected the truth in Islam and was waging war on Islam) who encounters Jesus pbuhand then dies having to face the dire consequences of such conduct (since Jesus pbuh will give evidence against him), would have to believe in him (i.e. as the true Messiah and as a true Prophet of the One God) before he perishes (i.e. before that terrible death overtakes him):
“There is not one of the People of the Scripture but must believe in him before his death and on Judgement Day he will be a witness against them.” (Qur’an, al-Nisa’, 4:159)
The Qur’an anticipates a dramatic moment when every Christian and Jew would believe in him, or in it, before his death. But the verse goes on to declare that despite that declaration of faith he will give or it will be evidence against them on Judgement Day.
The majority view concerning the interpretation of this verse of the Qur’an is that every Christian and Jew who encounters Jesus pbuh at the time of his return would have to believe in him in the way that Muslims believe in him as the true Messiah and as a Prophet of the One God. This writer once addressed a large gathering of American Jews at a synagogue in New Jersey, USA, and informed them of this fate, described in the Qur’an, that awaits them. They were dumbfounded by this news and after the lecture was over they crowded around him demanding an explanation for what they perceived as something unjust: “Why should we be forced to believe in that which we have rejected?” Our response was that the veils would be removed from before their eyes on that day and they would then directly perceive the truth that they had denied and rejected all through their lives.
It would be at that moment and not before, that such a declaration of faith would be of no avail since it would not save such Christians and Jews from the dire consequences of their conduct. We believe that moment would herald the commencement of the Sa‘ah (i.e. the Last Hour), and Allah Knows best. We can now conclude that the Qur’anic declaration that he (i.e. Jesus pbuh) is the ‘Ilm of the Sa‘ah indicates that it is with his return the Sa‘ah would have arrived.
The Qur’an disclosed a momentous Sign that would precede that dramatic event in which certain Christians and Jews (but not all) would die with the consciousness that they were waging unjust war on the religion of truth and on the true servants of the One God and hence would now face the dire consequences of such conduct. A similar thing happened when Pharaoh was drowning. The veils were removed from his eyes at the moment of death and he perceived the truth. He had no choice but to accept the truth which was now so plain and clear to him. But it was too late to accept the truth and die as a believer. Rather, Pharaoh was consigned to the hellfire.
But Allah Most High ordained that his physical body be so preserved that it might function (when discovered) as a Sign for a people to come after him. The implication of that Sign would be that those who lived the way he lived (i.e. rejecting the truth and oppressing the believers), would die the way he died. And this is precisely the way that Jews and Christians now waging war on Islam and terrorizing Muslims, or supporting such war and terror, would die when Jesus returns:
“(Nay) but today (O Pharaoh, as death overtakes you) We (have decided to) save your (physical) body, so that you (i.e. your physical body – when it reappears in history) may function as a (warning) sign for a people who will come after you (who will live the way you live and would therefore die the way you died): for, behold, a good many people are heedless of Our messages!" (Qur’an, Yunus, 10:92)
In order to penetrate and understand the reality of the world today we must carefully note that Allah Most High brought forth the body of Pharaoh (1881-1898) at precisely that moment in time when the Zionist Movement was created in Europe (1897) and the final link in a mysterious European Jewish-Christian alliance was about to be forged. Pharaoh’s body appeared precisely at that time when the world was about to witness the final stage of Dajjal’s effort to ‘liberate’ the Holy Land from Muslim rule and to restore an (imposter) Holy State of Israel in the Holy Land. Hence the recovery of Pharaoh’s body was not only the fulfilment of a Divine prophecy but also a Sign of the Sa‘ah or Last Hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment