The Parallel between the End and the Beginning of History

 

Dajjal (Anti-Christ), the Qur’an and the Beginning of History

The Parallel between the End and

the Beginning of History

 

The Qur’an has hinted of a parallel between the beginning and the end of history:

(Qur’an, al-‘Araf, 7:29)

.  .  .  As it was when Allah Most High brought you into being in the first instance, so also you will return in the end.

 

Prophet Muhammad ʿalayhi as-salām declared that there was never a Prophet but that he warned his people about Dajjal: (Sahih Bukhari)

 

The implication is that Dajjal is located at both the beginning and the end of history. In declaring that Allah Almighty is the First and He is the Last, and that He has knowledge of all things, the Qur’an has therefore confirmed an eschatological drama to wit, that: as it was in the beginning of history, so will it be at the end of history. This drama will unfold in the end of history in such wise that the parallel with the beginning of history could be discerned by those who employ an epistemology which harmoniously integrates al-Zahir, i.e., the externally visible, with al+Batin, i.e., the internally discerned.

 

The study of the subject of Dajjal requires an effort to identify relevant data which is located at the beginning of history, and to then locate the connection of that data with the end of history. 

 

What is the view of Islam of that end of history that will be a parallel to the beginning of history depicted above?

 

The voice of Prophet Muhammad ʿalayhi as-salām is the most powerful in history to have prophesied the return of the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both—blessed virgin mother, and blessed son. 

 

(A man named Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from India sought to identify himself with this prophecy of the return of the son of Mary, claiming that he fulfilled in himself the prophecy of that miraculous return; but this liar had an insurmountable problem since he was the son of a Punjabi woman, whereas the prophecy identified the return of one who would be the son of Mary. Even if his Punjabi mother could be renamed Mary, that would still not be enough to solve his problem since there is only one Virgin Mary in all of history. Whoever claims that Mary was not a virgin, would hold a view which would be in manifest conflict with the Qur’an, and hence would not be recognized as a Muslim.)  

 

The Qur’an has confirmed that miraculous messianic return, but has wisely chosen to do so in its Ayat Mutashabihat, i.e., allegorical verses, which must be interpreted in order for their inner meaning to be discovered. 

 

Prophet Muhammad ʿalayhi as-salām went on to prophesy that Jesus would return to the world as al-Hakim al-Adil, i.e., a just ruler; hence this prophecy establishes the Islamic eschatological belief that history will end with the Pax Dei with which it began:

 

By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, the son of Mary will shortly descend among you as a just ruler   .   .    . (Sahih Bukhari)

 

The same prophecy is to be found elsewhere with a slightly different text:

The Last Hour will not occur until Jesus the Son of Mary descends as a just ruler, i.e., over all of mankind, and as a just leader of individual believers.   (Sunan, Ibn Majah) 

 

However let us recall that the beginning of history also gave us another parallel ‘end of history’ when an effort is made to establish a bogus Pax Dei by those who arrogantly consider themselves, like Iblis, i.e.,  Satan, to be superior to the rest of mankind. They will also claim, like Iblis, a birth-right of superiority since (according to them) they were born, or created superior! In other words, they will claim that the Lord God chose them as the elect of all of mankind, i.e., His chosen people to the exclusion of all the rest of mankind. They will also make a claim to be the intellectual elite of mankind since, according to them, the Lord-God bestowed superior knowledge on them, as He did to Nabi Adam ʿalayhi as-salām. Hence they alone would be eligible to establish Pax Dei.

 

Such conduct was not tolerated in heaven, and it led to the expulsion of Iblis from heaven, and to a divine curse on him. The Lord-God also declared that such arrogance will end in humiliation and debasement. Hence the end of history which will parallel the beginning, will witness the divine destruction of an arrogant and bogus Pax Dei, and the humiliation and debasement of those who attempt to establish it. 

Another event in Awwal al-Zaman

A second event occurred at the beginning of history which provided further information on that false Pax Dei which would appear at the end of history. Allah Most High told Adam ʿalayhi as-salām to dwell in heaven with his wife Hawwa, i.e., Eve, but prohibited them both from approaching a certain tree, for such would lead to Dhulm, i.e., wickedness, oppression, injustice:

 

(Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:35)

Allah Most High said: Oh Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in this garden of paradise, and eat freely thereof, both of you, whatever you may wish; but do not approach this tree, lest you become wicked. 

 

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