Sunday 25 December 2022

The end of the material universe


 
An Islamic View of Gog Magog in the Modern World
 
 

The end of the material universe

The Qur’an has declared that the material universe would end when it is transformed into something new and different:

“One day the Earth will be transformed into a different Earth, and so too the Samawat (i.e. the other strata of space and time), and (men) will be marshalled forth before Allah, the One, the Irresistible.”  (Qur’an, Ibrahim, 14:48)

 

At that time all human beings would be resurrected into a new life:

“Those who are bent on denying the truth say (unto all who are likeminded): Shall we point out to you a man who declares when you will have been scattered in countless fragments (after your death), you shall -lo and behold - be (restored to life) in a new creation?”  (Qur’an, Saba, 34:7)

 

The Qur’an goes on to declare that on that day the Earth would speak and all secrets would be revealed:

"On that Day will she (i.e. the Earth) recount all her tidings". (Qur’an, Zilzal, 99:4)

 

Those ‘cattle’ who swallowed the lies that came out of radio, television, newspapers, and the British, American and Israeli Governments concerning the identity of those responsible for the September 11th terrorist attack on America (the number of people who swallowed those lies keeps on decreasing), would be horribly surprised on that day when the Earth speaks and reveals the identity of those who planned and executed that terrorist attack, as well as others in London, Madrid, Mumbai, etc., i.e. the Israeli Mossad, American CIA and others that assisted them. The innocent Muslims who have been targeted, persecuted, terrorized and tortured in Guantanamo, Abu Gharib and other such state-of-the-art institutions of torture and slaughtered in unjust wars launched as a result of such terrorist attacks, would not be surprised on the day when the earth speaks, nor when the true and complete story of the Jewish ‘six million’ holocaust in Europe is told.

 

The moment when the material universe ends would come upon mankind suddenly:

“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) 

 

Prophet Muhammad has described the suddenness of that moment in the following Hadith:

“The Hour will be established while two men are spreading a piece of cloth in front of them (in order to do some business) but they will neither be able to sell, nor fold it up (before the Hour overtakes them); and the Hour will be established when a man has milked his she-camel and taken away the milk but he will not be able to drink it (before the Hour overtakes him); and the Hour will be established while a man would be repairing a tank (for his livestock to drink water) but they will be not be able to do so (before the Hour overtakes them); and the Hour will be established when a person has raised a morsel (of food) to his mouth but will not be able to eat it (before the Hour overtakes him)."  (Sahih Bukhari)

 

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger as saying: The Last Hour would come (so sudden) that a person would be milking the she-camel and the (milk) would not reach the brim of the vessel that the Last Hour would come while two persons would be engaged in buying and selling of the clothes and their bargain would not be struck before the Last Hour would come, and someone would be fixing his tank in order to provide water for his animals and he would have hardly set it right when the Last Hour would come.” (Sahih Muslim)

 

to be continued . . . .
 

 


Sunday 18 December 2022

Gog and Magog in other Scriptures




An Islamic View of Gog Magog in the Modern World
 
 

Gog and Magog in other Scriptures

It is only when one is convinced that one has penetrated and understood the subject as explained from the blessed Qur’an as well as from the supporting data provided by Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) that additional material located in previous scriptures can be included in the study of the subject. Such material, located in the Bible as well as in such Hindi scriptures as the Kalki Purana (which makes mention of Koka and Vikoka who will fight against Kalki)  should be very carefully studied and analyzed to determine harmony or discord with the system of meaning derived from the Qur’an and Ahadith. Only thus can such data be validated, and only then can such data shed legitimate additional light on the subject.  

 

 EXPLAINING TERMINOLOGY

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.

 

The subject of Gog and Magog is located in al-Sa‘ah (i.e. the Last Hour) and that term is itself linked to a number of other related terms which must be understood before we can explain Gog and Magog in the modern age. Let us therefore attempt to explain those terms as well as distinguish between them. 

 

Youm al-Qiyamah is generally used in the Qur’an to refer to the Day of Resurrection (i.e. Youm al-B’ath) but it has also been used to refer to the Day of Judgment (i.e. Youm al-Din). However, the material universe must first end with what is known as the Sa‘ah, or Last Hour, before the resurrection and judgment can take place. The Sa‘ah, Youm al-B’ath, Youm al-Qiyamah, Youm al-Din, etc., are, in turn, all contained in yet another term, Youm al-Akhir or the Last Day. 

 

Before the material universe ends with the Sa‘ah or Last Hour, however, Allah Most High has ordained that a number of ‘Signs’ would unfold in the world. These are known as the ‘Alamat al-Saah (i.e. ‘Signs of the Last Hour’) and have generally been recognized to consist of ‘major’ and ‘minor’ Signs.  

 

Among the so-called ‘minor’ Signs (although this writer recognizes nothing minor about them) are “women dressing and yet being naked”, “women dressing like men”, “men dressing like women”, “people engaging in sexual intercourse in public like donkeys”, “the worst people become the rulers”, “the worst member of a tribe becomes the ruler and people obey him out of fear of his evil”, and other such Signs. But the ‘major’ Signs are generally understood to have been mentioned in the following Hadith that was previous quoted in this book:

“Hudhaifa bin Usaid Ghifari reported that Allah’s Messenger came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy in a discussion). He asked: “What are you discussing about?” They (the Companions) said, “We are discussing about the Last Hour”. Thereupon he said: “It will not come until you see ten signs” and (in this connection) he made mention of the ‘Smoke’, ‘Dajjal’, ‘the Beast’, ‘rising of the Sun from the West’, ‘the Descent of Jesus the son of Mary’, ‘Gog and Magog’, and Sinking of the earth in three places, one in the East, one in the West and one in Arabia at the end of which fire would burn forth from Yemen and would drive people to their place of assembly.” (Sahih Muslim)

 

Our readers should carefully note that there is no evidence that the blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) made mention of these ten Signs in the chronological sequence in which they would occur, hence the mention of ‘Gog and Magog’ after ‘the return of Jesus the son of Mary’ does not imply that they would be released into the world after his return. 

 

Now the blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) once experienced a vision which revealed to him that a hole had been made in the barrier built by Dhul Qarnain implying that the Divinely-ordained release of Gog and Magog had commenced:

 

 Zainab bint Jahsh said: "...once the Messenger of Allah awoke from such a sleep that his face was red and these words were on his tongue: 'There is none worthy of worship except Allah. Destruction is upon the Arabs on account of the evil which has come close to them. Today a hole as big as this has opened up in the barrier of Ya'jooj and Ma'jooj and the Prophet indicated the hole by forming a ring with his index finger and thumb." (Bukhari and Muslim)

 

“Narrated Zainab bint Jahsh: One day Allah’s Apostle entered upon her in a state of fear and said: None has the right to be worshipped but Allah! Woe to the Arabs from the Great evil that has approached (them). Today a hole has been opened in the barrier of Gog and Magog like this. The Prophet made a circle with his index finger and thumb. Zainab bint Jahsh added: I asked: O Allah’s Apostle! Shall we be destroyed though there will be righteous people among us? The Prophet said: Yes (it will come to pass) when wickedness increases (i.e. scum, evil, disgusting conduct, sexual perversity, etc., overtakes the world).” (This indicates not only political, economic and military oppression of Arabs but also, they would be demonized in every conceivable obscene and malicious way.) (Sahih Bukhari)

 

The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) also once raised two of his fingers and declared about Youm al-Qiyamah as follows:

“I and Youm al-Qiyamah are like these two (and he showed his index and middle fingers).”  (Sahih Muslim) 

 The above two incidents reveal that the Last Age which is the age that would conclude with the Sa‘ah and Youm al-Qiyamah commenced in the blessed Prophet’s lifetime. This in turn implied that other Signs of the Sa‘ah (Last Hour) would continuously unfold in the world from the time of the advent of the last Prophet. This writer has argued in his book entitled ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’an’ that the release of Dajjal the false Messiah or Anti-Christ also took place in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).

 

The Qur’an has warned, time and again, that mankind would experience divinely-ordained tests and trials meant to determine whether or not they had any faith in Allah Most High. Those tests and trials are described in the Qur’an as ‘Fitnah’:

“And beware of tests, trials, temptations to evil which would not target only those among you who commit acts of injustice and wickedness, to the exclusion of others; and know that Allah is severe in punishment.”  (Qur’an, al-Anfal, 8:25)

 

But Allah Most High also delivers other warnings known as ‘Wa’ad’, i.e. Divine prophecies conveying warnings of that coming Fitnah in the form of specific events that would occur. The Qur’an declared quite ominously, for example, that the Israelite people would face a special trial and punishment at that time since Allah Most High would raise against them those who would inflict upon them, “until the very end of Youm al-Qiyamah, the worst possible punishment”:

“And lo! Thy Lord-God made it known that He would most certainly raise against them (i.e. the Israelite people), up to the Day of Qiyamah, those who would afflict them with the worst possible punishment: verily, your Lord-God is swift in punishment - yet verily He is (also) much forgiving, a dispenser of grace.” (Qur’an, al-A‘raf, 7:167)

 

Other than Gog and Magog, there can be no other people so divinely raised, whose mission of inflicting punishment on the Israelite people would continue up to the Day of Qiyamah.   

 

The Sa‘ah or Last Hour is a period of time with a beginning and an end between which, a series of events would occur that would result in the end of the historical process, i.e. history as we know it would end. That end of history, which precedes the end of the world would witness the dramatic culmination of the struggle between ‘truth’ and ‘falsehood’ in the historical process with final and conclusive victory for ‘truth’ over all its rivals. The Sa‘ah would then conclude with ‘the end of the material universe’ as we know it when the mountains would become the equivalent of pieces of wool that are blown hither and thither and the dead are resurrected from their graves. The Qur’an has warned mankind that the event which would result in the end of the material universe would be something truly awesome:

 “O men! Be conscious of your Lord-God: for verily the violent convulsion of the Last Hour will be an awesome thing!  (Qur’an, al-Hajj, 22:1)

 

After the Sa‘ah has reached its culmination in the end of the material universe, the Day of Qiyamah would continue to its own culmination in the events of Judgment Day. At that time every human being would be resurrected and then be taken for judgment. That day, in turn, is also described as the day when the way of life based on truth would prevail over all rivals. 

 

Among the events of the Day of Judgment as described in the Qur’an is a test of weight in which mankind would each be put on a scale in order to be weighed for faith and righteousness of conduct. Each would then be handed his or her book of deeds and ordered to read that book. Finally each would be ordered to cross a bridge which takes one to heaven but beneath which is the hellfire. The bridge is narrow and the place is so dark that when those without their own (internal) light put their hands before their faces they would not be able to see their own hands. Allah Most High bestows that light with which to see on that day upon the hearts of those who have faith in Him and whose conduct is righteous. It is not sold in the stock market! 

 

No one but Allah Most High knows when the Sa‘ah would take place (i.e. from the beginning of the Sa‘ah with which history would culminate, to the end of the Sa‘ah when the material universe would end, the resurrection takes place and judgment delivered):

“They will ask thee (O Prophet) about the Last Hour: "When will it come to pass?" (literally, when will it set anchor and land, as with a ship that is sailing) Say: "Verily, knowledge thereof rests with my Lord-God alone. None but He will reveal it in its time. Heavily will it weigh on the Samawat and the Earth; (and) it will not fall upon you otherwise than of a sudden." They will ask you - as if you could gain insight into this (mystery) by dint of persistent inquiry! Say: "Knowledge thereof rests with my Lord-God alone; but (of this) most people are unaware."  (Qur’an, al-‘Araf, 7:187)

 

Nor does anyone know how brief or how long a period of time would elapse after the end of history before the material universe ends. It could even be as long as a few hundred years. But the religion of Islam has provided a description of the end of the material universe as well as ‘Signs of the Last Hour’ with specific information through which it is possible for us to recognize the approach of that moment in the Sa‘ah which would be the end of history – the subject matter of this book.

to be continued . . . .
 

 


Sunday 11 December 2022

Methodology of explaining the Qur’an through application and analysis of external data


 
An Islamic View of Gog Magog in the Modern World
 

Methodology of explaining the Qur’an through application and analysis of external data 

Our methodology also recognizes the Divine wisdom ordaining that some verses of the Qur’an convey a meaning which can only be discerned through an examination of data located outside the Qur’an. The classic example of such is the verse in Surah Ale ‘Imran of the Qur’an in which Allah Most High declared that “the first House (of worship of the One True God) to be built for mankind was that at blessed Bakkah  . . .” (Qur’an, Ale ‘Imran, 3:96). All authorities are in agreement that Bakkah was the old name for Makkah. The verse referred to the old name of Bakkah even though elsewhere in the Qur’an the word Makkah is used (see Qur’an, al-Fath, 48:24). Why did Allah Most High return in the above verse to the old name Bakkah rather than the name Makkah used elsewhere in the Qur’an? 

 

The answer to that question cannot be located without a study of the Bible. When we do so we find that all references to the following are strangely absent from the Bible:

• Abraham’s several visits to Arabia,

• Hajar and Ishmael were both left in a barren valley in Arabia,

• Zam Zam is a spring in that barren valley in Arabia, 

• the first Masjid was established in that barren valley in Arabia and 

• Abraham and Ishmael constructed a building at that spot in Arabia, 

• Abraham established the pilgrimage to that House of Allah (Hajj) in Arabia,

• Ishmael was the child of the sacrifice and

• the trial of the sacrifice took place in Arabia 

 

However the Bible still has the word Baca preserved in its text (see below). The word Baca seems to have escaped the attention of those who sinfully rewrote of the holy text to remove or distort all of the above. Perhaps it was Allah Most High Who Himself caused them to leave behind this word. It is quite clear that the Divine intent in returning in the Qur’an to the old name of Bakkah was to direct attention to evidence of truth still preserved in the otherwise corrupted Bible, and to thus expose the corrupted text:

Psalm 84 (New International Version)

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—a place near your altar,

O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you. Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools .

 

There is manifest evidence above in the words ‘Valley of Baca’ ‘spring’ ‘pool’ ‘pilgrimage’ ‘your house’ and ‘your dwelling place’, of reference to the Ka’aba or Baitullah (i.e. Allah’s house) in Makkah and to Zam Zam, the spring of water in Makkah which flowed when Hajar sought water for Ishmael (‘alaihima al-Salam).   

 

The above explanation of verse 96 of Surah Ale ‘Imran of the Qur’an establishes methodology (i.e. Usul al-Tafsir) for understanding the totality of meaning conveyed by the verse. It is only through a study of data located outside of the Qur’an that such meaning can be penetrated. It should not matter whether such data existed at the time of revelation of the Qur’an or whether it emerged in the historical process long after the revelation of the Qur’an. After all the Qur’an itself declared that ‘Divine Signs’ would eventually emerge that would confirm truth in that holy book:

 “In time We shall make them fully understand Our Signs (conveying messages through what they perceive) in the utmost horizons (of the universe) and within themselves (which includes the unfolding historical process), so that it will become clear unto them that this [revelation] is indeed the truth. (Still,) is it not enough (for them to know) that thy Lord God is witness unto everything?” (Qur’an, Fussilat, 41:53)

 

 We argue that ‘Signs of the Last Day’ is precisely such a subject in which certain verses of the Qur’an could not be fully understood until certain events had unfolded in the historical process. Perhaps the most important of all such events was the return of the Jews to the Holy Land to reclaim it as their own and the restoration in that Holy Land of a State of Israel. It is through acute observation of such unfolding events that certain verses of the Qur’an pertaining to this subject can be understood.   

 

Finally, our method is to scrupulously avoid any reference whatsoever to Gog and Magog in previous scriptures, while restricting ourselves to the study of the subject as located in the Qur’an and the Ahadith of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). We do so in order to so simplify the subject that our readers might face no unnecessary complications while evaluating this book. 

 
to be continued . . . .