The Qur’an and Internal Sight

 

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

The Qur’an and Internal Sight

 

In the following verses in which the Qur’an directs attention to a fate which can await those who are blind, it is quite obvious that the reference to blindness is not to be understood literally. Rather, the verses of the Qur’an obviously refer to internal blindness:  

(Qur’an, al-An’am, 6:50)

Allah Most High asks whether someone who is blind, can be deemed equal with someone who can see. Obviously, they cannot be equal—hence, will people not think? 

(Qur’an, al-An’am, 6:104)

The Qur’an declares above, that means of insight have now come unto mankind from their Lord-God through this revealed Book. 

 

Whoever, therefore, chooses to ‘see’ and recognize the Truth, does so for his own good; and whoever chooses to remain ‘blind’ to the Truth, does so to his own detriment. And (say unto the blind): I am not your keeper. 

 

(Qur’an, al-An’am, 6:110)

Those who reject this Qur’an will pay a price for that rejection. Allah Most High will keep their hearts and their eyes turned away from the truth, even as they did not believe in it in the first instance; and so they will be left in their overweening arrogance blindly stumbling to and fro. 

 

(Qur’an, al-‘Araf, 7:64)

When his people rejected Noah and Allah Most High responded to punish them, Allah saved him and those who stood by him, in the Ark, then He caused those who had rejected the Truth sent with Noah to drown. The Qur’an then declared that they were a people who were ‘blind’! 

 

(Qur’an, Yunus, 10:43)

Among the people there are those who pretend to look towards the Prophet: but can he show the right way to the ‘blind’—when they are a people who cannot ‘see’? 

 

(Qur’an, Hud, 11:24)

The Qur’an directs attention to two kinds of men who may be likened to the ‘blind’ and ‘deaf’, on the one hand, and the ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’, on the other. Can these two be deemed alike in their nature? Will people not, then, keep this in mind? 

 

(Qur’an, al-R’ad, 13:19)

The Qur’an asks whether one who knows and accepts that whatever has been bestowed from on high upon the Prophet by the Lord-God is the Truth, be deemed equal to one who is ‘blind’? Only they who are endowed with insight keep this in mind. 

 

(Qur’an, al-Isra’, 17:72)

The Qur’an declares that whoever is ‘blind’ in this world will be ‘blind’ in the life to come as well, and still farther astray from the path of truth. 

 

We can now conclude that Dajjal’s capacity to see with his left eye, and his blindness in his right eye, ought to be recognized as information that is Mutashabihah, i.e., allegorical, and hence subject to Ta’wil, or interpretation. Our interpretation of the description given by Prophet Muhammad ṣallā -llāhu taʿālā ʿalayhī wa-sallam is that Dajjal has external sight, but he is internally blind!   

 

There is an ominous implication which follows from the above interpretation. All those from amongst mankind who follow Dajjal will all eventually be similar to him, i.e., internally blind; and since he has the word Kafir or ‘disbeliever’ written on his forehead, the further implication is that all those who follow him would become Kuffar (plural of Kafir) or ‘disbelievers’, and thus be debarred from entering into Jannah or paradise.

 

It is, perhaps, because of this implication that the Qur’an has delivered a truly ominous warning to those who remain internally blind, that the hellfire can await them, since Dajjal can get them to dance to every tune he plays:

 

(Qur’an, al-‘Araf, 7:179)

Allah Most High has warned that huge numbers of Jinn and men who have hearts with which they fail to grasp the truth, ‘eyes’ with which they fail to ‘see’, and ‘ears’ with which they fail to ‘hear’, are destined to enter the Hell-fire. He considers them to have a status like unto cattle—nay, they are even less conscious of the right way: it is they, they who are the truly heedless! 

 

Protestant Islam, which seems, mysteriously so, to be a carbon-copy of Protestant Christianity, may remain unconvinced by our argument in favor of an interpretation that Dajjal’s blind eye should be interpreted to mean internal blindness, and may consequently remain steadfastly adamant in their literal understanding of his ‘blind’ right eye. Such a people would obviously refuse to recognize Dajjal when he eventually appears in Jerusalem with the claim to be the Messiah, unless he is literally blind in the right eye.

 

Protestant Islam should reflect over the mysterious incapacity of all disbelievers, regardless of how perfect their eyesight may be, to be able to read what all believers would be able to read, namely the word Kafir which would be written between Dajjal’s eyes—on his forehead! Such die-hards, who cling to a literal understanding of Dajjal’s blind right eye, and to the word Kafir written on his forehead, must explain to us why the Prophet singled out the Mu’min, i.e., believer, and hence excluded the Kafir, i.e., disbeliever, when he declared that the believer would be able to read what was written on Dajjal’s forehead? Why can the believer read what the disbeliever cannot read? Protestant Islam must either deliver an answer which is convincing, or abandon its defective methodology.

 

Indeed, unless they change their defective methodology they will never be able to explain why Tamim al-Dari, who saw Dajjal (who is so blind in his right eye that it looks like a bulging grape), failed to mention anything about his blind right eye when he reported the event to the Prophet: 

 

It was narrated that Fatimah bint Qays (may Allah be pleased with her) said:  .  .  . (what follows are the words spoken by Tamim al-Dari) ... Then we set off, rushing, until we came to that monastery, where we found the hugest man, we had ever seen, bound strongly in chains with his hands tied to his neck and his legs bound from the knees to the ankles with iron shackles ...  (Sahih al-Bukhari)

 

Protestant Islam has an even greater obstacle to overcome when they attempt to offer a credible explanation how Prophet Muhammad ṣallā -llāhu taʿālā ʿalayhī wa-sallam could suspect Ibn Sayyad, a Jewish youth in Medina, to be Dajjal, when he was not blind in the right eye? 

 

While the above exhausts our physical description of Dajjal, the false Messiah, derived from a literal understanding of scriptural texts in Islam, there is more information concerning Dajjal’s unique profile which can be discovered through a process of deduction from those texts; and it is to that process of deduction that we now direct attention.

 

Source

The Complexity of the Subject—Dajjal is One-Eyed

 

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

The Complexity of the Subject—Dajjal is One-Eyed

 

While it is true that Prophet Muhammad ṣallā -llāhu taʿālā ʿalayhī wa-sallam did declare that there would be many Dajjal’s who would appear in the world as liars (he said they would number close to thirty) before the appearance of al-Masih al-Dajjal himself (Ref. Sunan Tirmidhi, Sahih Muslim, etc.), it remains true that he did deliver a basic Prophetic description of al-Masih al-Dajjal as a Jew, a young man who would be powerfully built and who would have the curls required by the law of the Torah, etc. This book has already argued that the above description has to be understood literally. The complexity of this subject becomes apparent when we now proceed to argue that a further part of the description of the Anti-Christ or Dajjal, given by the Prophet, cannot be understood literally but, rather, must be interpreted in order to be understood. Indeed, the Christian or Jewish reader would readily show understanding when told that a significant amount of information in the religion of Islam concerning the Anti-Christ or false Messiah, is presented in language that is allegorical and symbolic. Indeed this is true for the most important Hadith of all, concerning Dajjal. Prophet Muhammad ṣallā -llāhu taʿālā ʿalayhī wa-sallam said:

 

Abdullah ibn 'Umar said: .  .  .  .  The Messenger of Allah then stood up in front of the people, praised Allah with words worthy of Him and then he mentioned Dajjal and said: I warn you about him, and there is no Prophet who has not warned his people about him. Noah warned his people about him. But I will say to you something about him that no Prophet has ever said to his people. You should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed. (Sahih Bukhari) 

 

(The Prophet warned) Oh people, be firm! I describe him, i.e., Dajjal, to you as no Prophet before me ever did. He will commence by declaring: “I am a Prophet”, but there will be no Prophet after me (hence he will lie). Then he will praise himself and declare “I am your Lord-God”, but you will not see your Lord-God until you die. And (in addition) he is one-eyed, and your Lord-God is not one-eyed. And between his eyes is written (the word) KAFIR, i.e., disbeliever, which every believer (who has faith in his heart) will be able to read—whether he be literate or illiterate. (Sunan Ibn Majah)

 

In another Hadith recorded in Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet declared that Dajjal sees with one eye—the left eye, and that he is so blind in the right eye; that it looks like a bulging grape.

 

In yet another Hadith, also recorded in Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet again made mention of Dajjal’s blind right eye:

While sleeping near the Ka’aba last night, I saw in my dream a  man of brown color, the best one can see amongst brown color and his hair was long that it fell between his shoulders. His hair was lank and water was dribbling from his head and he was placing his hands on the shoulders of two men while circumambulating the Ka`aba. I asked, Who is this? They replied: This is Jesus, son of Mary. Behind him I saw a man who had very curly hair and was blind in the right eye, resembling Ibn Qatan, i.e. an infidel, in appearance. He was placing his hands on the shoulders of a person while performing Tawaf around the Ka`aba. I asked: Who is this? They replied, al-Masih al-Dajjal.

 

How can it be possible for someone who has ‘faith’, but is ‘illiterate’, to be able to read what is written between the eyes— on the forehead of the Anti-Christ? Our response is that such would be impossible if we were to understand the act of reading literally. As soon as we dismiss a literal understanding, and we turn consequently to search for an interpretation, it becomes readily apparent that the illiterate believer would have the capacity to read because he would be reading with ‘eyes’ other than those located on the face. The epistemology of the Qur’an, like that of all other divinely-revealed scriptures, recognizes that the heart can see. In other words, human beings have a capacity for internal sight, i.e., in addition to external sight. It is with internal sight therefore, that the illiterate believer would be able to read what is written on the forehead of the Anti-Christ.

Source

Methodology of study

An Islamic View of Gog Magog in the Modern World

 

METHODOLOGY OF STUDY

 

“The conformability however, signifies in the estimation of the best Qur’anic authorities, not only uniformity of teaching but also the principle that all the verses of the holy book are inter-related as parts of an intelligible system whereby the existence of a system of meaning in the Holy Qur’an is positively established, as also the technique of the exposition of that system.” 

(Ansari, FR: ‘Qur’anic Foundations and Structure of Muslim Society’, Volume 1, p. 192)

 

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) declared that ‘the rising of the sun from the west’ would be one of the ‘Signs’ of the ‘Last Day’ (Sahih Muslim). This ‘Sign’ poses a number of questions such as: 

• Is the ‘sun’ that would one day rise from the west be the same one always rising from the east, or would it be another sun? 

• Would the sun literally rise from the west one day or is this a case of religious symbolism that must be interpreted? 

• Would the perception of the sun rising from the west constitute an optical illusion? 

• Can the ‘Sign’ of the sun rising from the West have more than one application all of which would be correct? For example, can it be explained symbolically as a false Western sunrise as suggested by this writer, as well as an actual Western sunrise to occur at that time when the material universe would be transformed into ghair al-ard or a different earth (Qur’an, Ibrahim, 14:48)? 

 

We hasten to dismiss any interpretation of the prophecy requiring recognition of a ‘sun’ other than the ‘sun’ described in the Qur’an. Such would constitute deception. For the same reason we dismiss the theory of an optical illusion as a possible fulfillment of the prophecy. 

 

The Qur’an has declared that the ‘sun’ rises from the East (al Baqarah, 2:258) and that is daily confirmed by visual observation even from here in our native Caribbean island of Trinidad where this book is being written. The ‘sun’ to which it refers is of course, the one which we see daily in the sky. The Qur’an has also declared (Rum, 30:30) that Allah’s creation does not change, implying that the ‘sun’ must always rise from the east and can never literally rise from the West.

 

Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salam) disputed with a king concerning the worship of the One God and challenged him as follows: “It is my God who causes the sun to rise from the east. You cause it to rise from the west!” Here is the passage in the Qur’an:

“Are you not aware of that (king) who argued with Abraham about his Lord-God, (simply) because Allah had granted him kingship? Lo! Abraham said: "My Lord-God is He who grants life and deals death."(The king) replied: "I (too) grant life and deal death!" Said Abraham: "Verily, Allah (Most High) causes the sun to rise in the east; cause it then to rise in the west!" Thereupon he who was bent on denying the truth remained dumbfounded: for Allah (Most High) does not guide people who (deliberately) do wrong.”  (Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:258)

 

Despite this clear declaration from the Qur’an that:

• Allah causes the sun to rise from the East, and 
• Allah’s creation does not change, 

there is a Hadith with a declaration generally interpreted to the effect that the ‘sun’ (i.e. the one that the Qur’an refers to as the ‘sun’) would one day literally rise from the West, and it is generally assumed that the Western sunrise referred to in the Hadith would be the same as that which would be a ‘Sign of the Last Hour’ prophesied by Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alahi wa sallam):

 

Narrated Abu Dharr: I entered the Masjid while Allah's Messenger was sitting there. When the sun had set, the Prophet said, "O Abu Dharr! Do you know where this (sun) goes?" I said, "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said, "It goes and asks permission to prostrate, and it is allowed, and (one day) it, as if being ordered to return whence it came, then it will rise from the west." Then the Prophet recited, "And the sun runs on its fixed course (for a term decreed)," (36.38) as it is recited by 'Abdullah. (Sahih Bukhari)

 

The Qur’an sits in judgement on the hadith and not vice-versa

Our first methodological response to the above is to recognize at least the appearance of a conflict, if not an actual conflict, between the Qur’an and a literal interpretation of the Hadith to the effect that a western sunrise would occur prior to the return of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam), and to respond to such conflict by holding firmly to the Qur’an in preference to such a misinterpretation of the Hadith. This methodology, which was articulated by Islamic scholar, Maulana Dr Ansari, recognizes that “it is the function of the Qur’an to sit in judgement on the hadith and not vice-versa” (Qur’anic Foundations and Structure of Muslim Society Volume 1, p xxiv). 

 

We accept that a Western sunrise as described in the Hadith can occur at the time of the end of the world since Allah Most High has declared that a Tabdil or change in the Samawat and Earth would take place at that time (Qur’an, Ibrahim, 14:48). However a literal Western sunrise occurring at the time of the end of the world would have no relevance whatsoever to the end of history – the key to which is located in the return of Jesus (‘alaihi alSalam) (See next chapter for difference between the ‘end of the world’ and the ‘end of history’). Hence such a possible literal Western sunrise cannot function as one of the ten major Signs of the Last Hour. Secondly such a literal Western sunrise would be possible only at that time of Tabdil or change of the Samawat and Earth mentioned above, and cannot occur before that event because of the declaration in the Qur’an that Allah’s creation does not change!  

 

We consequently recognize the Sign of ‘the sun rising from the west’ to be allegorical in nature and we insist that it has to be interpreted. We recognize the emergence and triumph of modern Western secular civilization with its scientific and technological revolution and its ever-increasing dominance over the whole world, to symbolize that (false) Western sunrise that is a major ‘Sign of the Last Hour’. And Allah Knows best!

 

If there is allegory in the ‘sun rising from the west’ it follows that other ‘Signs of the Last Hour’ as well can be allegorical, hence we need a methodology with which to interpret such allegory in the Qur’an and Ahadith.

The Qur’an has described its verses to be comprised of Muhkamat and Mutashabihat: 

“He it is who has sent the Book (i.e. the Qur’an) down upon thee (O Muhammad), containing verses that are muhkamat - and these are the essence of the Book – as well as others that are mutashabihat. Now those whose hearts are given to swerving from the truth go after that part of the Book which has been expressed in tashabbuh (allegory) seeking a (mis)interpretation of their meaning that sows confusion and discord. But none save Allah, as well as those who are deeply rooted in knowledge, know the interpretation (of such mutashabihat verses). They (i.e. the learned scholars) say: "We have faith in it; the whole (i.e, both the muhkamat and mutashabihat verses) are from our Lord-God”. But none takes this to heart save those who are endowed with insight."  (Qur’an, Ale ‘Imran, 3:7)

 

There are those who have arbitrarily inserted a waqf lazim (i.e. a mark of punctuation equivalent to a full-stop) after the word ‘Allah’ in the text of the above passage. As a consequence of this arbitrary punctuation they understand the verse to declare that ‘only’ Allah, and no one else beside Him, knows the meaning of the mutashabihat verses of the blessed Qur’an. While this is undoubtedly true of verses such as those that refer to the moment when the world would end, etc., which no one knows but Allah, there are other verses whose interpretation by the learned scholars is both possible and permitted. In the case of such verses the insertion of waqf lazim punctuation would be wrong. 

 

What could possibly have been the divine intent for the revelation of verses in the blessed Qur’an which are mutashabihat? Our view, and Allah Knows best, is that divine wisdom and grace would so continuously manifest itself that believers would be capable of distinguishing between learned scholars who correctly interpret such verses and others such as the misguided Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who create Fitnah with their misinterpretations of such verses of the blessed Qur’an. Thus the continuous correct interpretation of the blessed Qur’an by learned scholars would not only be a sign of divine grace but would also assist believers in recognizing and avoiding false sects.

 

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to be continued . . . .