Why do Muslims Pray Five Times a Day?

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was forty years of age when Angel Gabriel appeared to inform him that he was a Prophet of the One God. Prior to that event he was, himself, unaware of this status of his, yet he never worshipped the idols of Arabia. There were others, known as Hunafa, who also refused to worship idols. They worshipped One God, made the annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to His Holy Temple in Makkah built by Abraham. And they sacrificed animals annually in commemoration of Abraham’s trial of sacrifice of his (then) only son, Ishmael, peace be upon him.

Sometime after that first visit, the Angel came one day and taught the Prophet how to perform ablution before prayer, i.e., wash hands, mouth, nostrils and entire face, then wash arms up to the elbows, then pass wet hands on the head, and, finally, wash the feet. The angel also taught him how to stand bare-footed in prayer, to bow down and to prostrate before the Lord-God. Some eleven years later, the Prophet was summoned in a miraculous celestial journey by night from Makkah to Jerusalem and then into the heavens to the special Divine presence. He then received the obligation of ‘five times daily prayers’ directly from the Lord-God Himself, and he returned to announce to all those who had faith in Allah Most High that the institution of (five times daily) prayers was the vehicle through which they, too, could journey to the divine presence.

Angel Gabriel subsequently came to him one day and led him in prayer five times - once in the early morning (after dawn but before sunrise), once in the early afternoon (after the sun had crossed the zenith but before mid-afternoon), once in the later afternoon (but before the setting of the sun), once after the sun had set, and finally in the early hours of the night (after twilight had ended). On each occasion he led the prayers at the earliest time possible. He then returned the next day and again led the Prophet in the same five times prayers, but this time he chose the latest possible time for each prayer. He then announced that these were the five times of compulsory prayer, and that each prayer was to be performed within the timeframe just established. In addition to these compulsory prayers there are, of course, voluntary prayers that could be performed at any time, but best of all in the early hours of the morning before dawn.

Since there is but One God, and hence but one Truth, and only one true religion (i.e., the religion of ‘Abraham’ from whose name the name ‘Brahma’ appears to have originated) the implication is that whoever worships the One true God must pray these five times compulsory prayers every day. Anyone who does not perform the five times daily prayers would eventually live an essentially pagan life since the compulsory five times daily prayers are the very foundation of the religious way of life.

When Jesus, the true Messiah, peace be upon him, returns, he, also, will pray to Allah Most High five times a day in the same way that Angel Gabriel taught Prophet Muhammad to pray, and in the same way that Muslims pray to this day (without chairs, benches, pews, etc.) They stand barefooted before Allah Most High in prayer, then bow down, sit flat, and prostrate themselves with their faces on the blessed earth. They do so ‘five times a day’, and will continue to do so, Insha Allah, in defiance of that godless world-order that is waging war on them, and regardless of the price they pay for that defiance. And they do so with the absolute conviction that Truth must eventually triumph over its wicked godless enemies.

They also recite in every prayer the opening Surah (chapter) of the Qur’an in which they ask to be guided “on the straight path – the path of those whom Thou hast blessed, not the path of those who earn Thine anger, nor of those who go astray.” It should be clear to our readers that those who are today waging unjust war on Islam in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Holy Land and elsewhere, most certainly earn Allah’s anger, and those misguided Muslims or non-Muslims who support such people, while worshipping at the alter of a US Visa, or for whatever other foolish reason, are most certainly a people who have gone astray.

Iqbal, the Sufi Epistemology and The End of History

We attempt in this essay to examine the appearance of an epistemological paradox in the thought of Dr. Muhammad Iqbal.

There was that knowledge which he imparted to his native people, Indian Muslims who were subjected to brutal anti-Muslim British colonial rule, which touched their very souls and fired them with a scorching reaffirmation of commitment to Islam the religion. It was communicated in their native languages - Urdu and Persian. Had it been communicated in English, the European world of scholarship that was waging war on Islam would have rejected and sneered at it. Iqbal would have suffered a loss of prestige amongst his European peers.

And then there was that other knowledge which he communicated in English, and which included his views concerning the ‘End of History’. It impressed European scholarship, as well as his western-educated countrymen. Had some of it been communicated in Urdu or Persian, such as his rejection of belief in the advent of Imam al-Mahdi, of Dajjal the false Messiah or Anti-Christ, and in the return of the true Messiah, Jesus the son of the Virgin Mary (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both), it would have created serious and abiding problems for him amongst the Muslim masses. To this day, there are many Muslims who are inspired by Iqbal, but remain blissfully ignorant of his real views concerning the ‘End of History’.

The dualism in Iqbal’s thought and works is compounded by the fact that he sometimes says one thing in English, and then proceeds to say something quite different in Urdu or Persian.

For example, he agrees with the Turkish Ijtihad (if it may be called such) to the effect that the Imamate or Caliphate (which was abolished by Mustafa Kamal’s Turkish Grand National Assembly in 1924) can be vested in a body of persons or an elected Assembly. Provided that a modern Parliament can be constituted of good Muslims, Iqbal would be willing to accept it as a valid substitute for the Caliphate. Yet Iqbal, in verse, urges the restoration of the Caliphate, and seeks that mobilization of the Islamic spirit that would make it possible:
“Taa Khilafat kee bina dunyah main ho phir ustawaar, Laa kahein say dhoond kar aslaaf ka qalb-o-jigar.”
(In order to strengthen or vitalize the cause of (the restoration of) the Caliphate in this world, It is imperative that we locate and rebuild the heart and liver, i.e., the courage, faith and mettle of the first Muslims.)

Iqbal is fairly explicit in his rejection of belief in the advent of Imam Al-Mahdi and in the return of the true Messiah, Jesus the son of the Virgin Mary. This is what he says:

“The doctrine of the finality of prophethood may further be regarded as a psychological cure for the Magian attitude of constant expectation which tends to give a false view of history. Ibn Khaldun, seeing the spirit of his own view of history, has fully criticized and, I believe, finally demolished the alleged revelational basis in Islam of an idea similar, at least in its psychological effects, to the original Magian idea which had reappeared in Islam under the pressure of Magian thought.”
(Iqbal, Dr. Muhammad., Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, ed. by M. Saeed Shaikh, Lahore, Institute of Islamic Culture, 1986) p. 115

Indeed, in his letter to Muhammad Ahsan he adds belief in the advent of Dajjal the false Messiah to the list of Magian ideas which, he claims, have infiltrated into Islamic thought. This is clear from his use of the word masihiyat. (Iqbalnama, Vol. II, p. 231. Quoted in M. Saeed Sheikh, “Editor’s Introduction” to Iqbal’s Reconstruction, op. cit., p. xi).

Yet Iqbal, in verse, is fairly explicit in the affirmation of belief in the advent of Imam Al-Mahdi:
“Out of the seclusion of the desert of Hejaz, The Guide of the Time (Khidr-e-Waqt) is to come. And from that far, far away valley, The Caravan is to make its appearance.”

The view has been expressed that Iqbal’s Khidr-e-Waqt was none other than the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah. We disagree. By no stretch of the imagination can Jinnah be conceived of having emerged from a distant valley in the Hejaz. Nor could Sultan Abdul Aziz bin Saud, who placed the Hejaz under Anglo-American clientage, be conceived as Khidr-e-Waqt. Who then, other than Imam al-Mahdi, was Iqbal referring to?

We trace this apparently disturbing dualism in Iqbal’s thought and works and suggest that it resulted from an epistemological ambivalence in his thought. Different epistemologies function at different levels of consciousness. Iqbal’s theoretic consciousness, operating with the English language, appears to have functioned with one epistemology. His aesthetic and spiritual consciousness, operating with his native languages, seems to have functioned with another. Unless one succeeds in integrating all levels of consciousness in the personality, an epistemological ambivalence and a dualism in thought can appear.

It would be a disservice to Iqbal to suggest that he deliberately chose this duality of views in order to mislead his European audience. Such would imply that he also, in the process, mislead an entire generation of his native Muslim people who readily absorbed his views expressed in English. Iqbal is too great a scholar to have used Islamic scholarship to mislead his reading audience, which included so many of his own Muslim people.

SUFI EPISTEMOLOGY
The Sufis have a consistent record of not only recognizing, but also of using the heart as a vehicle for the acquisition of knowledge. That experience of the heart, through which it “sees” and penetrates “truth,” is frequently referred to as “religious experience.” In its wider sense, religious experience also includes that intuitive grasp which delivers to the believer the “substance” or “reality” of things. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) referred to it when he warned: “Fear the firasah (i.e., intuitive capacity for penetrating the substance of things) of the believer, for surely he sees with the light of Allah.” And Iqbal himself directed attention to it in his famous couplet:
“Hazaron saal Nargis apni baynuri pay roti hai, Bari mushkil say hota hai,chaman main, deedawar paida.”
“For thousands of years, The narcissus (flower) has bemoaned its blindness; It is with great difficulty that a discerning sage (i.e. one who sees what others cannot see), Appears in the garden (of life).”

Iqbal’s deedawar—i.e., the discerning sage—is clearly he who sees with an inner light. Iqbal is, himself, a true expression of a deedawar.

The epistemology that recognizes ‘religious experience’ as a source of knowledge is herein referred to as the Sufi epistemology. The knowledge itself that comes from such a source is known as ‘Ilm al-Batin.

All through history, it was always important for the seeker of knowledge to be able to penetrate the ‘substance’ or ‘reality’ of things. But that would become absolutely essential in an age in which ‘appearance’ and ‘reality’ would be in total conflict with each other. ‘Appearance’ would be so dangerous that, if accepted, would lead to the destruction of faith. And so, in that age, survival would depend upon the capacity to penetrate beyond external form to reach internal substance, and thus be saved from being deceived and destroyed. Islam has declared that such an age would appear before the end of the world. And this reconfirms the abiding importance of the Sufi epistemology.

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) advised that Surah al-Kahf (Chapter 18) of the Qur’an be recited every day of Juma’ah (i.e., Friday) for protection from the Fitnah (deception, trial) of Dajjal whose modus operandi is to deceive. The story in Surah al-Kahf of Moses (‘alaihi al-Salam) and Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salam) reveals the inadequacy of that epistemology which admits of knowledge only through observation. Moses is mistaken on all three occasions. Khidr on the other hand, who sees with the light of Allah Most High, corrects the mistakes which Moses made.

The story also indirectly points an ominous finger at the misguided community of Moses, i.e., the Jews, as the people who would experience the greatest deception, would be deceived and would then fail to read accurately the historical process. In consequence of being deceived they would blindly follow the most dangerous of all Pied Pipers, i.e., Dajjal the false Messiah or Anti-Christ, to their final destruction in history. My view is that this deception has already taken place, and the final destruction of the Euro-Jewish State of Israel is now certain.

Iqbal is himself an excallent example of a scholar with a matchless capacity to penetrate beyond appearances to grasp the reality of things. He made a thorough and penetrating study of modern western civilization and came to the conclusion that its appearance was quite different from its reality. Just three months before his death he tore away the veil or appearance of “progress,” and delivered a stinging denunciation of the modern West. Many, including the likes of Shaikh Muhammad Abduh, as well as today’s secular liberals, have declared that they have seen Islam itself in the modern West. Iqbal was not deceived:

“The modern age prides itself on its progress in knowledge and its matchless scientific development. No doubt, the pride is justified…. But in spite of all these developments, tyranny of imperialism struts abroad, covering its face in the masks of Democracy, Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and heavens know what else besides. Under these masks, in every corner of the earth, the spirit of freedom and the dignity of man are being trampled underfoot in a way of which not even the darkest period of human history presents a parallel.”
(Iqbal, Dr. Muhammad, New Year’s Message, Broadcast from All India Radio, Lahore, Jan. 1, 1938.Quoted in Syed Abdul Vahid, Thoughts and Reflections of Iqbal, Lahore, Ashraf, 1964. p. 373)

EPISTEMOLOGY OF THE MODERN WEST
Modern western civilization emerged in consequence of sudden unprecedented change that overtook Europe. A civilization which was previously based on faith (in Christianity), and which had given collective and dramatic expression of that faith in the Crusades, experienced a radical change which transformed it into a civilization based on materialism. The new epistemology, which paved the way for the collective acceptance of materialism, was one that specifically denied the possibility of knowledge being acquired through religious experience, or through revelations from the unseen. Observation and experimentation were the only valid means through which knowledge could be acquired; hence that which could not be observed could not be known. The new epistemology naturally paved the way for a dramatic conclusion, to wit, a world which could not be observed and known, did not exist. Hence there is no reality beyond material reality.

IQBAL’S EPISTEMOLOGICAL RESPONSE
Iqbal realized that the acceptance of this western epistemology would result in the complete destruction of religion in the world of Islam. Knowledge would be secularized, and the secularized mind would be cut off from the unseen world — the world of the sacred. The heart would then lose that sacred light without which its sight is, at best, dim. Even the best scholars in the world of Islam would then be in danger of being deceived by western Pied Pipers, and all of mankind would dance to their tunes. Islam would be so secularized that a Protestant version of Islam would emerge. An age, which had already experienced the total dominance of western civilization over all of mankind, posed a great danger of precisely such an epistemological penetration of the Muslim mind.

Iqbal’s response was to devote two of the seven lectures that were subsequently compiled in a book as “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam”, to a vigorous defense of the Sufi epistemology, and to place these two lectures at the very beginning of the series of lectures. They occupy the same prominent position as the first two chapters of the book.

In “Knowledge and Religious Experience” and “The Philosophical Test of the Revelations of Religious Experience”, Iqbal presented the most well-reasoned and persuasive challenge to the new western epistemology ever penned by a Muslim. These first two chapters of the Reconstruction were produced and prominently placed for precisely this purpose, i.e., to stimulate Islamic scholarship to probe with Allah’s light, and to penetrate beyond the seductive appearances presented by the modern age, in order to reach its poisonous reality.

More than sixty years have passed since that challenge (in the first two chapters of Reconstruction), and neither has western scholarship condescended to respond to it nor has Islamic scholarship cared to follow in the epistemological trail which he blazed. Indeed, this failure on the part of Islamic scholarship is partly responsible for the terrible plight in which the world of Islam now finds itself. The western world, with its secularized system of education, its politics of power-lust, greed and polarization of society, and its economics of exploitation, has enjoyed almost total success in deceiving the world of Islam and in thus leading it down the road of impotence, anarchy, intellectual confusion, and the ruination of faith.

IQBAL’S AMBIVALENCE
From his adolescent days as a college student in Lahore to his university education in Europe, Iqbal’s exposure to western thought was continuously intimate. He also lived in an age that was forced to observe the literal explosion of western scholarship on the stage of the world. History had never witnessed anything comparable to that scholarship which dramatically extended the frontiers of knowledge in nearly every conceivable branch of knowledge. The scientific revolution of the West was something unique in the world of knowledge. More often than not Iqbal’s respect for western scholarship grew into outright admiration. Our view is that this admiration for western scholarship provoked a corollary. It revealed itself in the startling accusation that “…during the last five hundred years religious thought in Islam has been practically stationary” (Iqbal, Reconstruction, op. cit., p. 6).

And the consequence of that profound admiration was found in the Reconstruction, which is littered with references to, and quotations from, his peers in the world of western scholarship. There was no such peer within his own community, and so there is not a single reference in the Reconstruction to a contemporary Muslim scholar in the huge and intellectually influential Indian Muslim community.

This ambivalence, this love-hate relationship which found expression in the first two chapters of the Reconstruction, as in the endless references to Western scholars, was also revealed in Iqbal’s choice of language for addressing Muslims on as important a subject as the reconstruction of their religious thought. He chose to address the Western-educated Muslim intelligentsia in English. It must have been an absolutely amazing spectacle to behold Iqbal, seventy years ago, addressing his largely uncomprehending Muslim audience (one needs to have some knowledge of philosophy in order to comprehend these lectures) in chaste English and in a manner which conformed to Western linguistic etiquette and sensibilities. It must have been an equally amazing sight to behold the same Iqbal using the native Urdu and Persian languages to convey through poetry a message whose form and substance was quite alien to the Western mind.

We believe that Iqbal was not, himself, immune from the negative influence of the very Western epistemology of which he warned so strongly. His poetry, which came directly from the heart, witnessed the unsurpassed use of the Sufi epistemology and was uncluttered by any Western logical or epistemological restraints. The same cannot always be said of his thought when expressed in English. Our purpose in this paper is to direct attention to a subject which, more than any other, illustrates Iqbal’s epistemological ambivalence. That subject is “the end of history.”

ISLAM AND THE END OF HISTORY
Is there an Islamic view of the end of history? Did Iqbal ever address it?

It is appropriate, in the context of the subject we are here examining, to note that Islam has chosen terminology located in time for referring to the end of the world. The Islamic word is “the Hour” (al-Sa’ah). The supreme importance of this subject of “the Hour,” i.e., the end of history, was established in the famous visit of Archangel Gabriel (‘alaihi al-Salam) when he appeared before the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) in the Masjid in the form of a man. He asked questions, the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) answered them, and Gabriel (‘alaihi al-Salam) then confirmed that the answers were correct. Sometime after his departure the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) informed the Muslims of the identity of the visitor, and of the fact that he had come (at that very late stage in the life of the Prophet) to instruct them in their religion. He had asked five questions, and two of these related to the end of history. The first question was: when will the end come? And the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) had replied to the effect that the one who was being questioned had no more knowledge of the subject than the questioner. The second question was: tell me of the signs by which we would know that the end is at hand (i.e., what are some of the signs by which we would recognize the age that would witness the end of history?) He replied to the effect that a slave girl would give birth to her mistress (and this has now become a possibility because of surrogate parenting), and that the barefooted shepherds of yesterday would be competing with each other in constructing high-rise buildings. (Some of the foremost scholars of Islam in this age have declared that this sign has now materialized.)

This extraordinary Hadith amply demonstrated the supreme importance that Islam has attached to the subject of the end of history. It also clearly establishes that we now live in the last age.

The Islamic view of the last age is quite comprehensive. It includes the belief that the earth would function as habitat for a limited duration (al-Baqarah 2:36). The earth would one day be transformed into a dust bowl (al-Kahf 18:8). This implies that the end-time, which witnesses the death of the earth, would be preceded by an age of a constantly diminishing supply of (fresh) water, leading, eventually, to extreme scarcity of water. The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) described that last age as the age of Fitan (i.e., tests and trials), and the Qur’an warned that all of mankind would be targeted, and that Allah’s Punishment would be terrible. (Qur’an, al-Anfal, 8:25).

The constantly diminishing supply of water would take place in consequence of the release into the world by Allah Most High of evil beings whom He created, namely Gog and Magog (Ya’juj and Ma’juj). The last two Suwar (chapters) of the Qur’an were specifically devoted to warning the believers of the very great dangers which would emerge in the world in consequence of the release of “evil created by Allah.” The evil would appear as “evil beings” created by Allah Most High to test and to punish. They are Ya’juj, Ma’juj and Dajjal. The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) described Ya’juj and Ma’juj to be such thirsty beings that they would drink up all the water of the world. “They would pass by a river”, he said, “and they would drink it dry”. (Kanz al-Ummal, Vol. 7, Hadith No. 2157). The last age would thus be characterized by over-consumption, waste, and disrespect for water. Mankind would witness, in the last age, riots and wars fought over water.

When we look around us in the world, it appears to be quite clear that the countdown has already begun. There is an ominous and growing shortage of water in nearly all parts of the world today. The head of the U. N. Environment Program has recently expressed his fear that the world is heading towards a “period of water-wars between nations.” A Pakistani government minister has warned of the eventual likelihood of riots over water in the city of Karachi. The Kalabagh Dam project threatens bloodshed. The Farrakha Dam, built by India, threatens to drown Bangladesh. Turkey and Syria may one day wage war over water which is one of the gravest issues that divide them. Israel, the Palestinian Arabs, and the neighboring Arab Sates (particularly Jordan) have serious and growing differences over the sharing of dwindling water supplies. The Israelis are actually waging a water war on the Palestinian Arabs, Muslims as well as Christians.

It would therefore appear that the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj has already taken place. Iqbal agrees. Indeed, he appears to be one of the very few scholars of Islam to have ever had the vision and the courage to make a formal declaration that the release has taken place and that we now live in the last age, or the age that will witness the end of history. The declaration was made in Urdu verse, and, predictably, there is not even a hint of it in any of his writings or statements made in English. This is the verse:
“Khul gayay y’ajuj aur m’ajuj ka lashkar tamam, Chashmay Muslim dekhlay tafseer harf-e-yansiloon.”
“The hordes of Gog and Magog, Have all been released; The Muslim can (now) perceive with his very eyes (right in front of him), The meaning of yansiloon.”

The word yansilun, which occurs at the end of the verse, and to the Tafsir (interpretation) of which Iqbal has directed the attention of the Muslims, refers to a passage of the Qur’an in Surah al-Anbiyah in which Allah Most High declares that when Ya’juj and Ma’juj are released they will spread out in every direction (min kulli hadabin yansilun). Here is the passage:
“And there is a ban on a town which We destroyed, that they shall not return (i.e., the people of the town are banned from returning to reclaim the town as their own), until Ya’juj (Gog) and Ma’juj (Magog) are released (from the barrier which Dhu al-Qarnain built in order to contain them), and they spread out in every direction.”
(Qur’an, al-Anbiyah, 21:95- 96)

This indicates that Ya’juj and Ma’juj would not only become the dominant force in the world, but that their power would subdue all of mankind. Indeed, their power would be such that, according to a Hadith al-Qudsi, Allah Most High has Himself declared: “None but I can destroy them.” (Kanz Al-Ummal , Vol. 7, Hadith No. 3021).

Our view is that Iqbal arrived at this amazingly accurate conclusion eighty years ago in consequence of his use of the Sufi epistemology. He not only made a critical and an acute observation of the historical process, and of the world which confronted him, but he also had the courage to make an intellectual leap for a startling intuitive grasp which delivered to him, for one dazzling moment in time, the very substance of the subject. The uneducated say many things without knowledge. But when a scholar of the Qur’an makes a declaration such as this, it must rest on the foundation of knowledge. Conventional Islamic scholarship, unable or unwilling to reach out for that intuitive grasp of the subject, is yet to pronounce on the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. This writer met in Lahore with the late commentator of Iqbal, Prof. Muhammad Munawwar, who confirmed that Iqbal considered the modern Judeo-Christian west to be the civilization of Ya’juj and Ma’juj..)

We believe that Iqbal was absolutely correct. Consider the following:
The Caliphate is an institution central to the collective integrity of the Muslim Ummah. Although the seat of the Caliphate was oftimes filled in a manner which did not conform to the Shari’ah of Islam, the office of the Caliphate survived for some 1300 years. There is an indication of a prophecy of the destruction of the Caliphate, and of its restoration at the time of the advent of Imam Al-Mahdi, in the famous Hadith in which the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) spoke of the return of Prophet Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam):
“How will you be when the Son of Mary descends amongst you and your Imam will be from amongst yourselves.” (Sahih Bukhari)

Within seven years of Iqbal’s pronouncement concerning the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj in 1917, the unprecedented power and influence of today’s dominant western civilization led to the destruction of the Ottoman Islamic Empire and, subsequently, to the collapse of the Caliphate.

Secondly, the Hajj is an institution which is even more central in importance to Islam, and which has survived for thousands of years. The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) has prophesied the abandonment of the Hajj in the context of the aftermath of the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. The fulfillment of that prophecy appears to be imminent. It should come to pass as soon as the Jews deliver on their promise to destroy Masjid al-Aqsa in order to rebuild the Temple of Solomon (‘alaihi al-Salam). When it does come to pass it will confirm, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Iqbal was absolutely correct in this pronouncement concerning the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj.

Thirdly, the basic characteristic of Ya’juj and Ma’juj is their Fasad (i.e., their conduct which corrupts, spoils, ruins) (Qur’an, al-Kahf, 18:94). The age of Ya’juj and Ma’juj would thus be one of immense and unprecedented corruption. Everything will be corrupted—religion and religious scholars; government and political life; the market, the economy, and the world of finance or money; law and justice; transportation, the environment, even the ecological system of the earth; sex, marriage and family life; sports and entertainment; education, youth, the role of women in society, and so on. When we look around us in the world today we find ample evidence of this universal corruption, indicating that Iqbal was correct, and that the countdown has begun.

Fourthly, another basic characteristic of Ya’juj and Ma’juj is their godlessness and immorality (khabath). The godlessness was described in a Hadith al-Qudsi in which we were informed that only one of every 1000 of the end-time would enter into heaven (and that person would be a follower of the Prophet). The rest, 999 out of every 1000, would all be the people of Ya’juj and Ma’juj and would all be sent to Hell. (Sahih Bukhari, 4:567; 6:265; 8:537)

The immorality was described in a Hadith in which the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) conveyed to this wife, Zainab (radiallahu ‘anha), the news that the advent of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj would be in consequence of the increase of Khabath in the world (Sahih Bukhari, 4:797; 9:181; 9:249).

The Qur’anic use of the term Khabath includes that sexual perversity which characterized Sodom and Gomorrah. There is sufficient godlessness, immorality, and sexual perversity in the world today to qualify for the description given by the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). Again Iqbal is correct.

A fifth characteristic of Ya’juj and Ma’juj, and one which also follows from the above, is that they would transform all of mankind into one single global society in which all would follow essentially the same way of life. It would be godless and decadent. Already that single godless, decadent society has won over the elite society around the world. The process is now moving inexorably to win over the masses as well. The actual Hadith is that Ya’juj, the community (Ummah), would expand to incorporate another four hundred communities (Umam). Ma’juj, the Ummah, would do the same. And so the world of Ya’juj and Ma’juj would be an ever-expanding globalized world of information, communication, entertainment, and culture, etc. It would culminate in one decadent global society with the mental and spiritual illumination of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Coca Cola. A world government will preside over it. Television has played, and still plays, a crucial role in the relentless pursuit of that goal—a goal that now appears to be quite within reach. This confirms Iqbal’s declaration.

Sixthly, perhaps the most significant clue of the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj, and ominous consequences of that release for the world of Islam, is located in the Hadith (referred to above) in which the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) spoke to his wife, Ummul Mu’minin Zainab (radiallahu’anha), about the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. His words were: “Woe unto the Arabs, because of an evil which is now approaching.” In other words, the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj would result in great calamities and suffering in the Arab world in particular. The clue is expressed quite explicitly in the Qur’an, however, when Allah Most High declared of a town (or city) which He had destroyed, that its restoration would never be possible until the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj makes it possible (see reference to verses 95 & 96 of Surah al-Anbiyah above).

My own use of the Sufi epistemology led me to the conclusion that the town was Jerusalem (i.e., the State of Israel) and hence I interpreted the verse to the effect that the State of Israel, destroyed by Allah Most High twice in history, would be restored when Ya’juj and Ma’juj are released, and as a consequence, that restoration formed part of the Divine Plan through which Dajjal the false Messiah or Anti-Christ would deceive the Jews and lead them to their final destruction. Indeed, this is precisely why he is known as al-Masih al-Dajjal. The identification of the “town” with Jerusalem is not far-fetched at all. There are several Ahadith which link Ya’juj and Ma’juj with Jerusalem (i.e., the State of Israel). For example, the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said that when Ya’juj and Ma’juj are released they would pass by the Sea of Galilee (which is in Israel) (Kanz Al-Ummal, Vol 7, Hadith No. 3021).

Then there is a very long Hadith in Sahih Muslim in which we are told that Ya’juj and Ma’juj would attack the true Messiah, Jesus the son of the virgin Mary (peace and blessings of Allah Most High upon them both) in Jerusalem.

It should be noted that the Jordan-Israeli Peace Treaty of October 1994 recognized Jordan’s contractual rights to a certain amount of water from rivers shared by both countries. Israel may fulfill treaty obligations by pumping water from the Sea of Galilee. The water level in the Sea of Galilee has now reached so low (at the time of writing this essay in 1998) that further pumping of water would cause damage to its capacity to store water. Consequently, Israel has been forced to suspend its fulfillment of its treaty obligation concerning the supply of water to Jordan. Israel has recently told Jordan that the latter’s share of water will be reduced by 60% during the coming summer due to “low rain fall.” In response, the Jordanian Foreign Minister has urged Israel to fulfill its commitment and to carry out the signed agreement. The countdown has begun!

The restoration of the State of Israel not only confirmed the release of Dajjal the false Messiah and of Ya’juj and Ma’juj, but it also constituted a veritable dagger plunged into the very heart of the Arab Muslim world. This, in turn, fulfilled the ominous prophecy: “Woe unto the Arabs.” We may add, in passing, that the feminist revolution of the modern age (in which night wants to become day) confirms that Dajjal is now in the last stage of his mission.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this conclusion confirmed by eminent Sufi Sheikhs. It is just possible that Iqbal came to the same conclusion and this was one of the reasons why he called for attention to be devoted to tafseer harf-e-yansilun (i.e., the interpretation of verses 95 and 96 of Surah al-Anbiyah of the Qur’an). After all, the Zionist Movement was established in 1898, and the alliance between the Zionists and the modern West was painfully revealed to Iqbal in the Balfour Declaration of 1917.

IQBAL’S EPISTEMOLOGICAL AMBIVALENCE AND THE END OF HISTORY
The major actors in the last stage of history, viz., Ya’juj and Ma’juj, Dajjal, Imam al-Mahdi, and the return of the true Messiah, Jesus the son of the Virgin Mary (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both), and the respective roles which they play, all combine to form an integrated inseparable whole.

What is truly alarming is that despite Iqbal’s confirmation of the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj, he rejected belief in Dajjal the false Messiah, Imam Al-Mahdi and the return of the true Messiah, Jesus the son of the virgin Mary (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both). What possible explanation could there be for this truly unfortunate situation? Also, how do we explain the surprising fact that apart for that one solitary verse on Ya’juj and Ma’juj Iqbal is otherwise completely silent on the subject?

My view is that if Iqbal were alive today, the unfolding events in the world, and, in particular, in the Holy Land, would have forced him to change his views with respect to Dajjal the false Messiah, Imam Al-Mahdi and the return of Jesus the true Messiah.. Did he not himself say: “Only stones do not change”! It was because the reality of Ya’juj and Ma’juj was established by the Qur’an that there was no way that Iqbal could have dismissed the subject. The corollary is that if Ya’juj and Ma’juj had not been established in the Qur’an, and were dependent on the Ahadith, they would have suffered the same fate as belief in the advent of Imam al-Mahdi, Dajjal, and the return of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam). When Iqbal turned to the study of these subjects he appears to have experienced an epistemological transformation. The spiritual or religious consciousness was used to study the subject of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. The light of Allah Most High illumined the path for a dazzling display of the intuitive penetration of truth. On the other hand, it was the theoretic consciousness which was used to study the other verities which were not established by the Qur’an. I also suspect an impact of Iqbal’s philosophical training, as well as the western epistemology, on Iqbal’s theoretic consciousness, when he directed attention to the verities of the last age which were located in the Ahadith. This appears to be a subject worthy of serious study by a psychologist who is also capable of examining spiritual realities.

Surah Fatiha and Spiritual Quest

We begin with Allah's Blessed name; we praise Him and we glorify Him as He aught to be glorified and we pray for peace and blessings on all His noble messengers and in particular the last of them all, the blessed Prophet Muhammad. Nabi Muhammad warned; he warned of an age that is to come, which would be a terrible age, more terrible than any age that mankind would ever had experienced since Adam came on earth. Very few would survive that age. A terrible, evil, mastermind will attempt to take control of the world. And that terrible, evil, mastermind of whom Allah had hinted when He said:

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ {1} مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ {2} That terrible, evil mastermind will attempt to impose his evil, oppressive dictatorship over the whole world and mislead mankind' and deceive mankind. That evil mastermind will have a PhD in deception. That in that age things will not be what they appear to be. That appearance and reality would be completely opposite to each other. That he would take the road to heaven and make it look like the road to hell; and he would take the road to jahannam and make it look like the road to heaven. Those who see with only external knowledge; that's all; the PhD from the University of Cape Town will be unable to penetrate his deception. Will form judgment on the basis of external knowledge; of external observation and would be deceived; would believe that they are on the road to heaven; when in fact they are on the road to hell and they don't know it. The purpose of the spiritual quest' the ultimate purpose, in this world, of the halaqatul zikr, is to be able to see what otherwise cannot be seen. The ultimate purpose in this life of the spiritual quest is therefore spiritual knowledge. Spiritual knowledge comes when external knowledge and internal knowledge are harmoniously integrated with each other. Allah ? speaks in the Holy Qur'aan about a people who have no internal knowledge; who do not pursue the spiritual quest or who pursue the spiritual quest but are not conscious of what is the goal of the spiritual quest. Who believe perhaps that the spiritual quest is ultimately for the purpose of being able to perform karamah; actions which look like what the Prophets performed as miracles; and who do not understand that the spiritual quest is ultimately, for the purpose of acquiring internal knowledge. And He says of such people who are spiritually blind. He says [in the Holy Qur'aan in the 7th Sura, al-Araaf [The Heights], Verse 179:] لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لاَّ يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا They have hearts but they do not understand وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لاَّ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا They have eyes but they do not see وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لاَّ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا They have ears but they do not hear أُوْلَـئِكَ كَالأَنْعَامِ [They are like cattle] These people, who would be the multitudes in that last age, they have a status equivalent to cattle. Even with a PhD from the University of Cape Town! Yes! They have a status equivalent to cattle.

Woman and Paradise in Islam

The secular feminist revolution rose upon the world from the West with an essentially godless agenda to liberate women from the “shackles” of the ages by totally transforming her status, role and function in society. In so doing it has turned the previous religious and sacred order upside-down in such a way that the sun now appears to be rising from the west.

Secularism led to materialism which in turn denied woman any reality beyond her material reality. Consequently the young beautiful woman became the goddess of the age. But she was a goddess who was shamelessly exploited in advertising to sell everything. She became a thing enjoyed, exploited, abused, degraded and discarded when her physical beauty and sex appeal began to wane. Then a host of schoolgirls would rush in to replace her. Even the national calypsonian gave his view on the subject quite some time ago when he sang of the prostitute, “… and if you catch them broken (i.e., in financial difficulty), you can get them all for nothing.”

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prophesied the deception that would enslave women. He said, “women would be dressed and yet be naked”, thus anticipating an age of increasing feminine nudity that would be integrally linked to the feminist revolution. Carnival bandleaders in Trinidad are now complaining that they cannot use enough cloth to make creative designs since women increasingly demand the skimpiest of costumes. The ‘naked’ woman’s body was used to usher a sexual revolution that would culminate, according to the Prophet, with “the majority of children being born out of wedlock” and “people having sexual intercourse in public like donkeys.” When we see sex publicly simulated in Trinidad carnival we know that the feminist revolution will soon climax with woman being transformed into a donkey. Despite this colossal failure, the modern godless world has insisted on opening a ‘gender’ battlefield in quest of ‘equality’ while waging war on Islam. The latest target is the innocent Hijab that is maliciously attacked because it obstructs the way for the Muslim woman to be absorbed into the godless melting pot.

Islam has never sought to put an equal sign between the sexes. ‘Woman’ can neither be studied nor understood in a context independent of ‘man’. The two are inseparable. The Prophet declared that women were “… the twin-halves of men.” The Qur’an confirmed this inter-dependence when it declared “They are your garments, and you are their garments.” And in a passage with sublime literary beauty the Qur’an (al-Lail, 92:1-4) first directed attention to the ‘night’ and that which it shrouds and conceals with such mystery and splendor, and then turned to the ‘day’ with its bright light which exposes everything and leaves nothing concealed, and then proceeded to explain that the ‘male’ and the ‘female’ are functionally analogous to the ‘day’ and the ‘night’. In the same way that ‘day’ and ‘night’ are functionally different yet interdependent, so too are the ‘male’ and ‘female’.

When this philosophy of gender was applied to Muslim society the ‘night’ never attempted to become ‘day’. Rather ‘night’ and ‘day’ eternally longed for each other. And so we were never subjected to the abominable phenomenon (that European civilization is now exporting to the rest of the world) of the ‘day’ mating with ‘day’ and vice-versa. Women in such a society not only fulfilled all their sacred functional duties as wives and as mothers, and thus contributed in a significant way to preservation of the health, strength and stability of the family, but, in addition, they preserved both their femininity as well as their fertility. And so the Muslim woman remained truly and enchantingly a woman! An age that produced the celibate priest had obstinately insisted that one had to turn away from woman in order to turn to God. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) responded by declaring “Three things have been made dear to me in this world of yours – perfume, women and prayer.” And so Islam rejected both celibacy and the ‘object’ while recognizing woman, like prayer, to be a medium through which a man might journey to paradise.

One people today totally dominate and control the entire world, its politics, economy, culture, news, sports, entertainment, fashions, travel, etc. They possess absolute power that no possible combination of rivals can now challenge. Moreover, there is no secular evidence to suggest that their powerful grip over the whole world can ever be successfully challenged. They do much more than control the world. They change, unfold and reinvent themselves, and then change the world as well, until it becomes their carbon copy. They have broken down all the barriers that have for ages separated people from each other, and a single global society has emerged for the first time in human history with a single language, English. They are the Judeo-Christian Euro-world-order (i.e., modern secular western civilization), and they are an absolutely unique phenomenon in history.

They are an ominous ‘world-order’, ominous for Arabs and Muslims in particular, and for non-Europeans in general. But even those European people who would live lives of piety, faith and righteousness are not spared. The ‘world-order’ wages relentless war on the religious way of life in general, and on Islam in particular. They use their absolute power to corrupt, to oppress, and to engage in acts of injustice and wickedness with no parallel in history.

Jewish Christian ‘white’ war crimes now inflicted on Arab Muslim Iraq are but a continuation of ‘white’ apartheid inflicted on black Christian Africa. Their greed is indescribable. They suck the wealth of all of mankind through legalized theft, and they even take from the poor the little that they possess. Eventually they imprison all of mankind in a new economic slavery. They are essentially godless and amazingly decadent, and possess such powers of deception that ‘appearance’ and ‘reality’ are always opposite to each other in everything they do.

Finally, they are a world-order that is strangely and mysteriously obsessed with liberating the Holy Land. Europe became Christian and then waged ‘white’ Holy Wars called ‘the crusades’ for a thousand years until success was finally achieved when a British army, led by General Allenby, defeated the Ottoman Islamic Empire’s army and triumphantly entered Jerusalem in 1917. Allenby then declared “today the crusades have ended”. In fact the crusades will not end so long as Muslims resist oppression in the Holy Land.

Europe also became Jewish and created the ‘white’ Zionist Movement which then fanatically pursued the goals of the Jewish return to the Holy Land and the restoration of a State of Israel. The European Jew was a native of the Khazar tribes of Eastern Europe and was a convert to Judaism. He was not Israelite. Yet the European Jews successfully led the way, employing means more crooked than straight, for the restoration of a State of Israel in the Holy Land. They used the same means to literally force the Israelite Jews, long resident in the Muslim world, to migrate to that secular State of Israel.

The Judeo-Christian Euro-world-order has protected and strengthened that Israel to such an extent that it has now become a super-power. Indeed it will soon become the ‘ruling state in the world.

Can all of this be an accident of history? Can it be something without meaning and explanation?

There are scholars and writers who might shrug their shoulders and dismiss all of the above as mere chance. And then there are others who would be convinced by the evidence presented from the Holy Qur’an that today’s strange world-order is that of Gog and Magog. Dajjal (the Anti-Christ) deceived the Jews into defying every moral and religious law while pursuing an unrelenting effort to make Israel the ‘ruling state’ in the world. But they make that effort while riding the back of the ‘Gog and Magog world-order’. In the end they will face the Messiah they had rejected, and whose crucifixion they had demanded. Allah Most High, Who created Gog and Magog, and Who gave to them their indestructible power, would Himself now destroy Gog and Magog. A Muslim army would then attack and destroy the Euro-Jewish State of Israel, and the Jews in the Holy Land would then face, at the hands of that Muslim army, the greatest of punishments. The ‘oppressor’ would be punished, and history would thus end with the triumph of Truth over falsehood.

We now present in summary, the evidence from the Qur’an that supports our identification of Gog and Magog with the present world-order.

In Surah al-Kahf of the Qur’an (Chapter 18 entitled ‘the Cave’), as well as in Prophetic commentary (Ahadith), Gog and Magog are described as two people who descended from father Adam (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) and who were created by Allah Most High, and endowed with great power. “None but I can destroy them”, said Allah (Sahih Muslim). Surah al-Kahf has described how they were contained behind an iron barrier because they used their power to commit acts of Fasad (acts of wickedness, oppression, corruption). The Surah also implied that they would use power to wage war on those who lived lives of faith and righteousness, and that they would act malevolently against those who lived the primitive way of life, or who eked out a bare subsistence living (as in Haiti). Thus the picture emerged of an absolutely godless and ruthless people who had the hearts of beasts.

The Surah went on to inform that when the Last Age commenced, “Allah would bring down the barrier” and Gog and Magog (who are a major sign of the Last Age) would be released into the world. Surah al-Anbiyah then revealed that they would eventually “spread out in every direction” - indicating that with their invincible power they would take control of the whole world and that, for the first time in history, one people would rule all of mankind:

He said: “This (wall) is a mercy from my Lord: but when the warning of my Lord comes to pass, He will reduce it to dust (and Gog and Magog would thus be released into the world); and the promise of my Lord is true.”
(Qur’an, al-Kahf, 18:98)

“But there is a ban on a town which We have destroyed: that they (the people of the town) shall not return (to reclaim that town as their own); until Gog and Magog are let through (their barrier), and they swiftly spread out in every direction (replicating themselves amongst all the peoples of the world).”
(Qur’an, al-Anbiyah, 21:95-96)

But since that world-order would witness oppression and war on religion, it would be in total conflict with the heavenly order above. No believer could possibly be comfortable with ‘mainstream society’ in such a world.

In Surah al-Anbiyah above, the Qur’an referred one more time to Gog and Magog while making mention of a ‘town’ that Allah destroyed, and its people were expelled and then banned from returning to reclaim that ‘town’ as their own until Gog and Magog were released and had spread out in every direction. Those whose spiritual vision is illumined by ‘light’ that comes from Allah Most High can recognize both the ‘town’ and the Gog & Magog world order. That light gives them the capacity to penetrate the ‘internal reality’ of things.

The ‘town’ is Jerusalem. Allah Most High destroyed that ‘town’ and expelled the Jews from it. They were then banned from returning to it to reclaim it as their own. Today they have returned and have reclaimed it as their own. But they have done so while riding on the backs of an essentially godless people whose power is such that they have taken total control of the whole world, and they relentlessly use that power to oppress mankind, and to wage war on Islam in general and on Arabs in particular.

From the time of medieval Euro-Christendom to the age of secular western civilization, Europe has progressively displayed the characteristics of the world order of Gog and Magog, and has also fulfilled their basic mission. European people in Europe, North America, Australia, and in the Holy Land today dominate the whole world. They use power to oppress and to corrupt.

They liberated the Holy Land, and brought the Jews back to reclaim it as their own. They created the secular godless Euro-State of Israel and presented it to the non-European Jews as David’s Holy Israel. It is an indication of the utter spiritual blindness of the non-European Jewish people that they allowed themselves to be deceived and led down the road to their final destruction by Gog and Magog.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has provided additional information on Gog and Magog. For example, he said, “None of them dies without leaving a thousand more behind.” And so the reality of contemporary globalization that is corrupting and enslaving mankind can now be understood.

Ten Major Signs of the Last Day - Has One Just Occurred

LAST DAY MEANS LAST AGE

The term ‘Last Day’ in reality stands for the ‘Last Age’, or the age which would culminate in the end of history—when the true Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary (not son of God), would return to rule the world from Jerusalem with justice and ‘eternal’ rule. It would be ‘eternal’ in the sense that history would end with that event. Life on earth beyond that event, and after Jesus dies a human death and is buried next to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both) in Madinah, would not qualify as history. This would be so since the modern secular rope would have reached its predictable end in total godlessness, and with such a consequent collapse of morals, and of moral consciousness, that people would forget their human status and “would engage in sexual intercourse in public like donkeys”. Already it is quite clear (particularly at the time of Trinidad’s Carnival) that we are quite close to the fulfillment of that ominous prophecy made by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

So much so then, for the spurious claims of the one-eyed Judeo-Christian western civilization and its ‘colored house slaves’ around the world. They claim that mankind is witnessing unprecedented progress, that the present is the best of all ages, that the world keeps on growing better and better, and that modern western civilization has rendered all previous civilizations, including Islam, moribund and obsolete!

So much so, then, for the local one-eyed ‘house slave’ here in my native island of Trinidad who insists that Muslims must remain a part of ‘mainstream society’ -even when that mainstream is heading for the hell-fire.

When a ship is sinking and you cannot prevent it from sinking, you have to get off that ship, and urge others as well to do so. The ship of the world is now sinking! The evidence is all around us as plainly visible as daylight! But those who are blind cannot see that the ship is sinking. They use their checkbooks, or the barrels of their guns, to impose themselves around the world as leaders. The blind then lead the blind until all are lost and will be drowned like the people of Noah (peace be upon him).

Prophet Muhammad prophesied many more signs of the Last Day other than public ‘donkey sex’. Most of these are known as the ‘minor’ signs. Let us describe some of them (randomly selected) before we turn to the ten ‘major’ signs in which we venture to include the major underwater earthquake and resultant Tsunami in South East Asia that occurred in late December 2004.

MINOR SIGNS
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) prophesied of the Last Age that:

• “People would follow a way of life other than mine, and give guidance other than mine”…“I fear for my people only the leaders who lead men astray”…“Before the Last Hour there will be great liars, so beware of them”…“When the most wicked member of a tribe becomes its ruler, and the most worthless member of a community becomes its leader, and a man is respected through fear of the evil he may do, and leadership is given to people who are unworthy of it, expect the Last Hour”. All of these warnings have already been dramatically and ominously fulfilled. Around the world today, with but few exceptions, and even here in my native Caribbean island of Trinidad, people, including Muslims, now have the worst leaders. This ominous sign of the Last Day has come to pass, yet there are so many who do not, or cannot see, and they blindly rush as dumb cattle to endorse or to follow such leaders for personal gain, or fear, or due to sheer ignorance; • “Women would arrange their hair to look like the hump of a camel”, and this sign has already occurred, we see it everyday;
• “Women would dress like men”, and we already see them today with trousers, jacket and, perhaps, a tie; and “women would be dressed and yet be naked”, and this prophecy, also, is now fulfilled. When women parade in public “dressed, yet naked”, as they do today, and when Muslims cannot prevent such, they should then seek to flee from such mainstream society rather than to remain a part of it until the women are fully naked and “donkey-like” sexual intercourse is on public display. If they foolishly choose to remain a part of such corrupt and decadent society then they or their children would eventually be ruined by such a society.

• “Men would dress like women”, and already this sign also has come to pass. Almost no one can tell that ‘she’, the so-called ‘crossdresser’, is really a man;

• Homosexuality (and lesbianism) would become commonplace, and that is now happening before our very eyes. Social acceptance and legal protection for this abominable sexual perversion is gaining ground. Indeed those who hold fast to the divine prohibition of such sexual perversion are now demonized as a people who suffer from a disease called ‘homophobia’;

• Children born outside of marriage would become commonplace, in fact marriage itself now seems destined to become obsolete;

• Fornication and adultery would become commonplace, that, also, appears to have already been fulfilled in a modern world in which virginity and marital fidelity are becoming old-fashioned;

• Disproportion in balance of men and women to such an extent that “one man would have to maintain (not marry) fifty women”, that is yet to occur but could be linked to the impact on male sperm production of such things as environmental pollution and genetically modified food;

• Universal consumption of alcoholic beverages, this “mother of all evils” has already become a horrendous plague in which no one is safe from the drunk driver; the unborn baby drinks when his mother drinks and suffers unimaginably for such; people, including Prime Ministers, drink and become drunk, and then behave in public like asses;

• “Religious knowledge would disappear”, since the rightly-guided scholars of Islam are demonized, marginalized, “banned”, or declared to be “great security risks”. Only those scholars who can skillfully skip and dance to the tunes of those who control power are allowed the unfettered freedom to preach a sanitized cosmetic version of Islam acceptable to the godless rulers of the world. Institutions of Islamic learning are forced to submit to the control of those waging war on Islam. If they do not submit, they are shut down. Foreign students are prohibited from studying Islam in certain so-called Islamic Republics;

• “Time would move swiftly—a year passing like a month—a month like a week—a week like a day” etc., and already the perception of swiftly moving time is a universal experience;

• Such prevalence of random killing, murder and violence that “a killer would not know why he is killing and the one who is killed would not know why he is being killed”, and “every age is followed by one which would be worse”—already around the world senseless random killing has arrived and is constantly escalating;

• “Nothing would remain of Islam but the name, and nothing would remain of the Qur’an but the traces (of its writing) (i.e., the Qur’an would not be studied, no one would follow its guidance, it would be recited mechanically etc.); the Masajid (mosques) would be grand structures but would be devoid of guidance; and the Ulama (religious scholars of Islam who represent such people) would be the worst people beneath the sky. From them would emerge Fitnah (trials) and they would be the centers of Fitnah (since they betray Islam)” — there are many distinguished scholars of Islam who declare that this prophesy, also, has today found fulfillment. The evidence of such is overwhelming. The Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) has been long destroyed, Zakat is no longer collected and distributed by the state, money itself is now corrupted, the universal Shirk of the modern state has corrupted all of mankind, Riba is universally prevalent, the Hajj would probably soon be abandoned;

• Universal consumption of Riba (i.e, money lent on interest, and transactions which ‘rip off’ people through deception in business, etc.) Around the world today Riba in modern banking and insurance, as well as in the monetary system, has already taken total control over the market and over economic life. There are some minor signs which have been couched inenigmatic language such as,

• “A slave woman would give birth to her mistress”, made possible through a combination of Riba and the modern feminist revolution, and; • “Naked barefooted shepherds would vie with one another in the construction of high-rise buildings”. This is already being fulfilled when wealth is wasted in grandiose and expensive public relations construction projects commissioned by people who hanker for visible symbols of status in a modern world which recognizes the rich as a ‘somebody’ and the poor as a ‘nobody’ (see story of the rich man and the poor man in Surah al-Kahf of the Qur’an).

And then there are minor signs which have not as yet occurred such as:

• “The Last Hour would not come until there issues from the land of the Hejaz (which is in Saudi Arabia) a fire which will illuminate the backs of the camels in Busra”. But for the exchange of Basra for Hejaz, this prophecy perhaps, anticipates a nuclear attack in or around Iran which would formally launch Israel into the club of nuclear powers. So many of these minor Signs of the Last Day, and so many more not here mentioned, have already occurred, that we can now turn to the major Signs with a clear recognition that we are already living in that Last Age.

MAJOR SIGNS
Hudhayfah ibn Usayd Ghifari, the companion of the Prophet, said,

“Allah’s Messenger came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy in a discussion). He asked: What are you discussing? (The Companions) replied: We are discussing (the subject of) the Last Hour. Thereupon he said: It will not come until you see ten signs. And (in this connection) he made a mention of the ‘smoke’, ‘Dajjal’, the ‘beast’, the ‘rising of the sun from the west’, the ‘descent of Jesus son of Mary’, ‘Gog and Magog’, ‘sinkings 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 the place of their assembly’ (i.e., the place where mankind will be assembled for judgment).”
(Sahih Muslim)

Here, then, are the ten major Signs of the Last Day as prophesied by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him):

• Dajjal — the false Messiah or Anti-Christ,
• Gog and Magog,
• Smoke,
• The beast of the earth or land (most likely the holy land),
• The sun would rise from the west,
• Three sinkings of the earth
• one in the east
• One in the west
• and One in Arabia,
• A fire would come out of Yemen and would drive people to their place of assembly (for judgement),
• The son of Mary would descend. Although these signs were not given by the blessed Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allah Most High be upon him) in their chronological order of occurrence I have made an effort to put them in that order, with the ones that have not as yet occurred at the bottom of the list. How did I arrive at the above order? We know from the prophecies of the blessed Prophet that the third major ‘sinking of the earth’, i.e., the one that would occur in Arabia, would swallow an army that would be heading south to Makkah. That army would be on its way to attack Imam al-Mahdi, the descendent of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him). It was prophesied that he would restore the Islamic Caliphate (or Islamic model of a state) in the Arabian peninsula. It is after that sign has occurred (i.e., the third major earthquake) that the son of Mary would descend from the sky with his hands resting on the wings of two angels, and would kill Dajjal the False Messiah or Anti-Christ. The Qur’an itself has described Jesus (i.e., the return of Jesus) as the ‘ilm (which here means the very key to the subject) of the Last Hour:

“And he (i.e., Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow Me: this is a Straight Way.”
(Qur’an, Zukhruf, 43:61)

It follows that his return must come chronologically at the end of the list. We also know that the ‘fire’ from Yemen would follow the third earthquake. And so now that it appears that the major earthquake in the East has occurred, we await four more major signs that still remain to occur. When did the first six ‘major’ signs occur?

DAJJAL
I have argued in my book, ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’an – An Islamic View of the Destiny of Jerusalem’, that Dajjal the False Messiah or Antichrist was released into the world in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him). He has already completed the first stage of his mission that lasted for “a day like a year”, and is about to complete the second stage that lasts for “a day like a month”. The third and last stage of his mission (of impersonation of the true Messiah) that would last for just “a day like a week” would, I believe, commence when Israel replaces USA as the ruling state of the world. And that would occur when Israel wages a big war that would result in dramatic territorial expansion “from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates”. Israel would then seize control of the Suez Canal and all the oil of the Arabian Gulf.

By the end of that third stage, Dajjal the false Messiah or Antichrist would have been born into the world of Jewish parents, would have risen to become ruler of Israel and, hence, would have completed his mission to rule the world from Jerusalem. And Allah Knows best!

An entire chapter of the book is devoted to explaining the subject of Dajjal. I am now writing a quartet of books on Surah al-Kahf of the Qur’an, and one of the four books would be entirely devoted to a comprehensive explanation of the subject of Dajjal, the false Messiah or Anti-Christ in Islam Insha Allah.

GOG AND MAGOG
I have also argued in my book that Gog and Magog were released into the world in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him). The Qur’an itself has made mention (Qur’an, al-Anbiyah, 21:94-5) of a ‘town’ which was destroyed by Allah Most High, and the people of the town expelled, and then banned from returning to reclaim their town until Gog and Magog were not only released but, also, had spread out (around the world) in all directions.

“But there is a ban on a town which We have destroyed: that they (the people of the town) shall not return (to reclaim that town as their own); until Gog and Magog are let through (their barrier), and they swiftly spread out in every direction (replicating themselves amongst all the peoples of the world).”
(Qur’an, al-Anbiyah, 21:95-96)

I identified that ‘town’ to be Jerusalem. And since the Jews have already returned to Jerusalem to reclaim it as their own, it follows that Gog and Magog, like Dajjal, are also close to the end of their mission. And Allah Knows best!

Another entire chapter of ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’an’ is devoted to explaining the subject of Gog and Magog. In addition, the fourth of the quartet of books on Surah al-Kahf will be devoted to a comprehensive explanation of this subject Insha Allah.

DUKHAN (SMOKE)
This appears to be totality of environmental pollution (not just smog and haze) that is already wreaking havoc on the earth itself and is bringing about global warming with the consequent impact of earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding etc. The modern industrial economy that Dajjal has authored, appears to be the greatest culprit of environmental pollution in the world today. In other words, we have been tricked into causing Dukhan (smoke) which in turn spawns global warming and eventual climatic disaster. And Allah Knows best! However, it is important that we note that there are several Ahadith in Sahih Bukhari that declare the sign of Dukhan (smoke) already appeared in the lifetime of the blessed Prophet.

D’ABBATUL ARD (THE BEAST OF THE LAND OR EARTH)
I have argued in ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’an’ that the beast of the earth’ is, in fact, the imposter State of Israel that now occupies the Holy Land. The learned Shaikh, Safar al-Hawali, holds the view that the ‘beast’ is the Zionist Movement. And Allah Knows best!

THE SUN WOULD RISE FROM THE WEST
Those who interpret this sign literally assume that the order of nature would be reversed despite the Qur’anic declaration that there can be no change in Allah’s creation (of that natural order):

“So set thou thy face steadily and truly to the faith: (establish) Allah’s handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made mankind: no change (can there be) in Allah’s creation: that is the standard religion: but most among mankind understand not.”
(Qur’an, al-Rum, 30:30)

They also do so despite the specific declaration of Prophet Abraham (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) that his Lord-God causes the sun to rise from the East. Abraham then proceeded to challenge the King to cause the sun to rise from the West if he possessed power greater than Allah’s:

Hast thou not turned thy vision to one who disputed with Abraham about his Lord, because Allah had granted him power? Abraham said:

“My Lord is He Who giveth life and death.” He said: “I give life and death.” Said Abraham: “But it is Allah that causeth the sun to rise from the East do thou then cause it to rise from the West!” Thus was he confounded who (in arrogance) rejected Faith. Nor doth Allah give guidance to a people unjust.
(Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:258)

And so they wait for that western sunrise as an event that would literally occur, while ignoring the basic rule that no Hadith can contradict the Qur’an.

But this sign has provoked numerous other non-literal interpretations, all of which agree that it has already occurred. Our view is that the rising of the sun from the West symbolizes an upside– down world in which mankind is led by their noses to a way of life which would be the very opposite of that natural way ordained by Allah. Natural money, for example, so identified in the Qur’an, is derived from precious metals. When such money is in short supply in a market such as Madina’s, then a substitute in the form of commodities such as wheat, barley, dates, salt, etc., can temporarily take its place. Around the world today that natural money with intrinsic value has been displaced by artificial money with no intrinsic value and it is used as an instrument of oppression. That upside-down unnatural way of life has already been accepted by most of mankind. In this sense, therefore, the sun is already rising from the West. And Allah Knows best!

THREE SINKINGS OF THE EARTH
Many terrible earthquakes have already occurred in history. They have no relevance to our subject. We are concerned with three major ‘sinkings of the earth’ that would occur at a specific moment in history, i.e., they would occur at a time that would herald the return of Jesus, the Messiah, the son of Mary, and Messenger of Allah Most High. One would occur in the East, the second in the West, and the third in Arabia. When the third one takes place, the world of Islam would suddenly and dazzlingly reenter the affairs of the Arabian peninsular, as well as of the world, in the same revolutionary way that it did in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him). This appears to be the meaning of the last of the major signs (prior to the return of Jesus) mentioned by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him), i.e., that a fire would come out of Yemen and drive people to their place of assembly (i.e., for judgment) which is Arafat in Arabia.

THE EARTHQUAKE IN THE EAST
I believe that the recent massive earthquake and resultant Tsunami in South East Asia which has claimed many more than 100,000 lives, is the earthquake of the East mentioned by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) in the ten major Signs of the Last Day. It could thus be the first of three such earthquakes heralding the return of Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him). I came to this conclusion because of the following reasons:

Firstly, the prophecy of the blessed Prophet is that a ‘khasf’ would occur in the East, i.e., the earth sinks down or caves in. A ‘Tsunami’ is defined as a sea wave of local or distant origin that results from large-scale seafloor displacements associated with large earthquakes, major submarine slides, or exploding volcanic islands. When this recent displacement of the earth occurred under the sea, and consequently resulted in the massive Tsunami, it ensured that those who have maliciously concealed the Truth time and again in history could not conceal this major Sign of the Last Day. The magnitude of the event, i.e., the severity of the earthquake (9 on the Richter scale) and, more importantly, the massive damage already done and still unfolding, makes it absolutely unique for mankind today.

Secondly, I am impressed by the location of the event - it occurred in that East which is clearly east of Madinah.

Thirdly, and most important of all, I would like to direct attention to the time that it occurred. This was after the liberation of the Holy Land (1917), and return of the Jews to reclaim the Holy Land as their own (1918-1948). It was also after the restoration of a State of Israel in the Holy Land (1948) and the growth of Israel to become a superpower in the world (i.e., the present). Finally it occurred at precisely that time when Israel is about to wage her big war of massive territorial expansion after which Israel would replace USA as the ruling state in the world. Jesus cannot return until all these things have occurred. It has also occurred at that time when the prophecy of the Prophet concerning the abandonment of the Hajj seems about to be fulfilled. The Hajj would pose a gigantic security threat to the present Saudi ruling elite whenever Israel wages its big war and assumes rule over the world. And it has occurred at just that time when the US dollar has begun its perhaps irreversible decline that might culminate in its collapse. Such a collapse would also bring down all the paper-money in the world and electronic money, controlled by the Jewish-controlled banking system, would then control all the money in the money-system of the world.

This momentous Sign in the East that occurred at the end of December 2004 appears, therefore, to be a sign to mankind warning that dangerous change in the world will soon take place.

It appears to be the first of the three major earthquakes, or ‘sinkings of the earth’, as prophesied by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him), which would herald the return of the true Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah Most High. If we are correct, and Allah Knows best, then the world has to await only two more such major events before the son of Mary returns to liberate us from the oppressors who now rule the world.

THE SECOND EARTHQUAKE IN THE WEST
When a second massive earthquake (with a sinking down, caving in, or displacement of the earth) eventually occurs in the west, after the recent one in the east, that would further confirm the analysis presented in this essay. All that would then remain to occur for Jesus to descend from the clouds would be the third earthquake in Arabia that would swallow an entire army, and the fire that would come out of Yemen. We are so close to that event that we can already feel the heat of that fire. Although what appears to be the first of the three major earthquakes occurred underwater and resulted in the massive Tsunami in South East Asia, it is not necessary that the second that would occur in the west would be similar. After all, we know that the third and last major earthquake would have its epicenter on land just north of Makkah in Arabia. But it would seem that the mid-Atlantic (rather than the Pacific) may be the location of the major earthquake of the west that is to come. In case the second major earthqake occurs in the mid-Atlantic, the islands of the Caribbean and the eastern coast of USA and Canada as well as South America would be likely to be affected. It could also be a big earthquake in California along the fault.

THE THIRD EARTHQUAKE IN ARABIA
Narrated Aisha: Allah’s Apostle said, “An army would invade the Ka’aba and when the invaders reach Al-Baida’, all the ground would sink and swallow the whole army.” I said, “O Allah’s Apostle! How would they sink into the ground while amongst them would be their markets (the people who worked in business and not invaders) and the people not belonging to them?” The Prophet replied, “All of those people would sink but they would be resurrected and judged according to their intentions.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari)

Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu’minin: The Prophet said: “Disagreement will occur at the death of a Caliph and a man of the people of Madina would come flying forth to Makkah. Some of the people of Makkah would come to him, bring him out against his will, and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam. An expeditionary force would then be sent against him from Syria but would be swallowed up in the desert between Makkah and Madina.”
(Sunan Abu Daud)

It is quite clear from the above prophecy of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) that the third earthquake would take place at the time of the advent of Imam al-Mahdi. But the Imam cannot emerge to liberate the Arabian heartland of Islam until Israel has become the ruling state in the world. And Allah knows best!

THE RETURN OF THE TRUE MESSIAH, JESUS, THE SON OF MARY
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) has spoken extensively and in minute details about the event of the return of Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him). But that event is so rich and complex that it lies beyond the scope of this paper. However, my book, ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’an’ has dealt with the subject in some detail, and it is to that book that I now refer the gentle reader.

ONE FINAL WORD
The destiny of Jerusalem is such as to give to Muslims the greatest confidence and hope that Truth will triumph over falsehood and oppression. ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’an’ was written for precisely this purpose — i.e., to explain to Muslims the strange world in which we live today. It is a world in which the cause of Islam appears to be a lost cause. But having read the book the reader would know, if he or she had not already known it, that the reality is quite different. When they know for certain that it is the destiny of Jerusalem to give a spectacular validation of Islam’s claim to truth, Muslims should be able to summon the strength to resist the present war on Islam in which the godless world is making the greatest possible effort to destroy their faith in Allah Most High.

Jerusalem in the Quran

Jerusalem in the Qur’an is a great book that thrilled and delighted me in a number of ways. I am surprised that such a meticulously documented book had to wait for such a long time before seeing the light. It is now more than half a century since the Zionists began their appalling oppression and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people whose only offense is that they happened to live in a country considered by the Jews to be their promised Holy Land.

The Zionists have continuously referred to distorted scriptures from the Torah and other Biblical material to justify their atrocious behavior and to motivate the Jews to establish a State of Israel that extends from the Nile to the Euphrates with Jerusalem as its capital.

For example, David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, is quoted to have said, The Bible is our deed to the land of Israel. Muslim scholars, on the other hand, have largely failed in refuting Zionist claims from authenticated historical and religious sources and have also failed to accomplish their religious responsibility in clearly documenting this question from the Holy Qur’an and the Blessed Ahadith of our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As far as I know, whatever is written on this subject is rather superficial and emotionally tainted or simply stating facts in a cool manner.

May Allah Ta’ala reward Brother Imran Hosein for writing this scholarly document, which will indeed fill up this intellectual and religious gap and serve as an academic reference to Muslims in all parts of the world. As I write this introduction, this book that was published only this year is already being translated to Arabic and Bosnian. In a short time it will be rendered into other European languages and to all the other tongues of the Islamic world.

It must be reported however that the importance of writing a book about the Holy Land in the Qur’an have not escaped the vision of far-sighted and creative Muslim thinkers such as Dr. Kalim Siddiqui, Founder-President of the Muslim Institute for Research and Planning, and Professor (Shaheed) Ismail Al-Farouqi. I am surprised at the vision of the former scholar who asked Imran Hosein to write this book as early as 1974. He urged him saying that Jerusalem is the key to understanding the historical process of the Middle East and the world at large. Shaikh Imran successfully accomplished this task after 27years. Though seemingly late, but it has come at the right time in which the whole world is being shocked by Jenin and what happened in Sabra and Shatila.

Ismail Al-Faruqi actually put this issue in writing in his book, Islam and the Problem of Israel that the author referred to. He strongly stated that Israel poses a greater danger to Muslims than the Euro-Christian Crusades of the Middle Ages or the Euro-Colonialism of modern times. Israel, he wrote, is neither of these, but that it is both and more, much more. He therefore urged Arabs and Muslims not to accept the Jewish State as an integral part of the world nations of Asia and Africa. He also incited Muslim scholars to investigate this issue in depth. I am sure that if both of these great Muslim thinkers were alive, they would have acclaimed this classic book as what they have aspired for.

I am amazed by Imran’s style of writing. Though Jerusalem in the Qur’an, is a meticulously written thesis combining religious and historical documents with recent political events and penetrating interpretations from the Qur’an and Hadith, it runs like a story. Once you begin reading it, it is hard to stop. This is the general quality of a novel. The person would read it once and throw the book away - but not that of a serious thought-provoking dissertation like the book that Brother Shaikh Imran published. It is a reference that one needs to keep and reread whenever the subject is to be researched. I believe that this eloquence of the Shaikh must be the result of a natural gift that has interacted with his indefatigable work as a preacher and da’iyah and the Divine Blessings for his sincerity.

Finally, in spite of the seemingly depressing situation of the Muslims in general and the Palestinians in particular, reading the book would certainly give one a warm surge of optimism about our future; a bright light that shines at the end of our long dark tunnel of history. We are living at the end of time. This is the age in which the prophesies of the Holy Qur’an and the Blessed Hadith are unfolding right before our very eyes to prove to humanity the truthfulness of our faith.

Exactly as our Prophet told us, we have seen the barefooted-poor shepherds of sheep and goats in the Arab Peninsula competing with each other in building higher and higher skyscrapers. And we have witnessed the Muslims exploding in numbers but weakening in character and subdued by their love of this dunyah and their fear of death thus confirming the authenticated Hadith. And exactly as our Prophet told us, the strong enemies of Islam are now devouring our countries as though they were a hungry group invited to a large cauldron of food. And as Allah Ta’ala Himself told us in his Revealed Holy Qur’an, the Children of Israel, who had been scattered all over the earth during their Diaspora, have returned to the Holy Land. And as recorded in the Qur’an, they have indeed committed much corruption and have become powerful and elated with mighty arrogance.

Just as we have seen these incidents as though we were watching a horror movie, we will indeed see its imminent happy ending that was prophesized to us in the Qur’an and the Sayings of our Prophet. The Muslims will wake up from their slumber and the Jews will receive their promised Divine punishment. The Zionist State will be destroyed and whatever they have built will be raised to the ground.

The book gives a detailed beautifully written exposition of these episodes with brilliant interpretations from the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah. Though some may differ with him with respect to his interpretations of some of the Qur’anic Verses or the Blessed Prophetic sayings, no one would fail to appreciate his penetrative thought and his spiritual depth. I therefore recommend the book very much to scholars and laity.

Malik Badri
Dean,
International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization,
Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia

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