Day of Judgement
Part 3: Some Signs of Day of Resurrection
(25) Exact Timing: a Hidden Secret of Allah
The coming of the Day of Reckoning is a certainty, as Allah has said in
the Qur'an:-
“This is because verily Allah, He is the reality, and because He
gives life unto the dead, and because verily He has power over all
things. And that the Hour (of resurrection) is to come, there is no
doubt therein, and that Allah will raise up those in the grave”
(Qur’an, 22:6-7)
But no one knows 'When'; and there is no exception in this statement.
Allah has kept this knowledge to Himself, and even the angels or the
Prophets were not given this knowledge. A few Ayats are given here to
prove this fact:
“They ask thee about the Hour when will be its fixed time; say, 'The
knowledge of it is only with my Lord; none shall manifest it at its time
but He;heavy shall it be in the heavens and the earth; it will not come
to you but of a sudden.' They ask thee as if thou wert solicitous about
it. Say, its knowledge is only with Allah, but most people do not
understand.'' (Qur’an, 7:187)
“O ye people, guard yourselves (against the wrath of) your Lord, and
fear the day when a father shall not avail of his son, nor the child
shall avail of father; verily, the promise of Allah is true, so let not
the life of the world beguile you, nor let the deceiver beguile you
concerning Allah. Verily Allah is He with whom is the knowledge of the
Hour; and He sends down the rain, and knows He what is in the wombs; and
knows no soul what he shall earn tomorrow (i.e., what will happen to him
tomorrow); and knows no soul in what land he shall die. Verily, Allah is
All-knowing, All-Aware.” (Qur’an, 34:33-34)
“The people ask thee about the Hour. Say, 'The knowledge of it is only
with Allah'. And what will make thee know, perhaps the Hour may be
near”. (Qur’an, 33:63)
It is clear from these and other such Ayats that the exact time of
the Day of Judgement is known only to Allah. Still, Allah, in His Mercy,
had informed the Holy Prophet of some Signs of its approach, and the
Holy Prophet (S) in his turn told us about them. The purpose of this
information was to keep us on the alert and to give us an added impetus
to obey the commands of Allah in the face of hurdles and difficulties
which are bound to multiply near the Day of Judgement.
These Signs may be divided into two categories:-
First: The signs which are connected with the general behaviour of the
society - moral corruption, shamelessness, dishonesty, and in short, a
complete lack of the sense of direction on the part of mankind. The
appearance of these signs may serve as a warning to those who believe in
Allah and His Prophet; they will realize that the 'Hour is near'! Still,
their appearance does not imply that its approach is imminent.
Second: The Signs which are to appear just before Qiyamat one after
another culminating in Qiyamat. Those Signs are not in the hands of
society, and most of them are what is termed in modern language as 'the
acts of God'.
One of these Signs is the Re-appearance of our 12th Imam (A).
As the first group of the Signs is to appear before the Re-appearance
of the Imam (A), many of the traditions of previous Imams (A,S) have
described them among the Signs of the Re-appearance of the 12th Imam
(A). And it fits with the forecast of the Holy Prophet (SAW.) that Imam
Mahdi (A) will re-appear when the world would become full of injustice
and tyranny (and he will fill it with justice and equity).
There are many traditions of the Holy Prophet (S) and Imams concerning
the first category of the Signs. In the next chapter, is given a summary
of one important tradition, together with short comments.
(26) Said The Holy Prophet
Abdullah bin Abbas (r.a.) said that after completing the Last
Pilgrimage (in the 10th year of Hijrah), the Holy Prophet (S) stood
before the door of the Kaaba, keeping the latch of the door in his hand,
and said to his companions: “Should I not tell you of the Signs of the
Day of Resurrection? Salman Farsi (r.a.) was nearest of all there and he
replied: “Surely, O Messenger-of Allah.” The Holy Prophet said:
“Verily, amongst the Signs of the Hour is that people will neglect the
prayer (i.e., will not pray at all, or will pray without fulfilling its
conditions, or will not pray in the preferred time), and will follow
their own views (and desires will supersede the commands of Allah, they
will follow only those rules which will appeal to them, and will leave
other rules), and will incline towards their own preferences, and will
respect the wealthy people (forgetting the Islamic criterion of honour,
i.e., piety), and will sell the religion for worldly benefits (for
example, the greed of worldly riches will instigate them to go to such
places where, they very well know, it would be difficult to observe
their religious commands); at that time the heart and soul of the
believer will melt (from grief) as salt melts in water, because he will
see the unlawful things (and actions) and will not be able to change
them.”
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?”
The Holy Prophet said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul. “O
Salman, at that time the rulers will be tyrants, the ministers
transgressors and the trustees embezzlers.”
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?”
The Holy Prophet (S) Said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, verily at that time the evil will become virtue, and the
virtue will become evil; the embezzlers will be trusted, and the
trustworthy people will be thought untrustworthy; and the liars will be
vouchsafed, and the truthful one will be considered liars.”
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?
The Holy Prophet (S) said:'Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, at that time, women will be rulers and the concubines will
be consulted; (It may mean the government of the women and /or the
domination of women over their husbands - so much so that the husbands
will not, or cannot, ask them to remain within the limits of the
Sheriat, leaving them free to go wherever they want in whatever clothes
they like) and the children will sit upon 'Minber' (Pulpit) (It may
mean that children will sit upon pulpit of the Prophet even though they
cannot appreciate the sanctity of the 'Minber'. Or it may mean that
such people will ascend the pulpit who will not deserve such honour. The
'Minber' was created for delivering the commands of Allah to His
servants. Its only purpose was to enjoin to do good and to forbid from
evil', and later on the narration of the tragedy of Karbala was included
in it, because the 'Fadhilat' (Superiority) and sufferings of
Ahlul-Bait (A) are important parts of religion. If someone wants to
exhort others to do good, he must sincerely follow the Sheriat himself,
and if he wants to forbid others from doing evil, he, first of all, must
abstain from the sins himself. Unfortunately, nowadays anyone who can
recite a few poems of Iqbal or Rumi, and who is unrestrained enough to
invent 'Fadhail' and 'Masaib' of Ahlul-Bait on the spur of the
moment, is given the titles 'Allamah', 'Maulana' and 'Zakir' and is
offered heavy fee to demonstrate his oratorical power, even if he shaves
his beard, even if he knows nothing about Qur'an and Hadith, even if he
expresses his own opinions against the sayings of the Holy Prophet and
Imams (peace be on them all), even if he uses the pulpit to mislead the
masses); and the lie will be considered as cleverness; and Zakat will be
(disliked) as fines; and the booty of war will be like personal property
(or in present days' context, public property will be squandered as
personal property); and man will be tyrant to his parents and generous
to his friend; and at that time comets will appear.”
Salman (R. A) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?”
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my
soul”.
“O Salman , at that time the woman will become a partner of her husband
in trade (It means, more probably, that she will help her husband in the
shop, acting as sales-girl, accountant and what not); and the rain will
be very hot; (Its meaning is not clear yet. Does it mean radio-active
rain?) and virtuous people will remain sorrowful; and the poor person
will be dishonoured; at that time, the markets will come nearer. (It has
already happened, thanks to the fantastic developments in means of
communications, like teleprinters, radios, satellites. A man sitting in
New York buys and sells in Tokyo.) Then this will say. 'I did not sell
anything' and that will say, 'I did not get any profit'. Thus, you will
see none who is not complaining against Allah.
Salman (R. A.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?”
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes; by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, and then it will happen that their rulers will be such
people that if they talked, they would kill them, and if they remained
silent, they would confiscate their wealth, would put their honour under
their feet and would shed their blood - and the people's hearts will
fill with fear; then you will not find anyone but that he would be
afraid, fearful, awed and in terror.”
Salman (R. A.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?” The
Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, verily at that time something will be brought from the East,
and something from the West, and my Ummat (Muslims) will be dyed in
them. (It means that un-Islamic behaviour and character will be imported
from East and West and Muslims will imitate those things and will be
dyed in un- Islamic colour). Then woe be unto the weaker people of my
Ummat from them; and woe be unto those (un-Islamic agents) from Allah.
They will not have mercy upon little ones, and will not respect old
ones; and will not pardon anyone who committed a mistake. Their bodies
will be of human beings, and their hearts will be of Satans.”
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?”
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, and at that time males will satisfy their lust with males;
and females will satisfy their lust with females; and minor boys will be
mounted upon like women; and the males will liken themselves to females
(i.e, will look like females); and females will look like males (The
clean-shaved faces and long hair on one side, and pants and bell-bottoms
on the other side are proof of the fulfilment of this forecast); and
females will ride the saddles (i.e, horses, cycles, scooters and
motor-cycles). So there will be Curse of Allah upon those women of my
Ummat.”
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?”
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, verily, at that time mosques will be decorated (by gold
etc.) as are synagogues and cathedrals; and the (copies of the) Qur'an
will be beautified (with designs and golden colours etc.); and the
minarets (of the mosques) will be high, and the lines of the people
standing in prayers will increase but their hearts will be hating each
other and their talks will be different from each other (i.e., though
the external show of religion will be on the increase, the spirit of
religion will disappear. Even when they will pray together, the Islamic
brotherhood and unity will be absent. They will hate each other; they
will not speak with one voice.)
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this happen, O Messenger of Allah?”
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, at that time, males will use golden ornaments (In many
marriages, bridegroom wears golden ring. I wonder why it is thought
necessary to start the married life by defying the command of Allah.
Will such wilful affront to religion bring the blessings of Allah and 14
Masumeen (A) upon the newly-weds?); and they (the males) will wear silk
and (people) will use cheetah-skins.”
Salman (R. A.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?”
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, and at that time 'interest' will appear (everywhere), and
people will deal with (the help of) backbiting and bribe; and the
Religion will be suppressed, and the world (worldly affairs) will be
raised (in importance).”
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, at that time, divorce will increase. And the 'Huduef
(punishments of various crimes and sins prescribed in Islam) of Allah
will not be established (i.e., the penal code given by Allah will not be
followed, as is the case nowadays.) But it will not do any harm to Allah
(It will harm them only; they will suffer.)
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?
The Holy Prophet (S. AW.) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my
soul.
“O Salman, and at that time will appear female singers and musical
instruments ('will appear' means will be openly used'), and will rule
upon them most evil of my Ummat (worst people will rule upon the
Muslims).”
Salman (R. A) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?
The Holy Prophet said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, and at that time the rich of my Ummat will go to pilgrimage
for recreation, and the middle class for trade (What about foreign
exchange, gold, watches and radios?), and the poor to show off. Thus, at
that time, there will be people who will learn the Qur'an for other than
Allah (i.e., for earning worldly benefits) and will treat the Qur'an as
musical instrument (as is happening today in 'Islamic' countries where
the Qur'an is recited on the radios, not to make people follow the
religious commands, but just to entertain the listeners).
“And there will be people who will study religion for other than Allah
(i.e., for earning prestige or wealth, as is happening today when the
main purpose of religious studies in many circles is to become a good
orator, so that higher and higher fees may be demanded from the
audience) and the number of illegitimate children will increase; and
people will sing the Qur'an, and will fall upon one another in greed of
the worldly (riches).”
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, this will happen when honours will be defiled, and sins will
be committed, and the evil people will have authority upon good people,
and lie will be prevalent, and disputes will appear (talks will be full
of obstinacy), and poverty will be wide-spread and people will be proud
of their clothes (fine clothes will be the criterion of greatness), and
there will be rains at wrong times; and they will like chess and
gambling apparatus and musical instruments; and will dislike enjoining
the good and forbidding the evil; so much so that the (true) believer
will,
at that time, have less respect than a slave-girl; and the reciters (of
the Qur'an) and those who spend their time in worshipping God, will
blame each other (mudslinging amongst apparently religious people is not
an uncommon sight nowadays.) Those are the people who will be called
unclean and filthy in the kingdom of heavens.”
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman, at that time the rich will not be afraid (of anything)
except the poor so much so that a beggar will continue begging between
two Fridays and will not find anyone putting anything in his hands.
Salman (r.a.) said: “And is this to happen, O Messenger of Allah?
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Yes, by (Allah) in whose hand is my soul.
“O Salman (r.a.), at that time will talk 'Ruwaibidhah'”
Salman asked: “And what is 'Ruwaibidhah'? O Messenger of Allah, my
father and mother be sacrificed for you!”
The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Such persons will talk about public affairs
who had not talked in such matters before. Then in a short time chaos
will appear upon earth, and every nation will think that chaos was only
in their land (but it will cover the whole world).
“They will remain in that condition so long as Allah would wish them to
remain; then the earth will throw out the pieces of its heart - gold,
silver and other minerals - (Then the Holy Prophet (S A W.) pointed
towards the pillars, and said) like these (in size), but on that day
neither gold nor silver will be of any benefit to any one. And this is
the meaning of the words of Allah 'So surely did come its (i.e.,
Qiyamat's)' signs.” [^1]
This is the most comprehensive of all such traditions. In other
traditions may be found one or two items which are not mentioned in this
one; but the main theme is the same. In short, 'Kufr'and hypocrisy will
be prevalent before the coming of the Day of Judgement.
Still, two sentences from two different traditions must be quoted
here:-
In one of his sermons on this subject Ameerul-Mumeneen Ali bin Abi
Talib (A) has said: “And child will be sorrow”[^2] What does this
sentence mean? It may mean that children by their disobedience will
become a source of sorrow and grief to their parents. Also, it may be an
allusion to the practice of 'birth control. Birth of a child will be a
sorry event!
In another Hadith, it is said that: “People will become Kafir because
of poverty and need.”
In Bangaladesh, thousands of Muslims have already been converted to
Christianity, because Christian missions helped them when they were
facing disaster, soon after the surrender of Pakistani forces. No Muslim
country or Organization came to their rescue; now the Christians are
reaping the harvest of their generosity.
Also, atheism, in the shape of communism, is making inroads into the
poor nations of the world.
The Holy Prophet and Imams have warned us of these dangers. Let us be
on guard and save ourselves from these undesirable trends.
(27) Specific Signs
When the world will be submerged in chaos, then Imam Mahdi Shebuz-Zaman
(A) will re-appear; Hazrat Isa bin Maryam (A) will come down to help him
in spreading the true faith; and Imam Sahebuz-zaman (A) will rule upon
the world.
Then some more specific signs will appear and Qiyamat will come.
It is not proposed to give here the full details of re-appearance of
Imam Mahdi (A); it is being mentioned just to give the reader an idea of
the sequence of events.
The following tradition of the Holy Prophet (S) describes the other
'Specific Signs' of Qiyamat:-
Hudhaifah bin Usaid al-Ghifari (RA) said that once the Holy Prophet (S)
came to us and we were talking. He asked us what we were talking about.
They said, “We were talking about Qiyamat.” The Holy, Prophet (SAW.)
said:
“Verily it will not stand (it will not come) until you see ten signs
before it.”
Then he described (1) The smoke; (2) and Dajjal; (3) and Dabbatul-Ardh;
(4) and Rising of the sun from its setting place; (5) and coming down of
Isa, son of Maryam;(6) and Gog and Magog; (7) and three land-slides, one
in the East; (8) and another in the West; (9) and one in Arabian
peninsula; (10) and the last of these Signs will be a Fire which will
appear from Yemen and will turn the people towards their Mahshar (the
gathering place in the Qiyamat).”[^3]
A short description of all these will be given in the following
chapters.
(28) Re-appearance of Imam Mahdi (A)
Two extracts from two Sunni scholars are given here:-
Shaykh 'Abdul-Wahhab Sharani writes in Al-Yawaqit wa 'l-jawafur:-
“Chapter sixty- fifth: To show that all the conditions of Qiyamat
(foretold by the Holy Prophet SAW.) are true and all of them must appear
before coming of the Qiyamat.
“And those signs are like appearance of Mahdi, then of Dajjal, then
coming down of Isa, appearance of Dabbah, and rising of the sun from its
setting place, and the Qur'an being taken up and opening of the barrier
of Gog and Magog. Even if there were only one day remaining from the
(life of the) world, all of these Signs would appear surely … At that
time the appearance of Mahdi should be expected; and he is from children
of Imam Hasan al-'Askari; his birth (peace be on him) was on the eve of
15th Shaaban in the year 255; and he is alive till he meets Isa son of
Maryam (peace be on him). Thus his (Imam Mahdi's) age at this time of
writing (which is the 958 of Hijrah) is 706 years.”[^4]
And Shaykh Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Al-Undulusi writes in
Al-Futu-utul-Makkiyah (Chapter 366):
“Know that Mahdi (Allah be pleased with him ) must appear. But he will
not appear till the world becomes full of tyranny and injustice, then he
will fill it with justice and equity; and if there were not more than
one day remaining from the (life of the) world, Allah would make that
day long enough to enable this Khalifa to rule. And he (Imam Mahdi) is
from the Progeny of the Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace from
Allah upon him), from the children of Fatimah (Allah be pleased with
her); his forefather is Husain, son of'Ali bin Abi Talib; his father is
Hasan Al- 'Askari, son of Imam 'Ali An-Naqi, son of Imam Muhammad
At-Taqi, son of Imam 'Ali ar-Ridha, son of Imam Musa Al-Kazim, son of
Imam Ja'far As-Sadiq, son of Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir, son of Imam
Zainul-Abedin 'Ali, son of Imam Husain, son of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib.
His name is the name of the Messenger of Allah (i.e., Muhammad). The
Muslims will do his Bai-'at (will declare their allegiance to him)
between Rukn and Maquam (i.e., between Rukh-e-Yamani and
Maquam-e-Ibrahim in Ka'bah); he will be like the Messenger of Allah
(Blessings and peace be from Allah upon him) in appearance, and below
him in character (because nobody can be like the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace be from Allah upon him) as Allah has said:
“Verily thou art on great character)(Qur’an 68:4).
He will distribute wealth equally and will do justice to the public… More people will refrain from sins because of his fear rather than because of the Quf'an. (Because of his blessings) a man who would be ignorant, coward and miser in the evening will become learned, brave and generous in the morning. Help (from Allah) will precede him; he will follow the foot-steps of the Messenger of Allah, and he will commit no mistake, there will be an angel supporting him though he will not see him; he will raise up the weary, help the weak;… his actions will be according to his words, and his words according to his deeds … he will destroy injustice and the unjust; and will raise the religion and will put life back into Islam; Allah, through him, will strengthen Islam after its dishonour, and will make it alive after its death. He will revoke ' Jizyah' (Personal -tax, payable by the non- Muslims in an Islamic state) and will call towards Allah by sword…
He will manifest the religion in its true form, so that if the Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace from Allah be upon him) were alive he would have confirmed it. Thus, in his time there will not remain but the (true) religion purified from the (people's) views…. Isa, son of Mariyam (AS) will come down to him, near the white minaret in the eastern part of Damascus …
“And Mahdi will die clean and pure…. And Mahdi (A) appeared (i.e., was born) in the 4th period (i.e., after Tabi-een)…. then he went into seclusion till comes the known (or appointed) time.”[^5]
(29) The Smoke
The Holy Prophet (S) in his Hadith had first mentioned the 'Smoke'.
It has been said in the Qur'an:
“So wait the day when the sky shall give out a smoke, clearly
visible, enveloping the people. This will be painful chastisement.
”(They will say) 'O Our Lord, remove from us the torment; verily
(now) we are believers.' “How shall they be warned, when there already
came to them a Messenger making (the truth) manifest; and yet they
turned their backs unto him and said: '(He is) tutored (by other
humans), a mad man.
“Verily, We shall remove the torment a little; (but) verily you shall
return (unto evil).
”(Then shall come) the Day. We shall seize (them) with a great
seizure; verily, We shall retribute.” (Qur’an, 44:10-16)
According to many traditions, these Ayats refer to the smoke which
will appear near the Day of Judgement. It will penetrate into ears (and
eyes), and people's heads will look like they have been roasted. But it
will not trouble the believers very much; they will feel irritation just
like in common cold. And the whole earth will be just like a house in
which fire has been lighted and the house has no window or ventilation.
This condition will remain for forty days.[^6]
This Sign will be a warning; and as appears from the Ayat, people
will be given a chance to come onto right path, and mend their ways. The
words “We shall remove the torment a little” show that the Smoke
will be removed, but the next words “Verily, you shall return (unto
evil)” show that after its removal, not many people will heed to the
voice of reason. Perhaps they will invent some physical or geographical
reason for that calamity, and will forget their pledges to Allah that
“Verily, (now) we are believers.”
It is not difficult to accept all the aspects mentioned above:
Fog and smog blanket whole regions even today. Allah may create a smoke
which will cover the whole earth.
He may give the believers immunity from the harsh effects of that
smoke. Even today, not all people are affected when an epidemic attacks
a region.
And there are countless examples of unbelievers repenting when a
chastisement came, and forgetting all their pleas and prayers as soon as
the trouble was removed.
(30) The Dajjal
“Dajjal” means “The Deceiver”. It appears from various traditions that
some one will falsely claim that he is the Messiah who is awaited by the
Jews. Seventy thousand Jews from Isfihan alone will follow him. He will
be one-eyed (one of his eyes will be blind; not that he will have only
one eye in the middle of the fore-head!). Gradually, his followers will
increase, and so will his claim. Finally, he will claim to be god. He
will have food and water; and many people will accept his claims just to
get some food and water.
It is this frightening aspect of this episode which had our Beloved
Prophet (S) worried, lest his Ummat be tempted to go astray at that
time. Our Holy Prophet (S) has warned us repeatedly to be on guard
against the 'Fitna' of Dajjal.
There is a Hadith in 'Sahih -e-Muslim' from 'Imran bin Husain'; that
the Messenger of Allah (S) said: “There is not, between the creation of
Adam upto the appearance of Qiyamat, any matter more difficult than that
of Dajjal.”[^7]
(31) Hadhrat Isa Bin Maryam (A)
According to the accepted traditions, at that time, Nabii Isa (A) will
come down, Dajjal will be killed, and his army annihilated. Also Hadhrat
Isa (A) will break the Cross and destroy the pig.
The significance of these three items will be explained later. Before
that, a few traditions are quoted here to give the full picture.
The Holy Prophet said: “I swear by Allah, in whose hand is my soul,
surely will come down to you the son of Maryam, as a just ruler; then he
will break the cross and kill the swine, and will finish the war (or
according to another narration, will revoke the Jizyah); and there
will be so much wealth that nobody will accept any charity; and for the
people, one Sajdah of Allah will be better than the whole world and its
contents.” [^8]
In another tradition (narrated by Nuwwas bin Samaan) the mischief of
Dajjal is described by the Holy Prophet (S); then the Hadith continues
as follows:—
“At that time (when Dajjal will be doing all this), Allah will send
Masih, son of Maryam and he will come down on the eastern side of
Damascus, near the white minaret, wearing two robes of yellow colour,
keeping his hand on the arms of two angels; when he will bow down his
head, it will seem as if drops are coming down like pearls. Whenever his
breath reaches an unbeliever (and it will reach to the furthest limit of
his eye -sight) that un -believer will die at once. Then the son of
Maryam will chase Dajjal and will catch him at the gate of Ludd [^9]
(present days' 'Lod' near Tel Aviv. There is an Israeli Air Force base
there nowadays.)…..”
Another Hadith:
Abu Amamah Bahili narrates (in a long Hadith about Dajjal):
“While their (i.e., Muslims') Imam (i.e., Imam Mahdi A) would have come
forward to lead the morning prayer, Isa, son of Maryam, will come down
among them and the Imam will retreat and welcome Isa forward; but Isa
will put his hands between his shoulders, and will say: No, you should
lead the prayer because it has been established for you. So he will lead
the prayer. After finishing the prayer, Hadhrat Isa (A) will say, 'Open
the door'. The door will be opened. On the outside, Dajjal with seventy
thousand well-armed Jews will be present to fight. When Hadhrat Isa (A)
will look at him, he will start melting as salt melts in water; and he
(Dajjal) will flee. Hadhrat Isa (A) will say: “I have for thee an attack
which thou canst escape.” Then he will catch him at the eastern gate of
Ludd (i.e., Lod). Allah will defeat the Jews; the face of earth will be
full of Muslims, as a water-pot is filled with water. The whole world
will recite the Kalimah, and none will be worshipped but
Allah.”[^10]
From these and other traditions, it appears that Dajjal will be from
the Jews, and he will present himself as the awaited Messiah of the
Jews. It is necessary to mention that after the death of Hadhrat
Sulayman, Bani Israel's history passes from one fiasco to another. At
last, after the captivity in Babylon and Syria, they were dispersed
everywhere, and their prophets gave them good tidings that a Messiah was
to come from God who was to rescue them from disgrace and dishonour. So
they awaited a Messiah who, according to their thinking, was to be a
king. Then Hadrat Isa (S.A.) came but against their expectations he was
not a king. So they did not accept him as the awaited Messiah; instead,
they tried to kill him.
Thenceforth, all the Jews in the world are awaiting the Messiah, hoping that he would be a martial and political leader who would establish a Jewish kingdom from the Nile to the Euphrates, and will gather the Jews in the land which they believe is theirs by inheritance.
It does not require great intelligence to realize that the stage is
being set for the appearance of Dajjal in Middle East, claiming to be
the promised Messiah of the Jews. If such a leader comes forward, then
Allah will send the real Messiah to fight against him. It was Isa bin
Maryam, who two thousand years ago, was rejected by the Jews, whom they,
according to their thinking, had crucified and destroyed. The place of
the fighting will be Syria where the imposter will have entered with an
army 70,000 strong. When Hadhrat Isa (A) comes down, leading Muslims to
fight against him, he will flee, and will be killed near the entrance of
the present day Lod. The Jews will be killed, and Judaism will perish at
the hands of the true Messiah.
So much about the relationship of Hadhrat Isa (A) with the Jews. Now we
come to the present day's Christianity. In traditions, it has been said
that Hadhrat Isa (A) will break the Cross and kill the swine. What is
its significance?
As we know, the whole structure of Christianity is based upon the
belief that God caused the death - a cursed death - for His only son who
became a Kaffarh (Atonement) for the hereditory sin of mankind. Also,
the peculiarity of this religion is that it puts the whole emphasis on
faith, and has abrogated the Law, so much so that they started eating
even pork, which was strictly forbidden in Torah.
When Hadhrat Isa (A) comes down and announces that he was neither a son
of God, nor was he crucified on any cross, nor was he made an atonement
for any one's sin, the whole structure of present day Christianity will
crumble. Likewise, when he would explain that he did not allow his
followers to abrogate the Law, eat pork or treat the Sheriat as
cancelled, the second peculiarity of Christianity will come to an end.
Thus, the words “will break the Cross and will kill the swine” denote
the fact that Christianity as a religion will be abolished.
Likewise, the words concerning both Imam Mahdi and Hadhrat Isa (peace
on them all) that “he will revoke Jizyah” mean that the difference of
religions will come to an end; every one will come within the fold of
Islam. There will be no need for any war to defend Islam, as the whole
world will have accepted it. So, none will be liable to pay Jizyah.
These facts, incidentally, show the reason why Allah has kept Hadhrat
Isa (A) alive. Naturally, these tasks can be performed in the best
possible way only by that person whose name has been used all through
these centuries to misguide the people. And poetic justice demands that
the imposter Messiah be killed by the hands of the true Messiah; and
Judaism be annihilated at the hands of that prophet whom they had, in
their own thinking, destroyed centuries ago.
Also, these traditions show that Hadhrat Isa (A) will come as a
follower of Imam Mahdi (A) to help him in these tasks. He will not
establish any separate community; but will live as one of the Muslims.
(32) Rising of Sun from its Setting Place
Allah says in the Qur'an, referring to unbelievers***:-“Do they wait
but that come unto them the angels (of death; or those who would bring
the doom of the unbelievers) or comes (the final order of) thy Lord, or
come some of the signs of thy Lord? On the day when come some of the
signs of thy Lord, its faith shall profit not a soul -Which believed not
before, or earned not good through its faith. Say, wait you: verily we
too are waiting”*** ***(Qu’ran, 6:158) ***
In this Ayat, coming of the final order of Allah refers to the Day of
Judgement; and coming of some of the signs of Allah means rising of the
fron from its setting place, Dajjal and Dabbatul-Ardh.
A Hadith says:
“There are three signs: when they appear its faith shall profit not a
soul which believed not before or derived not any good through its
faith. Rising of the sun from its setting place, and Dabbatul-Ardh, and
Dajjal [^11]
Another Hadith from the Sunni sources says:
“Qiyamat will not come till…..there appear imposters (Dajjals) nearly
thirty in number, every one of them pretending to be a messenger of God
…. and till the sun rises from its setting place. Thus, when people see
it all of them will accept the true faith. But that will be the time
when will not benefit any soul its faith which had not believed from
before that time, or which had not derived any good in its belief.”
Shia traditions also confirm these interpretations.
As about rising of the sun from its setting place, it may be taken
literally, or be interpreted metaphorically. And I believe that both
meanings may be correct, and that we may combine both.
The literal meaning is not so far-fetched as it appears at the first
glance. The earth has been put in its orbit in such a way that its axis
is very slowly changing its alignment with other constellations. The
scientists call it “precession of the equinoxes” and it means:
“Effect of a slow change in the direction of the Earth's axis of
rotation, due mainly to the attraction of the Sun and Moon on the
equatorial bulge of the Earth. As a result, the celestial poles describe
circles among stars; each circle is 47 degree in diameter, and one cycle
takes 25,800 years. In ancient times the north pole star was Thuban in
the constellation of Draco (the Dragon): at present the polar point lies
near Polaris.”
What it means, in simple language, is that the North Pole of the Earth
changes its position and alignment with other stars. What we call today
in common language North Pole Star was not always so. Instead, another
star in another constellation was in alignment with our north pole. Now
our earth's axis of rotation has changed and has come in alignment with
the present day North Pole Star, i.e., Polaris. And this slow change
completes its circle in 25,800 years.
And that change takes it 47 degrees away. And it is happening when
there is no Qiyamat, and no imminent destruction of world is in sight.
Now, the Creator (who created this system of the precession of the
equinoxes in the first place) may easily increase it or change its
direction, so that our North Pole becomes South Pole and vice-versa. If
that happened, then the East would become West, and the sun will rise
from where it previously set.
Of course, it will mean a catastrophe of the first magnitude. But the Ayats of the Qur'an clearly show that there WILL be a catastrophe on and concerning earth at Qiyamat.
I do not mean that the precession (as it is presently) can change the
north into south and so on. What I mean is that the Creator does have
the power to change the directions so diametrically, and so
dramatically; just as He makes the poles change their alignments with
other stars nowadays so imperceptibly.
Now coming to its metaphorical meaning: In one tradition of
Ameerul-mumeneen (A) it is said:
“Verily, he behind whom Isa bin Maryam will pray, is the twelfth from
the Progeny (of the Holy Prophet) ninth from the children of Husain bin
Ali, and he is the Sun that will rise from its setting place (will
reappear from his place of seclusion); he will appear near Rukn and
Maquam, and will bear the scale of justice, so no one will do injustice
to any one.”
As I have mentioned above, both these meanings may be correct.
Therefore, the safest way is to believe that what we have been told is
true; and then leave its actual interpretation in the hands of future.
(33) Dabbat’ul - Ardh
Dabbat'ul-Ardh means a “walker of the earth”. Allah says in the
Qur'an:
“And when the word shall come to pass on them, We shall bring forth
unto them a Walking one from the earth who shall speak unto them that
people believed not in our signs.
And on the day when We will collect from every people a party from
those who believed our signs; then will they be formed into groups.”
(Qur’an, 27:82-83)
This gathering of a group from every people will happen in Raj'at
(Return) and will precede Qiyamat (because in Qiyamat all people will be
gathered, not just a group from them.) And at that time a “Walker of the
Earth” will be brought forth to speak to the people.
In Sunni traditions also, Dabbat'ul-Ardh is reported to be “slapping
the Satan” and “branding the people on their noses.”
According to the traditions of Ahlul-Bait, that branding will be to
differentiate between believers and unbelievers. Hadhrat Ali bin Abi
Tab'b (A. S) has said (in a lengthy Hadith, a part of which has been
quoted in the previous chapter, concerning the metaphorical meaning of
the rising of sun from west):-
(Describing the events concerning Dajjal, he said) “Allah will kill him
in Syria…. by the hands of the man behind whom Isa son of Maryam will
pray.” (In Shia traditions, it is said that Dajjal will be killed by
Imam Mahdi, while in Sunni traditions some of which have been quoted
earlier, it is said that he will be killed by Hadhrat Isa bin Maryam
(AS), hi fact this is not a big difference. As Hadhrat Isa will be
working under Imam Mahdi (A), his victory over Dajjal may easiry be
ascribed to Imam Mahdi (A). Also it may be that both of them will join
in killing Dajjal). Then Ameerul-Mumeneen said:
“Beware, verily, after that will be the great calamity.”
People asked Hadhrat Ali (A) what that great calamity would be. He
said:
“Appearance of Dabbat'ul-Ardh, from near (the Hill) Safa (near Kaaba);
with it will be the ring of Sulayman, and the walking stick (staff) of
Musa. It will put the ring (seal) on the face of every believer, and it
will be printed (branded) there, 'He is truly a believer'; and will put
it on the face of every unbeliever, and it will write thereon “He is
truly a non-believer.” Then the believer will say, “Woe unto thee, O
non-believer!” and verily the non-believer will say: “Tuba for thee, O
Believer, I would have liked to be like thee today, so that I also could
succeed.”
“Then that Dabbat'ul-Ardh will raise its head, and all between east and
west will see it by the permission of Allah, after the rising of the sun
from its setting place. At that time 'Tauba' (Repentance) will be
revoked. So from that time no repentance will be accepted, nor any
(good) deed will be credited (i.e. from that time, the accounts of the
deeds will be closed); and will not benefit any soul its faith which had
not believed before or had not earned good (deeds) in its faith.”[^12]
The only thing to be said is that, according to many traditions of Shia
books, that “Walker of the earth” is Hadhrat Ali bin Abi Talib (A), who
will return to this world after the reappearance of imam Mahdi (A). The
Ayat quoted at the beginning of this chapter shows that even before
Qiyamat some people will be resurrected by the command of Allah. It is
called “Raj-at” in Shia terminology.
(34) Gog and Magog
Allah says in the Qur'an:
“Then he (i.e., Dhul-Quamain) followed another route. Until when he
reached between two mountains he found on the hither side of the two
(mountains) a people who could scarcely understand a word. Said they: O
Dhul-Quanain! Verily Gog and Magog cause mischief in the land. Should we
collect for thee the resources, so that thou shalt raise between us and
them a barrier? He said: The power in which my Lord has established me
is better (than your proposed resources). So you help me only with the
strength (i.e, man-power); I will make between you and them a barrier.
Bring you unto me blocks of iron; until when it filled the space between
the mountain sides, said he: “Ply your bellows”; until he made it
red-hot (like) fire, and said: “Bring unto me molten brass which I may
pour over it.”
*** ***
“So they (Gog and Magog) could not scale it nor could they make a
hole in it.
*** ***
“Said he: “This is a mercy from my Lord. But when the promise of my
Lord (i.e., Resurrection) comes to pass, He will level it with the
ground; and the promise of my Lord is true.” And We will let them that
day to dash into one another. And the trumpet will be blown; then We
will gather them all together.” (Qu’ran, 18:92-99)
*** ***
“Until are let loose the Gog and Magog; and they shall hasten forth
from every elavation.” (Qu’ran 21:96)
Muslim scholars have done research about Gog (Yajuj, in Arabic) and
Magog (Majuj, in Arabic) Here their findings are given without going
into detailed discussion.
Gog and Magog are two big tribes from the children of Japheth, son of
Prophet Noah (A) . In Old Testament, Magog is described as the Chief of
Mashech and Tubal. Now, Moscow is the river on which stands the city,
Moscow, the capital of Russian Federtion; Tobol is the river in Russia
upon which stands Tobolsk.
The region of South European and Asiatic Russia, between the
Carpathians and the Don, was inhabited in ancient times by a savage
nomadic people (Scythes) who overran West Asia from the 7th century B.C.
till the beginning of the Christian Era, when their raids were abruptly
ended by the construction of the barrier by Dhul-Quarnain.
Also, it is said that the word 'Mangol' is the corruption of the
Chinese word 'Mongog' or 'Manchog'. If this finding is correct, then the
place of Gog and Magog extends from the Moscow river to the Chinese
Turkestan and Mangolia.
The description of the 'barrier' in the Qur'an shows that it must have
been built in a pass to prevent those savege tribes from raiding their
neighbours.
Maulana Abul -Kalam Azad, in one of his articles (quoted in
Jannatul-Ma 'arif) has said that such a barrier is extant in Turkey.
Late Agha Pooya (in his foot-note of the translation of the Qur'an by
Mir Ahmad Ali) quotes others as saying that it is between the mountains
of Armenia and Azarbaijan.
There is a difference of opinion concerning the identity of
Dhul-Qarnain. Abdullah Yusuf Ali thinks that this name refers to
Alexander the Great; while others think that it refers to the Persian
King, Darius. [^13]
It is immaterial for the purpose of thiis book to go deep into this
controversy. But it should be kept in mind that, according to the
Qur'an, Dhul-Quarnain was a man of God; therefore, no pagan or
polytheist can be identified as Dhul-Qarnain.
Anyhow, according to the Qur'an, when the Day of Judgement would come
near, these tribes will break the barrier, i.e., will expand beyond
their previous boundaries. That expansion may be ideological; in which
case it will mean that their ideology (Communism and atheism) will be
exported beyond their national boundaries. Or it may be of colonial
type, in which case it will refer to their domination of eastern Europe,
Southern Asia and other places. Or it may mean both.
It is written in Tafseer Majma-ul-Bayan that after dominating the
earth, they will aspire to conquer the skies. “So they will shoot their
arrows towards heaven, and it will return to them with something like
blood-stain on it. So they will say; 'We conquered the inhabitants of
the earth and we dominated over the inhabitants of the heaven.”
Obviously, the 'arrows' refers to the rockets and space-ships. The
words 'it will return to them with something like blood-stain upon it”
mean that the space-crafts will reach their targets and men will return
to the earth.
According to the said Tafseer, “when they will become too proud
because of the 'conquest of heaven', Allah will create a 'worm' which
will enter their ears, and will kill them” [^14] It means that finally
they will be destroyed by some insignificant adversary, or by some
epidemic caused by a germ.
(35) Other Signs
It is not known which of the specific signs will appear first. In
describing these signs, I have followed, as much as possible, the
sequence of the tradition given in Chapter 27. I have taken the liberty
of describing Dajjal and coming down of Hadhrat Isa (A) one after
another, as it is known mat Hadhrat Isa will come down after the
appearance of Dajjal.
So far six of those ten signs have been explained. Now remain the three
land-slides and the last sign, i.e., a fire which will appear from
Yemen, and will turn the people towards Mahshar.
There is nothing to be explained about these signs. But one thing may
be mentioned here. When Imam Mahdi (A) will re-appear, one Sufyani will
appear in Syria; he will collect an army, and after conquering Iraq,
will march towards Hejaz; reaching Madina, he will ransack it. And his
army will proceed towards Mecca. When the army of the Sufyani will camp
in a desert between Madina and Mecca, a voice will be heard: “O Earth,
destroy this tyrant's group.” At once, the earth will open up, and the
whole army will perish. Only three persons will escape to bring the news
to Imam Mahdi (A) [^15] The Sufyani himself will not be in that army,
and will be killed afterwards near Damascus.
May be one of the land-slides will be the above-mentioned destruction
of the army of the Sufyani. But we can not be sure of this
interpretation.
Also, it is mentioned in another Hadith that a place in Syria,
Al-Jabiyah by name, will sink into the earth after a fierce war.[^16] Is
it the second depression (or land-slide)? We cannot say. A tantalizing
explanation may be that there will be atomic war in Middle East, and
Israel (or its mentor, U.S.A.) will use nuclear weapons to subjugate
Syria; and that area (i.e., Al-Jabiyah) will be the target of atomic
bombs. But we should not jump to this interpretation. Only time will
show what is the actual meaning of these traditions.
Anyhow, after the re-appearance of Imam Mahdi (A) and the establishment
of his rule on the whole earth, based on justice and mercy, a certain
time will pass in complete peace and tranquillity. Satan also will be
killed. Only Islam and followers of Islam will remain on earth.
Then Alldh will give death to Imam Mahdi (A), and at the same time
Qur'an will be withdrawn (i.e., will be removed) from the earth. The
Ahlul-Bait and the Qur'an will always be together; when the last Imam
will die, the Qur'an also will be removed, so much so that the pages
will become blank and those who had memorized the Qur'an will completely
forget it
And that will be the beginning of the Day of Judgement.
[^1]: Biharu 'l-anwar, vol.6. pp. 305-309. The verse at the end is, Qur'an, 47:18
[^2]: Ibid, p.309
[^3]: Ibid. pp 203 ff. Sahih Muslim, vol.8, p.173, Sunan Abi Dawud (Kitabu 'l-mlahim, Bab Imarat as- sa'ah)
[^4]: Shaykh 'Abdul Wahhab ash-Sha'rani, Al-Yawaqit wa 'l-Jawahir, Eqypt, 1307, vol.2, p.410; ch.65. The age given as “706 years” should be “703 years”
[^5]: Quoted in Al-Yawaqit wa ‘l-Jawahir, Vol.2, p.411
[^6]: Biharu 'l-anwar, vol.6. pp. 301-302.
[^7]: Sahih Muslim (Dhikr ad-Dajjal)
[^8]: Sahih al-Bukhari (Bab-Nuzul ‘Isa ibn Maryam)
[^9]: Sahih Muslim (Dhikr ad-Dajjal)
[^10]: Sunna Ibn Majah, (Kitabu ‘l-fiatn, Bab fitnah ad-Dajjal)
[^11]: Tafsir Al-'Ayyashi, Tehran, 1380; vol.1, pp.413-414, Mishkatu 'l-masabih, p.464
[^12]: Tafsir As-Safi, part I of vol.2; p.246-247
[^13]: Mir Ahmed Ali’s Translation of the Holy Qu’ran, Foot-notes nos. 1294, 1296 & 1298: Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Tr. Of The Holy Qur’an, Appendix 6, pp.738-742
[^14]: Tafsir Majma 'u 'l-bayan, Beirut, 1961. vol.16, p.209
[^15]: Biharu 'l-anwar, vol.52. pp. 237-238
[^16]: Ibid; also p.212