Armageddon!
It is interesting to note that prophecies regarding an ultimate World War between the forces of Good and the forces of Evil are also found in the Christian tradition. The highly cryptic and symbolic language of the last book in the New Testament the Revelations of John is often difficult to interpret, but the references to the beast and the false prophet resembles closely the Muslim concept of Dajjal; the woman riding the beast most probably refers to the Jews and their revival; the rider coming on the white horse seems like representing the Second Coming of Prophet Isa (AS). Here are a few excerpts:
I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. These are demonic spirits with power to work out miracles, sent out to muster all the kings of the world for the battle on the great day of God the sovereign Lord. (16:13,14)
...I saw a woman mounted on a scarlet beast which was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns... I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s people, and with the blood of those who had borne their testimony to Jesus... the angel said... the beast you saw was once alive, and it is alive no longer, but has yet to ascend out of the abyss before going to be destroyed. (17:3,6-8)
I saw heaven wide open, and a white horse appeared; its rider’s name was Faithful and True, for he is just in judgment and just in war... The armies of heaven followed him... Out of his mouth came a sharp sword to smite the nation; for it is he who will rule them with a rod of iron... I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies mustered to do battle against the rider and his army. The beast was taken prisoner, along with the false prophet who has worked miracles in its presence and deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire with its sulfurous flames. The rest were killed by the sword which came out of the rider’s mouth, and the birds all gorged themselves on their flesh (19:11,14,15,19-21)
I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the Devil, or Satan, and chained him up for a thousand years; he threw him into the abyss, shutting and sealing it over him, so that he might not seduce the nations again till the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let loose for a little while. (20:1-3)
The site of the final battle against the Anti-Christ is said to be Armageddon (Revelation 16:16), located in the
ancient stronghold of Megiddo, roughly 15 miles south-east of Jerusalem.. The word Armageddon has now come to mean the final battle between the forces of Good and the forces of Evil.
It is important to distinguish between Dajjal the individual, and Dajjal as a world-wide intellectual and social phenomenon based on materialism and atheism. The latter is manifested as the philosophical outlook that has taken shape during the last few centuries in Europe, as well as the culture and life-style based upon that Godless outlook. The system of life which is predominantly materialistic and which dominates the entire globe today is actually the “Dajjalian System” itself, whereas the greatest defender of that system will be Dajjal the individual.
As we have seen earlier, the innovations introduced by St. Paul in the original teachings of Prophet Isa (AS) had led to the genesis of a completely new and different religion. The highly irrational claim of Trinity ultimately resulted in the divorce between two natural allies, religion and reason. The conversion of Caesar Constantine in 313 C.E., and of the entire Roman Empire during the next hundred years or so, turned out to be the starting point for the establishment of Christian Theocracy in Europe. The huge vacuum created by the Pauline idea of abolition of the Mosaic law was then filled with the virtually unlimited authority of the Church, represented by the infallible Pope. During the Middle Ages the Church and the clergy ruled the masses with an iron hand, oppressing and exploiting them in the name of religion, while discouraging any inclination towards science or rationalism.
The Aristotelian system of cosmos, as adopted by Ptolemy, was already incorporated into the Christian theology. As a result, when Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo opposed the Geocentric doctrine and proposed Heliocentric views based on their scientific observations, the Church condemned and vehemently opposed them as heretics, thus starting the unfortunate rivalry and rift between Science and Religion.
The scientific and rationalistic movement in Europe, therefore, came face to face with the powerful religious establishment of the Church. The latter used all its resources to halt this new wave of progress towards knowledge and learning, but succeeded only in producing among the masses a deep mistrust of all things connected with religion. The ruthlessly unfavorable attitude of the clergy caused a reactionary feeling of hatred against the Church, and then against the very idea of religion itself.
The development of science and philosophy in Europe, therefore, was forced to take place in an environment which was hostile to religion, and this hostility has since then permeated deep down into the very roots of Western thought. The world-view and civilization that grew out of this materialistic frame of mind is what we call the “Dajjalian System” of life. The hallmark of this system is a profound shift of emphasis from God the Almighty to the material universe and laws of nature, from spiritual pursuits to sensual gratification, and from salvation in the life-after-death to material prosperity in this world.
Human beings have been endowed by Almighty Allah (SWT) with two distinct sources of knowledge, that is, (a) information gathered by the senses and their interpretation by means of reason, intellect, and logic; along with (b) Revelation, in order to acquire knowledge of the ultimate realities and also the practical guidance for living a just, virtuous, and balanced life. However, the unfortunate shift of emphasis mentioned above resulted in a serious imbalance in the modern thinking process.
Thus, while humanity has made an incredible amount of progress with regard to science and technology, we see that, correspondingly, religion and morality have undergone unprecedented decay and decline. As such, the Western civilization can be described as possessing only a single eye, epistemologically speaking. In other words, it has invested everything it had into a single source of knowledge Reason and Science while totally ignoring the other, equally important, source of knowledge Revelation from the Heavens.
The system of life resulting from this materialistic mental attitude is characterized by a morbid preoccupation with collecting things and accumulating money. The corner stone of the Dajjalian System is the producer-consumer process, which is promoted as the ideal way of life. Highly sophisticated means are employed to convince the masses that they want newer and more expensive products, so that they can be made to work continuously in order to earn the money to pay for the goods and services they don’t even need.
The life blood of the Dajjalian System is usury, which is used to subjugate individuals as well as entire nations so that they can be controlled and manipulated by a financial aristocracy. The masses are encouraged to work hard, to enjoy their weekends, to uncritically digest whatever the media feeds them, and to invest all their time and energy in the pursuit of material well-being and sensual gratification. Humans are being reduced to the level of beasts. Endless consumption of products has become the dominant life-style of our times, and people have been made conditioned to measure each other on the basis of wealth and affluence, rather than character and morals. A whole entertainment industry has been created to keep the minds of the masses occupied whenever they are not working.
The entire system is geared so that the overwhelming majority is deprived of either the time or the energy to give any serious thought to the nature of existence, to the Creator, to the accountability in the Hereafter or to the exploiters. Dajjal the individual will represent the interests of those who are financially exploiting the whole world, against those who are being exploited. After the Armageddon, a Just Social Order will replace the present Dajjalian System, and there shall be no more exploitation.
The Identity of Dajjal
The ultimate battle between the forces of Good and those of Evil requires a world that is highly polarized along ideological lines, and this has already started to take shape. The various Islamic movements throughout the world are clear proofs that more and more people are realizing the defects and inherent evils of the Dajjalian System, and are coming in contact with the true sources of knowledge, that is, the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The guardians of the status quo and the defenders of the New World Order, along with their agents and stooges, have already smelled the revolution that is taking shape in the form of Islamic Resurgence, and have started to try and suppress the idea whose time has come. The ultimate futility of their efforts is inevitable.
The Western and predominantly Christian countries of the world, as we have discussed above, are virtually being controlled by a very powerful Jewish minority a recent accomplishment of which was the destruction of the military might of Iraq in the Gulf War. The next item on the Jewish agenda is the creation of Greater Israel, as well as the reconstruction of Solomon’s Temple at the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque. It seems likely that the Jews would try to orchestrate another war between the West, mainly the United States, and the Arab Muslims, most probably on the pretext of dealing with the threat of Islamic fundamentalism.
Along with their sinister plan to gain control over the whole world through financial institutions much of which has already been achieved the Jews are also waiting for their Promised Messiah who would help them recapture the glory of David and Solomon. The Messiah was, in fact, none other than Prophet Isa (AS), but they opposed and rejected him and tried their very best to have him crucified, though he was miraculously saved by Almighty Allah (SAW).
During the long series of imminent battles in the Middle East, Dajjal the individual would come forward who is most probably going to be an orthodox and fundamentalist Jew claiming to be the Promised Messiah and would lead his followers to the de facto creation of Greater Israel (which is supposed to include parts of Egypt, whole of Jordan and Syria, major portions of Iraq, southern Turkey, and northern Hijaz up to the holy city of Medinah). It will be at this crucial juncture of history that Almighty Allah (SWT) will send the real Christ, with the mission of exterminating the Jews and their leader, Dajjal, the false prophet.
About Prophet Isa (AS)
Although the exact nature of the ascension and reappearance of Prophet Isa (AS) is incomprehensible to us, and although these events are beyond the realm of normal human experience, they are by no means impossible. The rationalists among us tend to express serious doubts and lack of conviction about this authentic Islamic belief, but the fact is that our belief in the ascension and reappearance of Prophet Isa (AS) is based upon various indicators of the Holy Qur’an as well as explicit and unequivocal traditions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The prevalence of materialistic thinking, especially under the influence of the now outdated Newtonian Physics, has caused many of our intellectuals to reject the possibility of miracles. But it must be kept in mind that a miracle, by definition, represents a breakdown in the usual physical laws of the universe, and a special creative feat of Almighty God is manifested from out of the ruins of that broken law.
All natural laws have been established by Allah (SWT), and He is able to suspend any of them for any period
of time. He is Omnipotent, able to do all things.
It seems, on the basis of the predictions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), that both the Jews and the Arab Muslims will become the targets of Divine retribution in the final battles but with a marked distinction. The condemned Children of Israel are going to be completely destroyed at the hands of their own prophet, Prophet Isa (AS), just as numerous other nations were removed from the face of the earth because they committed the crime of rejecting their respective messengers. On the other hand, the Muslims especially the Arabs will receive their share of punishment for turning away from the Holy Qur’an, but afterwards the survivors will be able to repent and mend their ways, paving the way for the beginning of the second phase of the domination of Islam.
From Dishonor to Exaltation
We had started our discussion with the assertion that the Muslim Ummah of today is a pathetic, miserable, and extremely humiliated group of people. The cause of this unfortunate state of affairs, as we have seen, is our own wrongdoing, our own sinful behavior, our own deviations from the straight path. It follows that the only way to escape from continuing Divine punishment and to regain our lost glory is to repent with the true spirit of repentance and to rectify our corrupted ways.
We the Muslims are the custodians of the last message of Allah (SWT), representatives of the God- given system of life (Deen al-Haq), and intermediaries between Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the entire humanity. This means that it is our primary duty to struggle for the establishment of the perfect way of life, viz., Islam and its system of Social Justice, initially in a specific territory and then throughout the entire globe. According to the Holy Qur'an:
You are the best of community that has been raised up for the (guidance of) humanity; you (are therefore supposed to) enjoin the good, forbid the evil, and keep your own faith firm in God. (Aal-e-Imran 3:110)
Strive in the way of God with an endeavor worthy of Him. He has chosen you...in order that the Prophet be a witness against you, and you be witnesses against mankind. (Al-Hajj 22:78)
Thus We have appointed you a middle people (between the Prophet on one hand and the humanity on the other), so that you be witnesses against mankind, and the Messenger be a witness against you. (Al- Baqarah 2:143)
Although this formidable but sacred duty of delivering the message of Islam to the entire mankind is the collective responsibility of the whole Muslim Ummah, God the Almighty does not burden any soul beyond its capacity, and therefore it is primarily the obligation of Arab Muslims, as the Holy Qur'an was revealed in their own language.
However, after the termination of Prophethood, Allah (SWT) made a special arrangement to renew and revive the Ummah and her mission. Thus, after every three or four generations, i.e., after about every hundred years or so, a pious reformer appears among the Muslims to clarify and rejuvenate the original teachings of Islam. What is most significant in this respect is the fact that, during the first millennium of Islam, all of these reformers appeared almost exclusively in the Arab world. After the destruction of Baghdad in 1258, the academic and intellectual center of Islam started to shift towards the Indian subcontinent until, at the start of the second millennium, this part of the world became the main nucleus of Islamic reforms and revivalist movements. Thus, unusually great personalities have appeared here during the last four centuries, including Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi (11th century Hijrah), Shah Waliyullah Delhvi (12th century), Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi (13th century), and more recently, Maulana Mehmood Hassan Deobandi, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Maulana Muhammad Ilyas, and Maulana Abul A‘la Maududi (14th century). Now the question arises: Are all these sincere efforts of the last four hundred years to go in vain? We believe the answer is an emphatic NO!
It seems that the burden of Arab Muslims has largely been shifted on to the shoulders of the Muslims belonging to the Indian subcontinent, and, especially after the claims and promises made during the movement for independence, the task of reviving Islam as a living force has now become the paramount responsibility of Pakistani Muslims. In view of the efforts undertaken during the last four centuries, this also appear to be their destiny. Especially significant in connection with the role of Pakistani Muslims are the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), which allude to the fact that our part of the world is going to be the starting point for the global Islamic domination; these traditions are given below:
(1) Ibn Maja (RA) has narrated on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Harith (RAA), that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is reported to have said that during the battles before the Doomsday: “Armies emerging from the East shall advance, and after conquering one country after another, they shall help and strengthen the authority of Mahdi.”
(2) According to another tradition narrated by Imam Tirmidhi (RA), on the authority of Abu Huraira (RAA), Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is reported to have said: “Black banners shall emerge from Khurasan (i.e., areas which are now included in Afghanistan and Pakistan), and no force will be able to stop them until they are inserted in Aelia (Jerusalem).”
These prophecies mean that there shall be in the future an Islamic State in the areas which today comprise Afghanistan and Pakistan (and perhaps also those which are included in Iran and Central Asia), so that during the final series of battles in the Middle East, armies from this part of the world will advance to fight against Dajjal under the leadership of Mahdi. A similar prophecy is also found in the Book of Revelation:
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the Great River, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up to prepare a way for the kings from the east (16:12)
It must be understood that now, after the subjugation of the entire Arab world at the hands of the New World Order, it is only our part of the world that has the potential for standing up against the nefarious designs of the global power-brokers, and to resist the rising tides of the Jewish/Zionist hegemony. In view of the traditions of the Prophet (SAW) given above, we are sure that the areas now included in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran (the ancient Khurasan) have a very special significance in the Divine scheme.
The State of our Affairs
We believe on the basis of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and also because of the fact that the revivalist efforts of the last four hundred years have largely been concentrated in the Indian subcontinent that the process of the global Islamic Revolution is going to start from our part of the world.
Despite these high hopes and optimism, however, one must admit that the conditions are extremely depressing and almost totally hopeless at the moment. As far as our own homeland is concerned, the history of the last half a century is clear proof of the truth that we have done everything in this country except what we were supposed to do in order to promote and substantiate its Islamic ideological character. We have followed every ideology except the one we should have. We have utterly and completely failed to live up to the claims and promises made during the struggle for independence in the 1940’s.
During the years just prior to independence, we openly made solemn promises with Allah (SWT) that Pakistan will represent a true Islamic State. This meant that we had recognized Islam not just as a system of beliefs and individual morality alone, but also as the only sources and criterion for our social, legal, cultural, economic, and political systems. *The sense of a separate identity that became the basis of the idea of Muslim Nationhood was neither racial or linguistic in origin, nor based upon a common homeland, but it was founded upon our unique ideology, viz., our deep affiliation with and commitment to Islam.
The most crucial purpose behind the idea and struggle for Pakistan was Islamic renaissance and revival. As the ideologue of Pakistan Allama Muhammad Iqbal explained in his famous presidential address at Allahbad, a Muslim state was meant to be “for Islam an opportunity to rid itself of the stamp that Arabian imperialism was forced to give it, to mobilize its law, its education, its culture, and to bring them into closer contact with its own original spirit and with the spirit of modern times.”
This means that today we are living in a paradox. Although our country owes its existence to the Islamic ideology, we have so far failed to make any meaningful progress towards the implementation of that ideology. This also means that by refusing to honor our pledge with Almighty Allah (SWT), we are ourselves responsible for inviting His anger and His retribution. The pathetic state of our affairs is, therefore, nothing but a manifestation of Divine punishment.
At an ideological level, our intelligentsia is almost completely in the favor of liberalism and permissiveness, a point of view based upon the materialistic and atheistic frame of mind which has been imported from the West. Thus, immodesty and licentiousness is being promoted in the name of entertainment and culture as the ideal standards of behavior for our young men and women. Morally, we are probably the worst group of people on the face of the earth. What to speak of Islamic ethics, we are even devoid of basic human values, as lying, cheating, and hypocrisy have become integral parts of our national character.
As for Islam itself, the majority of our uneducated and semi-educated population tend to treat their faith as only a set of dogmas which has nothing to do with a person’s value structure. Among the educated classes, most are suffering from various degrees of atheism, skepticism, and agnosticism. A big chunk of our religious community is busy running after wealth and power, and the menace of sectarianism, which is continuously being fueled by them, has added another ominous dimension to the already worsening national chaos. And those who should help stop this madness our political leaders are themselves busy competing for their domination. The dangerously irresponsible and often illogical rhetoric that appears regularly in our national press is ample evidence that most of them don’t care about anything but power.
They make lovely promises of prosperity for the common man, but that poor fellow is often the last person on their list of beneficiaries.
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