Jerusalem In Quran; Chapter-8; Book by Sheikh Imran N. Hosein

JERUSALEM IN THE QUR’AN

By Imran N. Hosein

PART ONE

Chapter 8

JESUS, THE TRUE MESSIAH, AND DAJJAL, THE FALSE MESSIAH

“We shall confound their hearts and eyes in consequence of their previous rejection of this

(message). And We shall leave them in their obstinate rejection (of this revealed Truth), to

wander in distraction (or to live in a state of aimlessness and drift).”

(Qur’an, al-An’am, 6:110)

[I.e. We shall confound their Jewish hearts and eyes in consequence of their previous rejection

of this message when, among other things, they rejected the Messiah, son of the Virgin Mary.]

JESUS THE MESSIAH

Prophets of Allah Most High communicated to Banu Israil a divine promise to send

to them a Prophet who would be their Prophet, who would be known as the Messiah,

and who would rule the world from the throne of King David (‘alaihi al-Salaam). This, in

fact, amounted to a prophecy of the return of the golden age of Solomon (‘alaihi al-

Salaam).

In 1 Chronicles, 17:11-15, the Prophet Nathan spoke to King David about the

Messiah and called him the Son of David:

“And it shall come to pass, when your days have expired and you must go to be with your

fathers, that I will raise up one of your descendents after you, who shall be of your sons, and I

will establish his kingdom. He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne

forever. I will be his father, and he will be My son: and I will not take My mercy away from

him, as I took it from him that was before thee: But I will settle him in My house and in My

kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever more”.

(1 Chronicles, 17:11-15)

Years later Isaiah added to this as follows:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his

shoulder (i.e., he will rule the world): and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the

Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end (i.e., he will rule the world

eternally) upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with

judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will

perform this.”

(Isaiah 9:6-7)

Isaiah further wrote of him that:

“Behold My servant, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my spirit unto him: he shall bring

forth judgement to the Gentiles.

He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

A bruised reed shall he not break , and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring

forth judgement unto truth.

He shall not fail nor be discouraged, ‘till he have set judgement unto the earth : and the isles

shall wait for his law.

(Isaiah: 42:1-4)

I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of

the earth.

(Isaiah: 49:6)

{While Jewish scholarship recognized these prophecies as pertaining to the advent of the

Messiah there are Muslim scholars who declare that the prophesies refer to the advent of

Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).}

Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) declared that he, the Messiah, would

be Hakimun ‘Adil (a Just Ruler of the world):

“Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah’s Messenger said: ‘By Him in Whose Hand is my soul (I

swear that) the son of Mary will shortly descend amongst you as a just ruler. He will break the

cross and kill the pigs and abolish Jizyah (a punitive tax imposed upon Jews and Christians

resident in the territory of Islam). Then there will be abundance of money and nobody will

accept charitable gifts.’ ”

(Sahih Bukhari)

TWO CONFLICTING PORTRAITS OF THE MESSIAH

The Jews were very pleased to receive the news of this Promised Messiah. But they

were confused by the fact that there was a two-fold picture that presented two

conflicting portraits of him and his mission. The first was that of a conquering King

who would restore the ‘Chosen People of Allah’ (who, at that time, were the Jews) to

the Holy Land and would rule the whole world in peace. The second was a Messiah

who was humble and suffering. The two apparently conflicting portraits were clearly

depicted in Isaiah who described the Messiah as a ‘Servant of the Lord’ who would

prosper, be lifted up and greatly exalted:

“Behold, My servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.”

(Isaiah 52:13)

But he then went on in the very same breath to describe that ‘Servant’ as one who

would be disfigured to the point that he would hardly look human, and thus one who

would experience both exaltation and humiliation:

“As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form

more than the sons of men.”

(Isaiah 52:14)

As unthinkable as it was, Isaiah prophesied that the ‘Servant’ would be struck on

both back and face. He would be humiliated by being spat upon the face (Isaiah, 50:4-

11). This is precisely what happened to Jesus. A Christian writer, Hal Lindsey,

comments on the event as follows and goes on to declare that it confirmed the

prophecy in Isaiah 52:13 and 53:12 :

“It is well known that this is the kind of treatment that Jesus received during the six illegal trials

to which he was subjected. The officers in Herod’s temple guard spat on Jesus’ face after the

Sanhedrin had condemned him. Then they blindfolded him and struck him in the face. A jagged

crown of thorns was jammed down on his head and he was cruelly whipped with a Roman

scourge. It was a sadistic whip made of many strips of leather to which pieces of bone or

jagged metal were attached to make the effect more painful.”

(Hal Lindsey, “The Messiah”. Harvest House Publishers, Oregon, 1982, pp. 108-9)

Isaiah went on to identify the Jews as those who would persecute the ‘Servant of the

Lord’ (i.e., the Messiah). He did so when he described the Servant-Messiah as “the

despised one, the one abhorred by the nation (Isaiah 49:7). Hal Lindsey points out that

the noun ‘nation’ is in the singular and not plural, and he goes on to protest dishonest

translations of the verse:

“It’s most unfortunate (and dishonest) that the Revised Standard Version of the Bible and the

Jewish Soncino Commentaries translate this passage “to him who is abhorred by the nations.”

By translating ‘nations’ plural, it makes it seem as though the Gentiles (who are always referred

to as the ‘nations’) are the ones who despise and abhor the Servant. The idea is fostered here

that the Servant is Israel and she is abhorred by the Gentiles. While that may have been true in

Jewish history, that particular fact can’t be proved by this passage because the word used in the

Hebrew for ‘nation’ is ‘goi’, and it is singular and can only honestly be translated as ‘nation’

which in this context refers to Israel alone.” (Lindsey, p. 109)

(Soncino: - a certain Israel Nathan b. Samuel moved to Soncino, a small town in the duchy of

Milan. There he set up a printing press for his son, and this was the beginning of the great firm

of Joshua Solomon Soncino and his nephews, Moses and Gershom. Attracting Abraham b.

Hayyim from Bologna, they produced the first complete Bible, the Soncino Bible of 1488, with

vowels and accents, but without a commentary, as was the custom of the Soncinos. The

Soncino brothers also were responsible for the 1491–93 Naples Bible, in which the vowelpoints

and accents are better placed than before. Gershom Soncino moved to Brescia, where he

produced the 1495 Brescia Bible, an improved edition of the 1488 Soncino Bible, but, more

important, in small octavo format, making it a pocket edition specifically produced for the

persecuted Jews who, perpetually moving from place to place, found it difficult to carry the

huge and costly folio Bibles. It was this edition which Martin Luther used when he translated

the Bible into German). (Jewish Encyclopaedia)

Even as far back in time as Genesis there was a prophecy of one through whom the

‘rule’ of the world, first established with David (‘alaihi al-Salaam) and Solomon (‘alaihi al-

Salaam), would continue.

He was described as Shiloh:

“The scepter shall not depart from (his son) Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

(Genesis : 49:10)

This prophecy was interpreted to have not only declared the tribe through which the

Messiah would come, but also to have designated Judah as the royal line for future

Kings. Rabbinic interpretation from ancient times recognized ‘Shiloh’ as a personal

title of the Messiah and that it was here predicted that he would come from the tribe of

Judah. (The view of Muslim scholars is that Shiloh was Prophet Muhammad (‘alaihi al-

Salaam).

The confusion was confounded when unknown scribes corrupted the text of Isaiah to

declare that the Messiah would not only be born as a child (and hence be a human

being), and would eventually rule the world, but that he would also be the mighty God.

The corrupted text thus portrayed the Messiah as both man and God:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his

shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting

Father, the Prince of Peace.”

(Isaiah, 9:6)

Two thousand years ago, when Allah Most High kept his promise and sent the

Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, to Banu Israil, he found them holding on to the

external ‘form’ of religion while woefully neglecting its ‘internal’ substance. Even the

‘external’ form was corrupted since they had changed it and rewritten it to suit their

own fancies. When Jesus confirmed that he was indeed the Promised Messiah, and

when he fearlessly preached the ‘internal’ substance of religion and denounced the

corruption of the ‘external’ form, some Jews accepted him and believed in him but

most of them rejected him. They still continue to reject him as the Messiah to this day.

The Qur’an declared that they boasted (at that time) of having killed him (by

crucifixion):

“That they said (in boast): We killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the

Messenger of Allah… ”

(Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:157)

When they saw him ‘die’ on the cross before their very eyes it was conclusively

confirmed to them that he was an impostor. They were convinced that he could not

have been the Messiah since the Torah itself had declared that whoever died by

hanging was the ‘cursed’ of Allah, Most High (Deuteronomy, 21:23). Secondly, he

could not have been the Messiah because he died without liberating the Holy Land

from the pagan Roman rule, and he did not rule the world from the throne of David

(‘alaihi al-Salaam) (i.e., Jerusalem).

And so they kept on waiting for the Messiah to come. Every Jew who rejected Jesus

(‘alaihi al-Salaam) as the Messiah and kept on waiting since then for the Messiah to come

is indirectly implicated in the attempt to crucify him. This is so because their rejection

of his claim to be the Messiah is linked to the death that they believe he experienced.

But Allah Most High declared that the Jews were deceived into believing that Jesus

(‘alaihi al-Salaam) was killed or crucified:

“…. and they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them,

and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only

conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.”

(Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:157)

Well then, what happened to Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam)? The Qur’an has explained what

happened. It has made five explanatory statements:

Firstly, the Qur’an declared that the Jews did not kill Jesus:

“…but they killed him not….”

(Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:157)

Secondly, it declared that they did not crucify him:

“…nor did they crucify him….”

(Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:157)

Thirdly it declared that Allah the Supreme reclaimed him (i.e., took his

soul). There are, in fact, two such statements in the Qur’an:

“And behold, Allah said: Oh Jesus, I (will) reclaim you (i.e., I will take your

soul, - the word used is Wafaat), and raise you to Myself and clear you (of the

falsehoods) of those who blaspheme . . .

(Qur’an, Ale ‘Imran, 3:55)

“And behold Allah will say (on the Day of Judgment) Oh Jesus, the son of

Mary, did you say unto men: worship me and my mother as Gods besides

Allah? He will say: Glory be to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right

(to say). Had I said such a thing you would surely have known it. You know

what is in my heart, and I know not what is in Your heart. For You know in full

all that is hidden. Never did I say to them anything except that which You

ordered me to say, to wit: Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord; and I was a

witness over them while I dwelt among them, but when You reclaimed me (i.e.,

took my soul – the word used is again Wafaat). You became the watcher over

them, and You are a witness to all things.

(Qur’an, al-Maida, 5:116-117)

If Allah Most High took the soul of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) and did not return it,

then that would have constituted Maut (death). But the Qur’an insists that he

was not killed (nor crucified):

“….for most certainly they did not kill him….”

(Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:157)

Well then, what did Allah Most High do with the soul after He took it? Was it

possible, for example, that He returned the soul to the body? Can such a thing

take place?

The Qur’an affirms that Allah Most High does return some souls after having

taken them from the body:

“Allah reclaims the souls at (the time of) death; and those that die not He

reclaims (their souls) during sleep (i.e., those whose souls are not taken while

they are awake will experience it while they are asleep). Then for those on

whom He has passed the decree of death (maut), He keeps back (i.e., the soul

is not allowed to return to the body): but the rest He returns (to their bodies)

for a term appointed. Verily in this are Signs for those who reflect.”

(Qur’an, al-Zumar, 39:42)

Did this take place in the case of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam)? The answer is to be

found in the next two statements of the Qur’an.

Fourthly the Qur’an stated that Allah, the All-Powerful, made it

‘appear’ that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) was killed. This was made possible either

by replacing ‘one thing’ with ‘another’, or by replacing ‘one person’ with

‘another’ (tashbih). Thus those who were observing the event were convinced

that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) had, in fact, died (Maut):

“…. but so it was made to appear to them….” (Yusuf Ali)

“….but it only seemed to them (as if it had been) so….”(M. Asad)

(Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:157)

It is now possible for us to answer the question: Well then, what did Allah

Most High do with the soul after He took it? One possible answer to that

question is that Allah Most High substituted one thing for another (tashbih):

· Allah Most High took the soul of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) while he was

still on the cross,

· Allah Most High thus convinced those who were observing the event

that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) was dead,

· Allah Most High then returned the soul of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) after

he was taken down from the cross and when no one was around to

observe. He was then taken up into the heavens from whence he

would descend one day.

The only difference from the accepted Christian belief and the above

interpretation of the Qur’an is that the period of time which elapsed between

the event on the cross and the ascension of Jesus was one in which Christians

recognized him as dead. In the above interpretation of the Qur’an, however, he

was not recognized as dead precisely because the soul was returned to the

body.

Those who object to the above possible explanation of the Qur’an argue that

Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) was never placed on the cross. They interpret the

Qur’anic statement “they did not crucify him” to imply that he was never

placed on the cross. They come to this conclusion on the basis of their view

that crucifixion (in the sense in which the Qur’an uses the term) implies

simply being put on the cross and does not necessarily require such a person to

actually die on the cross. Commenting on Surah al-Maidah, 5:36, the

commentator of the Qur’an, Ibn Kathir, holds the view that crucifixion

necessarily implies death.

The alternative interpretation to the above is that Allah Most High substituted

one person for another (tashbih) so that someone else replaced Jesus (‘alaihi al-

Salaam) on the cross, and that person was crucified in place of Jesus (‘alaihi al-

Salaam). This is the theory of ‘substitution’. It is an opinion and, like all

opinions, is subject to the qualification: Allahu ‘alam (Allah, the Supreme,

knows best!). There are many distinguished scholars of Islam, however, who

subscribe to the theory of substitution. Those who object to this interpretation

argue that it ascribes to Allah Most High a manifest act of injustice since it

declares of Him that He caused an innocent man (i.e., innocent of any of the

charges leveled against Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam)) to be crucified in place of Jesus

(‘alaihi al-Salaam). But Allah Most High has repeatedly declared that no soul

would bear the burden of another soul (al-‘Anam, 6:164; Banu Israil, 17:15;

al-Fatir, 35:18; al-Zumar, 39:7; al-Najm, 53:38).

Fifthly the Qur’an makes a statement to the effect that Allah Most High raised

Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) unto Himself:

“Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power,

Wise.”

(Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:158)

The Qur’an then went on to explain that every soul (Nafs) must taste death

(Arabic - Maut):

“Every soul must taste death (maut). And only on the Day of Judgment shall

you be paid your full recompense (for your works)...”

(Qur’an, Ale ‘Imran, 3:185)

Since Allah Most High has declared that every soul (Nafs) must taste death, it implies

that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam), also, if he possessed a soul (Nafs) must taste death (Maut).

The question therefore arises: Did Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) possess a soul (Nafs)? Was he

a human being? And since we know that he was the son of Mary, we must also ask:

Was Mary a human being?

The Qur’an responds with an emphatic declaration of the ‘humanity’ of both Jesus and

Mary:

“The Messiah, the son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger (of Allah). Many were

the Messengers who passed away before him. His mother was a woman of integrity

and truth. They both ate food. Notice how We make signs clear to them (i.e. they who

blaspheme by claiming that God is a Trinity, that Jesus is also God, and that Mary is

also God). And then notice how they remain deluded away from the Truth.”

(Qur’an, al-Maidah, 5:75)

With one startling declaration “They both ate food” the Qur’an dismisses any notion

that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) and Mary could have been anything but human.

The Qur’an also declares of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) that he was no more than a servant

and slave (of Allah, Most High):

“Oh People of the Scriptures (i.e. Christians and Jews), do not commit excesses in

your religion; nor say of Allah aught but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of

Mary, was (no more than) a Messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He cast on

Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His Messengers. Say not Trinity,

desist, it will be better for you. For Allah is One God. Glory be to Him. (Far exalted is

He) above having a son…”

(Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:171)

“Surely he (Jesus) was no more than an ‘abd (slave, servant) (of Allah)…”

(Qur’an, al-Zukhruf, 43:59)

It is thus clearly demonstrated that Jesus was, in the Qur’anic view, a human being.

Hence Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) also, is subject to the universal law of death. He also, has

to taste death.

JESUS (‘alaihi al-Salaam) WILL RETURN

The Qur’an emphatically declared that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) did not die (i.e., he was

neither killed, nor was he crucified). It further declared that he was raised unto Allah,

the Most High. And since the Qur’an declared that every soul (including Jesus) must

taste death (Maut), it follows that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) must return and experience

death like every other human being.

But the Qur’an also delivered an ominous warning when it spoke about the death of

Jesus. The warning was that Jews and Christians would all have to believe in Jesus

(i.e., as the Qur’an has established Jesus’ status and position as the Messiah and as a

Prophet of Allah) before ‘Jesus’ dies. This verse therefore clearly established the

Divine plan that Jesus would one day return and that this event would occur prior to

his death:

“And there is none from the People of the Book (i.e., not a single Jew who rejects

Jesus as the Messiah and Prophet of Allah, and not a single Christian who insists that

Jesus must be worshipped as God and as son of God) but must believe in him (Jesus)

before his death (i.e., before the death of Jesus). And on the Day of Judgment he

(Jesus) will be a witness against them.”

(Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:159)

Hence on that day every Jew will have to accept Jesus as the Messiah and believe in

him, and every Christian will have to abandon belief in Jesus as the ‘son of God’ and

the third person in a divine trinity.

Prophet Muhammad (‘alaihi al-Salaam) has declared as emphatically as it is possible

for anyone to declare, that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) will return:

“Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah’s Messenger said: ‘By Him in Whose Hand is my soul (I swear

that) the son of Mary will shortly descend amongst you as a just ruler. He will break the cross

and kill the pigs and abolish Jizyah (a punitive tax imposed upon Jews and Christians resident

in the territory of Islam). Then there will be abundance of money and nobody will accept

charitable gifts.’ ”

(Sahih, Bukhari)

Indeed the return of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) is one of the ten major Signs of the Last

Day mentioned by the Prophet (‘alaihi al-Salaam):

“Narrated Hudhayfah ibn Usayd Ghifari:

Allah’s Apostle (‘alaihi al-Salaam) came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy in a discussion)

He said: What do you discuss about? (The Companions) said: We are discussing about the Last

Hour. Thereupon he said: It will not come until you see ten signs before 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 (‘alaihi al-Salaam), Gog and Magog, and landslides 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.

(Sahih, Muslim)

Thus the ten Signs are as follows:

Ø the release of Dajjal – the False Messiah,

Ø the release of Gog and Magog,

Ø the return of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) – the True Messiah,

Ø the appearance of dukhan (smoke),

Ø the emergence of d’abbatul ard (a creature of the Land, i.e., Holy Land),

Ø the sun would rise from the West,

Ø a landslide or movement of the earth in the East,

Ø another one in the West,

Ø a third one in Arabia,

Ø a fire comes out of Yemen and drives people to their place of assembly.

(Please note that these Signs are not necessary listed in chronological order of their happening)

The Qur’an affirmed the return of Jesus as the ‘Sign of all Signs’ of the Last Day:

“And surely he (i.e., Jesus) is the Sign of the Hour”.

(Qur’an, al-Zukhraf, 43:61)

Jesus himself gave a list of signs to look for at the time when he is to return:

Ø men would arise calling themselves Messiah, but they would be false,

Ø there would be wars and rumors of wars,

Ø there would be an outbreak of unprecedented global famine,

Ø plagues would sweep the world,

Ø there would be a great increase in lawlessness and inhumanity to man,

Ø earthquakes would increase in intensity and frequency.

We now have the explanation for the two conflicting portraits of the Messiah in the

scriptures – the first a meek and humble Messiah who would suffer immensely, and

the other a mighty conqueror. When Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) returns he would fulfill the

second portrait of him.

But Prophet Muhammad (‘alaihi al-Salaam) went on to reveal that prior to the return of

Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam) Allah Most High would release a False Messiah (al-Masih al-

Dajjal) into the world in the Last Age.

WHO IS DAJJAL?

The greatest dream of the Jews for more than 2000 years has been the dream of

returning to the Holy Land as rulers over the land so that they might restore the State

of Israel established by the Prophet-Kings, David (‘alaihi al-Salaam) and Solomon (‘alaihi

al-Salaam), rebuild the Temple that was built by Solomon (‘alaihi al-Salaam) in Jerusalem,

and worship the God of Abraham in that Temple. That must be considered to be a very

noble dream indeed. A people who dream such a dream as the greatest of all their

dreams must be a people who would achieve spiritual greatness. They should be a

people who would prefer the ‘hereafter’ to the ‘dunya’ (world), and whose spiritual

insight would penetrate ‘external’ appearances to recognize the ‘reality’ of things. At a

very minimum, therefore, they should be able to realize that such a noble dream cannot

possibly be fulfilled through the creation of an essentially godless State of Israel, and

through a reign of terror and oppression in the Holy Land that has now lasted for more

than 50 bloodstained years. It is unlikely that the oppression can continue for another

50 years before they face the horrible consequences.

Now the Israelite-Jews all believed that their greatest dream could not and would

not be fulfilled until that special Prophet called the Messiah would appear. He would

“bring salvation at the end of the ages, when he would be enthroned as king of the

world”. This reign of the Messiah is repeated elsewhere in the scriptures. (I Enoch:

45:3; 105:2; 28:29; 13:32–35; 14:9). Of course European Jews who established the

Zionist Movement hardly share that sacred attachment to prophecies pertaining to the

Messiah.

Allah Most High ordained that the False Messiah (al-Masih al-Dajjal) would deliver

to the Jews by deception that which they would embrace as the fulfillment of their

greatest dream, i.e., return to their Holy Land, restoration of the State of Israel, the

appointment of a king to rule over them: (Appoint for us a king that we may fight in the

cause of Allah – Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:246) and the reconstruction of the Temple.

The fact that they have been so utterly and completely deceived by the Impostor State

of Israel is indicative of their continuing spiritual blindness:

“But the deeds of those who disbelieve (in this Qur’an and this last Prophet – among

other things) are like a mirage in sandy deserts which the man parched with thirst

mistakes for water until when he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing: but he finds

Allah (present there) with him, and Allah will pay him his account: and Allah is swift

in taking account.”

(Qur’an, al-Nur, 24:39)

The State of Israel is today in precisely that situation of the man who is parched for

thirst and mistakes a mirage for water.

“Verily this Qur’an explains to the Israelites most of the matters in which they

disagree. And it certainly is a Guide and a Mercy to those who believe.”

(Qur’an, al-Naml, 27:76-7)

The ‘appearance’ today is that the ‘greatest dream’ is almost completely fulfilled.

The Israelite Jews have returned to the Holy Land, or are free to do so, from wherever

in the world they may be. The State of Israel was created in 1948 and is now a reality.

All that remains for the dream to be completed is the appointment of a king and the

destruction of Masjid al-Aqsa to permit the reconstruction of the Temple:

“When you come unto the land which God your Lord gives you, and shall possess it, and shall

dwell therein, and shall say: ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about

me,’ you shall then appoint the king that God your Lord shall choose (implied is the belief that

he will be from the House of David).”

(Deuteronomy , 17:14-15)

In addition Israel must become the Ruling State in the world and the King of Israel

must rule the world from Jerusalem.

The compelling implication is that all of this could not have been achieved without

the Messiah. This is the ‘appearance’. What is the ‘reality’?

The ‘reality’ of all of this, when viewed from Islam, is that Dajjal, the False

Messiah, has deceived the Jews into believing that divine grace has brought them this

close to the complete fulfillment of their greatest dream. The ‘reality’ is that their

spiritual blindness has led them into a divine trap from which there is now no escape.

They denounce oppression and injustice in the world but justify their own oppression

and injustice to others. They do so on the grounds that they have a special status with

the Divine Being that others do not have. Since they believe that the Holy Land

belongs to them, they also believe that they have the right to liberate it from those who

lived on it for hundreds of years. The ‘end’ justifies the ‘means’. The ‘reality’ is that

they have been misled and misguided and thoroughly deceived by Dajjal.

Dajjal, the False Messiah, is a being created by Allah Most High, who would

impersonate the Messiah and deceive the Jews into believing that he is the true

Messiah. Dajjal was endowed by Allah, Most Wise, with awesome power, versatility

and with great capacity for deception and guile. The Christians know him as the Anti-

Christ. Dajjal, the evil being created by Allah Most High will one day appear in the

world as a human being. When he does so, he would be a Jew and, in addition, he

would be a young man who would be powerfully built with curly hair. Prophet

Muhammad (‘alaihi al-Salaam) suspected a Jewish youth, Ibn Sayyad, who was resident

in Madina, to have been the Dajjal. In doing so he confirmed that Dajjal had already

been released into the world and would one day appear as:

Ø a human being,

Ø a Jew,

Ø a young man.

The True Messiah, like Solomon (‘alaihi al-Salaam), would rule the world from the

throne of David (‘alaihi al-Salaam) i.e., Jerusalem. In order for him to do so it would be

necessary for him to first accomplish the following:

Ø liberate the Holy Land of the rule of those who do not worship the God of

Abraham,

Ø bring the ‘chosen people’ (who, at the time of the announcement of the divine

promise were Jews) back to the Holy Land,

Ø restore the State of Israel established by David (‘alaihi al-Salaam) and Solomon

(‘alaihi al-Salaam),

Ø cause Israel to become the ‘Ruling State’ in the world.

Only then would it be possible for the True Messiah to rule the world from the

throne of David (‘alaihi al-Salaam), i.e., from Jerusalem.

If Dajjal, the False Messiah, were to successfully impersonate the true Messiah it

follows from the above that he, also, would have to do all of the above.

The question may arise in consequence of the statement made above: If Dajjal, the

False Messiah, or Anti-Christ, is responsible for this grand deception of the Jews, and

so much more, and if he is already released and already on earth, then where is he?

The Prophet spoke (in what may be recognized as the ‘mother of all puzzles’) and said

the following about Dajjal, the False Messiah:

“Narrated al-Nawwas ibn Sam'an: ….We said: Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him), how

long will he stay on Earth? He said: For forty days, one day like a year, one day like a month,

one day like a week, and the rest of the days will be like your days….”

(Sahih, Muslim; Sunan, Tirmidhi)

It will only be at the very end of his life on earth, therefore, that Dajjal’s day will be

like our day. Secondly, Dajjal, the False Messiah, will be in ‘our’ dimension of time

when ‘his day’ would be like ‘our day’. Hence he would be in ‘our’ world only at the

very end of his life when he enters into ‘our’ world in order to complete his mission of

impersonating the Messiah. The promise of Allah Most High was that the Messiah

would rule the world from the throne of David (‘alaihi al-Salaam), i.e. from a Jerusalem

that would be the heart of the State of Israel. And so it is clear that Dajjal will be

physically located in Jerusalem at the very end of his life on earth, and at that time,

since ‘his day would be like our day’, it would be possible for us to see him. At that

time we would see him as a Jew, a young man, powerfully built, with curly hair etc.

He would also have to be the Ruler of the world who would rule the world from

Jerusalem. Here is the answer to the question concerning the strategic role that

Jerusalem is destined to play in the end of history.

Prior to that he will be around us in much the same way that angels and Jinn are

always around us and yet they are not in ‘our’ world (in a day like our day) and hence

are not visible. He will constantly attack us to test our faith. He will be weaving his

web of deception, but we will not be able to observe him with our normal faculties of

observation since ‘his day’ will not be like ‘our day’. Where on earth will Dajjal be

when he is released by Allah on earth in a day which would be like a year, and then in

a day which would be like a month, and then finally in a day which would be like a

week? We know that he will be on earth, but where on earth?

Fortunately we have an answer to the first question, and that answer, in turn, opens

for us the possibility to find answers to the other two questions. The answer to the first

question is located in the Hadith that is known as the Hadith of Tamim al-Dari. Tamim

al-Dari was a Christian who embraced Islam in Madina. He came to the Prophet (‘alaihi

al-Salaam) and narrated to him something that he had experienced concerning Dajjal. It

is not clear whether he had a dream or a vision or an actual real-life experience. The

Prophet (‘alaihi al-Salaam) responded by asking the people to keep sitting after the prayer

in the Masjid so that he could narrate to them what Tamim had experienced

concerning Dajjal. He went on to declare that what Tamim al-Dari had narrated to him

confirmed what he, the Prophet (‘alaihi al-Salaam), had himself been saying concerning

Dajjal. Here is the Hadith:

“Narrated Fatimah bint Qays, sister of ad-Dahhak ibn Qays:

Amir ibn Sharahil ash-Sha'bi said: Fatimah bint Qays was among the first emigrant women. I

asked her to narrate to me a Hadith which she had heard directly from Allah's Apostle (peace

be upon him) and there was no extra link between them. She said: Very well, if you like, I am

prepared to do that. He said to her: Well, do so and narrate it to me. She said: … So I set out

towards the mosque and observed prayer with the Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) and I

was in the row of the women which was near the row of men. When Allah’s Apostle (peace be

upon him) had finished his prayer, he sat on the pulpit, smiling, and said: Every worshipper

should remain sitting in his place. He then said: Do you know why I have asked you to

assemble? They said: Allah and His apostle know best. He said: By Allah, I have not made you

assemble for exhortation or for a warning. I have detained you here because Tamim Dari, a

Christian who came and accepted Islam, told me something which agrees with what I was

telling you about the Dajjal. He narrated to me that he had sailed in a ship with thirty men of

Banu Lakhm and Banu Judham and had been tossed by waves in the ocean for a month. Then

these (waves) took them (near) the land within the ocean (island) at the time of sunset. They sat

in a small rowing boat and landed on that island. There was a beast with long thick hair (and

because of this) they could not distinguish his face from his back. They said: Woe to you, who

can you be? Thereupon it said: I am al-Jassasah. They said: What is al-Jassasah? It said: O

people, go to this person in the monastery as he is very much eager to know about you. He (the

narrator) said: When it named a person for us we were afraid of it lest it should be a Devil.

Then we hurried on till we came to that monastery and found a well-built person there with his

hands tied to his neck and iron shackles gripping his legs by the ankle. We said: Woe to you,

who are you? He said: You soon come to know about me, but tell me who you are. We said:

We are people from Arabia and we embarked upon a boat but the waves had been driving us

for one month and they brought us near this island. We took to the rowing boats and landed on

this island. Here a beast with profusely thick hair met us and because of the thickness of his

hair, his face could not be distinguished from his back. We said: Woe be to thee, who are you?

It said: I am al-Jassasah. We said: What is al-Jassasah? It said: You go to this very person in the

monastery for he is eagerly waiting for you to know about you. So we came to you in hot haste

fearing that that might be the Devil. He (that chained person) said: Tell me about the date-palm

trees of Baysan. We said: In which respect do you seek information about it? He said: I ask you

whether these trees bear fruit or not. We said: Yes. Thereupon he said: I think these will not

bear fruit. He said: Inform me about the lake of Tabariyyah? We said: What do you want to

know about it? He said: Is there water in it? They said: There is an abundance of water in it.

Thereupon he said: I think it will soon dry up. He again said: Inform me about the spring of

Zughar. They said: What do you want to know about it? He (the chained person) said: Is there

water in it and does it irrigate (the land)? We said to him: Yes, there is an abundance of water

in it and the inhabitants (of Medina) irrigate (land) with its help. He said: Inform me about the

unlettered Prophet; what has he done? We said: He has left Mecca and has settled in Yathrib

(Medina). He said: Do the Arabs fight against him? We said: Yes. He said: How does he deal

with them? We informed him that he had overcome those in his neighbourhood and they had

submitted themselves before him. Thereupon he said to us: Had it actually happened? We said:

Yes. Thereupon he said: If it is so, that is better for them that they show obedience to him. I am

going to tell you about myself. I am the Dajjal and will be soon permitted to leave. So I shall

leave and travel in the land, and shall not spare any town where I shall not land within forty

nights except Mecca and Tauba (i.e., Medina). These two (places) are prohibited (areas) for me

and I shall not attempt to enter either of them. An angel with a sword in his hand will confront

me and bar my way and there will be angels to guard every road leading to it. Then Allah's

apostle (peace be upon him) striking the pulpit with the help of the end of his staff said: This

implies Tayba meaning Medina. Have I not told you an account (of the Dajjal) like this? The

people said: Yes, and this account narrated by Tamim Dari was liked by me for it corroborates

the account which I gave to you in regard to him (Dajjal) at Medina and Mecca. Behold he

(Dajjal) is in the Syrian sea (Mediterranean) or the Yemen sea (Arabian sea). Nay, on the

contrary, he is in the east, he is in the east, he is in the east, and he pointed with his hand

towards the east. I (Fatimah bint Qays) said: I preserved it in my mind (this narration from

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him).

(Sahih Muslim)

It is very clear from this Hadith that when Dajjal was released into the world he

would have to be geographically located on that island, and it would be from that

island that he would launch his effort to impersonate the Messiah by liberating the

Holy Land of non-Jewish rule etc. Which island was it?

THE ISLAND IS BRITAIN

Our view is that the island referred to in the Hadith was Britain. The evidence that

supports our claim is truly startling. Consider the following. In 1917 the government

of the ‘island’ of Britain issued the Balfour Declaration in which it announced to a

startled world the intention of the British Government to support the establishment of a

Jewish National Home in the Holy Land. Then in 1917-8 it was a British army led by

General Allenby which defeated the Turkish army and liberated the Holy Land of

Muslim rule. From 1919 to 1948 Britain ruled over the Holy Land on the basis of a

Mandate conferred by the League of Nations. During this period of time the world

witnessed the massive emigration of European Jews to the Holy Land. The tremendous

German hatred of the Jews for their betrayal in the first world war (the German Jews

made a deal with Britain that they would get USA to enter the war in support of

Britain if Britain, in turn, would promise to give them the Holy Land when the war

was won) and the resultant rise of Hitler led to such wholesale persecution of the Jews

as dramatically increased the Jewish emigration from Europe to the Holy Land.

Finally, in 1948 Britain acted as the ‘midwife’ for the baby to be born, i.e., for the

declaration of independence of the State of Israel. We may note, in addition, that the

island of Britain is located across the Mediterranean Sea about one month’s journey

from the Arab world! It is also important to note that the British have excelled in

spying and espionage. Sherlock Holmes and James Bond movies are the fictional

equivalent to Lawrence of Arabia .

It is quite possible that there would still be some who would disagree with our view

in which we have identified Britain as the island mentioned in the Hadith. To such

people we respond very respectfully with the invitation to kindly correct us. In order to

do so they must, themselves, identify the island and provide the evidence that validates

their claim and invalidates ours.

And so we have concluded that the Hadith has informed us that when Dajjal was

released on earth and he commenced his mission of impersonating the Messiah in ‘a

day that was like a year’ it was from the island of Britain that he did so. We have also

noticed that during this period of time Britain functioned as the ‘Ruling State’ of the

world. Secondly we noticed that when it was the ‘Ruling State’ of the world Britain

exercised control over the money of the world. This was done through the Bank of

England. Indeed London was the financial capital of the world.

But we then noticed that there was a moment in time when, in a strange and

mysterious way, Britain ceased to be the ‘Ruling State’ in the world and was replaced

by USA. This process of change appears to have commenced with one war, i.e., the

First World War, and ended with another, i.e., the Second World War. Our view is that

the period between the First and Second World Wars witnessed the movement of

Dajjal from a day that was like a year to a day that was like a month. It is very

important that we observe that process of change with great insight since it provides us

with the clues with which to recognize that moment in time when Dajjal would move

from a day that is like a month to a day that is like a week.

An act of terrorism in the summer of 1914 in the city of Sarajevo resulted in the

assassination of the Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand of Austria -Hungary. The perpetrator

was a Serb but the footprints that were left led to Russia . Whoever planned the

assassination, and left those footprints leading to Russia, wanted Austria -Hungary to

declare war on Russia. The real target of the assassination was not Russia but the ally

of Russia, namely Britain. The Ottoman Islamic State was the other target. It had to be

destroyed and Britain had to do the job of destruction. When Austria -Hungary

declared war on Russia, Britain and France promptly entered the war in support of

Russia. And Germany responded by entering the war in support of Austria -Hungary.

The plan behind the event of the assassination was to so weaken the British economy

through war that Britain would eventually lose its status as the Ruling State in the

world and would be replaced by another State. The perpetrators of the act of terrorism

were so devilishly cunning that they were able to simultaneously attack the Ottoman

Islamic Empire. That State still constituted a formidable obstacle to the liberation of

the Holy Land, the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the restoration of the State

of Israel. The best possible way of removing that obstacle was war. And so the

Ottoman Islamic Empire was forced, by way of skillful internal intrigue, to enter the

war in support of Germany. Britain was then eventually used for attacking and

destroying not only the Ottoman Islamic State but, also, the Islamic Caliphate.

But from 1914 to 1916 the war was a disaster for Britain. Firstly, German

submarines wrested from Britain control over the seas. Secondly, Germany occupied

France and installed a pro-German government in Paris. Thirdly, Russian troops were

deserting and retreating. And finally, by 1916 Britain was in such dire straits that she

was marooned and was threatened by starvation. Then came dramatic change in 1916.

The Jews approached the British Government and offered to get USA to enter the war

in support of Britain if Britain would, as a quid pro quo, promise to give the Holy

Land to the Jews at the end of the war. Britain accepted the offer. The Jews then put

their tremendous propaganda machinery in USA to work and pulled every possible

string until they succeeded in getting USA to enter the war in 1916 in support of

Britain. Britain responded one year later by issuing the Balfour Declaration. 1916 also

marked the successful conclusion of excellent espionage by British spies in the

Arabian Peninsula.

Britain succeeded in achieving two very important objectives both of which

constituted strategic blows delivered against the Ottoman Islamic State. The first was

the conclusion of a Treaty of Mutual Assistance and Benevolent Neutrality between

Britain and ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Ibn Saud (then ruling over Riyadh). The cost to Britain was a

mere 5000 Sterling pounds a month that Abdul Aziz would receive from the British

Treasury. The second was the success in inducing Sharif Husain, the Ottoman appointed

Sharif of Makka and the Hejaz, to rebel against the Ottoman Caliph and

declare his independence. The cost to Britain was a princely sum of 7 million Sterling

pounds.

And so 1916 changed the course of the war and eventually delivered victory to the

USA, Britain and the Jews. Not only was Germany defeated but, more importantly, the

Ottoman Islamic State was dismembered and in its place emerged the secular State of

Turkey. Indeed the secular leadership of Turkey promptly negotiated an offensive and

defensive alliance with the same Britain that had played the leading role in the

dismemberment of the Ottoman Islamic State. But Britain was so devastated by the

war that the USA replaced Britain as the Ruling State in the world. This was confirmed

during the period between the two world wars and then after the Second World War.

For example, during the Second World War it was an American General, Dwight

Eisenhower, who led the allied troops. Then in 1944 the Bretton Woods conference on

the establishment of a new international monetary system delivered a convincing

statement on Britain’s new diminished status when it selected the US dollar as the new

international currency replacing the Sterling pound. The International Monetary Fund

and the World Bank replaced the Bank of England as the premier financial institutions

in the world. And Washington replaced London as the financial capital of the world

thus controlling the money of the world. After the war was over it was USA that had to

rebuild the British and European economies through the Marshall Plan. In the 1956

Suez crisis and again in the Cuban missile crisis of 1963, USA convincingly

demonstrated its new status as the Ruling State in the world.

In the same way that Britain, the Ruling State in the world, was strangely obsessed

with the Holy Land (e.g., the Balfour Declaration) and the British people were

themselves incapable of explaining this strange obsession, so too was the new Ruling

State, USA, strangely obsessed with the Holy Land, and so too were the American

people themselves incapable of explaining this strange obsession. For example, USA

was the first State in the world to ‘recognize’ the new State of Israel when it declared

its independence in 1948. Since then USA has acted as the chief Patron of Israel

‘through thick and through thin’! USA has provided Israel with massive financial,

economic and military aid. In fact the total aid to Israel almost exceeds the total US aid

to the rest of the world. Some of the US aid has gone to Israel through the US

government but a substantial amount of aid has also gone from USA to Israel through

Jews who are resident in USA. In so far as military aid is concerned some has gone

through the ‘front door’ and some through the ‘back door’ (the case of Jonathan

Pollard who passed on to Israel US nuclear secrets is the most well known). As a

consequence Israel became a nuclear and a thermo-nuclear power on par with the

nuclear States in the world.

Our conclusion is that Dajjal is geographically located in USA during that stage of

his life on earth when ‘his day is like a month’. We go on to argue in this book that we

are now located at a moment in time when Dajjal is about to move to that stage of his

life on earth when his ‘day would be like a week’, which would witness USA being

replaced by Israel as the Ruling State in the world. In fact we have located the

September 11th attack on USA as the opening round of the process through which this

change in Ruling States would be accomplished.

By virtue of the fact that the Qur’an declared of itself that it “explains all things”

(Qur’an, al-Nahl, 16:89), it is capable of explaining this most amazing of events ever

witnessed in the religious history of mankind, i.e., the restoration of the State of Israel

in the Holy Land almost 2000 years after it was destroyed by Allah, Most High.

Our purpose in turning to the Qur’an to locate that explanation is to direct attention

to that divine guidance which will assist the Muslim people around the world to

respond appropriately to the strange events unfolding in the Holy Land.

Before we return to an examination of this most ominous of divine prophecies that

has already been fulfilled, i.e., that Allah Most High will bring the Jewish people back

to the Holy Land in the ‘End Time’, it is necessary for us to address the subject of

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who is the greatest hoax the world has ever known in response

to the prophecy of the return of the Messiah.

(This book can be ordered from Islamic Book Trust at

ibtkl@pd.jaring.my)

Sheikh Imran has talked on the subject extensively and here is one video. The reader may find many related videos by Sheikh Imran on You Tube.