[As-Salamu Alaykum
Hi everybody!
First of all, I'd like to say my congratulations for having the website back, even if so late, but nobody informed me about it.
Here is a very long article that I'd like to share with you. It's not written by me actually. The author is a friend of mine; his name is Omar Dunalab and he is a new convert from the States. However, he has a great sense of spirituality and he has, in my opinion, a good amount of religious knowledge. I hope you all like it. Just, be advised to have a thorough reading into this article, so that you may get the gretaest benefit from it.
In the Name of Allah
The Compassionate
The Merciful
Inspired, in part, by this news story, and others like it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go7V8FX4_UwSo, recent events in and around Jerusalem got me thinking about how so many things are happening in the world these days, and I keep living in my delusions thinking that "any day now... any day now people will wake up and realize that serious spiritual events the likes of which the world has never seen are beginning to unfold. Any day now humans will start becoming more spiritual, will start seeking truth, as sign after sign unfolds before their very eyes..." -But every morning I wake up to see people more and more content to be deluded, to sleep, to cover their hearts and their minds with walls of steel and rock, and refuse to think about any purpose or truth beyond the tangible whatsoever.
To those of us who truly see, or to word it differently, those of us who see the reality of things, see the entire world and all it's nations as the Titanic... a fragile little boat out in a vast ocean of possible calamaties, -but because the boat is bigger than other boats before it, and because the crew is more connected and organized than previous crews, the whole ship [that is, the boat itself as well as the crew] is arrogant and deluded, thinking nothing can bring it down. And then you have the Americans which are just amusing everyone to death... Pumping our culture of sex, drugs, and rock and roll [and an orgy of materialism] into every house in the world... in other words, we Americans are the band on the Titanic that keeps playing even as the ship is sinking... giving people their last little giggles as they all face an icy, cold, and lonely death.
But the death isn't physical. It is spiritual. In the Islamic tradition, the soul is a real thing which can be affected either positively or negatively by our actions and our intake. The soul can even die, and the result of that is a "human Shaytan" -a human devil. Not a devil in the sense that they have a pointy tail and a pitch-fork in their hand. But a devil in the sense that they are calling others to evil, and preventing others from good, which is the main function of a devil, and this becomes their natural state, -and their heart has become arrogant, and sealed to even the remote possibility of guidance, humility, or truth. And the biggest horror of a "human shaytan" is that they don't even realize that's what they are, they don't realize that their soul has died, and they honestly believe that they are good and doing things/living in the right way.
So the Americans [and I am speaking not of the individual, every day American, but rather it's government, those who control it's media, who promote capitalism and the end of a gun barrel, who are involved in corporate News, or any sort of anti-religious attacks meant to subconsciously fool people via subtle brainwashing in television, film, or other media with the sole purpose of making the religious look like illogical buffoons or barbarous fanatics] have become the "entertainers." -In fact, most people don't know that America's biggest export is entertainment... movies, music, fashion, video games, etc. -There is something profoundly wrong with a country that has as it's major export an intangible "idea." -Even Orwell couldn't think up something that creepy. [And thoughts of that old quote from the book of Revelations in the Bible, "The whore who spreads her adulteries to all nations" comes to mind].
And while this massive export of a "concept" or "way of life" which subtly promotes materialism and worldly indulgence is occuring, simultaneously wars, clashes, protests, and violence erupts in the city of Jerusalem. The city where many Prophets lived, the city where Jesus [saas] taught, and where the first Christian Church ever existed, headed by James the Just, the author of the book of James in the Bible. It is also the city where the Prophet Muhammad [saas] departed from this earth in what is known as "Al Isra' wa al Miraj" or "The Night Journey and Ascension." Thus it is a holy city to the three Abrahamic faiths, a place of profound importance, and according, also, to all three monotheistic Abrahamic traditions [Judaism, Christianity, and Islam] it will be the city in which the final showdown between good and evil takes place. The Jews believe it is where the Messiah will set up camp and bring peace to the world, whereas the Christians and the Muslims believe it is where Jesus Christ will descend and kill the Anti-Christ.
Whichever view you hold, the violence there in recent weeks, and the Israeli insistence on building new illegal settlements and opening a Synagogue there [with the intention, no doubt, of angering the Muslims of Jerusalem who are forbidden from praying at Islams 3rd holiest site by the Israeli's, al-Aqsa Mosque, where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to the heavens, and thus provoking the Muslims to violence so that they, the Israeli's, can, in turn, expell the Muslims from the city without heavy outcries from other nations and organizations] should be obvious eye-openers to people with even a 10% open mind that we are living in serious times, form a spiritual standpoint.
The fact that this violence is happening in Jerusalem is significant. The fact that it is between Jews and Muslims is also significant. The fact that the whole situation is a provocation on behalf of Jews is, again, significant. The Holy Qu'ran prophesies about the Jews, the following:
"We [God] decreed in the Book for the tribe of Israel: 'You will twice cause corruption on Earth and you will reach [a degree of] great haughtiness.' When the promised first time came, We sent against you servants of Ours possessing great force, and they ransacked your houses, rampaging right through them." [Qur'an, 17:4-6]
Ibn Kathir in his exegesis of these verses states that the "Second mischief" is something that will happen in the future, based on the verse that follows which states, "We shall return..." which he said means "will once again" i.e., in the future, at a later date than the life of the Prophet Muhammad [saas].
So we know then that one of the things mentioned in the Qu'ran is that the Jews will start to cause dissention in the land and behave very arrogantly as they did before, which is certainly happening now. We know that the U.S. is pretty ticked off at Israel right now for causing this dissention and behaving in this way, and one of two things will happen [as they are the only options]... either the U.S. will succeed in bringing a peace deal with regards to Jerusalem between the Muslims and the Jews, or Israel will get what it wants and the Muslims will be kicked out of the city altogether. Either way, then Jerusalem will be stable. -The stability of Jerusalem is significant because the Prophet Muhammad [saas] mentioned that stability and peace in Jerusalem is one of the doors to the anti-Christ. It is recorded that he [saas] said:
“The stabilizing of Jerusalem will mark the desertion of Medina. The desertion of Medina will mark the start of Al-Malhamah [the great war that will start between ar-Rum (Literally means "the Romans" but in Qu'ranic language means any and all Caucasians or Christians) and the Muslims]. The start of Al-Malhamah will mark the conquering of Constantinople. The conquering of Constantionple will mark the appearance of Dajjal.” [Sahih Al-Jami` as-Saghir, no. 4096]
So, according to the Prophesy of our Prophet Muhammad [saas], it will go down like this: The very FIRST thing to happen is stability in Jerusalem, which we can expect one way or another in the coming years. There is just no way around it. The second thing to happen is then the city of Medina [city where the Prophet Muhammad [saas] lived and is buried, and the 2nd holiest site in Islam] will be abandoned. -Scholars have understood this to mean that it is abandoned because all of the devout Muslims there will go out to war. -They could go to war with Israel, or with ar-Rum [the Caucasians] as mentioned in the hadith. But either way, whatever happens, it all leads to a war with Ar-Rum, the conquering of Rome, and, ultimately, the Muslims will retake Constantinople [i.e. modern day Turkey] back from the secularists which are ruling it now. This is the final sign that the next significant act to occur on the world stage is the coming of Ad-Dajjal [the Anti-Christ].
The word for "AntiChrist" in Arabic, and the word used by the Prophet Muhammad [saas] himself was "Al-Maseeah ad-Dajjal" which literally means "The False Messiah" or "Messianic Pretender." -I.E. he will claim to be the Jewish Messiah, and the Jews will indeed accept him as such. Of course, they rejected the true Messiah, Isa ibn Maryam [Jesus, Son of Mary, upon whom be peace], and this is what has led to their coming folly.
This makes sense when we look to modern politics. I mean, the Jews are back in Israel, back in Jerusalem, and are a major world power today. They've got a massive military, own the media and banking systems all over the world, nukes [which the U.N. and the U.S. turns a blind eye to while holding Iran under the microscope for a few nuclear power plants] and on and on it goes... and they are literally waiting for a Messiah... it's all too perfect. They are waiting for some guy to claim to be a Messiah, for him to be their leader, and to bring "peace" to the world, -and they've got armies and media and several world governments in their pockets via their strong Washington lobby AIPAC all to support him with... only the blind cannot see what is obvious...
The Prophet Muhammad [saas] mentioned specifically that the Jews would follow the False Christ, and that there would be many "tools" at his disposal: "The Antichrist will appear with all his tools of deception, and be an immense trial. He will be [at first] followed by 70,000 Jews from Isfahan (present-day Iran)."
Other interesting facts to consider: The Prophet Muhammad [saas] said that the False Christ will be supported with an army wearing "blue hats" [This statement is found in Tabarani and it is Sahih] -which is what the U.N. peacekeeping forces wear.
According to his statements recorded in Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, & Ahmad, killing will increase in the earth, the world will be divided between rich and poor, with the rich not benefitting the poor at all, and "The nations of the earth will gather against the Muslims like hungry people going to sit down to a table full of food. This will occur when the Muslims are large in number, but like the foam of the sea [meaning, weak and divided]."
Also, "Gains will be shared out only among the rich, with no benefit to the poor." (at-Tirmidhi) And, "The people of Iraq will recieve no food and no money due to oppression by Ar-Rum (Caucasians)." [Sahih Muslim]. -This happened when the U.S. sanctioned Iraq during Saddams' reign and an estimated 50,000 iraqi children died during that deplorable event. Furthermore, "Earthquakes will increase" (Bukhari & Muslim).
Something VERY significant, is it is related that "The Euphrates will disclose a treasure of gold, (The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that whoever is present should not take anything from it)." (Bukhari & Muslim) -This is a VERY recent event which has occured. See the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAF6uqaJw3oThe Prophet [saas] also said that one of the HUGE signs that the appearance of Ad-Dajjal was near was that the Jordan River would dry up. This will happen in our life time:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4337341.stmAnd I would like to close this with a spine-tingling story that a very close friend and a very religious Muslim recently told me. I don't want to mention his name because he has only told a few people what he told me. One night we were just discussing all of these things and he looked at me and said, "I am going to tell you something now which I only told 5 people in my life. I had a dream that the Prophet Muhammad appeared to me in a dream and said, 'Your death will occur one year before the appearance of ad-Dajjal.' -I became scared and asked the Prophet, 'Will I receive any trials from him?' and he [saas] said, 'No.'"
-Now, in Islam, for someone to lie about a dream is considered a huge sin. The Prophet Muhammad [saas] actually said, "The worst lie is to relate a dream that one has not had." -The reason is because, according to Islam, some dreams are true and from God, particularly ones that involve the Prophet Muhammad [saas]. The Prophet Muhammad [saas] said, "Whoever has seen me in a dream has really seen me, for Satan cannot impersonate me." -This is a Sahih hadith related in Al-Bukhari. In Shari'ah [Sacred Law] we cannot form a valid or factual statement from a dream, but we are allowed to use a Prophetic dream to strengthen the known and established facts. I think when we look to the above facts [and many hundreds more] which, unfortunately, time and other constraints simply will not allow, his dream was a true one.
The point is, we are not living in times where it behooves us to be oblivious. We are living in very serious times, and, as the gospel of the Christians states, "These are just the beginnings of the birth pangs." -But for those who see the reality of things via true guidance and sound doctrine, we are simply waiting for the final outcome, which is the ultimate triumph of good. As Muslims, we shouldn't lose hope, for as the Qu'ran says, "After difficulty, there is relief." -After these dark times, there will come light, after this ignorance, knowledge, after these trials, there will be ease, and after this sadness, joy. Ad-Dajjal, and all of the difficulties leading up to his arrival, are just the first chapters of a book that is far from over... the book doesn't end until everything is set right, until The Messiah, Jesus, descends in Damascus, and kills ad-Dajjal in Ludd, Israel [which, interestingly is today called "Lod" and is the site of an Israeli airport and military base]. -It doesn't end until, as the Prophet Muhammad [saas] said, Jesus becomes a righteous world leader, rules by authentic Shari'ah, and "wipes away every tear" of the righteous. Don't lose hope at our impotence today, our disunity, and our defeat, and don't lose hope at the mistreatment and oppression of our Palestinian brothers... it is just chapter one... there are many chapters yet to come, and in the end, we will certainly triumph.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of8udqXbUT4 :-) :-) :-)
Salaam/Peace
"Every Prophet warned his
people about Ad-Dajjal, and
Noah [even] warned his people.
But I will tell you something
none before me has mentioned.
He is one-eyed, but behold! Your
Lord is not one-eyed!" -The
Prophet Muhammad [saas] as
related in an authentic tradition
in Sahih Bukhari.[/center][/left]
