Taliban, Huthis and Near Future Emergence of the Mahdi

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين

وعلى اهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين

The changes to the geopolitical chessboard is accelerating so that a clearer image of the end game is now somewhat discernible. The stage for the final showdown pitting the forces of Light and Darkness against each other is almost set. As was revealed to me in a kashaf this world is the battlefield in the cosmic war between Heaven and Hell. Each side has their pawns and also their more dangerous pieces – the latter are not restricted to being powerful military or political forces. Rather, this war is primarily waged as an intellectual struggle for souls. Due consideration must be given to rising religious forces like the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Huthis in Yemen. Both of these factions, although apparently unrelated and separated by thousands of miles, will play a crucial role in bringing about an apocalyptic, religious awakening among ordinary Muslims that will pave the way for the emergence of the promised Mahdi. In Afghanistan, the US have almost completely withdrawn their military presence, leaving the ineffective and corrupt Afghan government virtually defenceless against the Taliban onslaught. Within months we can expect a near total victory for the Taliban. They are on the march to final victory, and as that victory appears more and more attainable in a short period of time, their incentive to compromise on the negotiating table will diminish. A Taliban takeover of Afghanistan will be a huge game changer for the Muslim world. Muslim states that are generally corrupt, weak and fail to invoke any confidence or inspiration in their citizens have much to be worried about the Taliban’s success as an armed group that identifies itself with Islam and the Shari’ah. Likewise, the Saudi failure to not only defeat but even contain the Huthis – a Zaidi revivalist movement that seeks to establish an Imamate – bodes ill for the corrupt Gulf monarchies. Both the lands of Yemen and Khorasan are intimately connected with the rise of the promised Mahdi. These are countries where historically Muslims were successful in resisting cultural Westernization and modernization. According to a set of narrations, the promised Mahdi shall be backed by armies from the East, from Khorasan, identified by their black banners. Another narration predicts that the Mahdi shall emerge from a small town in Yemen called Kari’ah:

يَخْرُجُ الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ بِالْيَمِينِ يُقَالُ لَهَا ‌كَرِعَةٌ وَعَلَى رَأْسِهِ عِمَامَةٌ فِيهَا مُنَادٍ يُنَادِي أَلَا إِنَّ هَذَا الْمَهْدِيُّ فَاتَّبِعُوهُ

The Mahdi shall come out from a village in Yemen called Kari’ah. Upon his head is a turban and a caller shall call out ‘this is the Mahdi, so follow him’

(al-Mu’jam Ibn al-Muqri: Hadith #94):

Although the authenticity of this particular narration is questionable, there is a distinct possibility that the promised Mahdi shall indeed hail from this northern region in Yemen, while being a resident of modern-day Saudi Arabia. He shall also be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم through his illustrious daughter sayyidatuna Fatimah سلام الله عليها

But do not construe this as an endorsement of either the Taliban or the Huthis. Both have employed tactics in war that are undoubtedly contrary to the principles of the Shari’ah, including tactics which are borderline described as terrorism. I do not say that either faction is truly Mahdist, but it is a distinct possibility that either one of them, or even both, shall eventually morph into a force that shall be the initial support for the promised Mahdi when he does emerge in the Hejaz.

The persistent weakening of modern states in the Muslim world leading to the inevitable collapse of many of them (at the moment, the collapse of Lebanon seems imminent) lays the groundwork for the emergence of the Mahdist movement that will miraculously establish a Caliphate in the Middle East and perhaps the liberation of Jerusalem from Zionist control. There will also be a spiritual uprising in Istanbul, modern day Turkey, after which in short order the Antichrist will surface and move toward the Holy Land from the east. It appears to me that there is a link between the emergence of the Antichrist and the so-called Islamic Republic of Iran. For the Antichrist emerges from Khorasan, or from Asbahan, regions in northern and central Iran, backed by a force of seventy thousand strong. This force of seventy thousand are described as having Turkic features, though according to a Hadith in Sahih Muslim, they are Jews of Asbahan. It may be that the Twelver Shi’ites of Iran, and other Shi’ite communities especially the Hazara of Afghanistan, shall imagine that the Antichrist is their fictional Twelfth Imam.

Destruction of Babu Elahi Bakhsh

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Babu Ilahi Bakhsh, a follower of the monotheist saint Abdullah Ghaznawi (1811-1881), subsequently became a follower of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1839-1908) and alleged that he himself was a mulham (recipient of ilham—divine inspiration). When Ilahi Bakhsh raised a doubt that being a mulham he was not subordinate to Ghulam Ahmad, the latter wrote Darurat ul-Imam (the Need for the Imam).

Babu Ilahi Bakhsh publicly disavowed his former spiritual guide, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, and began opposing him. He wrote a book, Asa-e-Musa (Staff of Moses) in which he attempted to answer Ghulam Ahmad’s Darurat ul-Imam and also published some of his alleged revelations. Babu Ilahi Bakhsh claimed on the basis of divine revelation that he was the similitude of the great prophet Moses على نبينا وعليه الصلاة والسلام and that he had been made into an Imam (Muhasibah-e-Qadiyaniat v.1; Asa-e-Musa pp.36, 83):

He also alleged that Allah had revealed the following ilham to him concerning Mirza Ghulam Ahmad:

سَنَسِمُہٗ عَلَی الۡخُرۡطُوۡمِ

We will brand him on the snout

(ibid, p.74):

Yet, Babu Ilahi Bakhsh died within Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s lifetime, on 7 April 1907, apparently from the plague. Ghulam Ahmad lived on to boast about the apparent divine sign of Babu Ilahi Bakhsh’s destruction:

کہاں ہےبابو الہی بخش صاحب مؤلّف عصاۓ موسی اکونٹنٹ لاہور؟ جس نے اپنے تئیں موسی قرار دےکر مجھے فرعون قرار دیا تھا اور میری نسبت اپنی زندگی میں ہی طاعون سے ہلاک ہونے کی پیشگوئی کی تھی اور میری تباہی کی نسبت اور بھی بہت سی پیشگوئیاں کی تھیں اخر وہ بھی میری زندگی میں ہی اپنی کتاب عصاۓ موسی پر جھوٹ اور افتری کا داغ لگا کر طاعون کی موت سے بصد حصرت مرا۔

Where is Babu Ilahi Bakhsh author of Asa-e-Musa, accountant, Lahore who declared himself Moses and myself Pharaoh and regarding me prophesied that I would die of plague within his lifetime, and many other prophecies relating to my destruction? In the end he too, in my lifetime, died of plague thereby placing a stain of falsehood and fabrication upon his book Asa-e-Musa. (Ruhani Khaza’in v.23 p.3; Chashma-e-Ma’rifat)

Coming of Two Prophets When the Antichrist Emerges

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

My beloved master the holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم said:

إنه لم يكن نبي إلا وقد أنذر الدجال أمته ألا وإنه أعور عين الشمال وباليمنى ظفرة غليظة بين عينيه كافر يعني مكتوب ك ف ر ويخرج معه واديان أحدهما جنة وأخرى نار فناره جنة وجنته نار فيقول الدجال للناس ألست ربكم أحيي وأميت ومعه ‌نبيان ‌من ‌الأنبياء إني لأعرف اسمهما واسم آبائهما لو شئت أن أسميهما سميتهما أحدهما عن يمينه والآخر عن يساره فيقول ألست بربكم أحيي وأميت فيقول أحدهما كذبت فلا يسمعه أحد من الناس إلا صاحبه ويقول الآخر صدقت ويسمعه الناس وذلك فتنة ثم يسير حتى يأتي المدينة فيقول: هذه قرية ذاك الرجل فلا يؤذن له أن يدخلها ثم يسير حتى يأتي الشام فيهلكه الله عند عقبة أفيق

There wasn’t a prophet except he warned his Ummah about the Dajjal. Beware, he is blind in the left eye and his right eye is protruding. Between his eyes is written K F R. He will come with two valleys, the first is a garden and the second is a fire. But his fire is a garden and his garden is fire. The Dajjal will say to the people: “Am I not your Lord, giving life and death?” And there shall be with him two prophets from among the Prophets. I know their names and the names of their fathers. If I wished I could name them. The first of them at his right side and the other at his left side. When he [Dajjal] says: “Am I not your Lord, giving life and death?” the first [prophet] will say “you have lied” but no one from the people will hear him except his companion, the second [prophet] who will say to him “you have said the truth” which will be heard by the people, and that shall be a trial. Then he will travel until he comes to the city and say “this is the town of that man” but he will be prevented from entering it. Then he will travel till he comes to the Levant and Allah shall destroy him at the slope of Afiq (Musnad Abi Daud at-Tayalisi; v.2 p.430):

Dr. Muhammad bin Abdul-Muhsin at-Turki in his checking of this Musnad declared the Hadith ‘isnaduhu hasan’.

This narration is interesting in that it speaks of the future appearance of two Prophets عليهما السلام calling into question the traditional or standard interpretation of the doctrine of khatm an-Nubuwwah.

However, another version of this Hadith explains that the two Prophets are in fact two Angels that come in the form of Prophets:

‌معه ‌ملكان من الملائكة يشبهان نبيين من الأنبياء لو شئت سميتهما بأسمائهما وأسماء آبائهما

He [Dajjal] comes with two Angels from among the Angels, resembling two Prophets from among the Prophets. If I wished I could name them (Musnad Ahmad; v.36, p.258):

However, in his checking of the Musnad, Shuaib Arnaut declared this narration da’if (weak).

There appears to be some connection between this prophesy of two Prophets who appear during the time of the Dajjal and the Two Witnesses spoken of in the eleventh chapter of the Christian Book of Revelation, who are killed by the Beast. Some early Christian theologians like Tertullian, Irenaeus and Hippolytus of Rome, explained that the Two Witnesses are the two ancient prophets Enoch and Elijah who did not die but were taken by God from this world alive. Incidentally, some Muslims believe that the prophets Idris [Enoch] and Ilyas [Elias] are alive like Jesus. It is also said that the man whom the Dajjal shall kill and resurrect is al-Khidr عليه السلام

Al-Zajjaj Refuting Interpretation of 4:159

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

اللهم صلى على سيدنا ومولانا محمد

وبارك وسلم وصلى عليه

The famed grammarian, Abu Ishaq al-Zajjaj (d. 922 CE), refuted the interpretation of 4:159 that the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) will all believe in Jesus before Jesus’s death:

وقال بعضهم إِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهِ أي سيؤْمن بعيسى إِذا نزل لقتل المسيح

الدجَّال وهذا بعيدُ في اللغَةٍ لأنه قال وَإِنْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ إِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهِ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهِ

والذين يبقون إِلى ذلك الوقت إنما هم شرذمة منهم ولكنه يحتمل أنهم كلهم

يقولون إن عيسى الذي ينزل لقتل الدجال نحن نؤمن فيجوز على هذا

واللَّه أعلم بحقيقته

Some of them say: ‘except they will believe in him’ that is, they will believe in Jesus when he descends and kills the Antichrist. But this is far-fetched linguistically, because He said ‘and there is none from the People of the Scripture except will believe in him before his death’ while they who remain at that time will only be a fragment from among them [the People of the Scripture]. But if it means that all of them say ‘Verily, Jesus will descend and kill the Antichrist and we believe in him’ then this [meaning] would be permissible. And Allah knows best its reality (Ma’ani al-Quran; v.2, p.130):

In other words, according to the logical explanation of al-Zajjaj, the idea that 4:159 means the People of the Scripture will believe in Jesus during his second advent when he slays the Antichrist is far-fetched, because 4:159 emphasizes the fact that all of the People of the Book will believe in him, whereas the People of the Book, Jews and Christians, who will presumably be alive during the second advent and believe in Jesus, are only a fraction of the entirety of the People of the Book, the vast majority of whom will have died before Jesus returns.

Add to this the fact that even during the time of the second coming, the Jews who will follow the Antichrist will not believe in Jesus but oppose him and his followers, and as a consequence of that opposition, the Muslim army shall exterminate them.

When Caesar Dies There is No Caesar After Him

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

اللهم صلى على سيدنا ومولانا محمد

وبارك وسلم وصلى عليه

Sayyidina Abi Hurairah رضى الله عنه narrated the following prophecy from the holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم

إِذَا هَلَكَ كِسْرَى فَلاَ كِسْرَى بَعْدَهُ وَإِذَا هَلَكَ قَيْصَرُ فَلاَ قَيْصَرَ بَعْدَهُ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَتُنْفِقُنَّ كُنُوزَهُمَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

When Chosroes dies there is no Chosroes after him and when Caesar dies there is no Caesar after him. By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, you will spend their treasures in the path of Allah

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was referring to the Chosroes (Persian emperor) and Caesar (Roman emperor) of his time, namely, Khosrow II (d. 628 CE) that is Khosrow Parviz son of Hormizd IV, and Flavius Heraclius (d. 641 CE).

However, historically speaking, when Khosrow II was executed after a coup that enthroned his son Sheroe or Kavad II, there were several successive Persian emperors, beginning with Kavad II, then his son Ardashir III, then Shahrbaraz, then Boran daughter of Khosrow II, then finally the last Sasanian emperor was Yazdegerd III.

Likewise, Heraclius was not the last Byzantine emperor.

How then do we understand the prophecy “When Chosroes dies there is no Chosroes after him and when Caesar dies there is no Caesar after him”? The classical scholars and exegetes explained this apparent difficulty. For instance, Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani said:

وَقَدِ اسْتُشْكِلَ هَذَا مَعَ بَقَاءِ مَمْلَكَةِ الْفُرْسِ لِأَنَّ آخِرَهُمْ قُتِلَ فِي زَمَانِ عُثْمَانَ وَاسْتُشْكِلَ أَيْضًا مَعَ بَقَاءِ مَمْلَكَةِ الرُّومِ وَأُجِيبَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ ‌بِأَنَّ ‌الْمُرَادَ ‌لَا ‌يَبْقَى ‌كِسْرَى ‌بِالْعِرَاقِ ‌وَلَا ‌قَيْصَرُ ‌بِالشَّامِ ‌وَهَذَا ‌مَنْقُولٌ ‌عَنِ ‌الشَّافِعِيِّ

As for the difficulty in that the Persian Empire remained and their last [emperor, Yazdegerd III] was killed in the time of Uthman, and likewise the difficulty with the remaining of the Roman Empire, the answer to that is the meaning [of the Hadith] is Chosroes will not remain in Iraq and neither Caesar will remain in the Levant, and this is the statement of ash-Shafi’i (Fath al-Bari; v.6 p.625, published by Dar al-Ma’rifah)

Ibn Hajr also quoted the explanation of al-Khattabi:

قَالَ الْخَطَّابِيُّ مَعْنَاهُ فَلَا قَيْصَرَ بَعْدَهُ يَمْلِكُ مِثْلَ مَا يَمْلِكُ

Al-Khattabi said: It means there will be no Caesar after him who will rule as he ruled (ibid; p.626):

And this Hadith is relevant to the controversy around the finality of Prophesy. The Hadith with similar wording “there is no Prophet after me” should not be interpreted literally just as the Hadith “when Caesar dies there is no Caesar after him” should not be interpreted literally. Rather, as al-Khattabi explained, when Caesar dies there is no Caesar who will rule as he ruled, and likewise, after the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم there is no prophet who is like him, in the sense of being a prophet delegated with legislative authority.