Islam and Millennialism (Messianic Age)

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Unlike the heretical Roman Catholic Church, Islam is a Millenarian (Chiliastic) faith. We believe in a coming Messianic Age that shall be established on Earth before the final Judgment and Resurrection. The most holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family, and my my mom and dad be sacrificed for his sake) is reported to have said:

يَنْزِلُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ إِمَامًا عَادِلًا وَحَكَمًا مُقْسِطًا فَيَكْسِرُ الصَّلِيبَ وَيَقْتُلُ الْخِنْزِيرَ وَيُرْجِعُ السَّلْمَ وَيَتَّخِذُ السُّيُوفَ مَنَاجِلَ وَتَذْهَبُ حُمَةُ كُلِّ ذَاتِ حُمَةٍ وَتُنْزِلُ السَّمَاءُ رِزْقَهَا وَتُخْرِجُ الْأَرْضُ بَرَكَتَهَا حَتَّى يَلْعَبَ ‌الصَّبِيُّ ‌بِالثُّعْبَانِ فَلَا يَضُرُّهُ وَيُرَاعِي الْغَنَمَ الذِّئْبُ فَلَا يَضُرُّهَا وَيُرَاعِي الْأَسَدُ الْبَقَرَ فَلَا يَضُرُّهَا

The Son of Mary will descend as a just Imam and ruler. He will break the Cross and slay the swine. Peace will return, swords will be taken as ploughshares, and the poison of every poisonous creature will be removed. Provisions shall descend from Heaven and blessings will come out of the Earth, until a baby plays with a snake and no harm will come to him. The wolf shall look after the sheep without harming them and the lion shall look after the cattle without harming them (Musnad Ahmad; v.16, p.182, #10261)

فَيَكُونُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ فِي أُمَّتِي حَكَمًا عَدْلاً وَإِمَامًا مُقْسِطًا يَدُقُّ الصَّلِيبَ وَيَذْبَحُ الْخِنْزِيرَ وَيَضَعُ الْجِزْيَةَ وَيَتْرُكُ الصَّدَقَةَ فَلاَ يُسْعَى عَلَى شَاةٍ وَلاَ بَعِيرٍ وَتُرْفَعُ الشَّحْنَاءُ وَالتَّبَاغُضُ وَتُنْزَعُ حُمَةُ كُلِّ ذَاتِ حُمَةٍ حَتَّى يُدْخِلَ الْوَلِيدُ يَدَهُ فِي فِي الْحَيَّةِ فَلاَ تَضُرَّهُ وَتُفِرُّ الْوَلِيدَةُ الأَسَدَ فَلاَ يَضُرُّهَا وَيَكُونُ الذِّئْبُ فِي الْغَنَمِ كَأَنَّهُ كَلْبُهَا وَتُمْلأُ الأَرْضُ مِنَ السِّلْمِ كَمَا يُمْلأُ الإِنَاءُ مِنَ الْمَاءِ وَتَكُونُ الْكَلِمَةُ وَاحِدَةً فَلاَ يُعْبَدُ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَتَضَعُ الْحَرْبُ أَوْزَارَهَا وَتُسْلَبُ قُرَيْشٌ مُلْكَهَا وَتَكُونُ الأَرْضُ كَفَاثُورِ الْفِضَّةِ تُنْبِتُ نَبَاتَهَا بِعَهْدِ آدَمَ حَتَّى يَجْتَمِعَ النَّفَرُ عَلَى الْقِطْفِ مِنَ الْعِنَبِ فَيُشْبِعَهُمْ وَيَجْتَمِعَ النَّفَرُ عَلَى الرُّمَّانَةِ فَتُشْبِعَهُمْ وَيَكُونَ الثَّوْرُ بِكَذَا وَكَذَا مِنَ الْمَالِ وَتَكُونَ الْفَرَسُ بِالدُّرَيْهِمَاتِ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا يُرْخِصُ الْفَرَسَ قَالَ‏ لاَ تُرْكَبُ لِحَرْبٍ أَبَدًا‏ قِيلَ لَهُ فَمَا يُغْلِي الثَّوْرَ قَالَ ‏ تُحْرَثُ الأَرْضُ كُلُّهَا

Jesus son of Mary, upon him be peace, will be a just Imam and ruler within my Ummah. He will break the Cross, slay the swine, abolish the Jizyah, while charity will be left. No one will be appointed to (collect the Zakah of) sheep and camels. Grudges and mutual hatred will disappear and the venom of every venomous creature will be removed, so that a baby boy will but his hand in a snake and it will not harm him, and a baby girl will make a lion run away, and it will not harm her; and the wolf will be among the sheep like their sheepdog. The earth will be filled with peace just as a vessel is filled with water. The people will be united and none will be worshipped except Allah. War will cease and Quraish will no longer be in power. The earth will be like a silver platter, with its vegetation growing as it did at the time of Adam, until a group of people will gather around one bunch of grapes and it will suffice them, and a group will gather around a single pomegranate and it will suffice them. An ox will be sold for such and such amount of money, and a horse will be sold for a few Dirhams. They said: O Messenger of Allah, why will horses be so cheap? He said: They will never be ridden in war again. It was said to him: Why will oxen be so expensive? He said: Because all the land will be tilled (Sunan Ibn Majah, #4077)

These prophecies echo what has been mentioned in the Scripture of Isaiah:

But a shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse, A twig shall sprout from his stock. The spirit of the Lord shall alight upon him: A spirit of wisdom and insight, A spirit of counsel and valor, A spirit of devotion and reverence for the Lord.

He shall sense the truth by his reverence for the Lord: He shall not judge by what his eyes behold, Nor decide by what his ears perceive. Thus he shall judge the poor with equity And decide with justice for the lowly of the land. He shall strike down a land d with the rod of his mouth And slay the wicked with the breath of his lips. Justice shall be the girdle of his loins, And faithfulness the girdle of his waist. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard lie down with the kid; The calf, the beast of prey, and the fatling together, With a little boy to herd them. The cow and the bear shall graze, Their young shall lie down together; And the lion, like the ox, shall eat straw. A babe shall play Over a viper's hole, And an infant pass his hand Over an adder's den (Isaiah; ch.11, v.1-8)

The prophecy of swords being taken as plowshares is also mentioned in the second chapter of Isaiah and the fourth chapter of Micah.