Zaidi Shi'a Challenge Belief in Second Coming of the Messiah

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Among the deviations of the Zaidi sect of Shi’ism is its failure to affirm the Second Coming of the Messiah Jesus عليه السلام. Hence, a major scholar of the Zaidis today from Yemen, Abdullah ash-Shadili, said:

بالنسبة لعودة المسيح عليه السلام فلم اقف على كلام لأئمتنا عليهم السلام في الموضوع وأعني بذلك المتقدمين و لأن المسئلة لا يلزم منها ضلال ولا يتعلق بها علم ولا عمل لم يكن من هم ائمتنا عليهم السلام ردها او اثباتها والذي يظهر لي ان تلك الروايات سربت من الإسرائيليات ولا سيما من كتب اليهود ودسهم لأنهم لا يعترفون بالمسيح الذي بعث قبل النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم فلا زالوا بانتظار مبعثه ولما كان قد بعث عند النصارى والمسلمين جعلوا تلك الروايات عودة والمسئلة قليلة الجدوى لأن من قال بعودته جعل تلك العودة تحت امارة المسلمين وتحت قيادة المهدي

Translation: “As for the return of Christ, upon him be peace, I am not aware of the statements of our Imams, upon them be peace, concerning this issue—by that, I mean the early authorities (al-mutaqadimîn). This is because the issue is not one of affirming deviance or related to the belief or practice. There has not been any from our Imams who has refuted or established it. What is clear to me is that those narrations that have infiltrated are amongst the narrated Jewish legends (Isrâ`îlîyât), especially from the books of the Jews and their interpolations. This is because they do not recognize the Christ that was sent before the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, and they are still waiting for his coming. Yet, according to the Christians and Muslims, he has already been sent. Therefore, they constructed these narrations of his return. The issue is one of small advantage because the one who says that he is to return makes the return under the rule of the Muslims and under the leadership of the Mahdi.”

So the Zaidis essentially consider the Sunni narrations from the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, concerning the Second Coming of the Messiah to be a Judaic fabrication!

Ascension of Amir bin Fuhairah to Heaven

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Qadianis and other heretical groups deny the physical ascension of the Messiah عليه السلام to Heaven, and likewise deny the physical, corporal ascension of the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم to Heaven during the Mi’raj. Among their arguments is that it is impossible for a mortal human to physically ascend in his body to the Heavens. However, the Qadianis acknowledge the miraculous ascension of sayyidina Amir bin Fuhairah رضى الله عنه to the sky after he was martyred: “Hazrat Aamir bin Fuhaira(ra) was martyred during the incident of Bi’r-e-Ma‘unah. When these Companions were killed at Bi’r-e-Ma‘unah and Hazrat Amr bin Umayyah Zamri was held captive, Aamir bin Tufail pointed to a deceased and asked him who that man was. Amr bin Umayyah answered that it was Aamir bin Fuhaira(ra). Aamir bin Tufail then said “After being killed, I saw Aamir bin Fuhaira(ra) being raised to the heavens to the extent that the sky was between him and the earth, and I can see it even at present. Thereafter, he descended to the earth.” One of the seventy martyrs of the B’ir Ma’unah massacre was Amir bin Fuhairah رضى الله عنه whose body was raised up to the sky as per the testimony of the pagans themselves who had him murdered:

قَالَ لَهُ عَامِرُ بْنُ الطُّفَيْلِ مَنْ هَذَا فَأَشَارَ إِلَى قَتِيلٍ فَقَالَ لَهُ عَمْرُو بْنُ أُمَيَّةَ هَذَا عَامِرُ بْنُ فُهَيْرَةَ‏ فَقَالَ لَقَدْ رَأَيْتُهُ بَعْدَ مَا قُتِلَ رُفِعَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ حَتَّى إِنِّي لأَنْظُرُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الأَرْضِ ثُمَّ وُضِعَ

Amir bin at-Tufail asked Amru bin Umayyah ad-Damri رضى الله عنه “who is this?” pointing to a man who was killed, so Amru bin Umayyah said, “This is Amir bin Fuhairah”. Then Amir bin at-Tufail said, “I saw him after he was killed raised up to the sky, until I beheld the sky between him and between the Earth, then he was placed (back upon the Earth)" (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Amir bin Fuhairah رضى الله عنه who killed by a man named Jabbar bin Salma al-Kalbi رضى الله عنه who ended up accepting Islam after witnessing the miracle of Amir bin Fuhairah’s body ascending to the sky:

وَكَانَ مَعَهُمْ عَمْرُو بْنُ أُمَيَّةَ الضَّمْرِيُّ فَقُتِلُوا جَمِيعًا غَيْرَهُ فَقَالَ عَامِرُ بْنُ الطُّفَيْلِ قَدْ كَانَ عَلَى أُمِّي نَسَمَةٌ فَأَنْتَ حُرٌّ عَنْهَا وَجَزَّ نَاصِيَتَهُ وَفَقَدَ عَمْرُو بْنُ أُمَيَّةَ عَامِرَ بْنَ فُهَيْرَةَ مِنْ بَيْنَ الْقَتْلَى فَسَأَلَ عَنْهُ عَامِرُ بْنُ الطُّفَيْلِ فَقَالَ قَتَلَهُ رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَنِي كِلَابٍ يُقَالُ لَهُ جُبَارُ بْنُ سُلْمَى لَمَّا طَعَنَهُ قَالَ ‌فُزْتُ ‌وَاللَّهِ وَرَفَعَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ عُلُوًّا فَأَسْلَمَ جُبَارُ بْنُ سُلْمَى لَمَّا رَأَى مِنْ قَتْلِ عَامِرِ بْنِ فُهَيْرَةَ وَرَفْعِهِ وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلّى الله عليه وسلم إِنَّ الْمَلَائِكَةَ وَارَتْ جُثَّتَهُ وَأُنْزِلَ عِلِّيِّينَ

Amru bin Umayyah ad-Damri was with them, and they were all killed except him...Amru bin Umayyah missed Amir bin Fuhairah among the killed, so Amir bin at-Tufail asked about him. He said, “He was killed by a man from the Bani Kilab tribe called Jabbar ibn Salma. When he stabbed him, he said, ‘I have won.’” And Allah raised him to the heavens high. So Jabbar bin Salma converted to Islam when he saw the killing of Amir ibn Fuhairah and his being raised up. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “The Angels covered his body and conveyed him to Illiyyin.” (Tabaqat al-Kubra, v.2, p.40)

Valley of Becca (Mecca) in the Psalms

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Allah, holy and exalted is He, says:

اِنَّ اَوَّلَ بَیۡتٍ وُّضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِیۡ بِبَکَّۃَ مُبٰرَکًا وَّہُدًی لِّلۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ

Surely, the first House made for mankind is that at Becca, blessed and a guidance for the worlds

(Surah 3, Ayah 96)

Becca is one of the old names of Mecca, and linguistically it means a place of weeping. That is because it was meant to be a place where the Believers congregate in pilgrimage to weep over their sins and seek forgiveness from Allah Most High. The sacredness of this place has been mentioned in the Zabur, or the Psalms of David:

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them

עֹבְרֵ֤י בְּעֵ֣מֶק הַ֭בָּכָא מַעְיָ֣ן יְשִׁית֑וּהוּ גַּם־בְּ֝רָכֹ֗ות יַעְטֶ֥ה מֹורֶֽה

who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools

(Psalm 84:5-6, KJV)

Not only does this scripture refer to Becca (Mecca) as a place of blessing where the blessed pass through, but it also alludes to the Zamzam Well.

Reality of the Madakhilah

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Within the modern-day movement of Salafism there are numerous tendencies. The so-called Madkhali strain of Salafism is perhaps the most moderate and benign from our mainstream Sunni perspective. This tendency is named after Shaykh Rabi al-Madkhali, an influential Salafi scholar based in Medina, though technically this strain of Salafism owes its existence to one Aman al-Jami. It is a reaction to the infiltration of Ikhwani (Muslim Brotherhood) presence and thought in Saudi Arabia, which started in the 1970s. Much credit is due to Aman al-Jami and Rabi al-Madkhali for their intellectual and academic refutation of the Ikhwani ideology, which is indeed a distortion of Islam and quite opposed to normative Sunni orthodoxy. The Madkhali strain of Salafism became somewhat popular among Muslim youth in the Anglosphere beginning in the 1990s. It pioneered Islamic proselytizing on the internet along with circulating English language literature to attract young Muslims and converts. While the Madkhalis will passionately disagree, it is a fact that their strain of Salafism is a break with the violent Wahhabi movement of Ibn Abd-ul-Wahhab and his early followers. Whereas the Wahhabis made mass-Takfir of much of the Ummah, and for all intents and purposes considered themselves alone to be the true Muslims, the Madkhalis have appealed to the classical Sunni tradition in intellectually repudiating mass-Takfir and neo-Kharijism. The Madkhalis have been instrumental in scholastically defending moderation and classical Sunni thought from the violent and terrorist tendencies of the neo-Kharijites influenced by the likes of Sayyid Qutb.

Now there is no doubt that the Madkhali strain of Salafism was more suitable to the interests of the ruling Saudi elite as it emphasized obedience to the Muslim ruler despite his corruption, as opposed to the violent and Kharijite nature of the original Wahhabism which would openly challenge the House of Saud periodically for its perceived lapse and embracing of modernity. Hence, the Wahhabi revolt against the House of Saud from 1927-1930 and Juhayman’s Mahdist uprising in 1979 are clear examples of the latter phenomenon. So while the Saudis initially supported, and presumably continue to, the Madkhali strain of Salafism, other Arab States like the Emirates, Egypt and Jordan have also found the Madkhali strain useful for the same reason. So favorable is the Madkhali strain to the Arab regimes which have problems with Ikhwani style challenges to their authority that the Emirati and Egyptian backed Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar recruited many Madkhalis to fight for him during the recent civil war in Libya.

However, among the faults of the Madakhilah is that they tend to splinter over the relatively petty internal disagreements among their Shuyukh, which breeds division and factionalism. Now there are three main camps of this particular Salafi tendency; the group that has remained with Rabi al-Madkhali, though he is now quite elderly and has become reclusive but another scholar of this camp is Ubaid al-Jabiri; the group that was based in the Dar-ul-Hadith Madrassah in Dammaj, Yemen, before it was overrun by the Houthis, led by Yahya al-Hajuri, considered the successor to the well-known Salafi scholar of Yemen, namely, Shaykh Muqbil; a group that is led by al-Albani’s student Ali al-Halabi based in Jordan. Another problem with the Madkhali tendency is that it is overly defensive of the corrupt rulers in the Gulf, particularly the Saudis and the Emiratis. While we mainstream Sunnis are opposed to making Takfir of these rulers, despite their corruption, tyranny, and betrayal of the Palestinians, and we therefore also oppose any violent insurrection or terrorism directed against their regimes, it has to be said that we have no love or attachment to them either.

Messiah Coming in the Clouds

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدى يا رسول الله وعلى آلك واصحابك يا سيدى يا نور الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Prayers and peace be upon you, my Master, Apostle of Allah

And upon your Family and Companions, my Master, Light of Allah

The Sunni Islamic belief that the Messiah Jesus will descend from Heaven is established in the ancient Scriptures, for instance, the Prophet Daniel says:

חָזֵ֤ה הֲוֵית֙ בְּחֶזְוֵ֣י לֵֽילְיָ֔א וַאֲרוּ֙ עִם־עֲנָנֵ֣י שְׁמַיָּ֔א כְּבַ֥ר אֱנָ֖שׁ אָתֵ֣ה הֲוָ֑ה וְעַד־עַתִּ֤יק יֹֽומַיָּא֙ מְטָ֔ה וּקְדָמֹ֖והִי הַקְרְבֽוּהִי

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him

(Daniel 7:13)

The coming of the Son of man with the clouds of heaven is interpreted to mean the descent of the Messiah. This is an interpretation found in Jewish apocalyptic literature:

Tenth sign: He will produce Menahem b. ‘Amiel, the Messiah of the lineage of David, from the place of imprisonment, as scripture states: ‘for one came out of prison in order to reign’ (Ecclesiastes 4:14), and He will transport him upon a cloud, as scripture says: ‘and behold (one resembling a human being came) accompanied by the clouds of the sky’ (Daniel 7:13) (Trajectories in Near Eastern Apocalyptic: A Postrabbinic Jewish Apocalypse Reader, Otot of R. Simon B. Yohai, p.116)

This passage affirms Daniel 7:13 is a Messianic prophecy in which the one like the son of man is the Messiah who shall be transported on a cloud. However, here the Jews have identified a certain Menahem son of Amiel as the Messiah. They also say that prior to his appearance he remains imprisoned. The current imprisonment of the false Jewish Messiah accords to the Hadith of Tamim ad-Dari in which the latter beheld the Dajjal (Antichrist) imprisoned and chained up:

فَانْطَلَقْنَا سِرَاعًا حَتَّى دَخَلْنَا الدَّيْرَ فَإِذَا فِيهِ أَعْظَمُ إِنْسَانٍ رَأَيْنَاهُ قَطُّ خَلْقًا وَأَشَدُّهُ وِثَاقًا مَجْمُوعَةٌ يَدَاهُ إِلَى عُنُقِهِ مَا بَيْنَ رُكْبَتَيْهِ إِلَى كَعْبَيْهِ بِالْحَدِيدِ

So we set off quickly until we entered the monastery, and there in it was the largest man we had ever seen, and the most tightly bound, with his hands bound to his neck, from between his knees to his ankles, with iron (Sahih Muslim)

Daniel 7:13 is quoted in another Jewish apocalyptic text as referring to the Messiah who shall come in the clouds:

And now we will celebrate the praise of the King Messiah. He is going to arrive “with the clouds of heaven” (עם ענני שמיא) and two seraphim will be on his right and on his left, as scripture says: “and behold, one like a human being came with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13) (Trajectories in Near Eastern Apocalyptic: A Postrabbinic Jewish Apocalypse Reader, Pirqe Masiah, p.153)

This passage, in speaking of the two Seraphim, affirms the Islamic belief that the Messiah shall descend from Heaven with two Angels:

وَاضِعًا كَفَّيْهِ عَلَى أَجْنِحَةِ مَلَكَيْنِ

He will be placing his palms upon the wings of two Angels (Sahih Muslim)

We Muslims believe that the promised Messiah is none other than Jesus, peace be upon him, who identified himself as the Son of man that shall come in the clouds of heaven as per Daniel 7:13: “And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30) “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64), “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26), “and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Mark 14:62), “Behold, he cometh with clouds” (Revelation 1:7).

The great Islamic sage, Ka’b al-Ahbar, confirmed that the Messiah Jesus, peace be upon him, shall come riding upon a cloud:

يَهْبِطُ الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ ‌عِنْدَ ‌الْقَنْطَرَةِ ‌الْبَيْضَاءِ ‌عَلَى ‌بَابِ ‌دِمَشْقَ ‌الشَّرْقِيِّ ‌إِلَى ‌طَرَفِ ‌الشَّجَرِ تَحْمِلُهُ غَمَامَةٌ وَاضِعٌ يَدَيْهِ عَلَى مَنْكِبِ مَلَكَيْنِ

The Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon him, will descend at the White Arch at the east of the Damascus Gate, at the edge of the tree, carried by a cloud, placing his hands on the shoulders of two angels (al-Fitan li-Nu’aym bin Hammad, p.386)

Similarly, Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As says:

فَبَيْنَا هُمْ تَحْتَ ضَبَابَةٍ مِنْ غَمَامٍ إِذْ تُكْشَفُ ‌عَنْهُمُ ‌الضَّبَابَةُ مَعَ الصُّبْحِ فَإِذَا بِعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ بَيْنَ ظَهْرَانَيْهِمْ

While they are under the mist of a cloud, the mist will dissipate from them in the morning and Jesus son of Mary will be in their midst (ibid, p.388)

Mirza Qadiani: Grave of Jesus in Galilee, Jerusalem or Kashmir?

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدى يا رسول الله وعلى آلك واصحابك يا سيدى يا نور الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Prayers and peace be upon you, my Master, Apostle of Allah

And upon your Family and Companions, my Master, Light of Allah

One of the heresies of the Qadiani cult is that the tomb of Jesus, peace be upon him, is located in Srinagar, Kashmir. That is known as the Rozabal shrine associated with a sage known as Yuz Asaf. The founder of the Qadiani cult, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, claimed to have received divine revelation to the effect that Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, migrated from Palestine to Kashmir, where he died and is buried. He detailed this new revelation in his book Masih Hindustan Mein translated under the title Jesus in India.

However, prior to claiming that Jesus Christ is buried in Kashmir, the false prophet Mirza of Qadian originally said that Jesus died in his homeland of the Galilee where he is buried:

یہ تو سچ ہے کہ مسیح اپنے وطن گلیل میں جا کر فوت ہوگیا۔ لیکن یہ ہرگز سچ نہیں کہ وہی جسم جو دفن ہوچکا تھا پھر زندہ ہوگیا۔

It is true that the Messiah went back to his homeland Galilee and died there. But it is certainly not true that his body, which was buried, was raised back to life (Ruhani Khaza’in, v.3, p.353; Izalah Auham, part 2, p.473)

Later, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad altered his belief regarding the grave of Jesus, peace be upon him, and started arguing that Jesus is buried in Jerusalem:

حضرت عیسی کی بھی بلاد شام میں قبر موجود ہے اور ہم زیادہ صفائی کے لۓ اس جگہ حاشیہ میں اخویم حبّی فی اللہ سیّد مولوی محمد السعیدی طربلسی کی شہادت درج کرتے ہیں اور وہ طربلس بلاد شام کے رہنے والے ہیں اور انہیں کی حدود میں حضرت عیسی علیہ السلام کی قبر ہے۔ اور اگر کہو کہ وہ قبر جعلی ہے تو اس جعل کا ثبوت دینا چئیے۔ اور ثابت کرنا چائیے کہ کس وقت یہ جعل بنایا گیا ہے اور اس صورت میں دوسرے انبیاء کی قبروں کی نسبت بھی تسلی نہیں رہے گی اور ایمان اٹھ جایئگا۔ اور کہنا پڑیگا کہ شاید وہ تمام قبریں جعلی ہی ہوں۔

The grave of Jesus is also in the Levant. And for further clarification we record the testimony of our brother, my beloved in Allah, Sayyid Maulawi Muhammad as-Sa’idi at-Tarabulisi, and he is a resident of Tripoli in the country of the Levant, within the boundaries of which is the grave of Jesus, peace be upon him. And if you say that grave is fake then proof for its being a fake should be given. And prove when this counterfeit was made, and in this way confidence about the graves of other Prophets will not remain and faith will depart. And it will have to be said that perhaps all these graves are fake (Ruhani Khaza’in, v.8, pp.296-297)

The statement of Muhammad as-Sa’idi of Tripoli is recorded in the footnote:

وقبره فى بلدة القدس والى الآن موجود وهنالك كنيسة وهى اكبر الكنائس من كنائس النصارى وداخلها قبر عيسى عليه السلام كما هو مشهود وفى تلك الكنيسة ايضاً قبر امّه مريم ولكن كل من القبرين عليحدة وكان اسم بلدة القدس فى عهد بنى اسرائيل يروشلم

And his (Jesus’s) grave is in the land of Al-Quds, and until now is present in a church, and it is the greatest church of the churches of the Christians. Inside it is the grave of Jesus, peace be upon him, as is observed that in this church is likewise the grave of his mother Mary, and both these graves are separate. And the name of Al-Quds was Jerusalem in the time of the Children of Israel (ibid, footnote)

It is noteworthy that the false prophet and antichrist Mirza Ghulam Ahmad challenged the people to prove that this alleged grave in Jerusalem is a fake, and that if it is proven that the grave is a fake then the certainty about the graves of the other Prophets will vanish and faith itself will be taken away!

So when Mirza himself repudiated his own argument that this is the actual grave of Jesus by finally claiming that Jesus’s grave is in Kashmir, then according to his own logic one can no longer have certainty about the graves of any of the other Prophets and faith has departed.

Blasphemer Lars Vilks Burned to Death in Car Crash

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدى يا رسول الله وعلى آلك واصحابك يا سيدى يا نور الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Prayers and peace be upon you, my Master, Apostle of Allah

And upon your Family and Companions, my Master, Light of Allah

A swine named Lars Vilks (1946-2021) of Sweden made highly blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in 2007. This swine, undoubtedly the illegitimate child of some harlot, also drew caricatures blaspheming Jesus, peace be upon him. Several Muslims attempted to kill this swine and dispatch him to Hell but Allah’s wisdom did not permit any of these attempts to succeed. The Swedish police provided this swine airtight lifelong protection. Yet Allah would bring about his death by fire as a Sign for the entire world. On 3 October, 2021, while being driven home by two police officers in an unmarked police vehicle, the vehicle crashed into a large truck. The collision caused a fire and the swine, along with his two bodyguards, burned to death. Now of course he is burning for eternity in the fire of Hell, a fitting end for the insolent enemy of my God and my Prophet. I believe that Allah decreed such a agonizing death for this swine to serve as a heavenly Sign of the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and a warning for all those who bear hostility to our Prophet and may be tempted to commit blasphemy against him. The swine thought he was safe from being killed due to his police bodyguards and the Swedish government’s commitment to protect him no matter what the cost. But no one can escape the grasp of Allah, Holy and Exalted is He!

وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَخْذُ رَبِّكَ إِذَا أَخَذَ الْقُرَىٰ وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ ۚ إِنَّ أَخْذَهُ أَلِيمٌ شَدِيدٌ

Such is the seizure of your Lord when He seizes the cities while they are committing oppression. Verily, His seizure is severely painful

(Surah 11, Ayah 102)

Israelite Prophets Conducting Politics

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدى يا رسول الله وعلى آلك واصحابك يا سيدى يا نور الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Prayers and peace be upon you, my Master, Apostle of Allah

And upon your Family and Companions, my Master, Light of Allah

كَانَتْ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ تَسُوسُهُمُ الأَنْبِيَاءُ كُلَّمَا هَلَكَ نَبِيٌّ خَلَفَهُ نَبِيٌّ

The Holy Prophet Muhammad, sall Allahu alaihi wasallam, said: “The Prophets used to conduct the politics of the Children of Israel. Every time a Prophet died he was succeeded by (another) Prophet.”

I previously explained that this Hadith does not necessitate that the Israelite Prophets were the official rulers of the nation, but that they were certainly active in what we would term political affairs. In other words, the Israelite Prophets counselled the actual rulers and kings of Israel and Judah on various political matters. Here I shall examine the role of several Israelite Prophets in the politics of their nation to derive some guidance and moral lessons for the Muslims today.

Prophet Samuel

The great Prophet Samuel, peace be upon him, was not himself the ruler of Israel but through him Allah selected Talut (Saul) to reign as King over the nation:

وَقَالَ لَہُمۡ نَبِیُّہُمۡ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ قَدۡ بَعَثَ لَکُمۡ طَالُوۡتَ مَلِکًا

Their Prophet (Samuel) said to them: “Verily, Allah has appointed for you Talut (Saul) as King”

(Surah 2, Ayah 247)

After King Saul, Allah Most High appointed another King to replace him, namely, David, peace be upon him. The latter was also a Prophet to whom the Zabur (Psalms) were revealed as a Scripture. His appointment as King was also announced through the agency of Prophet Samuel. The Prophet Samuel was raised in the Tabernacle when it was located at Shiloh. At that time Eli was the High Priest, but his sons were corrupt. Aside from being the High Priest Eli was also the Judge, meaning he was the leader of the nation. The sons of Eli (Hophni and Phineas) were men of corruption. They would take the choice offerings and meats from the sacrifices of the people meant for God for themselves, and it is said they would commit adultery with the ladies serving at the entrance of the Tabernacle. The High Priest Eli was at fault for not strictly rebuking his sons despite knowing of their corruption and for not doing enough to prevent such wickedness. It is mentioned that prior to Samuel being commissioned with Prophesy another Prophet came to Eli and rebuked him. This unnamed Prophet prophesied thus to Eli: “Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever” (1 Samuel 2:30-35). The prophesy is significant in that it makes clear that the Priestly Covenant mentioned in the Torah, despite being described as everlasting therein, is in fact not everlasting but that God has decided to cut it off and replace it with a “faithful priest” with a “sure house”. I interpret this as a prophecy of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his Ummah which has superseded the priestly authority and function that existed in ancient Israel. Some Christians argue that the “faithful priest” is none other than Jesus, peace be upon him. However, that is impossible since the “faithful priest” is juxtaposed to and therefore a distinct person from the “anointed” meaning the Messiah. The Prophet Samuel is also said to have rebuked King Saul for not following divine instructions to the tee, and said to him: “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22)

In summary, the Prophet Samuel was the moral compass of the nation. He was raised up by God to rebuke the corruption within the priestly family of Eli, and to appoint a king, first Saul then David, to rule over Israel so that they would be in a position to wage holy war against the idolatrous nations in their midst. As Prophet he was in a position to admonish the kings he appointed for their errors and to remind them about the importance of obedience to God. It is noteworthy that God did not appoint Samuel himself to rule as king over Israel, which indicates that Prophesy is not synonymous with political rule, though it is possible for a Prophet to occupy a political or administrative office, including wearing the crown, but that is a capacity that is in addition to his prophetic one.

Prophet Nathan

According to the Bible, Nathan, peace be upon him, was a Prophet who appeared after Samuel in the time of King David and counselled him. Nathan prophesied to King David, peace be upon him, “Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee” (2 Samuel 7:3). David himself was a Prophet, and God spoke to him through divine revelation, even revealing a Scripture (the Psalms) to him. But God also communicated his message and instructions to King David through the agency of the Prophet Nathan. The concurrent multiplicity of Prophets is a powerful divine Sign which demonstrates the Oneness of God Who communicates to the people a singular will and message without any conflict or contradiction via multiple individuals. The lack of conflict or discrepancy between such Prophets who are living in the world simultaneously demonstrates that they are not fabricators but each inspired through the same source.

One of King David’s sons, Adonijah, proclaimed himself king, but God had appointed Solomon to be the next king after David, peace be upon them both, as confirmed by David himself and reconfirmed through the agency of Prophet Nathan (1 Kings 1:13). Both Nathan the Prophet and Zadok the righteous High Priest opposed Adonijah’s kingship. They were instrumental in placing Solomon upon the throne and anointing him as king to reign over the nation. So while Adonijah attempted to usurp the throne he was ultimately unsuccessful and surrendered his claim as soon as King Solomon was established upon it. This fact is a refutation of the Shi’ites who claim that the divine right of Mawla Ali, radi Allahu anhu, was usurped by the Prophet’s first three Successors, radi Allahu anhum. For if Allah has divinely appointed someone to reign it is impossible that anyone should be successful in usurping that divinely appointed individual’s right to govern, or that the divinely appointed individual does not end up reigning at all. According to Chronicles, Nathan was also given a Scripture, although it and several others are not found in the Bible: “Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer” (1 Chronicles 29:29), “Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?” (2 Chronicles 9:29).

Prophet Ahijah

After the death of King Solomon, peace be upon him, the kingdom was divided between Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, who continued the reign of the House of David over the Kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem as the capital, and the breakaway Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam in the north. God raised up the Prophet Ahijah the Shilonite (from the town of Shiloh) to prophesy concerning this division and the reason behind it: “And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel: Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever (1 Kings 1:29-39). The prophesy of Ahijah makes plain that division has occurred in the Kingdom of Israel as a consequence of their sin of idolatry and failure to strictly adhere to the divine commandments. Although Ahijah did not technically anoint Jeroboam as king, and so it cannot be said that Jeroboam was divinely appointed to the throne, Ahijah did prophesy that Jeroboam would end up becoming king and ruling over ten of the twelve tribes. He symbolized this by rending his garment into twelve pieces and handing over ten of them to Jeroboam. God would only be with Jeroboam and establish a lasting house for him if he were to be faithful and righteous, which sadly he was not. This indicates that such covenants to establish a lasting house for an Israelite king were always conditional and never truly ended up being everlasting. The Davidic Covenant was surely broken by the Jews and many of the kings from the House of David that reigned after Solomon. That is why since Zedekiah there has not been a king from the House of David to reign over the Jews in these past twenty six centuries. Although God made Jeroboam king over the northern Kingdom of Israel, he was a wicked man of idolatry who had two golden calves constructed, one placed in Bethel and the other in Dan. When Allah says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا الْعِجْلَ سَيَنَالُهُمْ غَضَبٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَذِلَّةٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُفْتَرِينَ

Those who took the calf, wrath from their Lord shall overtake them and abasement in the present life. And thus do We reward those who invent lies

(Surah 7, Ayah 152)

it is not only a reference to what some of the Israelites did during Moses’s absence while he was on Mount Sinai, but also to their constant relapse into worship of the golden calf for centuries after he had already passed away from this world. It is fascinating that when Jeroboam had the two golden calves constructed, he said about them exactly what the rebellious Israelites said at the foot of Mount Sinai when they had their own golden calf constructed: “Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (1 Kings 12:28). So the Prophet Ahijah prophesied against Jeroboam, saying, “Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; but hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the Lord hath spoken it. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover the Lord shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin (1 Kings 14:7-16). This prophecy was fulfilled to the letter, not only did Jeroboam’s sick son Abijah die, though Jeroboam had sent his wife to plead with Prophet Ahijah to intercede on behalf of their son, but Jeroboam lost the war against King Abijah of Judah, and after Jeroboam died he was succeeded by his son Nadab who reigned for only two years before he and the entire House of Jeroboam was exterminated by Baasha. And this prophecy was also an early prediction about the fate that would eventually befall the Northern Kingdom within two centuries, namely, the Assyrian captivity. Incidentally, when Ahijah made this prophesy against the House of Jeroboam and the Northern Kingdom of Israel, he is described as an elderly man whose eyesight was gone (1 Kings 14:4). Likewise, Prophet Samuel was described as an old man covered with a mantle (1 Samuel 28:14).

Prophet Shemaiah

After the rise of both Rehoboam and Jeroboam there was a danger of civil war in Israel. God raised up the Prophet Shemaiah to prevent such a conflict, saying, “Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord” (1 Kings 12:23-24). Here we see that from among the prophetic activity of the Prophets is to deliver instructions from God concerning wars and geopolitics. As Prophet Ahijah operated in the Northern Kingdom prophesying against Jeroboam, Shemaiah was operating in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, prophesying against Rehoboam. When the Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq I (known as Shishak in the Bible) invaded the Holy Land and engaged in much plunder and destruction, the Prophet Shemaiah explained that it was a consequence of Rehoboam’s forsaking of the divine law, “Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak” (2 Chronicles 12:5). But when this attack by the Egyptian Pharaoh caused Rehoboam and his princes to humble themselves and repent God revealed through Prophet Shemaiah that He would grant them some reprieve and they would not be totally destroyed. The prophetic activity of Shemaiah demonstrates that Prophets often prophesy of doom and destruction for the people in covenant with God if they break that covenant or fall short of it, usually at the hands of a foreign power.

Prophet Hanani

He was a Prophet in the time of King Asa of Judah. King Asa made a pact with Benhadad, king of Syria, to repel Baasha of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who was making incursions into the land of Judah. God raised up Hanani to rebuke this, saying, “Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.

Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars” (2 Chronicles 16:7-9). The prophesying of Hanani the Seer against King Asa is significant in that it reveals that ultimately relying on foreign nations, especially ones that are idolatrous, rather than seeking God and divine favor through obedience and righteousness is self-defeating. Reliance on foreign powers rather than God may only deliver some fleeting, temporary benefit. It is a lesson for nations like Pakistan which today is relying on the evil nation of China for protection against its hostile neighbor India. If the nation of Pakistan including its ruling class were to turn back to Allah and sincerely devote their hearts to Him alone they would surely be granted power over their mortal enemy without having to be dependent upon and ultimately a slave of the Chinese or the Americans.

As a consequence of Hanani rebuking King Asa, the latter had the former thrown in prison. This is yet another example of how the Israelites and Jews oppressed their own Prophets, and how those Prophets had to suffer in this world for prophesying and preaching the truth. All those who follow in the footsteps of the Prophets will also face similar hardships for the sake of Allah, usually at the hands of the corrupt and tyrannical governments.

Prophet Jehu

He was the son of Hanani and a Prophet like his father. God raised him up to prophesy against the evil King Baasha, “Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat” (1 Kings 16:2-4). This prophecy was fulfilled through Zimri, who killed Baasha’s son and successor called Elah and exterminated the entire House of Baasha. This was similar to how Baasha himself had Nadab killed and wiped out the entire House of Jeroboam in accordance to the prophecy of Ahijah. Like Nadab, Elah reigned for only two years before he was overthrown by a captain of his own army, through whom another dynasty was established for a time. We Muslims can understand from this that Allah was wroth with the Umayyads and caused them to be uprooted and their entire house nearly eradicated at the hands of the Abbasids. The Prophet Jehu also received revelation concerning King Jehoshaphat of Judah, an otherwise righteous king. Jehoshaphat had entered into an alliance with the wicked King Ahab against the Syrians. The Prophet Micaiah had prophesied defeat and destruction for Ahab if he engaged in this war but he did not pay heed and was killed in the Battle of Ramoth-Gilead. Although King Jehoshaphat survived this battle, the Prophet Jehu said to him upon his return to Jerusalem, “Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God” (2 Chronicles 19:2-3). It is said that Prophet Jehu was also given a Scripture, though this Scripture is not contained in the Bible we have today: “Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel” (2 Chronicles 20:34).

Prophet Micaiah

I already mentioned that Prophet Micaiah son of Imlah warned King Ahab against engaging in war against the Syrians, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace...Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee” (1 Kings 22:17,19-23). And this episode about a “lying spirit” sent by God to instigate Ahab is a testament to the Ayah:

وَیَمۡکُرُوۡنَ وَیَمۡکُرُ اللّٰہُ ؕ وَاللّٰہُ خَیۡرُ الۡمٰکِرِیۡنَ

And they devised and Allah devised, and Allah is the best of planners

(Surah 8, Ayah 30)

It is mentioned that after Prophet Micaiah revealed his vision to Ahab and his assembly, the false prophet Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, struck him on the face. Furthermore, Ahab had Prophet Micaiah imprisoned under harsh conditions including afflicting him with extreme hunger and thirst. Nonetheless, Prophet Micaiah was steadfast, saying, “If thou [Ahab] return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you” (1 Kings 22:28).

So here I have written about some of those Prophets regarding whom the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said that they conducted the politics of the children of Israel. Although their prophetic activity was indeed concerning political matters relating to the game of thrones and wars, these great Prophets were motivated by a zeal for Allah. Although Prophesy has been sealed after the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, the institution of Sainthood persists. The Saints of this Ummah follow in the footsteps of the Israelite Prophets in preaching against moral corruption and rebuking the rulers when they stray from what is expected of them by Allah Most High. It is these Saints and Believers who speak with the prophetic voice who are then truly the Caliphs of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.