Fourteen hundred years ago, the Prophet Muhammad
(saas) related a number of secrets concerning the Doomsday,
and of his thoughts about it, to his Muslim companions. These
valuable words have been passed down from generation to generation
to the present day in the form of books of hadiths and works
of Islamic scholars. The hadiths used in the coming sections
of this book contain such information given by the Prophet
(saas) in this regard.
At this point, there may arise some doubt in the
reader in regards to the truth and authenticity of these hadiths
about the end. It is a recognized fact that, in the past,
there had been a number of fabricated hadiths falsely attributed
to the Prophet (saas), but the hadiths that form the subject
of our inquiry will be easily recognized as issuing from the
Prophet (saas). There is a method to distinguish those that
are true from those that are false. As we know, hadiths about
the Doomsday relate to events that are to take place in the
future. For this reason, when a hadith comes true in the course
of time, all doubt as to the source of the words is removed.
Several Islamic scholars who conducted research
on the subject of the End Times and of the signs of the Last
Day have used this criterion. An expert on the subject, Bediuzzaman
Said Nursi, said that the fact that the hadiths concerning
the End Times correspond to events observed in our day shows
the truth of the hadiths. (Bediuzzaman Said
Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection, The Rays, Fourteenth Ray)
Some of the signs related in the hadiths were observable
in some part of the world in any period during the 1400 year
history of Islam, but that would not have proven that that
period was the the End Times. For a certain period to be called
the End Times, all the signs of the Last Day must be observed
to be occurrence in that same period.
When we examine the End Times we come up with a
surprising conclusion. The signs that the Prophet (saas) described
in detail are occurring one after the other in every corner
of the world, just in the way they were described in the age
in which we live. It is so that the hadiths paint a perfect
portrait of our time. This is indeed a miracle, and demands
careful consideration. Every sign that occurs is to remind
people once again that the Doomsday is very near, a day when
they will give account of themselves in the presence of Allah,
and therefore, that they should immediately apply the moral
values of the Qur’an to their lives.
Proliferation of corruption
While a corrupt environment enablesbelievers with
strong faith to increase their faith and patience, and their
rewards in the Hereafter, it leads those with weak and superficial
faith to lose their faith or weaken it further. The Mahdi
will come when the existing corrupt environment is extremely
intense and severe.
|
The
Mahdi, one of my children, comes into being,
by the blessing of Allah, upon the approach
of the Day of Judgment and the weakening
of the hearts of the faithful because of
death, hunger, and the disappearance of
the sunnah, and the emergence of innovations
and the loss of means by which to enjoin
the right and forbidding the wrong. His
justice and prosperity will ease the hearts
of the faithful, and friendship and love
will settle between the non-Arab and Arab
nations. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan
fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 66)
Disorder,
corruption, and fear will emerge in the
West... Corruption will proliferate. (Mukhtasar
Tazkirah Qurtubi)
A kind of
corruption will surface, from which no party
will be able to protect itself, and spread
immediately to every direction. This situation
will persist until one comes and says: 'O
people, from now on your leader is the Mahdi.'
(Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar
fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 23)
|
|
|
|
The hadiths speak of a corruption that will
touch everybody and spread quickly. In other words, a certain
type of corruption that is known to everybody and opposes
religion and Allah will target the people's faith. Today,
materialist philosophy is the largest and most comprehensive
trend designed to deny Allah's Existence and creation. Underlying
this philosophy is the 'theory of evolution,' which provides
it with a self-proclaimed 'scientific' basis. Even though
it is not based on any scientific and logical evidence, certain
materialist circles throughout the world continue to work
for its acceptance by using methods associated with strong
propaganda, deceit, and even fraud.
Today, as this theory has
penetrated almost every household by means of both the press
and television, almost everyone in the Muslim world and everywhere
else has heard of it. This theory is first presented as fact
when people are children by means of countless lies and deceit.
As they grow older, they continue to be misled by such funny
nonsense that they, and humanity as a whole, came into being
merely as a result of coincidences and that they descended
from monkeys. Youths of all age are brainwashed at all stages
of their education by evolutionist lies.
There is a noteworthy point
here. As our Prophet (saas) noted in one of his hadiths, corruption's
global pervasiveness and rapid spread can materialize only
when suitable technological means are available, as they are
today (e.g., the press, publications, broadcasting, the Internet,
and satellite communication). As the relevant technology did
not exist in the past, corruption could not spread throughout
the world. As a result, no other worldwide corruption that
had declared war against Allah's Existence, creation, and
religion was seen in the past. All of these are among the
important signs that the Mahdi's advent coincides with the
present time.
|
Corruption
which no one can escape will occur, such
corruption will spread to another place
immediately…
(El-Kavlu'l Muhtasar Fi Alamet-il Mehdiyy-il
Muntazar, p. 21 - 22)
"There is
corruption just like pitch dark nights just
before the Judgment Day."
(Ramuz-El Ehadis, 121 / 5)
|
|
|
|
The hadith above mentions about corruption, which
steadily spreads in the World and continues for extended periods.
The term "corruption" also means "war, disorder, quarrel,
dispute" as mentioned earlier. Given such meanings of the
word, wars, civil wars and disorder, "which just spreads to
another place from where it stays" as expressed by the narrative
continue unceasingly all over the World during the current
century. In particular, the 20th century we have just left
behind is remembered as "the Century of Wars". As for the
21st century we are just in, it started off with wars and
terror and they still continue unabatedly all over the World.
As we earlier mentioned, about 180 million people
lost their life at the wars in the 21st century. For the first
time in the history of man, such a huge number of lives were
lost in wars within one century. Again, 165 wars and confrontations
took place each causing the death of minimum 6000 people.
When we analyze the regions in the World where
wars and civil wars have taken place in the last 25 years,
it is quite possible to see that the World cannot get rid
of instances of corruption, which ends in one place, but yet
re-emerges in another. Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosova, Albania,
Bulgaria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Palestine, Israel,
North Korea, Cambodia, Eastern Turkistan, Ethiopia, Somalia,
Yemen, Uganda, Algeria, Ruanda, Mozambique, Angola, Congo,
Liberia, Burundi, Sudan, Lebanon, Argentine, Northern Ireland,
El Salvador, Nicaragua…. They are just a few of those countries
beset by wars and civil wars for the last 25 years.
World history is so full of wars but the wars and
massacres taking place in the 20th century differ from all
the other mass killings which ever occurred in World history
so far by so many of their aspects. As earlier mentioned,
the total death toll in all these wars was much more higher
than the total of all the wars. Besides, wars used to remain
regional and contained throughout history, not spreading from
one place to another, so not spreading globally. However,
these clashes spread all over the World in the 20th century.
There are virtually no countries not having a war or confrontation
or acts of terror in the previous century.
Another feature that distinguishes the 20th century
wars from others is the power of weaponry used. Much more
terrible massacres were suffered as a result of the use of
nuclear and chemical weapons in particular in that century
; immense damages have been inflicted upon not only those
generations physically undergoing the wars but also one or
more new generations that followed. They are topped by the
atomic bombs thrown down on to the cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
Presently, biological warfare is seen as one of
the biggest dangers. As a result, the bacteria of anthrax
sent out to addresses in envelopes by mail immediately after
the September 11 terror attack in the USA serves an example
of this and it has already caused so many casualties.
As a result, it is highly probable that the specific
incidence of corruption referred to in the hadith as spreading
to many places in the World relates to the wars, confrontations,
disorder and acts of terror, which started in the 20th century
and continue well into the 21st century. All this may just
be the sign of the Golden Age period approaching and that
the end of time is being lived.
Religious prohibitions
gaining acceptance
The prevailing lifestyle of our own time, which
has spread so widely in the last several decades and makes
no distinction between what religion prohibits and allows,
while tolerating all kinds of debauchery, reflects the environment
depicted in the hadiths. Several hadiths describe this dark
environment, the harbinger of the Mahdi's emergence, as follows:
|
The
Mahdi will not emerge unless disbelief invades
everywhere and is openly committed in the
public. What rules in such times is the
invasion by disbelief... That is its power.
(Mektubat-i Rabbani, 2:259)
The Mahdi
will emerge following the instance of such
vile corruption (fitnah) whereby all of
the prohibitions are regarded as lawful.
(Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar
fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 23)
|
|
|
|
|
There
will be tumult in Shawwal (the tenth Islamic
month), talks of war in Dhul-Qa`dah (the
eleventh Islamic month), and the outbreak
of war in Dhul-Hijjah (the twelfth month).
(Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul Barzanji
, Al-Isha‘ah li-ashrat al-sa‘ah,
p. 166)
|
|
|
|
The three months referred to in this hadith coincide
with the months during which the Iran-Iraq war developed.
The first uprising against the Shah took place on 5 Shawwal
1398 (8 September 1976), as indicated by the hadith, and a
full-blown war broke out between Iran and Iraq in Dhu'l-Hijjah
1400 (October 1980).
Another hadith describes the details of this war
as follows:
|
A
nation/tribe will come from the Farsi direction,
saying: 'You Arabs! You have been too zealous!
If you don't give them their due rights,
nobody will have an alliance with you...
It must be given to them one day and to
you the following day, and mutual promises
must be kept...' They will be going up Mutekh;
Muslims will be coming down to the plain...
Mushrikun (idolaters) will be standing over
there on the bank of a black river (Rakabeh)
on the other side. There will be a war between
them. Allah will deprive both armies of
a victory... (Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul
Barzanji , Al-Isha‘ah li-ashrat al-sa‘ah,
p. 179)
|
|
|
|
- those coming
from the Farsi direction :
|
those coming from
the Iranian side |
| - Farsi : |
Iran, Iranian (Grand Dictionary) |
| - Coming down to the plain
: |
Plain, Iranian Plain |
| - Mutekh : |
Name of a mountain in the region |
| - Rakabeh : |
Region where oil wells are concentrated |
This hadith draws attention to the outbreak of
a racial dispute that would cause both sides to come down
to the plain (Iranian Plain) and wage war. Further, as noted
by the hadith, the Iran-Iraq war lasted for 8 years and, despite
the many thousands of casualties, neither side could claim
victory or a decisive superiority.
Occupation of Afghanistan
|
Pity
poor Taliqan (a region in Afghanistan) that
at that place are treasures of Allah, but
these are not of gold and silver but consist
of people who have recognised Allah as they
should have. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan
fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p.59)
|
|
|
|
There is an indication that Afghanistan will be
occupied during the Last Days. The Russian invasion of Afghanistan
took place in 1979 (1400, according to the Islamic calendar).
In addition, this hadith draws attention to Afghanistan's
material riches. Today, large oil deposits, iron basins, and
coal mines that have not been commercially exploited yet have
been detected there.
Stopping the flow
of the Euphrates river
Stopping and interrupting the flow of the Euphrates
river is just one sign of the Mahdi's emergence.
|
Soon
the river Euphrates will disclose the treasure
(the mountain) of gold, so whoever will
be present at that time should not take
anything of it. (Bukhari)
It
(the Euphrates) will uncover a mountain
of gold (under it). (Abu Dawud)
|
|
|
|
Many respected books of hadith mention both of
these events. Al-Suyuti mentions this hadith as 'the stopping
of water.' Actually, the Keban Dam has stopped the flow of
this river's water. The surrounding land has become as valuable
as gold for various reasons, such as electricity production
and higher soil fertility through the irrigation and transport
facilities that the dam has made possible. The dam resembles
a concrete mountain, and wealth as valuable as gold comes
out of it. Therefore, the dam takes on the properties of 'the
golden mountain' (Allah knows best).
Eclipse of the moon
and sun in Ramadan
|
There
are two signs for the Mahdi... The first
one is the lunar eclipse in the first night
of Ramadan, and the second is the solar
eclipse in the middle of this month. (Ibn
Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar
fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 47)
There will
be two solar eclipses in Ramadan before
the Mahdi's advent. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah
Qurtubi)
... The solar
eclipse in the middle of the month, and
the lunar eclipse at the end... (Al-Muttaqi
al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir
al-zaman, p. 37)
It has reached
me that before the Mahdi emerges the moon
will be eclipsed twice in Ramadan. (Related
by Abu Nu'aym in al-Fitan)
|
|
|
|
The most striking point here is that it is impossible
for there to be two solar as well as two lunar eclipses within
one month. Such things cannot occur under ordinary conditions.
However, most signs of the End Times are incidents that the
human mind can grasp and realize, depending on certain reasons.
If these incidents are examined carefully, some
differences become apparent. The best thing to do in such
a situation is to locate the areas of agreement. These are
the following: There will be solar and lunar eclipses during
Ramadan, these will be spaced about 14-15 days apart, and
the eclipses will be repeated twice.
In line with these calculations, there was a lunar
eclipse in 1981 (Hijri 1401) on the 15th day of Ramadan, and
a solar eclipse on the 29th day of the month. There was a
"second" lunar eclipse in 1982 (Hijri 1402) on the
14th day of Ramadan, and a solar eclipse on the 28th day of
the month.
It is also particularly significant that in that
particular instance, there was a full lunar eclipse in the
middle of Ramadan, a most striking prophecy.
The occurrence of these incidents during the same
period coinciding with the signs of the Mahdi's emergence,
and their miraculous recurrence at the onset of the fourteenth
Islamic century for two consecutive years (1401-02) makes
it possible for these events to be the signs foretold by the
hadiths.
|
He
(the Mahdi) will not come unless a sign
emerges out of the Sun. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami,
Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi
al-Muntazar, p. 47)
The
Mahdi will not emerge unless the Sun rises
as a sign. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan
fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 33)
|
|
|
|
The large explosions detected on the Sun during
the twentieth century may well be this sign.
Also, the August 11, 1999 solar eclipse was the
last of the century. It was the first time that so many people
had been able to watch and study an eclipse for so long.
|
A
comet will be appearing in the East, giving
out illumination before he arrives. (Ibn
Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar
fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 53)
The rise of
that star will occur after the eclipse of
the Sun and the Moon. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi,
Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman,
p.32)
|
|
|
|
As referred to by the hadiths,
In 1986 (1406), Halley's comet passed by
Earth. The comet is a bright, shining star that travels from
East to West. This happened after the lunar and solar eclipses
of 1981 and 1982 (1401-1402).
The concurrence of this star's rise with
other signs of the Mahdi's emergence indicates that Halley's
comet is the star pointed to in the hadith.
Storming the Ka`ba
and the subsequent bloodshed
|
People
will perform hajj together and gather without
an Imam. The Hajjis will be looted and there
will be a battle at Mina in which many will
be slain and blood will flow until it runs
over the Jamra al-'Aqaba. (Jamra: a stone
pillar, which represents Satan, that is
stoned during the pilgrimage.) (Reported
by 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, al-Hakim and Nu'aym
ibn Hammad)
People make
pilgrimage without an imam leading them.
Big wars break out when they come down to
Mina, and they are entwined just the way
dogs entwine, and tribes attack on each
other. This strife is so widespread that
legs are buried in lakes of blood. (Al-Muttaqi
al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir
al-zaman, p. 35)
|
|
|
|
The phrase 'the year in which he will emerge' draws
attention to a massacre that will occur on the date of the
Mahdi's emergence. In 1979, a massacre very like this one
occured during the Ka'ba raid, which took place during the
pilgrimage month. It is very interesting that this raid occured
at the very beginning of the period during which the signs
of Mahdi's advent appeared, that is, the first day of the
Islamic year 1400 (21 November 1979).
The hadiths also mention bloodshed and massacres.
The killing of 30 people during the clashes between Saudi
soldiers and attacking militants during the raid confirms
the rest of this hadith.
Seven years later, an even bloodier incident happened
during the pilgrimage. In this incident, 402 demonstrating
pilgrims were killed, and vast amounts of blood was shed.
Both the Saudi soldiers and the Iranian pilgrims committed
great sins, for they killed one another. These bloody incidents
have great parallels to the environment described in the hadith.
|
There
come the cries of war in (the month of)
Shawwal with the outbreak of war, massacre,
and carnage in (the month of) Dhu'l-Hijja.
The pilgrims are plundered in this month,
the streets cannot be crossed because of
the blood shed, and religious prohibitions
are violated. Big sins are committed near
the Magnificient House (the Ka`ba). (Al-Muttaqi
al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir
al-zaman, p. 37)
|
|
|
|
This hadith draws attention to the incidents that
will occur near the Ka`ba. The incidents during 1407 actually
took place near the Ka`ba, and not inside it, unlike the event
of 1400. Both incidents happened just the hadiths indicated
that they would.
Sighting a flare in
the East
|
In
its section on the signs of the Mahdi's
emergence, the book Ikdiddurer states: 'The
emergence of a big flare which is seen in
the East up on the sky for three nights.
Sighting of an extraordinary redness, not
as red as the usual color of the dawn, and
its spread over the horizon. (Al-Muttaqi
al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir
al-zaman, p. 32)
A big flame
will occur in the East for 3 or 7 days in
a row, followed by darkness in the sky and
a brand new redness unlike the usual color
of red spreading over the sky. A proclamation
will be heard in a language Earth can understand.
(Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul Barzanji
, Al-Isha‘ah li-ashrat al-sa‘ah,
p. 166)
I swear that
a flame will engulf you. That flame is presently
in an extinguished state at the valley called
Berehut. That flame swallows up people with
terrible pain inside it, burns down and
destroys people and property, and spreads
all over the world by flying like a cloud
with the assistance of winds. Its heat at
night is much higher than its daytime temperature.
By going as deep as the center of Earth
from the heads of people, that flame becomes
a terrible noise just like the lightning
between the earth and sky, he narrated.
(Mukhtasar Tazkirah Qurtubi)
|
|
|
|
A brief explanation of this flame, a sign of the
Mahdi's advent, is as follows:
In July 1991, after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait,
a huge fire spread through Kuwait and the Persian Gulf after
the Iraqis fired Kuwait's oil wells.
In addition, the first part of the hadith says
that the flame 'is in an extinguished state.' Given that the
flame is the result of burning an inflammable substance, what
waits in an extinguished state is not the flame itself but
the material to be burnt by the flame.
In this context, this means underground oil. Berehut
is the name of a well—an oil well. When the time comes,
oil extracted from these wells will become a fire ready to
be burned.
Occurrence of big
events and appaling things
|
"Big
phenomena will happen in his time."
(El - Kavlu'l Muhtasar
fi' 'Alamatil Mehdiyy - il Muntazar, p. 27)
"So many appalling
incidents will occur in his time."
(Mektubat-i Rabbani,
2 / 258)
"The signs
of his emergence resemble those preparatory
signs that earlier gave an indication of
our Rasullallah."
(Mektubat-i Rabbani,
2 / 258)
|
|
|
|
Great and extraordinary events had taken place
before the birth of the Prophet Mohammad. A new star rose
on the night of his birth; 14 towers of the Palace of the
Iranian emperors worshipping flame collapsed; the Magians'
(fire worshippers') fire that was burning for 1000 years in
Iran went out; Semavi Valley was flooded ; Save Lake dried
up, etc.
As indicated in the hadiths above, the emergence
of Mahdi will resemple that of our holy Prophet. Big and miraculous
phenomena will also take place during the period witnessing
his emergence.
Some of the big and remarkable phenomena taking
place in the World for over 100 years are as follows:
-Kaaba was raided, with a high number of Muslims
being killed.
-The shah rule in Iran that continued for 2500
years was overthrown and Iranian Shah Reza
Pahlavi passed away.
-Gas leaking out of a factory in the City of Bombay
in India caused the death of 20,000 people.
-An 8-year war broke out between two Muslim countries,
Iraq and Iran.
-Russians occupied Afghanistan.
-Mexico City was destructed by a heavy earthquake.
-Nevada Del Ruiz Volcano in Northern Columbia erupted
for the first time in 400 years. The city of Armero was wiped
off the map by mud resulting from the melting snow and ice.
20,000 people died.
-Flooding in Bangladesh killed 25,000 people.
-Rome, the center of Christianity, was flooded.
-A forest fire, the biggest ever in its history,
took place in China in 1986.
-Indian Prime Minister Ghandi, Egyptian President
Anvar Sadat, Swedish PM Olof Palme were massacred.
-Pope John Paul II was shot.
-First AIDS incidents reported in the early 1980s.
This disease, which has so far claimed the lives of tens of
thousands of people, has been named "the Plague of the Century".
AIDS has put an end to the "Sexual Revolution", which started
in the USA in the 1960s and introduced all kinds of sexual
liberties.
-In 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger explodes into
pieces after the launch.
-The biggest ever nuclear accident in history broke
out at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine on April 26,
1986. Many European countries were affected by the spreading
radiation.
-The perforation in the Ozone layer has had very
adverse impact on the global climate.
-The Soviet Union collapsed, followed by the emergence
of a number of Independent States thanks to Gorbachov.
-The Gulf War broke out and continued into many
years after the annexation by Iraq of Kuwait.
-An earthquake in Armenia turned cities into rubbles.
As 500,000 people were evacuated from houses, the death toll
rose exceeded 40,000.
-In 1989, communist troops marched on the students
with tanks at Tiananmen Square, killing 2000 students.
-Berlin Wall, the symbol of the Cold War, was pulled
down 28 years after its construction.
-More than 1,400 pilgrims were killed in a stampede
at a tunnel in Kaaba in 1990.
-More than 120,000 people died as a result of the
flooding in Bangladesh in 1991 as millions were homeless.
-For the last 20 years, storms, typhoons, cyclones
and flooding never come to an end in the USA. Thousands of
people were killed, millions left homes and material damage
was estimated at billions of Dollars in each instance.
-Hundreds of thousands of Muslims were massacred
in Bosnia and Kosova while hundreds of thousands more were
banished from their homeland.
-The Ebola Virus claimed the lives of tens of thousands
of people.
-El Nino inflicted immeasurable disasters on all
the countries around the World.
-London Stock Exchange collapsed on October 19,
1987. The consequent panicking resulted in a value loss of
50 billion Pounds.
-168 people were killed in a bomb attack on a Federal
building in the City of Oklahoma in the USA on April 19, 1995.
-On March 22, 1997, the Comet of Hale-Bopp passed
by at a distance of 195 million km to the World at a speed
of 160 km per hour. The passage of Hale Bopp, which could
be watched by eyes, was welcome by millions of people all
over the World with much interest.
-1,500 people died in an earthquake measuring at
7.1 on Richter scale in Iran on May 10, 1997.
-5,000 people lost lives in an earthquake measuring
at 6.1 on Richter scale in Afghanistan on February 1998.
-1171 people were killed in an earthquake measuring
at 6 in Columbia on January 25, 1999.
-More than 2,100 people died in an earthquake measuring
at 7.6 in Taiwan on September 21, 1999.
-The biggest ever terrorist attack on the USA in
history took place on September 11, 2001. Two passenger airplanes
crushed into the two sky scrapers housing the World Trade
Center in New York one after the other just with an 18 minute
interval briefly after the working hours began in the morning.
The death toll of the attack was over 5,000.
|
"A
man called Mahdi will come at a time when
time is interrupted (the systems have changed."
(Kitab-ül Burhan
Fi Alameti-il Mehdiyy-il Ahir Zaman, p.
14)
|
|
|
|
In this hadith, our holy Prophet (saas) foretold
that Mahdi would come during a time when "the systems have
changed". "The change of system" pointed to by this hadith
is likely to be the communist regimes which ruled all over
the World in the 20th century and collapsed towards the end
of the century.
One of the biggest reasons for the bloody wars
and massacres, which had their stamp on the 20th century,
is the rule of the communist ideology which was a product
of the materialist philosophy. This ideology was influential
in a great part of the World extending from Europe and Asia
to Southern America and Africa and many countries were ruled
by the communist regimes for decades or they were the target
of the communist rings. Communism was the reason for the cold
war which continued until the 1990s as well as the most ruthless
assassinations.
Apart from attempting to spread their ideologies
by fighting other countries, the communist regimes applied
great oppression to their subjects and they killed big basses
through executions, mass massacres, heavy conditions at the
concentration camps and scarcities.
According to the historians' estimates, the communist
regimes caused the death of 120 million people during the
20th century. Most of them were civilians killed by the communist
states in their societies, not the soldiers killed in action
in wars. Tens of millions of people including men and women,
the old aged, infants and children lost their lives just because
of the rigid and savage characteristics of the communist regimes.
Apart from this, millions of people were subjected to communist
atrocities, they were forced to migrate as a result, their
possessions and land were seized and they constantly lived
with fear of being arrested without a crime or being subject
to atrocities unfairly.
However, these regimes, which were thought to be
very powerful and invincible, began collapsing one after the
other, losing power. The destruction of the Berlin Wall is
the most distinctive symbol of this collapse. 2 years later,
the Soviet Union, which was the biggest and most powerful
communist state in the World, collapsed, with the Eastern
Bloc falling to pieces totally. Various other communist regimes
on a geography extending from Africa to Indochina collapsed
one after the other, "the bi-polar World Order", which was
the constant international system in the World since 1945
vanished and as put by the political commentators, a new World
Order has been established. The "change of system" referred
to by the hadith has thus materialized following this development
which came true in a most surprising manner.
Today, the last ideological and political remnants
of communism - also those of another totalitarian system,
fascism, which is based on the same ideological sources -
are also disappearing and the World is being cleansed of these
bloody ideologies. With the spread of the Islamic ethics,
the atrocities, pain, ignorance and poverty will be eradicated
in the real sense and man will attain beauty, wealth, prosperity
and peace. As a manifestation of his forgiveness and grace
and benevolence after hardship, darkness, wars, massacres
and sorrows, Allah will offer mankind matchless benefaction.
The breaking of Berlin Wall in 1989 is regarded as
a symbol of the collapse of communism. That the giant
statues of Lenin who is considered as one of the greatest
leaders of Communist ideology, were broken into pieces
by public is one of the most obvious signs of the
change of system mentioned in the hadith.
|
|
At
the end of time, their rulers will cause
My people severe trouble in such a way that
there will be no comfort for Muslims anywhere.
(Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat
al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 12)
|
|
|
|
This hadith points out that before the Mahdi comes,
those who lack religious morals and have a cruel and merciless
character will come to power in some Muslim countries. As
a matter of fact, some contemporary Muslim rulers oppress
Muslims and crush people with their oppressive and despotic
regimes. In other countries, people are subjected to trouble
because their rulers are unqualified to rule. Muslims in some
countries, particularly Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Ethiopia,
Afghanistan, Tunisia, and Djoubiti, are oppressed by their
respectives, and so are subjected to various hardship and
problems. Muslims are prevented from practicing their religion
and worshipping, and economic difficulties make life harder.
Examples of some incidents taking place in such
countries are as follows:
In Iraq which lost about one million of its 3 million
population in the war against Iran, the Fascist dictator Saddam
Hussein has applied unbelievable torture and atrocities to
his people. At present, Iraqi Muslims are crushed under Saddam's
Fascist practices and they are subject to international sanctions
just because of Saddam's unwise policies.
Instability and turmoil have ruled in Afghanistan
ever since the Soviet occupation in 1979 and the political
powers which never represented the real Islam have established
a very oppressive, ruthless and intolerant system.
Djibouti, one of the tiny countries in Africa,
has been ruled by a harsh regime under which, between 1977
and 1991, about 2 thousand Muslims were slaughtered and 7
thousand people were arrested and tortured without any justification.
In Somalia, an oppressive regime
led by Major General Mohammed Siad Biare, which targeted at
Muslims directly, was in power for about 20 years between
1969 and 1991.
Tunisia was ruled by Habib Burghiba's dictatorship for 31
years. Declaring himself as "the Life President",
Burghiba oppressed people during his entire rule.
Syrian Muslims suffered a myriad of atrocities during Hafez
Assad's rule that lasted 30 years. Some cities were entirely
destructed during the massacres which also led to rapes of
women and all kinds of torture to men.
|
Hafiz al-Assad has perpetrated many
massacres throughout his 30 year rule. One of these
is the brutally killing of 40 thousand Muslims in one
day in Hama city.
The Red Army occupation in
Afganistan which lasted for 10 years left ten thousands
of dead and that many crippled / disabled behind. The
bloody civil war led the country to a bigger chaos.
|
 |
Habib Burgiba has oppressed
the Muslim Tunus people during his rule. The most
important common characteristic of the authorities
that come to power in Somali is their practice
against Islam. The civil war that had begun during
Siad Barre rule is still going on.
|
|
Tribulation like patches of dark night
|
There
will be a tribulation like patches of dark
night... (Abu Dawud)
|
|
|
|
The word 'tribulation (fitnah)' implies anything
that turns peoples' reason and hearts away from the true path,
or war, incitement, chaos, disorder and conflict. The tribulation
in the hadith will leave smoke and dust behind it, we learn.
Furthermore, the way that tribulation is described
as 'darkness' in the hadith, can be seen as an indication
that its origins are unclear, that it is unexpected. Looking
at it from that regard, it is probable that the hadith is
referring to one of the world's worst terrorist attack, on
the cities of New York and Washington in the United States
on September 11, 2001.
Therefore, this most saddening act of terror, which
caused the lives and injuries of thousands of innocent people,
may well be that 'tribulation like patches of dark night'
foretold by the hadith as the sign of the Mahdi's emergence.
|
The dusty and smoky
discord" that is mentioned in the hadith is one of the
clear characteristics of September 11 attacks as observed
in the picture.
|
|
The
Mahdi will only appear at a time when people
are experiencing great fear and are afflicted
by disturbances and civil war and other
disasters.(Reported by Abu Ja'far Muhammad
ibn 'Ali)
|
|
|
|
Most hadiths about the Mahdi's advent focus on
the prophecy that turmoil, insecurity, and disorder will rule
the world before his coming. Massacres, wars, and confrontations
are one of the major features of such a period. Besides, the
hadith draws attention to the fact that massacres will occur
all over the world.
According to Amnesty International
reports Saddam Hussein has made to massacre 5000 civilians
in Halepce, where thousands of others were lost in similar
attacks.
|
During the two world wars of the twentieth
century, an estimated 65 million people were killed. The number
of the civilians slaughtered for political reasons during the
same century is estimated to be well over 180 million. This
is an extraordinarily high figure compared with previous centuries.
Such atrocities still continue; today, bloody wars
and combats are at full swing all over the World. The common
feature of such wars is that as indicated by the hadith above,
these are the wars during which massacres take place. Commencement
of use of mass destruction weapons, and the ideological domination
of those views encouraging confrontation and blood shed have
caused massacres to be very comprehensive.
A look at the recent history will point to the
examples of many massacres in which so many people lost their
lives. For instance, the Bosnian War went down in history
as a war which targeted at the civilian population heavily,
resulting in the murder of thousands of people without discrimination
including women, children and the old aged. The mass graves
uncovered after the war are striking evidence displaying the
dimensions of such massacres.
Another "ethnic cleansing" campaign that
was carried out against the Palestinian people since the 1940s
is a long term policy of massacre. The exemplary massacres
of Sabra and Shatilla as part of this policy fully expose
the exact dimensions of the incidents.
There is also violent fighting occurring between
various ethnicities in Africa so frequently and thousands
of people die as a result. In spring 1997, a large scale ethnic
war broke out between 2 major tribes, Hutu and Tutsi, covering
5 big countries - Zaire, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania.
About half a million people lost their lives in this war.
Tens of thousands of people had to fight poverty, misery and
contagious diseases in the jungles and a big portion of them
died. Even children and babies were savagely murdered just
because they were from the rival tribes.
|
In Bosnia a huge genocide
took place in front of the world's eyes and ended.
However, mass graves that are being found one
after the other puts for the actual magnitude
of the massacres.
|
In the ongoing disputes
in Checynya territory for years numerous innocent
people have lost their lives. Many other people
have become refugees who then lost their lives
on the roads.
|
|
Massacre of innocent people
|
The
Mahdi will not emerge unless innocent people
are massacred, and he will appear when those
on Earth and up in the sky can no longer
put up with such massacres... (Ibn Hajar
al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi' 'Alamat
al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 37)
|
|
|
|
Pictures from the massacre Saddam Hussein has perpetrated
in Halepce.
|
While the hadiths about his emergence mention
such massacres as commonplace, they also emphasize that such
massacres will target innocent people. As we discussed earlier,
almost all of the wars today target people. So, civilians and
such innocent people as children, the elderly, and women are
slaughtered. Targeting these defenseless people in particular
has resulted in more comprehensive massacres, while the number
of people dying as a result continues to climb.
Since
terror seeks to spread fear and horror, the very group on
which such attacks focus are often innocent civilians.
In the terrorist
attacks, bombings and sabotages that take place one
after the other in all over the world always the innocent
people are chosen as target.
