The Return of Jesus (part 4 of 5)
- Categories: Comparative Religion -
Description: After the False Messiah; the
annulment of the false religions of the people of the book, the
establishment of God's nation under Jesus, and the invasion of the
Gog and Magog.
By Jeremy Boulter (© 2006
IslamReligion.com) - Published on 19 Jun 2006 - Last modified on 01
Apr 2008
The killing of the False Messiah will traumatize the Christians and
Jews who had followed him, for it will finally reveal to them that
he was not what he had claimed to be. In fact, the role of Jesus in
his defeat will convince most of the surviving Christians, at
least, that the False Messiah had indeed been the Anti-Christ
prophesied in their own scriptures. The Prophet of Islam, may the
mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said:
«The son of Mary will soon descend
among you and will judge justly (according to the Law of God[1]):
he will break the cross and kill the pig…» [Saheeh
Al-Bukhari].
The breaking of the cross may be figurative or literal: the
destruction of erected idols in churches and tearing down of
crosses from their steeples, as well as forbidding the use of
personal crosses as symbols of religion;
or the destruction of the myth that he was executed by the Romans
on a cross at the instigation of the Jews.
Likewise, the killing of the pigs may be both literal and
figurative: literally conducting a campaign to kill all pigs so the
consumption of their meat becomes impossible, allowing them to be
killed, or simply re-imposing the ban God made since time
immemorial[2] on eating their flesh, effectively forcing pig
farmers to get rid of their stock by culling. In effect, two of the
mainstays of widespread Christian practice will be removed,
indicating that the religion as taught by modern Christians would
henceforth be defunct, and marking a return to the religion as
originally intended (Islam).
«… and there will be no Jizya»
[Saheeh Al-Bukhari].
Furthermore, after the massive losses of life among the Jews, the
death of their leader will prove to the Jews that he had been yet
another false hope. Possibly, the False Messiah's claim of divinity
may well have already sowed seeds of doubt in their hearts, anyway,
so when Jesus announces that the Jizya[3] will no longer be a means
by which non-Muslims can avoid submitting to the will of God, they
will be ready to give up following the guidance of their Rabbis in
favor to returning to the guidance[4] of God. The fact that no
Jizya will be accepted underlines the abolishment of all religion
except one. The People of the Book will be required to follow the
Law of Islam which Jesus will impose. The die-hards that refuse
will be hunted and killed rather than allowed to continue in their
outmoded faith.
«The hour will not come until the
Muslims fight against the Jews and kill them. The Jews will seek
shelter behind stones and trees, but the stone or the tree will
speak: "O servant of God, there is a [die-hard] Jew behind me, so
come and kill him!" But the Gharqad tree will not speak out because
it is partial to the Jews» [Saheeh Muslim].
No mention of the fate of those who are neither Muslims nor People
of the Book is mentioned at this stage, but we believe some of them
will also fall under the sway of the rule of Jesus, or die. Perhaps
others will be destroyed by those who are referred to as the Gog
and Magog.
The Invasion of the Gog and
Magog[5]
Who the Gog and Magog are, exactly, is not known, though it is
known from a hadeeth, found in the two principal books of authentic
narrations (Saheeh Al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim), that they are of
the nations of mankind[6]. Of them, the Quran says:
"When he reached a valley between two mountains, he found a people
who could barely understand a word. They said; O Dhul Qarnayn!
Verily, Gog and Magog are doing great mischief in the land. Will
you accept a tribute from us so that you build a barrier between us
and them?" [Quran 18:93-94].
{حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ بَيْنَ
السَّدَّيْنِ وَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمَا قَوْماً لَّا يَكَادُونَ
يَفْقَهُونَ قَوْلاً (93) قَالُوا يَا ذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ إِنَّ
يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَهَلْ نَجْعَلُ
لَكَ خَرْجاً عَلَى أَن تَجْعَلَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمْ
سَدّاً}
Transliteration: Ĥattá 'Idhā Balagha Bayna As-Saddayni Wajada Min
Dūnihimā Qawmāan Lā Yakādūna Yafqahūna Qawlāan, Qālū Yā Dhā
Al-Qarnayni 'Inna Ya'jūja Wa Ma'jūja Mufsidūna Fī Al-'Arđi Fahal
Naj`alu Laka Kharjāan `Alá 'An Taj`ala Baynanā Wa Baynahum
Saddāan
After Dhul Qarnayn carried out their request (without exacting
tribute), he told them:
"This is a Mercy from my Lord, but when the Promise of my Lord
comes, He shall level it to the ground. And the Promise of my Lord
is ever true. And on that day, we shall leave some of them to surge
like waves on one another..." [Quran 18:98-99].
{قَالَ هَذَا رَحْمَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّي
فَإِذَا جَاء وَعْدُ رَبِّي جَعَلَهُ دَكَّاء وَكَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّي
حَقّاً (98) وَتَرَكْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَمُوجُ فِي
بَعْضٍ}
Transliteration: Qāla Hādhā Raĥmatun Min Rabbī Fa'idhā Jā'a Wa`du
Rabbī Ja`alahu Dakkā'a Wa Kāna Wa`du Rabbī Ĥaqqāan, Wa Taraknā
Ba`đahum Yawma'idhin Yamūju Fī Ba`đin Wa Nufikha Fī Aş-Şūri
Fajama`nāhum Jam`āan
This means that they will be a people who are not under the
jurisdiction of Jesus when he accepts the pledge from former Jews
and Christians. And it is the Gog and Magog who will be the final
threat to the believers before his reign of peace. Again, the Quran
says:
"When the Gog and Magog swoop down from every ridge, and the true
Promise draws near, you will see the disbelievers, their eyes
staring fixedly, in horror; They will say, 'woe to us; indeed were
heedless of this - and we were wrongdoers.'" [Quran
21:96-97].
{حَتَّى إِذَا فُتِحَتْ يَأْجُوجُ
وَمَأْجُوجُ وَهُم مِّن كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَنسِلُونَ (96) وَاقْتَرَبَ
الْوَعْدُ الْحَقُّ فَإِذَا هِيَ شَاخِصَةٌ أَبْصَارُ الَّذِينَ
كَفَرُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا قَدْ كُنَّا فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ هَذَا بَلْ
كُنَّا ظَالِمِينَ}
Transliteration: Ĥattá 'Idhā Futiĥat Ya'jūju Wa Ma'jūju Wa Hum Min
Kulli Ĥadabin Yansilūna, Wāqtaraba Al-Wa`du Al-Ĥaqqu Fa'idhā Hiya
Shākhişatun 'Abşāru Al-Ladhīna Kafarū Yā Waylanā Qad Kunnā Fī
Ghaflatin Min Hādhā Bal Kunnā Žālimīna
Not even Jesus will be able to withstand the coming of the Gog and
Magog, for they will swarm the land destructively, like
locusts.
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that the prophet, may the mercy and
blessings of God be upon him, said that only the Muslims who
retreat into their cities and strongholds with their cattle and
sheep will survive the onslaught.[7] It is also said:
«God will reveal to Jesus, son of
Mary, "I have brought forth people from among My creatures against
who none will be able to fight. Take my worshippers safely to Mount
Tur» [Saheeh Muslim].
The Gog and Magog will be so many that when the last of the horde
passes through a lake bed from whose water the first rank had
drunk, they will bewail, 'There used to be water here, once.'
Anybody not from themselves, except for the Muslims in their
strongholds and refuges, will be killed, and the horde will
declaim, 'We have defeated the people of earth. Now only the people
of heaven are left [for us to defeat].' On that, one will fire an
arrow into the sky, and it will fall back to earth
blood-stained.[8]
Though the Gog and Magog will think they have obtained victory,
their very boast would be their downfall, for the blood on their
weapons will be nothing but a test from God. The next article will
deal with how the Gog and Magog will be defeated, and what happens
after that.
___________________________________
Footnotes:
[1] It is by this Law, the
Shariah that is based on the Quran and way of Muhammad, that Jesus
will rule with equity and justice.
[2] As it is recorded in the
Torah, as well as in the Quran.
[3] Jizya: The tributary poll
tax taken from the People of the Book who, under the protection of
the Islamic nation of which they citizens, are free to practice
their religion.
[4] God uses the word
'Al-Furqan' to describe both what was revealed to Muhammad, may God
praise him, that which was revealed to Moses and Aaron, as well as
other prophets. Many of the original teachings, undistorted by
rabbinical additions and interpretations, support and precede the
Law prescribed by the Last Prophet, which is the final shape of the
Law of God.
[5] Gog and Magog pronounced
Yajuj wa Majuj in Arabic.
[6] The Prophet, may God praise
him, said: "Among you are two nations that never approach anything
but they overwhelm it with their large numbers; the Yajuj and
Majuj."
[7] In Musnad Ahmad
[8] 'Musnad Ahmad
Previous: The Return of Jesus (part 3 of 5) Next: The Return of
Jesus (part 5 of 5)
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