Q. A book entitled Apocalypse Countdown 666 by Dr. Khalid clearly shows that we are living in a period when many of the prophesies are coming true. It unmasks the real nature of the UN, showing it to be the Biblical Beast, while the US is the Biblical Dragon. It also shows that adding the 3 south gates to the Masjid Al-Haram has completed the 12 major gates of the Biblical New Jerusalem. This appears very clearly if we look at the picture of the mosque bearing in mind the Biblical description. We will see that the two are identical. When we consider all this, we are bound to conclude that the second coming of Jesus Christ will not be delayed much further. Those who are interested in the book can log on to HYPERLINK http://www.januspublishing.co.uk
El-Nurabi, Asir
A. How far can we go in trying to match today’s events to prophesies that are recorded in the Qur’an, Hadith, Scriptures of other religions or words attributed to earlier prophets? There may be strong evidence to suggest that the UN could be branded as the Biblical Beast, and to make use of its Resolution 666 to show it as serving the interests of those who are hostile to Islam. But there is nothing new in this. After all, the UN resolution that approved the partition of Palestine was far more instrumental in giving the land of Palestine to the Jews and making seven hundred thousand Arabs refugees. Its number has no association with Satan!
There is much that can be said against the US and its consistently hostile attitude to Muslims and Islam. Is the US what our reader calls the Biblical Dragon? I have no answer to that question, and I do not think that we need an answer to it. We are warned by God about the attitude of such hostile forces: “They shall not cease to fight you until they force you to renounce your faith, if they can.” (2: 217)
The fact is that we have in the Qur’an and in the Sunnah of the Prophet sufficient warnings which should keep us on our guard as to how to deal with those who are hostile to Islam, and those who try to undermine the Muslims and their position in the world. But we are often heedless of these. Yet there will come a day when, as the Prophet has indicated, the Muslims will be on the ascendance again, and they will beat off, with God’s help, all the might of the forces marshaled against them. But we should not relax, waiting for any future event like the second coming of Jesus. We should do our part now, before death overtakes us. It may be that God will give us victory in our lifetime, or He may make our work a factor in a future victory of Islam. When we do our part, we earn our reward from Him and that is all that matters.
If we indulge in relating prophesies to actual events, how can we be sure of our interpretation? If we say that the second coming of Jesus will not be long, that begs the question, “what is long?” Will he be coming in 20 years time or after 2,000 years? If it is the latter, will that be long? When the Jews of Madinah declared to the pagan Arabs that they were expecting the last Prophet to appear soon, and they were referring to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), they told them that “he would come very close to the Last Hour.” The term, “the Last Hour” refers to the Day of Judgment. Muhammad was sent with his message over 1,400 years ago, and human life has continued. It may go on for only a few days or for several million years and be still close.
We can go on over this, but the discussion is immaterial. What is important for us as individuals is to know that we have a limited time in this life, and that we should use this time to best advantage. That is achieved when we try hard to make our objective in everything we do to please God and benefit His creatures. If we keep that in mind, we will be certain to be successful when we meet Him. That is the great prize.
The date of the Prophet’s death
Q. You have mentioned that the Prophet died on Rabiul Awwal 12, but I am told that in the Seerah of Ibn Hisham it is mentioned that he died on the 2nd day of that month. Please clarify.
Z.A.M. Zinde, Al-Kharj
A. Ibn Hisham does not mention a date of the Prophet’s death, but he mentions the day, which is a Monday. However, Al-Suhaili, who has annotated Ibn Hisham’s book with rich information and accurate footnotes, has this to say about the date: “Scholars are unanimous that God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) died on Monday, except for one, Ibn Qutaibah, who suggests that it was a Wednesday. All of them agree that it was in Rabie I, but they say, or most of them say that his death was on the 12th day of that month. However, this is not possible. It can only be either on 2 Rabiul Awwal or 13, 14 or 15 of that month.
That is because all Muslims are unanimous that the Arafat day during the Prophet’s pilgrimage was a Friday.” Al-Suhaili then relates all the possible permutations of which day each succeeding month started and confirms his conclusion.
May I say that knowing the exact date of the Prophet’s death is not of much importance. We do not mark the day of his death, nor indeed the day of his birth, except to recognize God’s favors which He has bestowed on us by sending us His final Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him).
