RELIGION 
During
the period of turmoil, which will precede
the Judgement Day, a false prophet will
arise. His destiny will be to fulfill the
function of the AntiChrist. This man will
announce himself as prophet and messiah,
and will eventually even assume the title
of god. Every Prophet of the lineage of
Abraham has warned the People of the Book
of the threat to be posed by this
dangerous man.
In this chapter, we shall examine Islamic
scriptures to discover the revelations
about the false prophet. We shall attempt
to discover from where he will originate,
throw some light on his character, and
learn what fate is planned for him.
The Hadith indicate that the
Anti‑Christ will come from the
northern area of what is present day Iran
and Iraq. His rise to prominence will be
ordained not by Satan, but by God Himself,
as the final test of the faith of the
believers.
God will grant to this man the ability to
play tricks, which will seem as real. For
example, he will appear to kill someone
and then restore him to life again. He
will create false treasures and with them
tempt the believers to follow him. He will
spread corruption and mischief everywhere.
He will be able to conjure false images
for the masses of scenes of paradise and
of hell.
The Hadith contain a prediction even of
those who shall be lured to follow the
false Messiah. His disciples shall come
from among the believers, from Arabs,
Persians and Turks. He will attract masses
of ignorant nomads and his magnetic
personality will draw women to him. He
shall also be followed by Jews.
In Arabic this AntiChrist will be called
the Dajjal,
which means "he who covers the
truth with falsehood." Several Hadith
give testimony that the Dajjal shall first
present himself as an attractive youth,
with a reddish face, with curly and thick
hair. He will be sightless in his right
eye. He will be of strong frame, and will
walk confidently with a wide stride. Four
disjointed letters in Arabic will be
written between his eyes, being K, A, F,
and R. (In Arabic these letters spell kafir, which is a derogatory name for a non believer.)
Another Islamic tradition from among the
Hadith holds that when this man first
appears, he will assume the guise of a
believer. He will be powerful in
personality and will thus be able to rally
many of the believers. As head of this
army, he will then reveal himself first as
prophet, and then as a god.
DO
MEN THINK
THAT THEY WILL BE LEFT
ALONE ON SAYING
"WE BELIEVE"
AND THAT THEY WILL NOT BE
TESTED
AFTER WARDS?
A Hadith reveals one of the many tricks
with which the Anti‑Christ will be
capable of tempting the ignorant. He will
ask, If I bring
your dead mother and father back to life
and present them to you here, will you
then bear witness that I am your god? The
foolish man would eagerly say yes, and
hence two devils will appear, the very
picture of the man's poor departed mother
and father. These false images will beg
their amazed victim, Oh our son, follow him, for he is your god!
(Ask yourselves, dear readers and
believers, would 1 survive such a test of
my faith? Have 1 purified myself enough
with good deeds that 1 would be fortified
at the time of temptation?)
In
the Gospel of Matthew, the Prophet Jesus
is reported also to have warned his
disciples against the false prophet. He
cautioned them sternly to take heed that
no man should lead them astray. He
predicted that many false leaders would
come in his name, saying that they are the
Christ, and that they would manage to
cause wars and much destruction. Jesus
counselled his disciples not to be
troubled, for these events must come to
pass for God's plan for mankind to unfold.
The
Chapter of the Spider (Surat
al Ankabut)
2.
Do men think that they will be left alone
on saying, We
believe, and that they will not be
tested henceforth?
3.
We did test those before them, and God
will certainly know those who are true
from those who are false.
God's plan ordains that the believers be
tested before Judgement Day in such a
severe manner. God revealed in the Koran
that He will challenge the believers'
faith in order to determine its strength.
The trials and tribulations will be the
yardstick against which the believer's
faith will be examined. The temptations
offered by the false messiah will not even
be recognised, much less survived, except
by the thoughtful and sincere among the
People of the Book.
The
Chapter of the Cattle (Surat
al Anam)
112.
Likewise did We make for every Messenger
an enemy satans among men and spirits.
They inspire with flowery discourses by
way of deception. If your Lord had so
willed it, they could not have done it. So
leave them and what they forge.
There is no doubt that the AntiChrist will
offer a seductive appeal to the believers.
(We must therefore pray for God's
protection against the anticipated
temptations.) He and his army shall
attempt to keep the revealed truth from
the people who will be living at the time.
The Dajjal will offer the illusion of the
dominance of falsehood.
The truth shall vanquish its enemy,
however, on the return of Jesus. He shall
come in God's name to rule with justice
and end the turmoil caused by the
deceiver.
How long will be the crisis on Earth,
which will be provoked by the false
messiah? We can find an answer in the
story of the flight of the Jews from
Egypt. When they were allowed to flee by
God towards their Promised Land, their
faith was tested in the desert. Their will
broke, they turned to idolatry, and they
abused their Prophet Moses and even worse,
their God. What should have been a short
transit journey for their caravans became
a nightmare exile in the desert for many
years as punishment.
In the same fashion, we know that the
Dajjal will be sent as a final terrible
test before the Judgement Day, but it is
not written for how long the believers
will have to suffer. The number 40 is
mentioned in various Hadith, but it
remains ambiguous whether that will be the
number of days, months or years. At this
time, therefore, we actually do not know
the length of time of the prophesied
suffering. The test awaits its result.
Should the believers be strong in their
faith, the period of forty will be of the
shortest duration. Should the People of
the Book turn once again to the worship of
the Golden Calf, then the measure of forty
will sadly be very long and terrible. What
is a lifetime for a man is merely a blink
of an eye for the Omnipotent.
The
Chapter of the Battle Array (Surat
as Saff)
5.
And remember, Moses said to his people, Oh my people! Why do you vex and insult me, though you
know that I am the messenger of God sent
to you?
Then
when they went wrong, God let their hearts
go wrong. For God guides not those who are
rebellious transgressors.
During the period of turmoil, the time
shall pass slowly. The people will feel
that the days are longer and unbearable
because of the tricks with which the false
prophet will distract them. Their minds
will be influenced to the extent that
people will be unable to distinguish day
from night.
How can the believer be safe from the
enticements and temptations of the false
messiah? In several of the Hadith it is
recounted that the Prophet Mohammed
replied to this question by saying that
protection will be granted to the true
believer if he reads in the Koran the
beginning of the "Chapter of the
Cave."
The
Chapter of the Cave (Surat al Kahf)
1.
Praise be to God who has sent to His
Servant the Book, and has allowed in it no
crookedness.
2.
He has made it straight and clear in order
that He may warn the godless of a terrible
punishment from Him, and that He may give
the glad tidings to the believers who work
good deeds, so that they may be rewarded.
Anyone who reads the "Chapter of the
Cave" finds in it an emphasis on the
importance of faith. God has granted us a
revelation of a straight path; faith
allows us to follow it. God has
demonstrated through His Prophets that He
is jealous of the affections of those to
whom His message has been revealed.
The
Chapter of the Cave (Surat
al Kahf)
110.
...Your God is One God. Whoever expects to
meet his Lord, let him work righteousness,
and, in the worship of his Lord, let him
admit no devotion to any competitor.
to
be continued
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