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It is known that, throughout history, there have
been many false prophets. For the purpose of their own gain,
this kind of impostors have resorted to deceit, exploiting
people’s naiveté. Also in the hadiths, it is
revealed that false prophets will appear before Judgment Day.
The above hadith reminds us of developments in
our own day. By taking advantage of the hopes of Muslims and
Christians about the second coming of 'Isa (as), a number
of deceivers have claimed prophethood and at times caused
great suffering.
Experts have noted that there has been a proliferation
of so-called messiahs that began to appear in the 1970’s
and which has since increased substantially. According to
these experts, there are two basic reasons for this increase.
First is the collapse of communism, and the other is the possibilities
afforded by Internet technology.26
The following excerpts have been selected as
examples to help us better understand this phenomenon:
The fiery demise of the Branch Davidian compound
in Waco, Texas, that claimed the lives of David Koresh and
at least 74 of his followers…27
Last week at two sites in Switzerland and one
in Canada where 53 of Jouret’s followers and their
children died. Police in two countries are trying to find
out whether the deaths were mass suicide, mass murder or
some bizarre combination of the two.28
Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification
Church, says he is the Messiah of the Second Coming and
that his family is the first true family in all history!
…The Unification Church was officially founded in
1954 by Moon, who claims that in 1936, when he was 16, ‘Isa
(as) appeared to him on a mountainside in Northwestern Korea
and told him that God had chosen him for the mission of
establishing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.29
Grim evidence of the worst cult slaughter…Up
to1000 followers feared dead as more graves found in Uganda…30
It was an event that sent shock waves worldwide—the
worst mass suicide in modern history. More than 900 people,
members of a cult, were found clustered together in a South
American forest. The dead were followers of Rev. Jim Jones,
the leader of the Peoples’Temple in San Francisco.31
The Qur’an also points to the advent of
false prophets. One verse pertaining to this topic is the
following:
Who could do greater wrong than someone
who invents lies against Allah or denies His Signs, or who
says, “It has been revealed to me,” when nothing
has been revealed to him, or someone who says, “I
will send down the same as Allah has sent down”? If
you could only see the wrongdoers in the throes of death
when the angels are stretching out their hands, saying,
“Disgorge your own selves! Today you will be repaid
with the punishment of humiliation for saying something
other than the truth about Allah, and being arrogant about
His Signs.” (Surat al-Anam: 93)
As it is stated in that which follows this verse,
these people will surely receive their recompense for the
lies they have fabricated.
Thousands of people go to their deaths in obedience to
self-proclaimed messiahs. Above, we see a mass grave in
Uganda, and on the right, the followers of Jim Jones who
had committed mass suicide.
In our day, a number of false prophets have appeared,
one after another, each proclaiming himself to be the
Messiah. The fact that the signs of the End Times are
happening in succession is an extraordinary occurrence
that certainly should make everyone think. |
There is no doubt that there will be a time when
all the lies of all these false prophets will be eradicated.
The Prophet (saas) announced that, after the liars have gone,
‘Isa (as) would return.
We have mentioned earlier that the Qur’an
tells of ‘Isa (as)’s return to earth, and that
Muslims and Christians alike eagerly await this event. There
are a few hadiths from the Prophet (saas) that refer to the
second coming of ‘Isa (as). The Islamic scholar Shawkani
stated that there are 29 hadiths about ‘Isa (as)’s
return, and that the information contained in these hadiths
could not have been falsified. (Ibn Majah)
There is another important item of information
that comes to us through these hadiths. The return of ‘Isa
(as) will occur during the second phase of the End Times,
and will be an important sign of the Judgment. In this regard,
the following hadiths are pertinent:
The Prophet (saas) tells what ‘Isa (as) will do when
he returns:
Therefore, when ‘Isa (as) returns, errant
doctrines such as those of the Trinity, the cross and the
priesthood, and illicit acts such as eating pork, will be
swept away, the Christian world will be saved from its heretical
state, and all people will be called to live according to
the true religion and moral values contained in the Qur’an.
At this point, there is an important issue we
must stop and consider. In the Qur’an and in the hadiths,
there is no doubt that ‘Isa (as) will return to earth
during the End Times. Today, on the other hand, some Muslims
disregard the evident proofs regarding this return, and suggest
that it is possible that ‘Isa (as) will return after
the Prophet Muhammad (saas) comes. However, Muslims who think
such a thing should attempt to interpret the relevant verses
and hadiths objectively and without prejudice. And, secondly,
there is no contradiction between the fact that Muhammad (saas)
is the last Prophet and that ‘Isa (as) will return to
earth. When ‘Isa (as) comes for the second time, he
will not bring a new religion but will be subject to the true
religion communicated by the Qur’an and the Prophet
Muhammad (saas).
The great Islamic scholar Imam Rabbani said:
"‘Isa (as) will descend from heaven, yet he will
follow Muhammad (saas)'s Way” (Imam-i Rabbani, Letters
of Rabbani, Volume II, Letter 67); Imam Nawawi said:
“… He ('Isa (as)) will come and apply Muhammad
(saas)'s way.” (Al Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'alamat
al-Mahdi al-Muntazar) On this topic; Qadi Iyad said:
“'Isa (as) will rule with the rules of Islam and will
revive the practices that his people have abandoned.”
(Ibn Majah)
The greatest Islamic scholar of the past century,
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi have provided some interesting expositions
of this matter in his Risale-i Nur Collection. According
to Bediuzzaman’s analyses, ‘Isa (as) will return
to earth in bodily form in the End Times and will contend
and repudiate anti-religious ideologies that represent materialist
and naturalist philosophy. Under his leadership, Christians
and Muslims will unite and the powerful anti-religious forces
will be eradicated. Christianity will be cleansed of its vain
beliefs, heresy and its myths and become subject to the Qur’an.
Bediuzzaman said that, in making this announcement, the Prophet
(saas) relied on the words of Almighty Allah and that, therefore,
it would certainly come to pass.32
At this point an important question comes to
our attention. How will ‘Isa (as) be recognized? Surely,
the clearest indication that it is him who will be in possession
of all the features common to a prophet as mentioned in the
Qur’an. In addition, he will bring an important sign
to indicate that he is ‘Isa (as). When he comes, there
will be no one that would have seen ‘Isa (as) before
in person and therefore there will be no one to recognize
him. None will be able to recognize him by his physical appearance
or by the sound of his voice. No one will be able to say that
he knew ‘Isa (as) personally, or saw him at such and
such a time; no one will have known his family or his relatives.
All those who would have known him would have died 2000 years
ago. Maryam (as), Zakariyya (as), his disciples, who spent
years with him, as well as all those to whom ‘Isa (as)
communicated the message of Allah, will have already died.
Therefore, there will be none who would have experienced his
birth, childhood, youth or adulthood when he comes for the
second time. No one will know anything about him.
As we explained in the earlier section of this
book, by the command of Allah, “Be,” ‘Isa
(as) came into the world without a father. Clearly, after
so many centuries, he would have not any surviving relatives.
In this regard, Allah compares ‘Isa (as)’s situation
with the creation of Adam:
The likeness of ‘Isa in Allah’s
sight is the same as Adam. He created him from earth and
then He said to him, “Be!” and he was. (Surah
Al 'Imran: 59)
This verse reveals that Allah said “Be!”
and Adam was created. ‘Isa (as) too was created by this
same command. Adam did not have a mother or a father while
‘Isa (as) had only a mother when he came into the world.
But, when he comes to the world again for the second time,
his mother will not be alive.
Therefore, the confusion caused by the false
messiahs who will appear from time to time is rendered ineffective.
When ‘Isa (as) comes back to the world again, there
will be no opportunity to cast any doubt on the fact that
it is him. No one will be able to find any viable reason to
say that he cannot be ‘Isa (as). ‘Isa (as) will
be recognized by that one characteristic that will separate
him from every other person: not a single person in the world
will know him.
In conclusion, the information presented here
should lead us to recognize that the time of the promises
with regard to the coming of ‘Isa (as), and the things
he will do, is near. Surely, it is our duty to be best prepared
as possible to meet that blessed person who we have been so
long waiting for.
26. Time, April 7, 1997, "The
lure of the cult"
27. Britannica CD 2000, "From Year in Review 1993: Chronology"
28. Time, October 17, 1994, "In The Reign Of Fire"
29. http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/moon/general.htm
30. The Guardian, March 29, 2000, "Grim evidence of worst
cult slaughter"
31. CNN, "Jonestown, 1978", http://cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/century/episodes/08/timelines/headlines/infoboxes/jonestown.html
32. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection, Letters |
