Iqbal, the Sufi Epistemology and The End of History
ISLAM AND THE END OF HISTORY
Is there an
Islamic view of the end of history? Did Iqbal ever address it?
It is
appropriate, in the context of the subject we are here examining, to note that
Islam has chosen terminology located in time for referring to the end of the
world. The Islamic word is “the Hour” (al-Sa’ah). The supreme importance of
this subject of “the Hour,” i.e., the end of history, was established in the
famous visit of Archangel Gabriel (‘alaihi al-Salam) when he appeared before the
Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) in the Masjid in the form of a man. He
asked questions, the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) answered them, and
Gabriel (‘alaihi al-Salam) then confirmed that the answers were correct.
Sometime after his departure the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) informed
the Muslims of the identity of the visitor, and of the fact that he had come
(at that very late stage in the life of the Prophet) to instruct them in their
religion. He had asked five questions, and two of these related to the end of
history.
The first question was: when will the end come? And the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) had replied to the effect that the one who was being questioned had no more knowledge of the subject than the questioner. The second question was: tell me of the signs by which we would know that the end is at hand (i.e., what are some of the signs by which we would recognize the age that would witness the end of history?) He replied to the effect that a slave girl would give birth to her mistress (and this has now become a possibility because of surrogate parenting), and that the barefooted shepherds of yesterday would be competing with each other in constructing high-rise buildings. (Some of the foremost scholars of Islam in this age have declared that this sign has now materialized.)
The first question was: when will the end come? And the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) had replied to the effect that the one who was being questioned had no more knowledge of the subject than the questioner. The second question was: tell me of the signs by which we would know that the end is at hand (i.e., what are some of the signs by which we would recognize the age that would witness the end of history?) He replied to the effect that a slave girl would give birth to her mistress (and this has now become a possibility because of surrogate parenting), and that the barefooted shepherds of yesterday would be competing with each other in constructing high-rise buildings. (Some of the foremost scholars of Islam in this age have declared that this sign has now materialized.)
This
extraordinary Hadith amply demonstrated the supreme importance that Islam has
attached to the subject of the end of history. It also clearly establishes that
we now live in the last age.
The Islamic
view of the last age is quite comprehensive. It includes the belief that the
earth would function as habitat for a limited duration (al-Baqarah 2:36). The
earth would one day be transformed into a dust bowl (al-Kahf 18:8). This
implies that the end-time, which witnesses the death of the earth, would be
preceded by an age of a constantly diminishing supply of (fresh) water,
leading, eventually, to extreme scarcity of water. The Prophet (sallalahu
‘alaihi wa sallam) described that last age as the age of Fitan (i.e., tests and
trials), and the Qur’an warned that all of mankind would be targeted, and that
Allah’s Punishment would be terrible. (Qur’an, al-Anfal, 8:25).
The constantly
diminishing supply of water would take place in consequence of the release into
the world by Allah Most High of evil beings whom He created, namely Gog and
Magog (Ya’juj and Ma’juj). The last two Suwar (chapters) of the Qur’an were
specifically devoted to warning the believers of the very great dangers which
would emerge in the world in consequence of the release of “evil created by
Allah.” The evil would appear as “evil beings” created by Allah Most High to
test and to punish. They are Ya’juj, Ma’juj and Dajjal. The Prophet (sallalahu
‘alaihi wa sallam) described Ya’juj and Ma’juj to be such thirsty beings that
they would drink up all the water of the world. “They would pass by a river”,
he said, “and they would drink it dry”. (Kanz al-Ummal, Vol. 7, Hadith No.
2157). The last age would thus be characterized by over-consumption, waste, and
disrespect for water. Mankind would witness, in the last age, riots and wars
fought over water.
When we look
around us in the world, it appears to be quite clear that the countdown has
already begun. There is an ominous and growing shortage of water in nearly all
parts of the world today. The head of the U. N. Environment Program has
recently expressed his fear that the world is heading towards a “period of
water-wars between nations.” A Pakistani government minister has warned of the
eventual likelihood of riots over water in the city of Karachi. The Kalabagh
Dam project threatens bloodshed. The Farrakha Dam, built by India, threatens to
drown Bangladesh. Turkey and Syria may one day wage war over water which is one
of the gravest issues that divide them. Israel, the Palestinian Arabs, and the
neighboring Arab Sates (particularly Jordan) have serious and growing
differences over the sharing of dwindling water supplies. The Israelis are
actually waging a water war on the Palestinian Arabs, Muslims as well as
Christians.
It would
therefore appear that the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj has already taken place.
Iqbal agrees. Indeed, he appears to be one of the very few scholars of Islam to
have ever had the vision and the courage to make a formal declaration that the
release has taken place and that we now live in the last age, or the age that
will witness the end of history. The declaration was made in Urdu verse, and,
predictably, there is not even a hint of it in any of his writings or statements
made in English. This is the verse:
“Khul gayay
y’ajuj aur m’ajuj ka lashkar tamam,
Chashmay Muslim dekhlay tafseer harf-e-yansiloon.”
Chashmay Muslim dekhlay tafseer harf-e-yansiloon.”
“The hordes of
Gog and Magog, Have all been released; The Muslim can (now) perceive with his
very eyes (right in front
of him), The meaning of yansiloon.”
The word
yansilun, which occurs at the end of the verse, and to the Tafsir
(interpretation) of which Iqbal has directed the attention of the Muslims,
refers to a passage of the Qur’an in Surah al-Anbiyah in which Allah Most High
declares that when Ya’juj and Ma’juj are released they will spread out in every
direction (min kulli hadabin yansilun). Here is the passage:
“And there is a
ban on a town which We destroyed, that they shall not return (i.e., the people
of the town are banned from returning to reclaim the town as their own), until
Ya’juj (Gog) and Ma’juj (Magog) are released (from the barrier which Dhu
al-Qarnain built in order to contain them), and they spread out in every
direction.”
(Qur’an, al-Anbiyah, 21:95- 96)
This indicates
that Ya’juj and Ma’juj would not only become the dominant force in the world,
but that their power would subdue all of mankind. Indeed, their power would be
such that, according to a Hadith al-Qudsi, Allah Most High has Himself declared:
“None but I can destroy them.” (Kanz Al-Ummal , Vol. 7, Hadith No.3021).
Our view is
that Iqbal arrived at this amazingly accurate conclusion eighty years ago in
consequence of his use of the Sufi epistemology. He not only made a critical
and an acute observation of the historical process, and of the world which
confronted him, but he also had the courage to make an intellectual leap for a
startling intuitive grasp which delivered to him, for one dazzling moment in
time, the very substance of the subject. The uneducated say many things without
knowledge. But when a scholar of the Qur’an makes a declaration such as this,
it must rest on the foundation of knowledge. Conventional Islamic scholarship,
unable or unwilling to reach out for that intuitive grasp of the subject, is
yet to pronounce on the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. This writer met in Lahore
with the late commentator of Iqbal, Prof. Muhammad Munawwar, who confirmed that
Iqbal considered the modern Judeo-Christian west to be the civilization of
Ya’juj and Ma’juj.)
We believe that
Iqbal was absolutely correct. Consider the following:
- The Caliphate is an institution central to the collective integrity of the Muslim Ummah. Although the seat of the Caliphate was of times filled in a manner which did not conform to the Shari’ah of Islam, the office of the Caliphate survived for some 1300 years. There is an indication of a prophecy of the destruction of the Caliphate, and of its restoration at the time of the advent of Imam Al-Mahdi, in the famous Hadith in which the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) spoke of the return of Prophet Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam):
“How will you
be when the Son of Mary descends amongst you and your Imam will be from amongst
yourselves.” (Sahih Bukhari)
Within seven
years of Iqbal’s pronouncement concerning the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj in
1917, the unprecedented power and influence of today’s dominant western
civilization led to the destruction of the Ottoman Islamic Empire and,
subsequently, to the collapse of the Caliphate.
- Secondly, the Hajj is an institution which is even more central in importance to Islam, and which has survived for thousands of years. The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) has prophesied the abandonment of the Hajj in the context of the aftermath of the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. The fulfillment of that prophecy appears to be imminent. It should come to pass as soon as the Jews deliver on their promise to destroy Masjid al-Aqsa in order to rebuild the Temple of Solomon (‘alaihi al-Salam). When it does come to pass it will confirm, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Iqbal was absolutely correct in this pronouncement concerning the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj.
- Thirdly, the basic characteristic of Ya’juj and Ma’juj is their Fasad (i.e., their conduct which corrupts, spoils, ruins) (Qur’an, al-Kahf, 18:94). The age of Ya’juj and Ma’juj would thus be one of immense and unprecedented corruption. Everything will be corrupted—religion and religious scholars; government and political life; the market, the economy, and the world of finance or money; law and justice; transportation, the environment, even the ecological system of the earth; sex, marriage and family life; sports and entertainment; education, youth, the role of women in society, and so on. When we look around us in the world today we find ample evidence of this universal corruption, indicating that Iqbal was correct, and that the countdown has begun.
- Fourthly, another basic characteristic of Ya’juj and Ma’juj is their godlessness and immorality (khabath). The godlessness was described in a Hadith al-Qudsi in which we were informed that only one of every 1000 of the end-time would enter into heaven (and that person would be a follower of the Prophet). The rest, 999 out of every 1000, would all be the people of Ya’juj and Ma’juj and would all be sent to Hell. (Sahih Bukhari, 4:567; 6:265; 8:537)
The immorality
was described in a Hadith in which the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)
conveyed to this wife, Zainab (radiallahu ‘anha), the news that the advent of
Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj would be in consequence of the increase of Khabath in the
world (Sahih Bukhari, 4:797; 9:181; 9:249).
The Qur’anic
use of the term Khabath includes that sexual perversity which characterized
Sodom and Gomorrah. There is sufficient godlessness, immorality, and sexual
perversity in the world today to qualify for the description given by the
Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). Again Iqbal is correct.
- A fifth characteristic of Ya’juj and Ma’juj, and one which also follows from the above, is that they would transform all of mankind into one single global society in which all would follow essentially the same way of life. It would be godless and decadent. Already that single godless, decadent society has won over the elite society around the world. The process is now moving inexorably to win over the masses as well. The actual Hadith is that Ya’juj, the community (Ummah), would expand to incorporate another four hundred communities (Umam). Ma’juj, the Ummah, would do the same. And so the world of Ya’juj and Ma’juj would be an ever-expanding globalized world of information, communication, entertainment, and culture, etc. It would culminate in one decadent global society with the mental and spiritual illumination of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Coca Cola. A world government will preside over it. Television has played, and still plays, a crucial role in the relentless pursuit of that goal—a goal that now appears to be quite within reach. This confirms Iqbal’s declaration.
- Sixthly, perhaps the most significant clue of the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj, and ominous consequences of that release for the world of Islam, is located in the Hadith (referred to above) in which the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) spoke to his wife, Ummul Mu’minin Zainab (radiallahu’anha), about the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. His words were: “Woe unto the Arabs, because of an evil which is now approaching.” In other words, the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj would result in great calamities and suffering in the Arab world in particular. The clue is expressed quite explicitly in the Qur’an, however, when Allah Most High declared of a town (or city) which He had destroyed, that its restoration would never be possible until the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj makes it possible (see reference to verses 95 & 96 of Surah al-Anbiyah above).
My own use of
the Sufi epistemology led me to the conclusion that the town was Jerusalem
(i.e., the State of Israel) and hence I interpreted the verse to the effect
that the State of Israel, destroyed by Allah Most High twice in history, would
be restored when Ya’juj and Ma’juj are released, and as a consequence, that
restoration formed part of the Divine Plan through which Dajjal the false
Messiah or Anti-Christ would deceive the Jews and lead them to their final
destruction. Indeed, this is precisely why he is known as al-Masih al-Dajjal.
The identification of the “town” with Jerusalem is not far-fetched at all.
There are several Ahadith which link Ya’juj and Ma’juj with Jerusalem (i.e.,
the State of Israel). For example, the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)
said that when Ya’juj and Ma’juj are released they would pass by the Sea of
Galilee (which is in Israel) (Kanz Al-Ummal, Vol 7, Hadith No. 3021).
Then there is a
very long Hadith in Sahih Muslim in which we are told that Ya’juj and Ma’juj
would attack the true Messiah, Jesus the son of the virgin Mary (peace and
blessings of Allah Most High upon them both) in Jerusalem.
It should be
noted that the Jordan-Israeli Peace Treaty of October 1994 recognized Jordan’s
contractual rights to a certain amount of water from rivers shared by both
countries. Israel may fulfill treaty obligations by pumping water from the Sea
of Galilee. The water level in the Sea of Galilee has now reached so low (at
the time of writing this essay in 1998) that further pumping of water would
cause damage to its capacity to store water. Consequently, Israel has been
forced to suspend its fulfillment of its treaty obligation concerning the
supply of water to Jordan. Israel has recently told Jordan that the latter’s
share of water will be reduced by 60% during the coming summer due to “low rain
fall.” In response, the Jordanian Foreign Minister has urged Israel to fulfill
its commitment and to carry out the signed agreement. The countdown has begun!
The restoration
of the State of Israel not only confirmed the release of Dajjal the false
Messiah and of Ya’juj and Ma’juj, but it also constituted a veritable dagger
plunged into the very heart of the Arab Muslim world. This, in turn, fulfilled
the ominous prophecy: “Woe unto the Arabs.” We may add, in passing, that the
feminist revolution of the modern age (in which night wants to become day)
confirms that Dajjal is now in the last stage of his mission.
I was
pleasantly surprised to find this conclusion confirmed by eminent Sufi Sheikhs.
It is just possible that Iqbal came to the same conclusion and this was one of
the reasons why he called for attention to be devoted to tafseer
harf-e-yansilun (i.e., the interpretation of verses 95 and 96 of Surah
al-Anbiyah of the Qur’an). After all, the Zionist Movement was established in
1898, and the alliance between the Zionists and the modern West was painfully
revealed to Iqbal in the Balfour Declaration of 1917.
IQBAL’S EPISTEMOLOGICAL AMBIVALENCE AND THE END OF HISTORY
The major
actors in the last stage of history, viz., Ya’juj and Ma’juj, Dajjal, Imam
al-Mahdi, and the return of the true Messiah, Jesus the son of the Virgin Mary
(peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both), and the respective
roles which they play, all combine to form an integrated inseparable whole.
What is truly
alarming is that despite Iqbal’s confirmation of the release of Ya’juj and
Ma’juj, he rejected belief in Dajjal the false Messiah, Imam Al-Mahdi and the
return of the true Messiah, Jesus the son of the virgin Mary (peace and
blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both). What possible explanation
could there be for this truly unfortunate situation? Also, how do we explain the
surprising fact that apart for that one solitary verse on Ya’juj and Ma’juj
Iqbal is otherwise completely silent on the subject?
My view is that
if Iqbal were alive today, the unfolding events in the world, and, in
particular, in the Holy Land, would have forced him to change his views with
respect to Dajjal the false Messiah, Imam Al-Mahdi and the return of Jesus the
true Messiah.. Did he not himself say: “Only stones do not change”! It was
because the reality of Ya’juj and Ma’juj was established by the Qur’an that
there was no way that Iqbal could have dismissed the subject. The corollary is
that if Ya’juj and Ma’juj had not been established in the Qur’an, and were
dependent on the Ahadith, they would have suffered the same fate as belief in
the advent of Imam al-Mahdi, Dajjal, and the return of Jesus (‘alaihi
al-Salam). When Iqbal turned to the study of these subjects he appears to have
experienced an epistemological transformation. The spiritual or religious
consciousness was used to study the subject of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. The light of
Allah Most High illumined the path for a dazzling display of the intuitive
penetration of truth. On the other hand, it was the theoretic consciousness
which was used to study the other verities which were not established by the
Qur’an. I also suspect an impact of Iqbal’s philosophical training, as well as
the western epistemology, on Iqbal’s theoretic consciousness, when he directed attention
to the verities of the last age which were located in the Ahadith. This appears
to be a subject worthy of serious study by a psychologist who is also capable
of examining spiritual realities.
Articles - Islamic Spirituality
Wednesday, 10 Rajab 1428
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