101 Reasons Why We Left Islam – Chapter 5: Failed Prophecies– Reason 61
In the finale of this chapter, we look at the most serious Jihadi predictions attributed to the Prophet, where the bigger picture provides a good reason to leave Islam. The Prophet made several Jihad-related prophecies that are supposedly precursors, steps, and signs of The End of time. And for early Muslims, the ranking of these Hadith as authentic or not did not really matter, as the “ends justify the means”. To them, these Hadiths helped spread Islam, bringing more wealth, women’s bounty, and glory in this life while simultaneously bringing forward the “end of time”. These Hadiths also provided the perfect motivation for men to put their lives on the line for the glory of the Jihad, knowing that if they win, there is a war bounty to get. And if they die in the battle, there is a bigger reward in wealth, women, and glory in brothel-Jannah. So, in their view, it is a win-win situation.
Figure 61.1. First 120 years of Islam, source: https://arabhistoryblog.wordpress.com/week-1-2-map-rise-of-islam/
For this, we outlined a timeline of these Prophecies:
Phase 1: Conquest of Arabia.
Mishkat al-Masabih 4053
- Jabir b. ‘Abdallah said he was told by ‘Umar b. al-Khattab that he had heard God’s Messenger say, “I will certainly expel the Jews and the Christians from Arabia so as to leave only Muslims in it.”
https://sunnah.com/search?q=Arabia+Jews
This Hadith is transmitted by two other narrators: Sunan Ab welli Dawud 3030 and Sahih Muslim 1551f (Both graded: Sahih)
Much of it was completed during the Prophet’s time, although some gaps remained. So naturally, after the death of the Prophet, there was an urgency to complete his prophecy, for the Prophet cannot be wrong. And the first four Khalifas completed that mission.
Phase 2: Holy Lands & Egypt.
Narrated by Abdullah ibn Hawalah:
- “… A time will come when you will form armies, one in Greater Syria, one in Yemen, and one in Iraq.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, which one should I choose?” He said: “Go to Greater Syria, for it is the chosen land of Allah in all His creation, and the best of His servants will be gathered there. If you do not go, then go to Yemen, and drink from its wells…”
(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith no. 22301 – Graded: Hasan)
The land of Allah here is in reference to Jerusalem, and this prediction bundles Egypt with its historical link to the Abrahamic faith.
Narrated by Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him):
- “You will conquer a land where the qirat (a unit of weight) is mentioned. Treat its people well, for they have protection (dhimmah) and kinship (rahim).”
(Sahih Muslim 2543; also in Sahih Bukhari 3188)
The reference to “kinship” is because Hagar, the mother of Prophet Isma’il (Ishmael), was Egyptian.
Phase 3: Persia
The conquest of Persia and the nearby region is supposedly mentioned in this Hadith:
- “If you see the black banners coming from the direction of Khurasan, then go to them, for the Mahdi will be among them.”
(Narrated by Ibn Majah, 4082 – chain debated, some rate it Hasan/weak)
Khurasan (also spelt Khorasan) is a historical region located in northeastern Iran and extending into parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The name “Khurasan” means “Land of the Sun” or “Eastern Land” in Persian.
Phase 4: Roman Empire
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:
- “The Hour will not be established until the Romans land at al-A‘maq or Dabiq*. An army consisting of the best soldiers of the people of the earth at that time will come from Medina to meet them… Then they will fight, and a third of the army will flee – Allah will never forgive them. A third will be killed – they will be the best martyrs in the sight of Allah. And a third will conquer and will never be defeated thereafter. They will conquer Constantinople. While they are dividing the spoils of war, having hung their swords on olive trees, the Shaytan will cry out: ‘The Dajjal has taken your place among your families.’ They will go out, but it will be false. When they reach Syria, he will emerge.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2897)
*Al-Amaq or Dabiq are regions in northern Syria near the Turkish border. The Umayyad could not conquer Constantinople (Istanbul), which had to wait for another time.
>> Pause a moment here: Note that all this took place in the first 120 years after the Prophet died. Many of the key “conquests” have been fulfilled, and the Prophet’s earlier prophecies of ‘the end of time’ being near, within one generation, has passed and yet nothing has happened. Some leaders and scholars started to question why nothing had happened. The answer, of course, the reason that the end of time did not come through is because other parts of the prophecy have not been fulfilled, so there was even a bigger push.
Phase 5: India
The conquest of India comes along:
Thawban reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
- “Two groups of my Ummah Allah have protected from the Fire: one group will fight in India, and another will be with ‘Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus when he returns)”
(Sunan an-Nasa’i 3175, graded Sahih (Authentic): by al-Albani)
This links the “End of Time” with the conquest of India, and where the term “Qhazwat al Hind” – or the conquest of India comes from. And while the conquest of whole India proved much harder than earlier conquests, the leaders of that time were satisfied that they ‘partly’ met that request. Thus, Islamic rulers turned West to complete a key prediction.
Phase 6: Constantinople
If you go back to Phase 4, you see that while part of the Prophecy was fulfilled, the key conquest of Constantinople was not. That prophecy predicts Islam reaching and conquering Constantinople (Turkey), and this is linked to “The hour”. It assumes that Islamic armies will win this as a defensive war, but the historical facts show it was an offensive war.
As this Prophecy was fulfilled in 1453 – some 800 years after the Prophet died, people sat back waiting for the end of time to happen- and again, nothing happened. Key to this are multiple Hadiths, but we focus on a key one that is authentic:
“Nafi’ b. Utba reported:
- We were with Allah’s Messenger in an expedition that there came a people to Allah’s Apostle from the direction of the west…(Allah’s Messenger) said: You will attack Arabia and Allah will enable you to conquer it, then you would attack Persia and He would make you to conquer it. Then you would attack Rome and Allah will enable you to conquer it, then you would attack the Dajjal and Allah will enable you to conquer him. Nafi’ said: Jabir, we thought that the Dajjal would appear after Rome (Syrian territory) would be conquered.”
(Sahih Muslim 2900: https://sunnah.com/muslim:2900)
The Islamic army did conquer Syrian territory, which was once under Rome, and all the territories the Prophet suggested will instigate the appearance of the Dajjal, yet the Dajjal did not appear! So, what is next?
*Dajjal – is the concept of Anti-Christ, but adopted for Islam as the devil himself.
Phase 7: The World
Islamic scholars had to find something that explains why nothing is happening. Dig deeper into the Hadiths, some narrations that may have been overlooked had to be brought forward, for example:
Tamim al-Dari reported: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
- “This matter (Islam) will reach wherever the night and day reach. Allah will not leave a house of clay or wool but will cause this religion to enter it, either by honour or by humiliation…”
(Musnad Ahmad 16957 – Graded Sahih by al-Hakim and al-Albani)
And this was promoted as being consistent with the Quran, which says in Quran (9:33):
“It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all other religions, even though the polytheists dislike it.”
Repeated in (61:9) and (48:28).
Final Thoughts and Conclusion of Chapter 5:
It is important to put in context that it is clear from these Hadiths and the phases in which Islam expanded, that it was always an offensive war and not a defensive war. There was a sense of urgency and duty to complete these prophecies. The fact is that the first Crusade counterattack ever to be recorded in 1095, that is, over 450 years after the Prophet had died.
I am not trying to be an alarmist, but the facts show that Islamists will not stop till the whole world is conquered. And moderates on the slide line simply see no problem with that. When you hear people say things like “Islam is the fastest growing religion”, it is not just about suggesting dominance and rightfulness, but the subtext is the idea that Islam will take over the world, and this will instigate the end of time.
But here is the catch and proof that these prophecies are all nonsense, but equally dangerous. Because while on one hand the Prophet claimed Islam would conquer the world before the end of time, somehow, he also suggested that Islam would shrink and slowly disappear.
- It is narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (‘Abdullah b. ‘Umar) that the Messenger of Allah observed: Verily Islam started as something strange, and it would again revert (to its old position) of being strange just as it started, and it would recede between the two mosques just as the serpent crawls back into its hole.
Sahih Muslim 146
So, while the Prophet called for a world conquest, he simultaneously said Islam would shrink. Which one is it? Islamic scholars tried to make sense of this in several ways:
1. Islam will not succeed in all these conquests. However, at some point, the Mahdi and Jesus will join the war to win it all and end time. This was popular among early Muslims.
2. Islam will expand, then shrink, before the Mahdi and Jesus come to end the world. Popular among moderates who see a parallel with the current reality of Islam.
3. Islam will expand by numbers and by name, but the core and pure fundamentals of Islam will be forgotten, and it will be for a new Khalifa (Mahdi or otherwise) to come and conquer the whole world to bring an end to the world. This is popular among fundamentalists and extremists.
What are we left with? A mess is what we are left it. We have a history with a cycle of destructive jihad that will only end when Islam ends, or at least people stop taking it seriously after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and till the 1960s.