Explanations on Dajjal Based on Viewpoints of Ahmadiyya Jamaat

From Tadhkirah pp. 273-275: As it has been disclosed to me through visions, the soul of Hadrat Masih (as) [Messiah] was in travail on account of the falsehoods that had been attributed to him in this age, and fervently desired the descent to the earth of one spiritually his like and he supplicated God Almighty to that effect. So God Almighty responded to his agitation and sent his like into the world so that the promise, already made, should be fulfilled. The soul of Hadrat Masih, peace be upon him, had two occasions to demand a substitute. The first was six hundred years after his death. This was when the Jews insisted more than ever that he was an impostor and a liar and that his birth was illegitimate and that is why he died on the cross. On the other hand, the Christians proclaimed that he was the son of God and even God himself, and that he had laid down his life on the cross for the salvation of mankind.... It was then that the soul of the Masih [Messiah] was moved, in accordance with Allahs will, and demanded to be exonerated from all these charges and beseeched God for a substitute. Thereupon, the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was raised This was the first agitation of the soul of Jesus of Nazareth which achieved its purpose in the advent of our lord and master, our Messiah, the Seal of Prophets, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. [All praise belongs to Allah.] The second time when the soul of the Masihas was agitated was when the Christians completely assumed the qualities of AntichristThus in this age the soul of the Masih was agitated a second time and longed for his substitute to appear in the world. When this desire reached its climax, God Almighty raised one who was his spiritual reflection to defeat the Antichrist of this age. This spiritual reflection, by coming in the likeness of the Masihas, is called the Promised Messiah. On account of the current troubles, it was only the advent of the Masih that was called for. It was his people who had been corrupted and among whom the qualities of the Antichrist had spread. Therefore, it was only proper that the soul of the Masih should have been agitated. This is the subtle spiritual comprehension that has been bestowed upon me through a vision. It has also been disclosed to me that, after a time of piety and purity and the supremacy of Divine unity, the world will again return to polytheism and transgression. Some will devour others like insects, ignorance will prevail, the Masih [Messiah] will be worshipped once again, and the error of creature-worship will be widespread. All this mischief will proceed out of Christianity in the last part of these latter days. Then again the soul of the Masih will be greatly troubled and will seek its descent in a majestic form. Then, with the advent of an awe-striking semblance of his, this age will come to an end. That will be the end and the expanse of the world will be rolled up. This shows that on account of the unworthy behaviour of the followers of the Masihas, it had been decreed that the spirituality of the Masihas should descend into the world three times. [Aina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam 341346, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 5, pp. 341346]

From Tadhkirah, p. 288: I beseeched Allah the High and threw myself before Him desiring that the mystery of descent might be resolved and the true interpretation of the Antichrist might be revealed so that I should know it with the certainty of knowledge and should see it with the certainty of sight. His favour then turned towards my instruction, my understanding, and it was revealed to me. I was taught from His Presence that descent in its true meaning is a reality, but that the Muslims have not understood that reality. My Lord informed me that descent is spiritual and not physical. As to the Antichrist, now listen, I will explain to you the reality on the basis of the clear and pure revelation that I have received. Then understand, my dear ones, that it has been disclosed to me that the reference to the Antichrist as one individual is not designed to indicate his personal individuality, but his unity as a species, meaning thereby that in that species there will be a unity of ideas as is, indeed, indicated by the word dajjal [Antichrist] itself and in this name there are many Signs for those who reflect. The meaning of the word dajjal is a chain of deceptive ideas, the links of which are so attached to each other as if it was a structure of equal-sized bricks of the same colour, quality and strength, some of them firmly overlapping others and further strengthened by being plastered from outside. [Aina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, pp. 552555, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 5, pp. 552555]

From p. 323 of Tadhkirah: It was revealed upon my heart that the Masihas [Messiah] applied the term Antichrist to the Christians of the latter age. He did not apply the epithet to earlier ones though they were also astray and were given to perverting the scriptures. The clue to this is that the earlier Christians did not exert themselves so hard to mislead people as the later ones did. Indeed, they had not the power to do so. [Nurul-Haqq, part 1, pp. 5758, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 8, pp. 7980]

From pp. 376-377 of Tadhkirah: I am anxious every moment that the Christians and we should somehow come to a settlement. My heart is rent asunder because of the mischief caused by the worship of a dead man.I would have expired long ago under the burden of this grief had not my Lord, the Strong and Powerful, comforted me with the assurance that in the end Gods Unity will be victorious. Other gods will be destroyed and false gods will be cut off from their godheads. The worship of Mary will die off and the death of her son will now be definitely established. God the Almighty says: If I were to will so, I would cause Mary and her son Jesus and all that are on the earth to perish. He has now determined to put an end to the wrongful worship of both. So now both of them will die and no one will be able to save them. All those evil faculties which were prone to accept false gods will also perish. There will be a new earth and a new heaven. The days are approaching when the sun of truth will rise from the West and Europe will recognise the True God. Thereafter the door of repentance will be closed, for those who wish to enter will have entered eagerly and only those will remain outside whose hearts are by nature sealed, and who are in love, not with light, but with darkness.

The time is near when all religions will perish except Islam. All weapons will be broken except the heavenly weapon of Islam for it will neither be broken nor will it be blunted till it has broken all Antichrist tendencies to bits. The time is near that the true Unity of God, which is perceived within their nature even by those who dwell in the desert or are completely unaware of any teaching, will spread through all regions. On that day there will remain no artificial atonement nor an artificial god. A single stroke of God will frustrate all the plans of disbelief, not by any sword, nor by any gun, but by bestowing light on eager souls and by illumining the pure hearts. Then will there be an understanding of all that which I say. [al-Ishtiharu Mustaiqinan bi-Wahyillahil-Qahhar, Announcement dated January 14, 1897, Majmuah Ishtiharat, vol. 2, pp. 304305]

From p. 410 of Tadhkirah: The title Messiah is bestowed upon a righteous person whose touch is blessed by God.It is also applied to the Antichrist through whose evil nature and influence calamities, atheism, and faithlessness would be propagated.This is the connotation that has been conveyed to me by Allah the Almighty. [Ayyamus-Sulah, pp. 5960, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 14, p. 294]

From p. 485 of Tadhkirah: When the Dajjal [Antichrist] is destroyed there will be no Dajjal thereafter till the Judgment Day. This is a determination by the All-Wise, All-Knowing. This is an intimation from our Noble Lord and good news from Allah, the Compassionate and the Merciful. [Tohfah Golarhviyyah, p. 89, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 241]

From Commentary on Surah Fatiha (pp. 24-26): O seeker of insight, know that it is obligatory on one who addresses himself to the recitation of the Fatiha or the Furqan (the Holy Quran), to seek protection against Satan as has been laid down in the Quran. Satan sometimes sneaks into the preserve of Allah like a thief and invades the sanctuary that safeguards the innocent. Allah, therefore, determined to shield His servants from the onslaughts of the subtle whisperer of evil, while they recite the Fatiha and the Word of the Lord of mankind, and to defend them with His own weapon and fix the axe squarely on his head and rescue the unwary from their state of unawareness. He, therefore, taught His servants a formula of His own to drive off Satan who has been spurned till the Day of Judgment. The secret underlying this is that Satan is the declared enemy of man from the beginning and has planned his ruin through hidden means and by sudden assault, his most cherished wish being the destruction of man. To achieve this end he has charged himself to eavesdrop so that whenever a command issues from the Gracious Lord calling man to paradise, he should be on the alert and expend all his effort in promoting misguidance and mischief.

Allah planned his discomfiture through the raising of Prophets. He did not slay him outright; instead He granted him respite until the dead are raised by the leave of Allah the Lord of honour and glory. He foretold his destruction in calling him Satan the rejected. That is the formula that is recited before beginning the recital of the Holy Word with: In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Ever Merciful. That is the rejected one concerning whom the warning has been sounded that is, the Dissembler whom the Messiah will slay. Rajm connotes slaying as explained in Arabic lexicons. Rajeem, therefore, is the Dissembler whose destruction in one of the coming ages has been prophesied a promise of Allah Who is solicitous for His servants and there is no changing the Divine word. This then is glad tidings for the Muslims from Allah the Compassionate that the Dissembler shall surely be slain at the appointed time, as is the connotation of the word Rajeem. Rajm in this context means, as I have been taught by the Lord of creation, humbling the mean ones and confounding the enemies who dwell in dark caves. It is a stroke that cuts off the root of enmity, but I do not mean thereby the stroke of a sword. The time has now come when falsehood will perish and there will not survive aught of imposture and darkness and all religions will disintegrate except Islam and the earth will be filled with justice, equity and light, even as it was full of cruelty, ingratitude, injustice and falsehood. That will be the time of the ruin of the group whose ruin has been foretold. By ruin is meant the breaking of their power and the emancipation of those held in bondage by them. In short, by the expression, Satan, the rejected, is meant the old lying Dissembler whose slaughter had been foretold as an event ordained and determined upon. That is why Allah made it incumbent upon the Muslims to recite the formula: I seek Allahs protection against Satan, the rejected, before reciting the Bismillah of the Fatiha, so that the reader may remind himself that the age of the Dissembler shall not extend beyond the age of the people mentioned in the last of the seven verses of the Fatiha. Thus the Divine decree had determined in the beginning of time that surely the said rajeem shall be slain in the latter age and mankind shall be delivered from the bites of this venomous reptile. Time has now entered upon its last round and the age of the world has entered its seventh millennium in terms of both the solar and lunar calendars. In this age the rejected one has assumed in symbolic shape the garb of a people who have arrived at the last limit of error and who are mentioned in the last word of the Surah Fatiha. None grasps this point by the enlightened. The Dissembler will not be destroyed except by heavenly weapons; that is to say by the grace of Allah and not by the power of man. There will, therefore, be neither war nor conflict but a phenomenon that will descend from the Presence of the One. The Dissembler has in every age appointed his progeny to misguide the Muslims, the believers in the One Lord, the righteous, the defenders of the truth and the seekers of God and to demolish the edifice of faith and to tear apart the Books of Allah. Allah had promised that he would be slain in the latter days and that virtue would prevail against vice and rebellion and that the whole earth will be changed and most men will turn to the Gracious One and that the earth will be illumined by the light of its Lord and hearts will be rescued from the darkness of Satan. That indeed is the execution of falsehood and the death of the Dissembler and the slaughter of this reptile. Do they allege that the Dissembler is an individual who will be slain at a specified time? Indeed not! In fact he is Satan the rejected, the source of all evil, who is destined to be destroyed in the latter days, through the dissipation of ignorance and the annihilation of evil. This is the promise

of Allah that is bound to be fulfilled as indicated in His word: Satan, the rejected. This prophecy of our Lord has thus been fulfilled with truth and justice in this age. Allah has looked upon Islam with mercy after it had been afflicted with calamities and tribulations and has sent down His Messiah to slay this sneaking whisperer and to end once and for all this strife. Satan was named rajeem (rejected, or stoned) by way of prophecy, for rajm means slaying, without a doubt. As it had been determined that the Dissembler would be destroyed during the age of the appearance of the glorious Messiah, God foretold this to comfort and reassure the people who feared the days of the spread of error (Ijazul Masih, pp. 79 to 87).

From p. 320 of Commentary on Surah Fatiha: The second part of this verse [verse 1:7] refers to those who have gone astray. This means: Lord, safeguard us against becoming Christians. It is a clear indication that at the time of the advent of the Promised Messiah, the Christians would be dominant and the false doctrines of Christianity would spread over the earth like a tornado, and the preachers of Trinity would lay down such a vast net of hypocrisy as well-nigh to mislead even the righteous. Nothing would avail against them except prayer, and so this prayer was added to the one relating to the Jews. The hadeeth directing the Muslims to recite the opening verses of Surah Kahf (Ch. 18) when they encounter the Arch-Hypocrite (Dajjal) has reference to this period of misguidance. From pp. 326-328 of Commentary on Surah Fatiha: The Holy Quran begins with Surah Fatiha which end with: Not of those who incurred Thy wrath, nor of those who went astray. But when we consider the beliefs of Muslims, the mischief of Dajjal (the Arch-Hypocrite) looms large there and we cannot reconcile ourselves to the idea that God, the Supreme, simply forgot to mention Dajjal. That certainly is not so, the truth of the matter being that people have misunderstood the significance of the term Dajjal. In Surah Fatiha, a prayer has been taught against involvement in two mischiefs. One refers to those who incurred Divine wrath. According to the consensus of the learned among the people of Islam, these are the Jews. It appears that this Ummat must pass through a phase when it will cultivate affinities with the Jews and that is precisely the age of the Promised Messiah when great emphasis will be laid on his denunciation and excommunication, as was done by the Jews in denouncing Jesus son of Mary as a disbeliever. This part of the prayer seeks to safeguard the Muslims against denouncing and defaming the Promised Messiah after the manner of the Jews in the case of Jesus. The other great mischief referred to in Surah Fatiha and with which the Surah concludes is the mischief of the Christian people. This has been referred to in the words: those who went astray. Now when we consider the closing part of the Holy Quran, we find that it also bears vivid testimony about those two great mischiefs. There is for instance Surah Tabbat yada (Ch. 111) which is juxtaposed to the expression: Those who incurred Thy wrath. Before the anathema was drawn up against me I received the revelation: Keep in mind the time when the one seeking thy excommunication will devise his plan concerning thee and will urge one of his influential coadjutors to kindle the fire of mischief against thee so that he might see whether thou hast Gods support in thy claim of being a recipient of revelation like Moses, though he will account thee an imposter. Both the hands of Abi Lahab will perish and he too will perish. He should not have concerned himself with this affair but in fear and awe. Whatever hurt comes to thee is from God.

In short, Surah Tabbat points to the mischief referred to in the verse: Not of those who incurred Thy displeasure; and Surah Ikhlas (Ch. 112) is juxtaposed to: Those who went astray. The two Surahs, Al-falaq (Ch. 113) and An-Nas (Ch. 114) which follow these two chapters are an exposition of them. In these two Surahs again protection has been sought against this dark and dismal age when the excommunication anathema pronounced against the Promised Messiah would spark the mischief of those who incurred Divine wrath and the misguidance and darkness of Christianity will begin to encircle the world. Just as in Surah Fatiha, the commencement of the Quran, a prayer has been taught to seek protection against these two disasters, in the same way, at the end of the Holy Quran, a prayer has been taught to seek protection against these two evils, in order to establish a co-relationship between the beginning and the end. The last three Surahs stand in juxtaposition to those who went astray. The principal one is Chapter 112 and the other two are its elaboration. In the last Surah, the prayer to seek protection against Satanic insinuations has been taught. Just as Surah Fatiha ends with: Those who went astray; similarly has the last Surah, Chapter 114, ended with seeking protection against the Sneaking Whisperer so that the affinity between those who have gone astray and those who carry out their designs by creating doubts and suspicion may become manifest. How splendid is this sequence designed by God in the shape of a complete circle concluding with Surah Fatiha, the opening chapter of the Quran with: Those who have gone astray; and placing at the end of the Holy Quran two Surahs which are juxtaposed to the last word of Surah Fatiha.

From Commentary on Surah Fatiha, pp. 333-334: It appears from the Holy Quran that this ummat will go through two periods of threatening ganer, one was the time of the Khilafat of Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him) after the death of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him); and the other the period of the mischief of the Arch-Hypocrite (Dajjal) which was to be the time of the Messiah. The verse: Not of those who incurred Divine wrath, nor of those who went astray; urges the seeking of protection against it. About this period there is also a prophecy in Surah Nur (24:56) which read with the earlier verse means that during the latter days this religion shall face an upheaval which will threaten its global dissolution. God, the Exalted, will then re-establish it throughout the world, granting security after a period of danger (Lecture at Lahore, p. 41.)

From Commentary on Surah Fatiha, p. 338: In the Holy Quran mention has been made of those who have gone astray. If Dajjal (ArchHypocrite) were another personality, he should have also found mention. All commentators are agreed that those who incurred Divine wrath and those who went astray are the Jews and Christians respectively. A prayer to be safeguarded against these mischiefs, not to be included among those who went astray, nor among those who incurred Divine wrath, has been taught. This must be repeatedly offered in the five daily Prayer services. It is thus clear that this is the biggest and most serious mischief which must be safeguarded against. It should be called the mother of mischiefs (Al-Hakam, Oct. 31, 1902).

p. 341 from Commentary on Surah Fatiha:

As for those who have gone astray, they are the Christians, as we have explained before, in terms of the testimony of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and of all the authorities of Islam. The prayer to seek protection against being included among those who have gone astray is also a prophecy. For, as we have said before, the Christians did not possess any great power during the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). In fact, the Persian Empire possessed great power and enjoyed tremendous prestige. Among the religions, Buddhism claimed the largest number of adherents in the world and the Zoroastrian religion was also in ascendancy. Even the Hindus had national unity and enjoyed great glory, empire and solidarity. The Chinese too commanded great resources. The question then arises why was not a prayer taught to seek protection against the mischief of these ancient religions which had old and powerful empires and national solidarity and wealth and strength and tradition and other resources contributing to their great prosperity, but a prayer was taught to seek protection against the mischief of the Christian people, a relatively weak power at the time? The answer is and, it must be well remembered, that it was in the knowledge of God, the Sublime, that this people would grow in power, day by day, until they would spread all over the world and would use every resource to convert people to their faith, for instance, by polemics, financial advances, kindness and courtesy, glimmer of wealth and grandeur, pandering to carnal desires, freedom and permissiveness, criticism and fault-finding of other faiths, tending the sick, helping the poor, taking advantage of the weakness of a stupid victim of circumstances, or of a greedy person, or of a libertine, or of a social climber or of one forlorn or of an orphan to cajole him into their fold. This was then a great tribulation in store for Islam, threatening the annihilation of millions. It was because of this that God taught the prayer in Surah Fatiha, the opening chapter of the Quran, to seek security against this fatal visitation. It must be realised that this is a glorious prophecy of the Holy Quran, which is without parallel (Tuhfa Golarviyya, pp. 82-83). Surah Fatiha opens up for you the gateway of guidance. God commanded it with the Source of creation and concluded it with a reference to the age of those who have gone astray and these are the Christians, as our Chosen Prophet is reported to have said. Now where does your Dajjal find a mention in it? Show us from the Quran (Khutba Ilhamiyyah, pp. 67-68.)

From pp. 344-349 from Commentary on Surah Fatiha: This chapter has mentioned both the beginning and the end and has indicated the people who are the last of the nations and the culmination of wickedness. It concludes with the mention of those who have gone astray and therein is a hint for those who reflect. Allah has mentioned these two groups at the end of the Surah and has made no mention of the Arch-Hypocrite (Dajjal) explicitly or by implication while, at this point a reference to him was called for. Yet the Surah has by using the expression: those who have gone astray, definitely specified the last wickedness and the greatest peril. Had the mischief of Dajjal in the knowledge of Allah, been a greater trial than this mischief, He would certainly have concluded the Surah with a mention of that and not with a reference to this group. Turn it over in your minds then, whether our Lord of Majesty forgot the real danger and made a mention of the erring ones instead of making a reference to Dajjal. Had it been as the ignorant ones claim then Allah would certainly have said here: Not of those who incurred Thy wrath, nor of Dajjal. Allah desired in this Surah to urge this ummat to follow the path of the Prophets and to warn them against the ways of the disbelieving transgressors. So He spoke of a people on whom

He had bestowed His blessings in full measure and His bounties in the widest range; and promised that He would certainly raise from among this ummat one who would be like the Prophets and would resemble the Apostles. He next mentioned another people who had been abandoned in darkness and declared their mischief as the last of mischiefs and the greatest calamity; and commanded that all men should seek refuge with Him against this mischief until the day of Judgment and should supplicate in their five daily Prayer services for its dissipation. But He made no reference in all this to Dajjal and his great wickedness. Can there be a stronger argument in refutation of this belief? There is further support for it in that Allah has made mention of the Christians towards the end of the Quran as He did make mention of them in the beginning of the Furqan. Reflect over: He begets not, nor is He begotten (112:4) and over: The mischief of the sneaking whisperer (114:5). These have reference to none but the Christians. Seek then asylum against their divines with the Lord of mankind. Thus as Allah ended the Fatiha with a reference to those who had gone astray, so did He conclude the Quran with a reference to the Christians, and undoubtedly those who had gone astray are these very Christians as is reported from our Holy Prophet in the Durre Manthur and in the Fathilbari. Turn not away then from a proven and known word which is accepted by the mass of the community (Ijazul Masih, pp. 86-91). Could they tell us where mention has been made of the people whose mischief shall exceed the wickedness of Dajjal? The Holy Quran does not mention the word Dajjal but warns against those who have gone astray. They are the Christians. Why has not the word Dajjal been used? The truth of the matter is that it is this very people against whom all the Prophets have warned their peoples (Al-Hakam, April 10, 1903). The Dajjal mentioned in the Ahadeeth is none other than Satan who will be slain in the latter days, as was said by Daniel and also occurs in some Hadeeth. Since Christianity is the fullest manifestation of Satan, therefore, the word Dajjal is not mentioned in Surah Fatiha but there is the command to seek Gods protection against the mischief of the Christians. Had Dajjal been a separate mischief-monger, then instead of mentioning those who had gone astray in the Holy Quran, God, the Sublime, would have mentioned Dajjal (Arch-Hypocrite) (Haqiqatul Wahi, p. 39). This Satan, Dajjal, has been called, in other words, the genie of Christianity. During the days of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) this genie was confined to the Christian Curch and used to get intelligence about Islam through its spies. Then after three hundred years this genie was released, as the Prophets (peace be on them) had foretold. His power has been on the increase since then, day by day, until in the 13th century of the Muslim era (19th century of the Christian era) he rose with tremendous force. This very genie has been named Dajjal. Whoso desires to understand may comprehend. At the end of Surah Fatiha, God, the Exalted, has warned in the prayer: Not of those who have gone astray; against this very genie (Haqiqatul Wahi, p. 42 Footnote). Where is the Dajjal against whom you warn us? But the Dajjal referred to in the expression: Those who have gone astray; is growing in power day by day and on account of his mischief the earth and heavens may well-nigh burst asunder (Haqiqatul Wahi, p. 46). God, the Sublime, has taught us through Surah Fatiha that Dajjal against whom we have been warned is the group of erring Christian Missionaries who have abandoned the way of Jesus. He has taught us the prayer in the above-mentioned Surah that we should supplicate God against becoming the Jews who were afflicted with chastisement for their disobedience of and hostility towards Jesus, and against becoming the Christians who discarded the teachings of Jesus and

made him God thus perpetrating a lie in excess of all lies in support of it had recourse to every type of cunning and deception. They were, therefore, called Dajjal in heaven. Had there been any other Dajjal it would have been made obligatory in this very verse to seek protection against him. In that case Surah Fatiha would have made use of the word Dajjal instead of the expression: Those who went astray. These are the meanings that the events have unfolded. This age has produced the last mischief against which we had been warned, namely, the mischief of insistence upon the Trinity (Haqiqatul Wahi, p. 310 Footnote). These people have made the Messiah a claimant to a moiety in the Divinity. In the same way they entertain strange beliefs concerning Dajjal that he will raise the dead and will work many other wonders. The Quran slays with the shining sword: There is no one worthy of worship save Allah every false deity believed to possess Divine attributes; whence, then did this Dajjal emerge? God taught in Surah Fatiha a prayer for seeking protection against becoming Jews and Christians. Did He then forget to mention Dajjal, who constituted such a great mischief (AlHakam, Jan. 24, 1901)? Those who have gone astray has reference to Christian missionaries as I have stated and not to the British people. For, there are many British people who have not read the Bible even once in their lives. Islam weighs heavy on the minds of these missionaries; they know that Islam is a religion that they can never subdue. My reference to those who have gone astray applies to those missionaries who are not only misled themselves but employ all their resources and efforts misleading others. The reference to Dajjal in the Hadeeth applies only to those who have gone astray. If this were not so, it would have to be admitted that while God, the Supreme, warned against those who had gone astray and even taught a prayer for being safeguarded against their great mischief, yet He did not at all mention Dajjal whose wickedness was so enormous as to threaten the going astray of millions of people. The truth of the matter, however, is that Dajjal and those who have gone astray are the same group that is engaged in misleading people and is at the height of its power in this age and is using every device and stratagem in aid of its campaign to mislead mankind. Since the word Dajjal also means one who misleads, therefore, it has been used in place of those who have gone astray in the works of Hadeeth. Another reason for this substitution is that Allah, the Exalted, knew that people would make up a Dajjal on their own and attribute to him strange things such as that he would hold heaven in one hand and hell in the other and claim to be both God and Prophet and that he will bear on his forehead the word kafir (infidel) and that he will have a donkey the distance between whose two ears will be so many yards, etc. God has said that those who have gone astray are the party of Dajjal. They are occupied with misleading people in diverse ways. They hold out every kind of temptation, pervert Divine scriptures and turn people away from Divine commands so much so that they have made a filthy thing like the flesh of swine lawful while, in the Torah, it has been specially prohibited. Even the Messiah expressed his aversion to swine by saying: Cast not your pearls before swine. Moreover by fabricating the evil doctrine of vicarious atonement they have opened wide the door of iniquity. A person may commit a host of the most heinous sins and go free and be saved if he would believe in Jesus as God or the son of God. Is it not obvious now that it is this misleading group that has been called Dajjal in the Hadeeth and has been called: those who have gone astray, in the Holy Quran (Al-Hakam, Jan. 10, 1908).

From pp. 331-332 in the Commentary on Surah Fatiha: Open the Book of Allah and see for yourselves. It gives its decision. Read the very first Surah, the Fatiha, without which no Prayer service is complete. Consider what it teaches: guide us along the straight path, the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy favours and not of those who incurred Thy wrath, nor of those who went astray. It is clear that in this prayer protection has been sought against going the way of those who incurred Divine punishment and of those who went astray. Those who incurred Divine wrath are, by consensus of opinion, the Jews and the Christians are those who went astray. If there was no danger of a similar mischief arising in this ummat then what was the purpose in teaching this prayer? The biggest mischief that threatened was that of the Arch-Hypocrite (Dajjal). But here the Arch-Hypocrite did not find any mention. Did God, the Supreme, not know of this mischief? The truth of the matter is that this prayer comprises a great prophecy. This ummat was to pass through a time when it would acquire the characteristics of the Jews. The Jews were the people who had rejected the Messiah. Therefore, the directive to pray against becoming Jews is a warning against rejecting the Promised Messiah. The directive to pray against following the way of the Christians shows that the mischief of the cross would have assumed dangerous proportions at that hour and that this distemper will be the root and parent of all troubles. The wickedness of the Arch-Hypocrite (Dajjal) will not be anything apart from this. For, if it were apart from this it would certainly have been mentioned (Al-Hakam, Feb. 21, 1903). The bare translation of the Quran is not enough unless it is accompanied by its exegesis. For instance, how would one know that the expression: Not of those who incurred Thy wrath, nor of those who went astray; stands for the Jews and Christians, until it is fully explained! Again, why was this prayer taught to the Muslims? It purported to convey that as the Jews earned Divine wrath by their repudiation of the Messiah, so would the Muslims reject the Promised Messiah and merit Divine wrath. They were, therefore, warned in advance in the form of a prophecy so that virtuous souls may be safeguarded from Divine wrath (Al-Badr, Oct. 29, 1903). Allah, the Exalted, has taught us this prayer in Surah Fatiha: Lord, make us not of those who incurred Thy wrath nor of those who went astray. It is worth noting that Jesus is the common point of both. Those who incurred Divine displeasure are the people who exceeded all limits in their animosity towards and persecution of Jesus, and those who went astray are the people who had such excessive love for him that they ascribed Divine attributes to him. We have been taught this prayer to safeguard ourselves against both these attitudes. Had there been a Dajjal (Arch-Hypocrite) besides them, then this prayer would have run: Not of those who incurred Thy wrath nor of the Dajjal (the Arch-Hypocrite). This is a prophecy that warns the Muslims in advance against both these types of mischief. It is the Christian missions that are straining every nerve to wipe out Islam from the face of the earth. They are doing great harm to Islam (Al-Badr, Sept. 13, 1906).

Excerpts from Essence of Islam, Vol. III: The word Dajjal has two connotations: First, it signifies a group which supports falsehood and works with cunning and deceit. Secondly, it is the name of the Satan who is the father of all falsehood and corruption. [Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 22, p. 326] (Essence of Islam, Vol. III, p. 279.)

The Dajjal mentioned in the Ahadith is described by the Holy Quran as the Satan, whom it quotes as saying: He (Satan) pleaded in the presence of God to be granted respite until those who are dead of heart are revived. God said: You are given respite till that time. (7:15-16) Thus the Dajjal who is mentioned in the Ahadith is none other than the Satan who will be slain in the latter days. This is recorded in the book of Daniel as well as in some Ahadith. As Christianity is the perfect manifestation of Satan, Surah Al-Fatihah makes no mention of Dajjal, but prescribes supplication for refuge against the evil of the Christians. If the Dajjal had been some other mischief-maker, the Holy Quran would not have enjoined us to seek refuge against the mischief of Dallin [those who have gone astray] but for security against the Dajjal. The verse, ...till the day they will be raised up... mentioned above does not mean the Day of Resurrection, because Satan will remain alive only so long as men are alive. Satan does not operate on his own, but through his agents, who are the people who deify a human being. Being a group of people, they are called Dajjal as in Arabic Dajjal also connotes a group. If Dajjal is taken to mean someone other than the misguided preachers of Christianity, this would entail a contradiction, because the very Ahadith which indicate that the Dajjal will prevail over the earth in the latter days, also indicate that in those days the power of the church will overwhelm all religions. This contradiction can only be solved by affirming that the two are one and the same. [Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 22, p. 41] (Essence of Islam, Vol. III, pp. 280-281.)

There have been many Dajjals and there may be more to come. But the greatest Dajjal, whose deceit is so vile in Gods estimation that heaven might well be rent asunder by it, is the group which deifies a mere human being. God Almighty has set forth in the Holy Quran various kinds of deceit practised by the Jews, the Polytheists and others, but does not single out any which might cause heaven to be rent asunder. Therefore, we should not designate any group as the greatest Dajjal but the one so designated by God in His Holy Word. It would be most unfair and cruel to try to find someone else as the greatest Dajjal. On no account can we justify the existence of a greater Dajjal than the present day Christian clergy. Whereas God has designated them in His Holy Word as the greatest Dajjal, it would be the height of faithlessness to consider anyone else to be the greatest Dajjal in contrast to the Word of God. Had there been any possibility at any other time of the existence of such a Dajjal, God Almighty, Whose knowledge transcends the past, the present and the future, would have designated him and not these people as the great Dajjal. The sign of the great Dajjal, which

we can clearly deduce from the Hadith of Bukhari He (the Promised Messiah) will break the Cross is that the great Dajjal would deify Jesus and would attribute salvation to the cross. It is a matter of great delight for the knowledgeable that on this point the definitive verses of the Holy Quran and authentic Ahadith are both in agreement. Thus, the truth about this controversial issue has come to the open. The Holy Quran unambiguously designates the Christian clergy as the greatest Dajjal and terms their lies to be so great as could destroy heaven and earth. And the Hadith also specifies that the true sign of the Promised Messiah would be that he would break the cross and slay the great Dajjal. Our stupid Maulavis do not seem to reflect that the main objective of the Promised Messiah is the breaking of the cross and slaying of the great Dajjal. The Holy Quran has foretold that the great deception and mischief whereby the order of the entire universe might be upset and the world brought to an end is the mischief of the Christian missionaries. From this it clearly follows that there is no greater Dajjal than the clergy and that he who, having witnessed the revelation of this great mischief, waits for some other, denies the truthfulness of the Holy Quran. Moreover, as the literal meaning of the word Dajjal is a group that pollutes the earth with its deceit, and, according to the Ahadith, the singular sign of the great Dajjal would be his advocacy of the cross, if someone still fails to consider the Christian clergy as the great Dajjal, he is indeed spiritually blind. [Anjam-e-Atham, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 11, pp. 46-48] (Essence of Islam, Vol. III, pp. 281-283.)

The word Messiah refers to the truthful one whose Masah (i.e. touch) as been blessed by God, and whose breath, word and speech have been given the power to give life. This word particularly applies to the Prophet who does not wage war and reforms mankind through his spiritual power alone. As against this, the word Messiah also applies to the Promised Dajjal whose evil power and influence produce calamities, atheism and faithlessness. Even without employing coercive means to destroy the truth, he can make righteousness and love for God grow cold merely by concentration, speech, writing, association and by the influence of his satanic spirit. On the other hand, misconduct, drunkenness, lying, promiscuity, materialism, fraud, tyranny, oppression, famine and epidemics become the order of the day. These are the meanings which emerge from a collective study of standard Arabic lexicons like Lisan-ul-Arab; and these are the meanings which God has disclosed to me. [Ayyam-us-Sulh, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 14, p. 294] (Essence of Islam, Vol. III, pp. 284-285.) Remember, it is also written about the Messiahthe bearer of spiritual blessings, whose advent in the latter days has been promised to the Muslimsthat he would slay the Promised Dajjal. But it does not mean he will actually kill him with a gun or a sword. What it means is that he will do away with all deceitful innovations in religion. A study of Ahadith reveals that Dajjal is actually the name of Satan. And the people whom Satan will employ to serve his purpose are also metaphorically called Dajjal, because they are like his limbs. The following verse of the Holy Quran means that the creation of God is far greater than that of men: Certainly, the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of mankind; (40:58)

It refers the people concerning whom it is written that they would make great inventions in the latter days and will try to interfere with Gods creation. According to the commentators [of the Holy Quran], the people mentioned here are actually the Dajjal. This indicates that Dajjal does not mean one single person, or else the expression Nas [people] would not have been applied to him. The word undoubtedly refers to a group of people. The group that acts under the command of Satan is called Dajjal. This is also indicated by the sequence of the Holy Quran which begins with the verse: All praise belongs to Allah.Al-Fatihah, 1:2 and concludes with: Who whispers into the hearts of men, from among the Jinn and mankind. Al-Nas, 114: 6-7 In this verse too the word Nas refers to the Dajjal.... Mentioning these people at the end also indicates that this group of people will be supreme in the latter days, and they will be accompanied by: ...the evil of those who blow into knots to undo them, (113:5) i.e., Christian women who will go from house to house seeking to separate wives from their husbands, and to break the bond of marriage. It should never be forgotten that the last three chapters of the Holy Quran contain a warning about the age of Dajjal and we have been enjoined to seek refuge with God against the mischief of that time. This is an indication that the mischief of those days will only be dispelled through the heavenly light and blessings which the heavenly Messiah will bring with him. [Ayyam-us-Sulh, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 14, pp. 296-297] (Essence of Islam, Vol. III, pp. 285-287.)

Our Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw in a vision that the Dajjal was performing the circuit of the Kabah, and was doing it stealthily, like a thief, so that he could destroy the Kabah whenever the opportunity offered.... Obviously, no one can say that the Dajjal would actually become a Muslim and perform the circuit of the Kabah. Every intelligent person will interpret this revelation as a vision through which the spiritual condition of the Dajjal was revealed to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and that this allegory presented itself to him in a vision in which he saw the Dajjal was circuiting the Kabah like an actual person. What it meant was that the Dajjal would be a bitter enemy of Islam and would hover around the Kabah with evil intentions. We know that just as the watchman goes around the houses at night, so does a thief. But while the watchman seeks to protect the houses and to catch the thief, the thiefs motive is to steal and plunder. Thus the interpretation of this vision of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is that the Dajjal will be preoccupied with trying to violate the sanctity of the Kabah, while the Promised Messiah, who was also seen performing circuit of the Kabah, would be busy protecting the House of Allah and trying to apprehend the Dajjal. [Ayyam-us-Sulh, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 14, pp. 274-275] (Essence of Islam, Vol. III, p. 287.)

The fact that both the Promised Messiah and the Dajjal will perform circuits of the Kabah proves that this does not mean that they will physically perform circuits of the Kabah, for in that case we would have to concede that the Dajjal will succeed in entering the Kabah or that he will

become a Muslim; both of which assertions go against the clear purport of Ahadith. This Hadith has to be interpreted, and the interpretation which God has made manifest to me is that, in the latter days, a group of people will emerge who will be called Dajjal. This group will be a bitter enemy of Islam, and, in order to completely bring down the structure of Islam, it will go circuiting round the Kabah, which is the centre of Islam, like a thief. As against this, the Promised Messiah will also perform the circuit of the centre of Islam, which the Kabah symbolises. The purpose of the Promised Messiah in performing the circuit of the Kabah would be to apprehend the thief named Dajjal, and to safeguard the centre of Islam from his designs. We know that the thief goes around the houses at night and so does a watchman, but while the purpose of the thief is to rob and plunder a household, the purpose of the watchman is to apprehend the thief and to have him locked behind bars so that people are safeguarded from his mischief. Thus this Hadith indicates that in the latter days the thief, who is designated Dajjal, will try his utmost to demolish the structure of Islam, and that the Promised Messiah, out of his devotion to Islam, will raise his supplications to heaven, and that all angels will lend him their support so that he should be victorious in this last final battle. He will neither get tired, nor dejected, nor will he slacken his efforts, but will try his utmost to catch the thief. When his supplications reach their climax, God will see how his heart has melted in his love for Islam. Heaven will do what the earth cannot. And the victory that cannot be achieved by man will be won at the hands of angels. [Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 22, pp. 323-324] (Essence of Islam, Vol. III, pp. 287-289.)

IfGod forbidit had truly been written in the Holy Quran that, contrary to the Divine law which binds all of mankind, Jesus was raised bodily to heaven and will survive till the Day of Judgement, the Christians would have been furnished with tremendous means to mislead mankind. Excellent, therefore, it is that the god of the Christians suffered death. This assault that has been mounted by this humble one, on behalf of God Almighty, in his character as messiah son of Mary, against the people of Dajjal-like character who were bestowed holy things but mixed them with pollution and who performed that which should have been performed by Dajjal, is not in any respect less than an assault with a sharp sword. It may be asked: Jesus, son of Mary, was to come to vanquish the Dajjal, and if it is you who have come in the spirit of Jesus, son of Mary, who then is the Dajjal against you? My answer is that, though I admit the possibility of another Messiah son of Mary coming after me, and he may even be the promised one in the context of some Ahadith, and a Dajjal may also come to mislead the Muslims, yet my belief is that so far there has not been any Dajjal like the Christian clergy of these days, nor shall there ever be till the Day of Judgement. A Hadith of Muslim reads: Imran son of Husain reports: I heard the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: From the creation of Adam (as) to the Judgement Day there will be no greater catastrophe than that of the Dajjal. Considering the import of this Hadith of Muslim, I say that if we were to examine all documentary evidence available to us from the creation of Adam (as) to this day, and examine the activities of all those who have ever taken upon themselves to do the work of Dajjal, we shall not find anything matching the Dajjal-like activity of the Christian clergy of this day. They have

in mind an imaginary Messiah who, according to them, is alive and claims to be God. Jesus son of Mary never made any such claim, rather it is these self-appointed advocates of his who claim that he is God. They have had recourse to every kind of distortion and deception in support of their claim, and there is hardly a place, with the exception of Mecca and Medina, where they have not gone in pursuit of their objective. There is no form of deception, conspiracy or design to mislead, which they have not adopted. Is it not true that in pursuit of their Dajjal-like designs they have encircled the whole world? Wherever they go and establish a mission they turn everything upside down. They are so wealthy that all the treasures of the world seem to lie at their feet. Although the British Government is concerned only with administration and has no concern with religion, the missionaries have a government of their own which possesses unlimited wealth and is spreading its tentacles all over the world. They carry with them all kinds of heaven and hell. One who is inclined to follow them is shown the heaven, and the one who chooses to oppose them is threatened with hell. They are accompanied by mountains of bread wherever they go, and many, who are the slaves of their stomachs, are carried away by the sight of white loaves of bread, and start proclaiming: The Messiah is our Lord. There is no quality of the Messianic Dajjal that is not to be found in them. In a manner, they even revive the dead and kill the living. (Let him who possesses understating understand.) And there is no doubt that these people possess only one eye, which is the left one. If they possessed the right eye as well, they would have feared God Almighty and refrained from deifying Jesus. All previous scriptures mention this Dajjal, as do the Gospels on the authority of Jesus son of Mary. It was only proper that every Prophet should have warned against this Dajjal, and each of them has done so, whether expressly or implicitly, directly or indirectly. From the time of Noah down to the time of our lord and master, Seal of the Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), we find warnings about this Dajjal, and this is something I can readily prove. No one can even imagine the extent of the damage that Islam has suffered at their hands and how truth and justice have suffered. Prior to the thirteenth century of the blessed Hijra, there was no trace of such mischief. But around the middle of the thirteenth century this Dajjal-like group suddenly emerged and started to expand progressively, until at the end of this century, according to Reverend Mr. Baker, half a million people had been converted to Christianity in India alone, and it is estimated that every twelve years one hundred thousands new converts enter the fold of Christianity and start to believe in a humble man as God. No sensible person can be unaware of the fact that Christian missionaries have brought under their sway a large number of poor and needy Muslims by giving them bread and clothes; those who could not be lured by these means were seduced through women; and those who could not be so trapped were exposed to all kinds of atheistic philosophy which now holds captive hundreds of thousands of young Muslims, who make fun of the Islamic prayer and fasting and consider revelation to be a kind of hallucination. For those who are not able to learn European philosophy, a large stock of fictitious tales was cooked uptoo easy a job for the clerics sleight of handwhich derided Islam in the guise of stories and historical events and was very widely published. In addition, they compiled countless books in refutation of Islam, blaspheming our lord and master the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and widely distributed them free of cost. Most of these have been translated into other languages. Allah is Great. If our people still do not consider these missionaries to be Dajjal of the highest order, for whose refutation a Messiah is needed, then the plight of our people is pitiable indeed!

Look, ye heedless ones, just look how hard these people are trying to demolish the edifice of Islam and what large resources they have employed for this purpose. In their endeavours they have exposed their lives to danger, spent their wealth like water, and indeed they have carried their human abilities to the limit. They have adopted shameful means and implemented them to undermine righteousness, and they have laid down mines to destroy the truth and honesty. All the finely fabricated details of falsehood and pretence have been strenuously invented to bring ruin to Islam. If peoples minds could not be corrupted by other means, they invented thousands of supposed stories and dialogues to do this. Is there any method of the ruin of truth that they have not invented? Is there any way of misguidance that they have not adopted? Thus it becomes obvious that all these tricks and charms which the Christians and advocates of Trinity have resorted to, could not proceed from anyone but the great Dajjal and we have no choice but to identify this group of Christian missionaries with him. When we observe to the past history of the greater part of the world, we gain the impression that, as far as it can be ascertained, there has been no precedent of such successful deception and misguidance as undertaken by these people. And as the Ahadith say, the Dajjal will cause such mischief as would be unmatched since the beginning of the world. It follows, therefore, that these people are the great Dajjal who was to come from the church, and to counter whose magic a miracle was needed. He who disputes this should produce a matching instance from the Dajjals of the past. [Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 3, pp. 361-366] (Essence of Islam, Vol. III, pp. 289-293.)

A little reflection will make you understand the prophecy contained in the Hadith that in the latter days the Quran will be taken away from the world, its knowledge will be lost, ignorance will prevail and the eagerness and sweetness of faith will depart from the hearts. Among them is the Hadith that if faith will ascend to the Pleiades and will disappear from the earth, a man of the Persians will extend his hand and will bring it down. This Hadith shows clearly that when ignorance, faithlessness and error, which are described as smoke in the other Ahadith, will become widespread and true faith will become so rare as if it had been drawn up to the skies, and the Holy Quran will be abandoned as if it had been raised towards God Almighty, at that time, a man of Persia will take hold of the faith from the Pleiades and will descend with it to the earth. Be sure, therefore, that he is the son of Mary who was to descend. (Essence of Islam, Vol. III, pp. 367-368.)

From Essence of Islam, Vol. IV: One of the authorities that show that the Promised Messiah will appear from among the Muslims, is this verse of the Holy Quran: You are the best people raised for the good of mankind; (3:111) This means: [O Muslims] You are the best of people who have been raised to benefit mankind and to repel the mischief of all Dajjals and of the Antichrist Every religious community is called upon to perform a particular service and has to contend against a particular enemy. It has been decreed that the Muslims would have to fight against the Antichrist. In a Hadith related by Nafe bin Utbah, which is set out in Muslim, it is stated that the Muslims will fight the Antichrist and will be victorious over him. The Companions of the

Holy Prophet (sa) did not fight the Antichrist, but, according to the connotation of the verse And from amongst others the Promised Messiah and his Jamaat were declared Companions of the Holy Prophet (sa). It is also worth observing that in this Hadith, the Holy Prophet (sa) specified that his Companions are those who would fight the Antichrist and he did not say that the Hebrew Messiah would fight him. The word descent is used for respect and honour and indicates in this context that as in that age of turmoil, faith will ascend to the Pleiades and all spiritual leadership, learning, and instruction will fall into decline, the God of heaven will send someone whom He will have trained Himself without the intervention of earthly means, just as rain descends from heaven without the intervention of any human agency. (Essence of Islam, Vol. IV, pp. 180-181.)

From Shahadat-ul-Quran: ...verses describing the signs of the latter days, i.e. verses which speak of the spread, first, of tremendous darkness, and then give the indications of the descent of heavenly light, are as follows: When the earth is shaken with her violent shaking, And the earth brings forth her burdens, And man says, What is the matter with her? That day will she tell her news, For thy Lord will have revealed about her. (99:2-6) The meaning is that the last days will come "when the earth is shaken with terrible shaking" (v. 1) in accordance with its condition, i.e. a great change will come over the people of the world, and they will give themselves up to selfishness and worldliness. It is then said: "the earth will bring forth all its burdens" (v. 2), i.e. worldly knowledge, worldly cunning, worldly scheming, and worldly qualities to be found in human nature will all become manifest. Also, the earth upon which people live will display all its special characteristics. Many of its properties will be discovered by physical science and agricultural technology. Mines will be dug, and cultivation will become extensive. In brief, the earth will become productive, and implements of all kinds will be invented, so much so that "man will say: what is the matter?" (v. 3), why are new branches of knowledge, new kinds of technology, and new inventions coming into being? Then the earth, i.e. the hearts of men, will tell their story: that all these new things which are happening are not from them, but it is a type of revelation from God (vv. 4,5), for it is not possible that man by his own efforts be able to produce such wonderful knowledge. It must be remembered that the inclusion, with these verses, of other passages that refer to the Day of Judgment is really according to the law of God that has been mentioned earlier. However, there is no doubt that the true and primary meaning of these verses is that which we have explained above. A strong and conclusive proof of this is that if these verses are interpreted literally, it leads to great difficulties. In other words, if we take the meaning to be that at some time, despite the world being populated, there will be such severe earthquakes as to turn the surface of the earth upside down, then this is utterly impossible and cannot happen. It is clearly written in the verse: Man will say, what has befallen the earth? If, then, it were really true that

the earth would have been flattened by severe tremors, where would man be to ask the earth this question? He would have been annihilated by the earthquakes in the first place. The laws of physical science cannot be denied in any way. To take meanings which are absolutely false and opposed to actual evidence, amounts to making Islam a laughing stock, and giving the opponents a chance for criticism. Therefore, the true and correct meanings are those which we have explained here. Now it is obvious that these revolutions, calamities and earthquakes of our time, the like of which had not been seen in the world, are being caused by the Christians. This, therefore, is the second argument upon the proposition that it is this nation which is the nation of the latter days by whose hands mischief of all kinds was to abound, andwhich has performed magical feats of all sorts in the world. And as it is written that the Dajjal shall claim prophethood, and also put forth a claim to Divinity, both these have been done by this nation. Prophethood was claimed in the following manner: the preachers of this nation interfered with the books of the prophets, with much irreverence and boldness, as if they themselves were prophets. They altered the texts as they liked, wrote explanatory notes to suit their own ends, and interfered impudently in every place for the purpose of fabrication. They concealed what was there, manifested that which was not, and gave altered meanings of the text with such authority as if they had received the revelation and were the prophets. Therefore, it is always observed that during debates and arguments they deliberately give such absurd replies, far from the truth, as if they are making up a new gospel. Similarly, their writings are leading to a new Jesus with a new gospel. They are not the least afraid of uttering falsehood, and through cunning they have written thousands of books about this false claim of theirs, as if they have seen Jesus sitting on the throne of Divinity with their own eyes. And they claimed Divinity as follows: they interfered in Gods works beyond all limits. They desired that no secret should be left hidden in the heavens and the earth which they do not fathom, and they resolved to bring all the works of God under their control, wanting all the powers of Divinity to come in their hands so that, if possible, even the setting and the rising of the sun should be in their control, the falling of rain should depend on their actions, and nothing should remain impossible for them. What else is a claim to Divinity! It is exactly this: that one interferes in the works and special powers of God, and is eager even to take His place. Those people who raise objections against the Hadith reports referring to the Promised Messiah and to the Dajjal should consider, at this point, that if these prophecieshad not been from God, but were the work of man, it would not have been possible for them to be fulfilled so clearly and beautifully. Was it ever imagined by anyone that these Christian people would, in some age, strive so hard to make man into god, and in their philosophical enquiries leave no special position for God? Look! the "ass" of Dajjal whose ears are spoken of as being seventy measures apart, corresponds in most ways exactly to the railway train. And as it is recorded in the Holy Quran and Hadith that in this age transport by camel will cease, so we see that rail travel has defeated all such forms of transport, there being little need left for them now, and even that will probably not remain after a short while. Similarly, we have seen with our own eyes that the scholars and philosophers of this (Christian) nation have really produced such trouble in religious matters that a parallel cannot be found from the time of Adam till this day. They undoubtedly interfered in prophethood and in Divinity. What greater proof can there be of the authenticity of these Hadith reports than the fact that the prophecy contained in them has been fulfilled? These verses of the Holy Quran, viz., "When the earth is shaken with a terrible shaking", really refer to this age of the Dajjal, and anyone having the least sense can understand

this. The verse is clearly explaining the extent to which this nation will make progress in worldly knowledge.

From Shadahat-ul-Quran: The coming of the Dabbat al-ard, [creature from the earth] i.e. the proliferation of such preachers of religion who possess not the tiniest bit of heavenly light, and are merely worms of the earth. Their deeds support the Dajjal while their tongues are on the side of Islam. That is, in practical terms they are the servants of the Dajjal, having had their features metamorphosed by him and looking like beasts, but their tongues are like those of human beings.

There is yet another point which one learns by pondering over the Word of God. When love of Allah, the Exalted, leads a man progressively towards truth and righteousness and he gives up his selfish and carnal desires, he reaches the ultimate stage of the purification of his soul. This is when he comes out of the dark abyss of his ego and its passions; and his body, which is the throne of the soul, is fully cleansed of all carnal dust and smoke and he becomes like a drop of crystal clear water. At this stage, in the sight of Allah, he is the pure soul that has emerged after the carnal self has melted away, and has, in complete obedience to his Lord, acquired a resemblance with the angels. It is at this stage that he deserves to be called Ruhullah or Kalimatullah. This is also what we understand from the Hadith: Mahdi is none other than Isa (as). quoted by Ibni Maja and Hakam, that only he can attain the perfect status of Mahdi (as) who has first become Isa (as). This means that when a person becomes so perfect in devotion to Allah, that he become a pure soul, only then does he become 'Ruhullah' in the sight of Allah and is known in heaven by the name of Isa (as). God Almighty bestows upon him a spiritual birth, which is purely by His Grace and not through a corporeal father. To be so completely free from all kinds of darkness of the corporeal self, as to become soul incorporeal, is the consummation of self-purification and self-annihilation for the sake of Allah. This is the state of Iswiyyat which Allah bestows to perfection upon whomever He pleases. And the highest stage of Dajjaliyyat, according to:

...he inclined to the earth... (7:177) is that a person becomes progressively more and more inclined towards mundane desires till he falls into the abyss of darkness and becomes darkness itself. He acquires a natural amity with darkness and an innate antagonism to light. The existence of Dajjaliyyat, as opposed to Iswiyyat, is imperative, because opposites can only be recognized by contrast. These opposites have existed since the time of our Holy Prophet (sa). He called Ibni Sayyad Dajjal and said to Hadrat Ali (ra): 'You bear a resemblance to Isa (as)'. This was when the seed of Isa (as) and Dajjal was sown. With the passage of time, as the darkness of Dajjal grew, so did people with the true spirit of Isa (as) continue to appear to oppose it. This went on until the perfect Dajjaliyyat emerged in the last days, because of the vice, sin, disbelief, and transgression that prevailed all over the world like it had never done before. The Holy Prophet (sa) had prophesised that such conditions would prevail in the latter days. Hence it was necessary that there should also be a full manifestation of Iswiyyat to counter it. It must be remembered that 'Dajjaliyyat' is a term that signifies all those evils the prevalence of which in the latter days was foretold by the Holy Prophet (sa) Hadrat Muhammad (sa) has mentioned several hundred of its ramifications or branches. The Maulawis, who prefer to follow the convention in total disregard of the Holy Quran, are also branches of the tree of Dajjaliyyat. They recite the Holy Quran but do not understand it. In short, today Dajjaliyyat is spreading its numerous tentacles in all directions like a spider. The disbeliever with his disbelief, the hypocrite with his hypocrisy, the drunkard with his drunkenness, and the clerics with their habit of preaching without practising and their malice, are all spinning the net of Dajjaliyyat. This net can only be demolished with a heavenly weapon and that weapon can be effectively used only by the Isa (as) who is to descend from the same heaven. Isa (as) has indeed descended, and God's promise was bound to be fulfilled. (The Heavenly Sign, pp. 19-22.)

Kitab Al-Bariyya, p. 31: Rather, it was prophesied as a very subtle metaphor that a time would come when the Christian nations would reach the height of stubbornness in their manworship and their false beliefs about the crucixion, and would become the Dajja l-Messiah (Anti-Christ) by excelling in their distortions and deceit. Then shall God the Most High, out of His mercy, send a heavenly Messiah for their reform, who would break their cross with clear arguments.

From Kitab Al-Bariyya, pp. 47-55: Prophecy about Dajjal Ulamas beliefs disillusion rational thinkers. It is a pity that our opponents, having got entangled in a false belief, are unnecessarily beating a drum tied around their necks. These people have done great harm to the religion because of such senseless and absurd beliefs, and have given the adversaries of Islam an opportunity to object. A

sect of the Muslims, which is enamoured of the physical world and the laws of nature, has, because of the highly unreasonable statements of these people, denied the prophecies about the second advent of the Messiah, which enjoy a high standard of repetitive reporting in Islamic history. People who had received modern education and who thought along rational lines, heard the following statements of these people: In the last days a Dajjal(Anti-Christ) would be born, and he would have an ass who would be about three hundred feet long. That Dajjal will cause rain to fall and bring out the sun at will. He will bring the dead to life. Heaven and hell will be by his side. He shall rule over all Gods creation such as rivers, winds, re, earth, moon, sun etc. He will be blind in one eye, while the other eye will be enlarged. The true worshippers of God, in his time, will die of poverty and lack of rain; even their prayers will not be accepted. But the worshippers of the Dajjal will have all comforts: exactly at the proper time the Dajjal will pour rain on their elds. Then the Messiah will descend from the sky in great glory, accompanied by angels on his right and left. As far as his breath reaches, the disbelievers will die thereof. But he will not be able to kill the Dajjal by his breath. At last, with great struggle and hard work he shall kill him in battle. The modernly-educated people were greatly perturbed at these statements, and an occasion for anxiety it really was. For, considering that the worshippers of created things have become involved in this worship unreasonably, without witnessing any Divine work from their deities, and their number has reached tens of millions, then if a man does really demonstrate the powers of God, how large will the number of his worshippers reach? Why should those people not be excused who would have witnessed his divinity to the full? Consider this, that Jesus son of Mary could not create even a mouse in this world, nonetheless about four hundred million people, given to worship of created things, are venerating him. Then how much mischief can be caused in the world by a man who would control the entire working of Gods power? It is far removed from the law and practice of the Benevolent and Merciful God that He should subject people to such a faith-destroying trial. This would God forbid bring to naught the entire concept of the Unity of God taught in the Holy Quran and shatter the whole of the Quranic teaching. So how could the notion of such a Dajjal be comprehensible to people of sense and understanding? Similarly, the living of the Messiah, son of Mary, for hundreds of years in heaven, contrary to the plain injunctions of the Book of God, then his descending in a huge gathering with a company of angels, and his killing of all the unbelievers by his breath, and the witnessing of this sight by the people of the world, which is also contrary to faith in the unseen this was in fact something that the believers in nature and natural laws should have denied. For, miracles of this kind have no precedent in history, and the Quran refutes them as is clear from the verse: Say: Glory to my Lord! (17:93) So the burden of all this sin lies upon our Ulama. By clothing the Dajjal entirely in Divine garb, and by making the Messiah descend from the sky in a manner that has no precedent in the entire system of miracles or the laws of nature, they caused embarrassment and bewilderment for those of an enquiring mind. At last those poor people denied both these prophecies, while the fact is that both of these prophecies are to be found in Islamic history, Hadith reports and sayings of the Companions, with a high degree of continuity which is unmatched in the case of any other prophecy, and no sensible man can deny repeated reports. Meaning of Dajjal Hence if these ignorant Ulama had given the plain and correct interpretation of these prophecies, this pitiable group would not have fallen into this tribulation of denial. It was not at all to be expected of these sensible men that if they had found the plain, clear and reasonable meanings,

they would have rejected this prophecy of a high order on which there is consensus of all the sects of Islam, and to which even the Gospel of the Christians bears witness. For, the plain meaning of dajjal is apparent from the root dajl itself, i.e. taking the art of deceit to perfection like selling of oats resembling wheat. These are the very meanings intended in the prophecies which no man of reason can hesitate to accept. And it is in accordance with this very deceitfulness, that two types of attributes of the promised Dajjal have been mentioned in the Hadith. One is that he would claim prophethood and the other is that he would claim divinity. If both of these are interpreted literally, it is entirely impossible to reconcile them. For, the claim to prophethood requires that the claimant should believe in God the Most High, while the claim to divinity requires that the claimant should himself pose as god and not believe in any other to be god. So how can both these claims proceed from the same man? Religious Leaders and Scientists of Europe Fulfill Signs of Dajjal Hence, the truth is that Dajjal is not the name of an individual. According to the Arabic language, that group is known as Dajjal which presents itself as trustworthy and religious but, in reality, is neither trustworthy nor religious; rather, there is deception and fraud in all its affairs. Now this quality is found in that party of the Christians which is called their clergy. And the section which is trying to control all sorts of machinery, industry and the works of God, that is the scientists of Europe they are Dajja lbecause, on account of their accomplishments and also their high claims, they place the creatures of God under the misconception that they [the scientists] can interfere in the Divine works. The priestly section is laying claim to prophethood because, having lost the true heavenly Gospel, they are spreading in the world an altered and adulterated account, called as translation of the Gospels. If one demands to see that original Gospel which was the revelation of Jesus over a period of three years, regarding which Jesus said that he spoke not of himself but what God told him to say,(see John 8:28) they cannot say anything at all about its whereabouts, as to where that book has vanished. As for the translations they present, these are undoubtedly their selfproduced Gospels regarding whose authenticity they cannot give any proof. Hence the impertinence and the boldness with which they are publishing these baseless translations, it is this act of theirs which, in other words, amounts to a claim to prophethood. For, they have taken the ofce of prophethood in their own hands by deceit. In the guise of translation they write whatever they wish, and then attribute it to God the Most High. Therefore, this course of theirs is like a claim to prophethood, and most of the Christian people are entrapped in this net. This dajl (deception) is the work of the Christian religious preachers. The other attribute of the Dajjal is manifested in those who do works which are tantamount to claiming Divinity. That is, as I have just stated, the group consisting of the scientists and the inventors of machines of Europe. They have tried their utmost to discover the chain of causes and means, and having achieved considerable successes they have at last come to the worthless view that the power of God and belief in it are of no value. Most of the intellectuals among the Christians of Europe follow this group. They are day and night busy in research as to how they themselves can become masters of such secrets of nature that they produce rain at will, control whether a child born in a family is a boy or a girl as they wish, and make a woman barren whenever they wish. Hence there is no doubt that this course is, in other words, a claim to divinity. In short, this is an interpretation of the claim of the Dajjal to prophethood and to divinity which no wise man can deny. Without doubt, as regards the trust of prophethood, which is the revelation and word of God, the Christian clergymen have made such an uncalled for

interference in it as to lay hold upon the ofce of prophethood like a claimant. Every translation which these people publish under the title of the Gospel is, as it were, a new Gospel presented by themselves. Had they any fear of God the Most High, they would have printed the original text in every translation that has been published, as is the practice of the Muslims in publishing the Holy Quran. But these people concealed the original and published the translations which are a sleight of their own hands. So there is no doubt that it is, in a sense, a claim to prophethood to put forward ones own words and ascribe them to God. Mans control over nature leading to denial of Gods power. Similarly, the claim to divinity is established by the actions of their scientists who want to get hold of the secrets of Divine creation in such a way as to take control of all works of God. It is natural that when man wants to interfere in the Divinely-ordained system operating on land and sea, and earth and heaven, and having been involved in scientic research and reached the bottom of everything, wants to take control of the running of the system of nature, then all the successes that he achieves in this scientic research and investigation, discovery and enquiry, and his performance of the functions of the Divine system by himself all these successes produce in him those feelings of being high and mighty which are attributes reserved for God. Being intoxicated with this arrogance, his lower self becomes lled with egotism in such ways that this, in other words, can be described as a claim to divinity. Especially when such an arrogant scientist, by means of some practical ingenuity of his own, acquires the power to bring about, let us say, a storm of wind or water, or becomes capable of causing rain, then such successes mean that he nds a sign of divinity in himself and looks down upon the Lord of honour and glory. Hence the greatness of God the Most High gradually diminishes in the heart of such a man, and the idea is established in his mind that, perhaps, in the same way it is due to ignorance of the system of cause and effect that people have come to believe in the existence of God. The misfortune of these inauspicious successes which he achieves by means of the modern sciences in regard to climate, rivers, oceans, vegetation, animals, minerals, the doing of all sorts of works, inventions of all kinds, and modern theories in astronomy, and the things he discovers by means of telescopes about the sun, moon and stars, and not only does he acquire knowledge of the natural laws governing these things but in practice he even performs many acts like God the Most High given this situation it is unavoidable and natural that this man of imperfect sense comes to believe that as regards all those matters in which people used to entreat God the Most High by prayer, it was due to their ignorance and a worthless course, but rather, man can achieve all those things by the practical application of his own knowledge. There is no doubt that this is a claim to divinity with which the minds of the Europeans of the present day are lled. Other nations revere Europe because of scientic advances. Leaving them aside, there are millions of other people who, on account of the Europeans astonishing scientic researches, most marvellous inventions and practical application of knowledge, hold them in such high reverence as if to conrm that they possess a share of divinity. In fact, I myself observed that a Hindu, who held an honourable ofcial post, when a mention was made before him of the greatness and power of God the Most High, became enraged and indignant, and said: When people fail to get to the bottom of things they start talking about Gods powers. The English have manifested such divinity that they have unmasked the powers of nature. Scientic researches keep on raising man to the position of God.

Hence the reason why that Hindu declared the English as god was only that in his opinion their wonderful industries appeared to be so magnicent that he considered the existence of God as unnecessary. And I see that this impression is widespread among the Muslims, especially those who have received modern education. Such an awe of European thinkers and scientists rules over their hearts that even if someone were to claim falsely that, for example, in a European country a new invention had been made such that, in some scientic way, by sowing the seed of a fruit in the earth, and nourishing it with certain things, they cause it to grow so rapidly that it bears fruit in a single day, and by the evening it is quite t for eating, probably none of the modernlyeducated people will deny it. Many ignorant people say that nothing is impossible for the Europeans, and it is possible that in the future they may even reach the sky by means of some practical science. It is mans habit that from a few experiences he becomes so convinced of the power and capability of a person that he exaggerates it to the extreme. This is exactly what is happening to most people of this country. For example, if a few reliable men were to relate, purely by way of jest, before some famous leader and distinguished, renowned man of India, for example, Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, that the Europeans have created a vegetation-attracting substance such that when it is placed in front of a tree, the tree, along with its roots, immediately lifts out of the ground and starts moving towards this substance, it is not possible that Sir Sayyid would deny it. On the other hand, if the miracle of our Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, is put forward that many a time, at his beckoning, trees came towards him, then Sir Sayyid would certainly deny this miracle and, at once, start considering as to how that Hadith report could be declared fabricated! Now consider what limit the condition of this age has reached, that there is not even so much respect entertained in peoples hearts for God and His Messenger as there is for those who are known as kar. My object in writing all this is that in reality these people are Dajjal who are called the Christian clergymen and the intellectuals of Europe. These are the two jaws of the promised Dajjal with which he is devouring the faith of people like a python. To start with, the foolish and ignorant people are caught in the snare of the Christian preachers, and if any one, detesting their low and false ideas, remains free from their claws, then he is certainly caught by the claws of the European thinkers. I see that the masses have more danger from the deceit of the Christian preachers while the elite have greater danger from the deceit of the intellectuals. Now rest assured that this is the Dajjal regarding whom our Holy Prophet, on whom be peace and the blessings of God, had foretold that he would appear in the last age. It is entirely impossible that Divine powers should actually appear in someone. The Holy Quran, from beginning to end, is opposed to this. Therefore the divinity of Dajjal refers only to these matters and to his wonders which are being shown today by the scientists of Europe. This was the intent of the prophecy, which has been fullled. The word dajja litself indicates that he would not have any real power, but deceit, mere deceit. Now if there is a man who is blessed, let him accept this. In reality this tribulation which has come forth from the Christian clergymen and the European scientists is such that from the time of Adam to this day it has no parallel. Is it not true that peoples faith has suffered the most terrible damage from this mischief, and the love of God the Most High has cooled down in the hearts of millions of people? Some minds have been completely overwhelmed by this tribulation, while others have been affected to some degree. O servants of God! think, for this is the truth.

From Kitab Al-Bariyya, pp. 58-59: The second sign for the Promised Messiah, as indicated in Hadith reports, is found to be that he will be raised in the Eastern lands. For, as is clear from the hadith which says: and he pointed towards the east, the Holy Prophet Muhammad foretold the location and sign of the Dajjal as being in the East. Hence, given this, there is the clear indication from this hadith that the Promised Messiah would be born in the East. For, when the East is the abode and place of the Dajjal then the Messiah who is to come to destroy the activities of the Dajjal must also appear in the East. And it is obvious that our country India, especially the area of Punjab, is situated towards the east of Makka. Stranger still is that in the hadith about Damascus contained in Muslim, by mentioning the eastern minaret it is east which has been pointed to for the appearance of the Promised Messiah.

Excerpts from the book, Invitation to Ahmadiyyat: In the prophecy relating to the Dajjal (the anti-Christ), the Holy Prophet says that many Muslims would become followers of the Dajjal. This part of the prophecy has been literally fulfilled. Muslims had their great days. There was a time when they were the only power in the world. Today they are like helpless orphans. Unless some Christian or other power comes to their help, Muslim nations cannot ensure their existence. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have turned Christian and the process continues. (Invitation to Ahmadiyyat, Argument 2 Testimony of the Holy Prophet)

The Holy Prophet has included a description of the physical conditions of the people at the time of the Promised Messiah. For instance, Anas has reported (according to Tirmidhi) that when the Dajjal appeared and turned to Medina, a plague epidemic would appear in the world. God would protect Medina from both the Dajjal and the plague however. The prophecy has been fulfilled. For many years now plague has played havoc in the world. It has ravaged several hundred thousand homes, and has ruined hundreds of villages, But the holy places of Islam have been immune from any considerable attack. Preventive measures have been invented which help to protect the holy places. Among them are quarantine restrictions which keep the plague away from the holy places of Islam. The appearance of plague was predicted by the Holy Prophet in different ways. On occasion he described it as Daba (literally, a worm). The description is true because plague is the result of being bitten by a flea. The flea rises from the ground and bites the human body. The Holy Quran uses the same name. This is no ordinary disease. It is a world disease which has brought death and destruction to many parts of the world. In the Indian subcontinent it has prevailed for many years. The appearance of Daba, as described in the prophecy, does not indicate the coming of plague only. It indicates the appearance of many epidemics which owe -their fatal effects to bacteria. No wonder we have today diseases, unknown in former times, which are caused by microorganisms. In the past, such diseases were either unknown or they did not spread and did not cause death on the scale they do now. The prophecy relating to plague and plague-like diseases made by the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet foretells by implication the invention of the microscope and the discovery of bacteria as causes and carriers of disease. At the time of the

Holy Prophet nothing was known about bacteria. In his time, medical science still talked in terms of bile, black-bile, blood, and phlegm. (Invitation to Ahmadiyyat, Argument 2 Testimony of the Holy Prophet)

The Holy Prophet gave a picture of the general conditions of transport and communications at the appointed time. He said that the old methods of transport would disappear and their place would be taken by swifter vehicles and methods. The swifter means would be used over both land and sea. To quote the words of the Tradition: 'The camel as a means of transport will be abandoned and people will not look to the camel with this intent'. Sahih Muslim--Kitabul Iman The change has established itself completely. All the old methods of transport have disappeared in most countries. First we had the railway. Those who did not then travel by rail travelled by other means. They rode camels or other animals. But since the discovery of the motor car even road travel has become mechanized. As new and mechanical methods of transport advance, the use of animals disappears. The Holy Prophet also prophesied the appearance of both steamships and the railway. The Holy Prophet said: 'The Dajjal`s donkey will travel on water as on land. Travelling on land it will have clouds both in front and behind. Kanzul-Ummal,vol. Vll, p. 267. Clearly this is a description of the railway and the steamship. Vehicles propelled by steam can go over both land and water. Incidentally, these new methods of transport are at the special disposal of the Dajjal. The prophecy hints at the extensive use which Christian missionaries would make of the new methods. No other class has made such tremendous use of the new means of transport. Thanks to the railway and the steamship, Christian missionaries have travelled to different parts of the world to spread knowledge of the Bible. Their teaching is the teaching of the Dajjal. The clouds mentioned in the prophecy are the clouds of smoke which seem now in front of the steam-driven vehicle and now behind. Smoke and steam seem to be the inevitable accompaniment of these vehicles. The fuel used in both is coal. This is the food of the Dajjal's donkey mentioned in the books of Hadith. The new means of transport have completely transformed relations between different parts of the world. (Invitation to Ahmadiyyat, Argument 2 Testimony of the Holy Prophet)

Among economic signs of the time of the Promised Messiah, an important sign stated by the Holy Prophet is that Christians will constitute the richest classes in the world. All others will count as poor. In Tirmidhi, Nawas bin Saman has reported that the Holy Prophet said that the Dajjal will say to the people, 'Accept me and my leadership.' Those who refuse will become economic slaves of the Dajjal. Those who accept will become rich and prosperous. The Dajjal will undertake to rain goods upon them from the sky and produce for them from out of the earth. The description is quite true. Christian nations are advancing economically, and nations suffering from political subjection are becoming poorer and poorer. During the last hundred years the change has pushed itself more and more. (Invitation to Ahmadiyyat, Argument 2 Testimony of the Holy Prophet)

A difficulty is often raised about the prophecy relating to the Dajjal. It is said that the Dajjal was to appear before the Promised Messiah. Therefore, as the Dajjal has not yet appeared, the time of the Promised Messiah has not yet come. It must be remembered that the prophecy relating to the Dajjal, like all prophecies, is subject to interpretation. We read in the Holy Quran: 'And the sun and the moon, I saw them making obeisance to me .( Yusuf, 5.) 'And I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering thee.' (Al-Saffat, 103. ) The references are to the dreams of Joseph and Abraham respectively. Both dreams are well known. Both are symbolic of events which they prophesied. It is not fitting for Muslims to treat prophecies as anything other than symbolic descriptions of the future. The prophecy about the Dajjal cannot be understood except in the light of other Traditions and ill the light of the general laws of God. If it is true, as the Traditions say, that the Promised Messiah is to be preceded by the Dajjal, and if it is true that the advent of the Promised Messiah is to be marked by the dominance of Christianity, does it not follow that the prophecy about the Dajjal relates to the power and overlordship of Christianity in our time? The prophecies are saying ill effect that the Dajjal and Christianity will be powerful forces and that both will appear some time before the Promised Messiah. Two powerful forces due to appear simultaneously could easily be one and the same. Two different forces cannot acquire dominance at the same time. The difficulty can be solved by assuming that the two names are two different names for the same thing. A very important consideration which leads to this conclusion is that the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God) instructed his followers to turn to the first ten verses of Surah Kahf, (chapter 18), when they confront the menace of the Dajjal. The first ten verses of this chapter contain a refutation of Christianity. One of the verses says: 'And that it may warn those who say, Allah has taken unto Himself a son.' (Al Kahf,5.) The object of the revelation of the Holy Quran is to warn mankind. Among other things, the purpose of the Holy Book is to warn those who attribute a physical son to God. The verses, cording to the Holy Prophet, provide guidance for Muslims to .meet the menace of the Dajjal. But they contain a refutation of Christianity. Does this not prove that the Dajjal and Christianity re one and the same thing? Treatment of a disease must be relevant to the disease. If the Dajjal and Christianity were two different things, the Holy Prophet would not have recommended the reading of verses of the Holy Book which relate not to the Dajjal but to Christianity. The reading of these verses would have been next to useless if they did not relate to the Dajjal. This proves, therefore, that even according to the Holy Prophet, the appearance of the Dajjal is the appearance of Christian propagandists. The greatest obstacle to a true understanding of the subject of the Dajjal is the preconception, from which most people seem to suffer, that the Dajjal is one powerful individual, a kind of Superman, This he is not, even according to Arabic dictionaries. To quote two authorities: 'The Dajjal is the name of a large party which, through force of numbers, will spread over the whole earth, and according to some authorities, it is the name of a party which keeps moving from one part of the world to another the goods and material in which it trades.' (Taj.) 'The Dajjal is a large party' (Aqrab) These descriptions apply to Christian propagandists today. They transport their books from one part of the world to another, together with other forms of entertainment; they also promote

business activities of various kinds wherever they go. One meaning of the word Dajjal is 'pretender'. To whom is this description more applicable than to the Christian propagandists of our time? They present the man Jesus so that he should seem like God. True, the Dajjal has other signs. He was to be one-eyed and was to have with him a donkey of inordinate size. Clouds of smoke were to be seen in front of the animal and behind it. These descriptions are symbolic. The one-eyed Dajjal is a group or party of men devoid of spiritual vision. The right side in spiritual symbolism indicates religion and virtue. If the Dajjal is without his right eye, he symbolizes men incapable of spiritual understanding and a spiritual view of things. The donkey of the Dajjal symbolizes the railway, the most typical of modern means of transport. It was invented by Christians in Christian countries. When the railway whistles, the sound resembles the braying of a donkey. It uses fire and water as fuel, and clouds of smoke are before and behind it. Christian propagandists use it for transporting themselves to different parts of the world. Nobody can take exception to the interpretation of symbols and prophecies. We have for this the authority of the Holy Prophet himself In the Hadith we read that one day the Holy Prophet went to see Ibn Sayyad a man credited with strange experiences. He was with him for some time and asked him questions. From the answers to the questions it appeared that Ibn Sayyad had some Satanic or self-caused intuitions. Omar, who accompanied the Holy Prophet, drew his sword, saying on oath that Ibn Sayyad was the Dajjal of the prophecy. The Holy Prophet (on whom be peace) stopped Omar: 'Hazrat Omar asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him), "Permit me to strike his head with my sword." The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) replied: ' "If he is not the Dajjal, it is wrong to kill him. If he is, it is not for you but for the Messiah to kill him ' (Mishquat, under Ibn-Sayyad.) The incident proves that the signs of the Dajjal mentioned in earlier prophecies are symbolic and can stand interpretation. When Omar declared Ibn Sayyad to be the Dajjal, the Holy Prophet did not contradict him. He could have cited the signs which he himself had narrated about the Dajjal: that the Dajjal would have KFR written on his forehead, that he would have one eye, that he would fail to reach Medina, and so on. These signs were not present in Ibn Sayyad. He did not have one-eye, he did not have KFR written on his forehead. (This important inscription was not visible even to the Holy Prophet, let alone to others.) And he was present in Medina. The question is, if the signs about the Dajjal are not symbols, if they have to be taken literally, why did not the Holy Prophet contradict Omar straight away? Why did he hesitate? Why did he not tell Omar that the Dajjal was to have one eye, he was to have KFR written on his forehead and was not to be seen in Medina? So it was futile to call Ibn Sayyad the Dajjal of prophecy. The fact that the Holy Prophet did not contradict Omar at once, that he at least thought it possible that Ibn Sayyad was the Dajjal, proves that, according to the Holy Prophet, signs about the Dajjal were capable of interpretation, that they were not to be taken literally but could have a meaning very different from their surface meaning. If, even the Holy Prophet believed that the signs of the Dajjal can stand interpretation, nobody else has the right to turn his back upon the facts of contemporary history and demand a literal fulfilment of those signs, ignoring their obvious symbolic significance. (Argument 2 Testimony of the Holy Prophet, Appendix to Argument 2 A Note on Dajjal Invitation to Ahmadiyyat)

The fourth argument or the fourth group of arguments relates to a prophecy contained in the Holy Quran which assigns to the Promised Messiah the important task of leading Islam again to triumph over other religions. The Promised Messiah did this by proving Islam's superiority over other religions. He could do this only With the help and grace of God, and the fact constitutes an important argument in support of his claim. The Holy Quran says: 'He it is Who has sent His Messenger, with guidance and the religion of truth, that He may make it prevail over all other religions. ' (Al-Taubah, 33; Al-Fath, 29; Al-Saff, 10 ) From the Sayings of the Holy Prophet (peace be on him), it appears that the triumph of Islam over other religions which is promised in this verse was due to take place in the time of the Promised Messiah. The liquidation of the Dajjal, the destruction of Gog and Magog and the defeat of Christianity are tasks appointed for the Promised Messiah according to the Holy Prophet (peace be on him). These dangers have been described as the gravest in the history of Islam. We are also told that the Dajjal or Missionary Christianity would succeed in dominating all other religions. The defeat of Christianity by Islam would, therefore, mean the defeat of all other rivals as well. (Argument 4, Invitation to Ahmadiyyat)

The harm done by the Dajjal today has been done through world-wide organized propaganda. The effort on behalf of Islam needs a similar organization. It requires Muslims to come together under one flag. (Argument 12, Invitation to Ahmadiyyat)

Now, dear reader, this sign in the case of Hazrat Mirza Sahib has been so clear and frequent that a parallel to it cannot be found in the case of any other prophet excepting, of course, the Holy Prophet of Islam. God knows best; but Hazrat Mirza Sahib came at a time when spiritual death had overtaken the whole world. Not only death but disintegration and decomposition had set in. So sad and so certain was this death that we find all the earlier prophets warning us of it. The Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God) said: 'Every prophet after Noah has warned his people of the menace of the Dajjal. I also warn you against him.' The death and destruction associated with our time was to be spread by the Dajjal. Human beings could not be more dead than they are today. To restore them to life was a most difficult task. Yet this task has been accomplished by Hazrat Mirza Sahib. He has restored to life many hundreds of thousands of spiritually dead human beings. He has created a following which has no parallel among prophets other than the Holy Prophet of Islam. (Argument 12, Invitation to Ahmadiyyat)

From Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (ra) Friday sermon on September 24, 1982, he has said: After tashahhud, taawwudh and recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah Hadur said:

During my tour of Europe I found the fulfilment of the prophecy of Hadrat Muhammad (saw) as such a great extent, in such detail covering every aspect of life of the western nations, that Im only compelled to say a few words on this experience. The prophecy which Ive just referred to is the prophecy about the coming of Dajjal. Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) prophesies that the time would come in the latter days when a great havoc for the world would be born, under the style of Dajjal, which is the word translated as Antichrist in English. Whether it carries the full connotation of the word Dajjal or not, I dont know. But I am inclined to believe that it does not carry the full connotation of the word Dajjal, because it is a much deeper and richer word in meaning, for just Antichrist would not be able to carry all the messages which are sort of packed, very closely packed in the word Dajjal. Now this is a very great prophecy and also a lengthy prophecy which covers so many aspects of the future world. If I begin to speak on all those aspects it would take me a very very long time. So i am going to limit myself strictly to only one single word which Hadrat Rasul-eKarim (saw) has used to depict the attributes of Dajjal. It says he will be awar, that is, one-eyed. Now in connection of his one eye, he further explains that his right eye would be blind; so totally blind that there wont even be the realization of its shadowing light in that eye, to be totally blind. The other one, on the other hand, would be very deep sighted and far sighted and so clear and so prominent that if that eye would be able to penetrate the depths of the earth and find out the secrets of the earth hidden below billions of tons of earth. It will be such (a) penetrating eye. Now this is a very interesting depiction of the future Dajjal as we understand it to be as a future of Christian nations which are going to dominate the whole world. When I came to Europe, and even before that, I have observed this that Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) could not have chosen a better phrase than the word awar for the characteristics of the western people. They are in fact highly intelligent and very deep sighted and very queer sighted as far as the worldly matters go. And you must bear in mind that while interpreting dreams we are told that if you see left side of a person that indicates the world or materialism. If you see the right side of a person that indicates spiritualism. So, by explaining that his right eye would be blind what he meant was that, that people however great they are apparently be, they would be blind to all that is good because righteousness stands for goodness in interpretation of Muslim way of interpretation of dreams. So all that stands for goodness, righteousness, spiritualism, religious or Godly things would not be perceived by that Dajjal which as I have explained, has been manifested in the form of the Western Civilization or Christian dominance of the world. So when ever I say Dajjal it should be understood as such. I dont have to explain every time what I mean by word Dajjal because Hadrat Masih-e-Maud (as) has at length explained why he considers the Western Christian civilization and their religion to be the representative of this tradition, fulfilment of this tradition of the Holy Prophet (saw). Now secondly, as I have mentioned earlier as far as the worldly matters go, they are so much advanced. They have achieved such high standards of precise and correct wheel that it is surprising for the rest of the world. They lead all movements which can be called materialistic movements in philosophy, in science, in sociology, in all other aspects of life which concern man, but which are not religious and which are not moral, which are not Godly, the western society leads the entire mankind. The same people who are completely blind to the values of the Creator, their submission to Him, their obligations to Him, are so well advanced in science that now they are virtually talking, literally talking with the heavens above, as we call it why I use

this word talking because in Urdu we say aasmaan sei baatein karnaa. It means one attains such heights as if he is by that by reaching those heights, he is able to really talk to the heavenly bodies. And this is what exactly they have done. When they first put their feet on the surface of the moon they addressed that moon and they addressed the heavenly bodies in such pride that now we have reached this. And they have started searching for other places in space to achieve even greater heights. So this is one end as far as the worldly affairs go, they have invented highly sophisticated weapon systems; so sophisticated and so deadly that once they decide to use such weapons against the mankind, there is every possibility that the species of mankind would be destroyed and wiped out from large areas of the world. All this because of their very exceptional eye-sight regarding the material world and the laws of nature. Very penetrating eyes have been granted to them by Allah. And this is what was foretold. Now these traditions who depict the future power of Christianity are not sayings which Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) concocted himself. It was his habit and custom and a very strict custom for that matter that he would utter not a single word from himself. All that he said was from Allah or was by way of interpretation of the Holy Quran. And this is exactly what has been mentioned as well in the Holy Quran itself: It is nothing but pure revelation that has been revealed by God. The Lord of mighty powers has taught him, (53:5-6) Look at My prophet Muhammad Mustafa, he does not utter a single word from himself. All that he says is based on the Holy Quran. So such is the prophet addressing us and telling us that there is going to be a Dajjal or Antichrist. What ever you call him. Where is he mentioned in the Holy Quran that is the question, which comes to ones mind if Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) is going to say all that he says from his Lord and nothing from himself, then there must be some reference of this in the Holy Quran. Now, that Surah in which Dajjal has been mentioned has been pointed out by Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) himself. When he warned his people; his followers against the appearance of Dajjal, he was asked by one of them: how could they be saved from the horror and damage of such a havoc? So he said the only way out is that you recite first ten verses of Surah Al-Kahf before retiring and also the last ten verses of Surah Al-Kahf. Now, what he meant was obviously that, that Dajjal has been described here in detail. If you understand the meaning of first ten verses and final ten verses of Surah Al-Kahf, then you will recognize your enemy and once you recognize your enemy and the direction of attack, then it is only possible for you to take defensive measure to guard yourself against the enemy. As long as you do not know where the enemy is and where he will attack from, from which direction he is going to come upon you. You are naturally not be able to defend yourself. So he is pointing out very positively what the enemy is? And what he should be guarded against? The first ten verses of the Surah Al-Kahf refer to Christianity and the warning is specifically given to Christianity. That Allah warns you against concocting and attributing a false son to Him, while He has no son. And that it may warn those who say, Allah has taken unto Himself a son. No knowledge have they thereof, nor had their fathers. Grievous is the word that comes from their mouths. They speak naught but a lie. (18:5-6)

So this Holy Prophet of Allah has come to warn you and warn those in particular who are Christians, who have invented by themselves imaginatively a son to Allah. And they attribute that imaginary being to Allah and say He has a son. Neither they have any knowledge, nor their forefathers had any knowledge, they are just talking nonsense, out of their hats, as they say in English. So this is ...grievous is the word that comes from their mouths... but this nonsense would be taken very seriously by Allah because it is an affront to Him. So they are going to be punished for that. These are the verses which make very clear the religion of Dajjal that whatever power that being, that powr is going to be Christian and Christian of that stage in future which would become almost entirely idolaters. Now after this there is diversion after a few verses and distorted shape of Christianity is left along and then Allah turns to their count of, those are the Christians who were God-fearing and who offered great sacrifices for the sake of Allah, went to the caves for the sake of saving their religion from their opponents. Those were the other people then mentioned. And it is made explicitly clear that whatever the future Christians would gain by way of the materialistic advancements would be in fact because of their early forefathers good deeds. It is a reward not for their own sake, but for the sake of those early Christians who offered so much for the sake of Allah, that they are reaping this reward of great achievements in the world. Now that is a different subject altogether, but those were not Dajjal, so Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) confined himself to only the first ten verses. Because the account which relates to the great early Christians who part of whom we called Ashab-e-Kahf; people of the cave, are exempt from this warning. They are, in fact, narrated in the Holy Quran with great love and regard. So we leave them alone for the time being and go to the last ten verses. What do we find there? There Allah tells us: Do the disbelievers think that they can take My servants as protectors instead of Me? Surely, We have prepared Hell as an entertainment for the disbelievers. (18:103) Those who have denied the message of the Holy Prophet, who refused to believe in him, do they think, are they working under the misconception that they will ultimately become successful. By doing what? By making Allahs creatures by treating Allahs creatures as his partners ...My servants as protectors instead of Me? As against Me if they start making partners, calling partners besides Allah from among Allahs creatures. If they think that they would become successful, then they are totally wrong in that. Further, it says these are the people who have turned all their attentions, all their energies, all their powers towards materialism: Those whose labour is all lost in search after things pertaining to the life of this world... (18:105) Now this is the verse to which I want to attract your attention, in particular. This is a telltale verse. It tells us that these are the people whose faith is Christianity, whose religion is Christianity, but who would have made such advancements in material pursuits ...and they think that they are doing good works. (18:105) That they would think that they have achieved the very best in life, that means to say, that not only their entire energies and capabilities would be directed towards materialistic pursuits, but also they would have gained so much by that pursuit that they would believe that they have done the very best in life. What best could there be other than this?

Now this is exactly the situation which we find today when we are travelling in Europe. They have excelled in the pursuit of materialism. They have gone to such stages as is unimaginable for poor people of Pakistan or India or other backward countries to achieve even in after hundred years. Theyve gone so far ahead of us. And by the pursuit of materialism theyve come out with beautiful things as well as the Holy Quran itself admits, annahum yuhsibuna sunan means that their industry would be so wonderful that when they would look at their products theyd say, look here, how beautifully theyve made them. We can manufacture such beautiful things. So all over Europe, youll see the same things. Theyve excelled in industry, and this is what the Holy Quran tells and at the same time that Dajjal becomes manifestly clear to us. He is the same Dajjal which was talked about by Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw). That one eye is blind; as far as the religious values are concerned they dont see the logic of the things. They say three is one and one is three. God begets children, physical beings. Its impossible. How absurd it is! Yet their logic immediately goes to sleep when they begin to realize religion. They dont see anything at all there, in fact. This is why they are called blind. And the moment their eyes turn towards the materialistic things their vision becomes so bright and clear, so illuminated that we look at them with wonder. How they could perceive those things while we also live in the same universe, we also pass through the same natural phenomenon. But we miss the point while they have picked at the right points and made advancements of the correct study of nature. So this dilemma is solved by Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) for us. And by solving this it gives us hope too. Instead of giving us an inferiority complex we are strengthened in our faith, we realize that although they are wise people but fourteen hundred years ago Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) had seen through them. He had warned us that they would materialistically become extremely advanced, yet you must not follow them in their ethical values, in their religious values, and all the values which are termed good in Islam because there they would be a blind people. If you follow them there youll be destroyed yourself. This is the message which I want to make clear now to you that this should be our approach to the West. What a great prophet he was! Where he saw light, he admitted it in so many words. Where he saw goodness he admitted in so many words. Where he saw badness he warned us against that bad and evil feature. And this is our approach too. I mean we cant follow a different approach from the master. Now here we are making mistakes. I am talking about that society which has migrated from the East to the West by not understanding the message of Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw). They are following an entirely different course from what he advised. He advised us that you can trust their vision as far as the material world goes; you can copy their pursuits because there is no harm in studying the nature of Allah. It was the creation of Allah, not their own creation. Their vision is correct. This verdict has been given by Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw). By that the Holy Prophet mean that, in as much as their sciences are concerned, their study of nature is concerned, you should not only follow them, you should try and excel them. No harm in that. Because they are not the creators. Its the creation of Allah which they have rightly understood. But in all the other values you must completely abandon them and not follow their path. What I see here is quite different pattern altogether, in fact its the converse of this. Most of the Asians who come over to these countries they dont follow them in their goodness, but they follow them in their wrongs. They lose their way of life. They lose their moral values. They lose their religion. They lose all that is good in them and start following the

western pattern of the rotten society. While they were forewarned by Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) fourteen centuries ago. How clear was his vision! How beautiful the message! Here they are wrong. Dont just condemn them wrongly and revolt against all the Westerns. This is what he said in his message. Choose the right from the wrong. And Ill give you the criterion, unfailing criterion which would never lead you to a wrong decision. That on the right things, they are always wrong; on the left thing, they are always right. Follow them materialistically. Learn from them and try to excel them no harm. But whenever there are the moral values, religious values, ethical values are concerned; it could be poison for you, if you follow them. Youll eat poison.

From the book Gulf Crisis and the New World Order, pp. 68-69: The Holy Prophet, referring to the latter days, prophesied (I will only quote an excerpt of this long prophecy): gog and magog will rule the world and they will rise wave after wave and the whole world will be overwhelmed by the waves of their power. At that time the Messiah will be raised in the world and the Messiah with his followers will try to fight them, and will attempt to counter them. Allah will then speak to the Messiah saying: That no man in the world has been granted the power to fight these two nations which We have created not even you! There is only one way, that you seek shelter on a mountain and pray to God. It is only the weapon of prayer that can subjugate these nations. What is meant by the mountain in this context? I believe that the Holy prophet (saw) is that mountain which has been mentioned here. Because, while speaking about the Holy Quran, Allah says that: if We had revealed this Quran even on a mountain it would have dreaded and would tremble due to its majesty and would have been shattered to pieces (Al Hashr 22). But in this, there are lessons and signs for those who are inclined to reflection. It means that the Holy Prophet (saw) had a supremacy over all the mountains. The Holy Prophet (saw) was the greatest of the mountains. The mountains of the world did not have the power to encompass the greatness and majesty of this revelation but it was the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) who was the highest of the mountains and was the strongest of the mountains. So what it means is that you should revert to the lofty principles of the Holy Prophet (saw) and seek refuge and gain fortitude in the teaching of this great Prophet. If you will return to the lofty ideals of the Holy Prophet (saw) and after taking shelter in them you will supplicate before God, then the prayers that are thus nourished will never go waste. Then, with your prayers you will also share in his greatness.

From With Love to the Muslims of the World: In numerous Traditions of the Holy Prophet (sa), it is mentioned that the second coming of Jesus Christ (as) would take place for three main reasons: (1) Breaking of the Cross (2) Extermination of swine (domestic and wild boars, etc.) (3) Annihilation of the Antichrist.

According to the Ahmadiyya understanding, the breaking of the Cross does not mean the literal breaking of crosses made of wood or metals but it refers to such powerful arguments as would break the backbone of the faith of the Cross. The non-Ahmadi scholars suggest that Jesus would literally perform this act of breaking all crosses: So he would roam the earth far and wide and would not rest until the material figures of the cross are physically broken in the whole wide world. The same difference of interpretation applies to other prophetic functions of Jesus Christ (as). Ahmadis interpret the word swine as a symbol of uncouth and impure conduct. By the slaughtering of the swine, they mean the purification of the corrupt and their moral reformation. The opposite school of thought would not let Jesus come to rest after his long awaited descent from heaven until (after finishing the task of Breaking the Cross!), he has literally performed the gigantic task of chasing and killing every swine on earth, domesticated or otherwise!!! The same applies to the third duty assigned to Jesus Christ (as). But perhaps the intricate nature of the concept of the Antichrist would require more elaboration as to the nature of Antichrist according to the prophecies of the Holy Founder of Islam (sa). The Antichrist is described in the Traditions as a great and oversized giant, with his right eye being blind but the left eye having been gifted with a special and supernatural power of sight. With his left eye, he would be able to see far and wide like an exceptional story-telescope. He would also be able to penetrate, with the sight of that eye, the hidden objects beneath layers of earth. That giant would be so tall that his head would be touching the cloud line. He would also possess a donkey as oversized and supernatural as himself. The donkey is described in detail in different Traditions. What emerges from the study of these traditions is summed up below: That donkey would be exceptionally huge. He would depend for his energy on fire power and not on fodder as ordinary donkeys do. He would have side openings in his belly through which passengers would be able to enter and sit comfortably inside his belly which would be illuminated from within. This donkey would travel so fast that it would cover journeys of months duration by traditional animal mounts, in days or even hours. It would stop at different stages for picking new passengers, and will always announce its departure before it resumes its journey. This unique donkey would not only travel fast on the surface of the earth but would also be able to fly above the cloud line. The distance it would cover will be so vast that his one foot will be in the east and the other in the west. That is to say, his hops would be that wide. The tale does not end there. It further speaks of the same donkey as being able to swim across oceans, but would not sink except for its knees. On some of his future sea journeys, he is described as carrying mountains of wheat and corn to poorer nations whom Dajjal (the Antichrist) would like to decide to feed by way of aid. This is the Antichrist and his donkey as described in so many Traditions of the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa). It is this Antichrist whom ultimately Jesus (as) would destroy in his second advent. Of course, according to Ahmadiyya understanding, this prophecy points to future modes of travel invented by such Christian powers as have distorted the faith of Christ (as)who never claimed to be the son of God and believed himself to be a humble human being and a Messenger of Allah. Such Christian powers are referred to as Antichrist. All the contemporary modes of travel, originally invented and manufactured at large by great Christian powers, be they trains, buses, ships and aeroplanes, all perfectly fit the image of the donkey of Antichrist we find described in the Traditions.

Finally, the non-Ahmadi scholars of the majority sects would violently oppose this interpretation as absurd and roundly condemn Ahmadis for such misleading interpretations; for their part, they are entirely convinced that literally a huge giant as described above would also, possess a donkey of the above mentioned dimensions which would eat fire and carry its master over its back and help him conquer the world and bring to their knees the super powers of the world. Then and only then would Jesus Christ (as), again literally and bodily the same Jesus (as), descend from heaven to destroy this ultra super-powerful giant, single-handedly, of course.

From Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth, Section Unveiling of the Unseen by the Quran A Historical Perspective: Based on the direct messages contained in many a verse of the Quran, the Holy Prophetsa has clearly predicted the ultimate outcome of the global conflict during the latter days. This he has done with reference to the advent of the anti-Christ. But it should be clarified at the outset that his image as it arises from the traditions of the Holy Prophetsa is not in reality as freakish as might appear on the surface. It refers to the anti-Christ in a manner that seems to combine in him the power and might of immensely powerful nations. In fact the entire age of the latter days is mentioned by the Holy Prophetsa as the age of the anti-Christ. All signs of the age are mentioned with reference to him. Among the signs which assist his identification is a category devoted specifically to the new modes of travel of which man had no experience before. A detailed account of what the anti-Christ would be and how he would dominate the world leaves no shadow of doubt in the mind of any unbiased reader that it is not a single person to whom these prophecies refer. The term 'anti-Christ' as used by the Holy Prophetsa is only symbolic. He would be a symbol of the mighty powers of his age and his exploits would in fact be the exploits of many highly advanced and powerful Christian nations of the world. But their supremacy would not last forever. The ultimate downfall of the anti-Christ who symbolizes them is also predicted in no uncertain terms. From the ruins of materialism would rise once again the sun of Islam unveiling its radiant beauty as it casts away the covers of doubt and suspicion which had enwrapped it for many a dismal century. Now we take up the discussion of the revolutionary mode of travel once again but this time we refer to the traditions of the Holy Prophetsa. As for the remaining signs of the anti-Christ, particularly those which have religious significance, we shall discuss them separately at some greater length in another chapter. Modes of travel on land, sea and air are all described without exception in a manner that fully endorses the interpretation of many a Quranic verse which we have presented earlier. Even the issue of the movement of mountains is explained so that the memory of the relevant verses is effortlessly resurrected. The Holy Prophet'ssa elaboration of the anti-Christ and the unique donkey he would ride must have seemed extremely odd to the people of his time. It had to appear odd because despite the fact that he continually refers to that mount as a donkey, none of the known characteristics of a donkey are ascribed to that oddity. However all the modern modes of transport answer to this description perfectly. They have one common feature about them; they are all propelled by combustion engines drawing their energy from fire. Even the external combustion engines like those of locomotives driven by steam are dependant on fire. This is the sharp separating line between the earlier

modes of animal transport and the revolutionary new modes of transport in the age of the antiChrist which would reveal him to be not an animal but an inanimate object. We refer to him as 'he' only because in the prophecy he is literally spoken of as an animal. In fact he could be identified by this distinctive mark alone. Recognize the donkey of the anti-Christ and you will recognize in him the modern modes of transport. Fail to recognize him if you so choose and travel back to the age of donkeys. Some other novel features of this symbolic donkey of the anti-Christ are described in great detail in various books of traditions. The following is a composite presentation of the information derived from them: 1. Like his donkey the anti-Christ himself would be so massive and gigantic that a monster like unto him has not even been heard of in the most bizarre tales of fantasy. He would be so tall that his head would seem to disappear beyond the clouds. He will be so immensely powerful that he would conquer the whole world single-handedly. ('ALLAMAH 'ALAUD-DIN 'ALI AL-MUTTAQI. Kanz-ul-'ummalvol:14 p.604 & 613 (1979), Beirut.) 2. Despite all these physical advantages the one blemish that he would be blighted with would be the total loss of one eye, the right eye for that matter. (IMAM MUSLIM BIN AL-HAJJAJ BIN MUSLIM AL-QUSHAIRI AL-NAISAPURI. Sahih Muslim, Kitab-ulFitan, Babo Zikrid-Dajjal wa Sifatehi Wa Ma Ma'ahu.) 3. This donkey would not merely be a personal mount of the anti-Christ, but would also be made freely available as a means of public transport. People will climb into his belly from the openings on his side provided specifically for this purpose. ('ALLAMAH MUHAMMAD BAQIR AL-MAJLISI. Biharul-Anwar, Babo 'Alamate Zohurihi Alaihissalam min Al-sufyani wad-Dajjal.) 4. The belly will be well lighted within and equipped with comfortable seats. ('ALLAMAH MUHAMMAD BAQIR AL-MAJLISI. Biharul-Anwar, Babo 'Alamate Zohurihi Alaihissalam min Al-sufyani wad-Dajjal.) 5. The donkey would move at exceptionally fast speeds covering long distances in a matter of days or hours which ordinary animal mounts take months to cover. ('ABDURREHMAN AL-SAFURI. Nuzhat-ul-Majalis,vol:1 p.109. Maimaniyyah Press, Egypt.) 6. He would have regular stoppages on its way. At every stoppage the public would be invited to come and be seated before he resumes his journey and every departure would be loudly announced. Thus the metaphorical donkey would continuously travel from place to place providing people with a fast, convenient and comfortable means of transport. ('ALLAMAH MUHAMMAD BAQIR AL-MAJLISI. Biharul-Anwar, Babo 'Alamate Zohurihi Alaihis-salam min Al-sufyani wad-Dajjal.) 7. The passengers travelling in the belly would in no way be scorched by the fire he had eaten indicating that the seating compartment in his belly would be fully insulated from

the fire chamber. ('ALLAMAH MUHAMMAD BAQIR AL-MAJLISI. Biharul-Anwar, Babo 'Alamate Zohurihi Alaihis-salam min Al-sufyani wad-Dajjal.) 8. This donkey will also be able to travel by sea and move from continent to continent riding the ocean waves. ('ABDUR-REHMAN AL-SAFURI. Nuzhat-ul-Majalis,vol:1 p.109. Maimaniyyah Press, Egypt.) 9. During his journey by sea he would somehow swell to a much larger size. Thus he will be able to transport mountains of food upon his back across the oceans. Many a time he will be employed to deliver these enormous food supplies to such poor nations as abjectly bow to the will of the anti-Christ. The transportation of mountain-loads of food is a figurative expression reminiscent of the one contained in another previously quoted verse which predicted such times when mountains will be made to move. (Sahih Al-Bukhari. Kitab-ul-Fitan, Babo Zikrid-Dajjal.) 10. The amazing donkey would also know how to fly because some of his gigantic leaps are described to cover distances between East and West. It is said that one foot of the beast will be in the East and the other in the West. This is indicative of the size of his leap meaning that he would take off from one continent and land in another. ('ABDURREHMAN AL-SAFURI. Nuzhat-ul-Majalis,vol:1 p.109. Maimaniyyah Press, Egypt.) 11. In the air he will move above the level of the clouds. ('ALLAMAH 'ALA-UD-DIN 'ALI AL-MUTTAQI. Kanz-ul-'ummalvol:14 p.613 (1979), Beirut.) 12. On his forehead he would carry the moon. Apparently the moon refers to the headlights which most modern vehicles are equipped with. ('ALLAMAH 'ALA-UD-DIN 'ALI ALMUTTAQI. Kanz-ul-'ummalvol:14 p.613 (1979), Beirut.) After reading this vivid description of the donkey of the anti-Christ which he would use for his world conquest, we wonder if the reader really needs further assistance to recognize him. Obviously such great Christian powers are mentioned under the title Dajjal (Sahih Muslim, Kitab-ul-Fitan, Babo Zikrid-Dajjal wa Sifato Wa Ma Ma'ahu.) as were destined one day to command the entire world. The fire-driven donkey which acquires the changeable roles of aeroplanes, ships or trains moving at exceptionally fast speeds was to play the most formative and crucial role in the conquest of the world by the Christian powers. Apart from emphasizing the advantage of higher speeds, the advantage of weightier possessions is also specifically mentioned in the global conflict for supremacy: Then, as for him whose scales are heavy, he will have a pleasant life. (101:7-8)

The weightier they are in their possession and the faster in their speeds, the more inevitable would become the supremacy of the world powers. The mass and the speed at which he moves is what matters on the road to victory. These prophecies are so unique that it is hard to find their equal in the realm of Divine prophecies elsewhere. The description is so vivid and precise that one has the impression that like a painter who captures with his brush what he sees, the Holy Prophetsa was moulding into picturesque words what he observed unfolding before his eyes.

From the book, Gulf Crisis and the New World Order pp. 331-338: I wish now to put one last matter in front of you. Addressing myself to Israel, I wish to give them a suggestion. Generally, the impression among the Muslims is that Israel was established consequent to a conspiracy of the West, and by the intrigue of the Israelis. This is correct in its own domain. But if the decree of God had not so desired, this could never have come to pass. This must be understood. Which dictum of Allah has created this issue of Israel today? We need to turn to this very dictum to find the solution of this problem. So, basing my conclusions on the Quran and the Hadith, I wish to unwrap this issue before you and want to give some advice to Israel, because today the peace of the world depends on Israel and on the decisions it makes. This is precisely what we learn from the Holy Quran. In Sura Al-Isra of the Holy Quran, which is also called Sura Bani Israel, some verses address this issue, and I wish to place them before you. In verse 5, God says that we had decreed for the Bani Israel in the book (the Psalms of David are likely meant here) That you would surely cause mischief in the earth twice, and you will cause great rebellions. The verse 6, states: So when the time for the fulfilment of the first of the two promises came, We sent against you some servants of Ours possessed of great might in war, and they penetrated the innermost parts of your houses, and it was a warning that was bound to be carried out and none could avert this decree. Then We gave you back the power against them and dominance and aided you with wealth and children, and caused you to grow into a great power. (Verse 7) But with the condition that if you will now practice goodness and give up your old evil ways, then in reality you would be doing good to your own selves, but if you revert to your same old misdeeds which you had done before, then those misdeeds too will backfire upon you, i.e., in reality you would be perpetrating those misdeeds against your own selves. God says: Then the time came for the fulfilment of the second promise so that the decree may be fulfilled that you would again do evil and would taste its consequences and your faces would be disgraced and darkened. (Verse 8) So they may again enter the Mosque as they had entered it before and destroy it meaning the Temple of Solomon. These two promises have been fulfilled and recorded in history. But there is a third mention which is also to be found in this same Chapter of the Holy Quran. As we read in the next verse:

That after this again when God would so wish or it would also mean that it is quite possible that God would so desire that once again He should show mercy upon you but remember that when mercy is shown to you, you should not forget that if again you repeat your earlier misdeeds and persist in them, then we too will most certainly repeat the punishments which you have already tasted twice before. After this, it appears that no fourth occurrence would come to pass in the world, because then mention is made of hell. After this, the matters pertaining to the world would come to an end. Then the final decisions would be taken after the Day of Judgement and punishment would be meted out by way of hell. I want to mention briefly how the first two promises were fulfilled. The first promise began to be fulfilled in 721 B.C. when the Assyrians devastated the northern of the two Jewish empires and occupied it. This was the empire which was linked to the city of Samara which was also referred to as Israel. Thus this event began in 721 B.C. The second phase of the campaign to destroy the two Jewish empires began 124 years after it was started by the Assyrians. This time the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar, attacked the remaining empire of the Jews which was called Judea, of which Jerusalem was the capital. Thus remember that in accordance with the promise, the first attack to break Israel, that is to say, to break the empire of the Jews in the land of Canaan occurred in 721 B.C. and was started by the Assyrians. The second phase was begun by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C. and was completed in 587 B.C. During both the phases, the Jewish power suffered tremendous blows but during the second phase, it was truly and utterly destroyed and annihilated. Innumerable Jews were made prisoners and taken away by Nebuchadnezzar. The Prophet Ezekiel was amongst them. We learn from the Book of Ezekiel that the punishment which was meted out to the Jews was given them because to use the divine terminology employed in this book the example of the two cities had become that of two prostitutes who sold themselves and continuously exceeded all limits of shamelessness by eloping with strangers and abandoning the friendship with God. A most frightening sketch is presented and then it says that the punishment that was destined came and God broke off His connection with them and said: O ye prostitutes, become ye verily of those to whom you belong. So actually Nebuchadnezzar took them away from their country and razed the Temple of Solomon to the ground. After that, in 551-553 or thereabouts, with the help of the Prophet Ezekiel (as), a series of contacts was started with the people of Persia and their help secured. The accounts of Haroot and Maroot that we read in the Holy Quran relate to this period. Although ultimately, this change occurred many years later, but the process was started in the time of the Prophet Ezekiel (as). Consequently, 48 years after the devastating attack of Nebuchadnezzar on Jerusalem when he completely destroyed the city of Jerusalem and Palestine, the Jews regained control of the Promised Land through the help of the people of Persia. This occurred in 539 B.C. when, with the help of King Cyrus, the Jews were taken back to Jerusalem and settled there. After this, they were able to live there for several hundred years. And, as recorded in some other books in the form of a prophecy, both these towns would again become prostitutes and would again adopt evil ways and would again receive punishment. So, exactly in accordance with the sketch drawn out in the Holy Quran, that it was decreed, that twice you would create disorder in the earth, and twice you would become rebellious it happened exactly like this for first they created disorder in the land, then other nations came and they rebelled against them and were crushed after their rebellion. So the second time when the phase of punishment began, the Roman King Pompeii captured Judah in 63 B.B. and started the

campaign of their destruction from there. But despite this, this phase of destruction did not end till 132 A.D. Hadrian was a great Roman Emperor. He occupies an extraordinary position amongst the history of the Roman Emperors. He is the same King whose empire extended from England to Africa and reached to the banks of the Euphrates River. He happened to visit England also. Here in the north there is a wall much like the wall of China. Some say that this wall is 80 miles long, while others say that it is only about 74 to 76 miles in length. This is a great wall which still stands today. It was erected by this same King Hadrian. When the Jews again rebelled there, Hadrian recalled that general of his who was ruling over England at that time and sent him to crush this rebellion. He was a most capable general. This incident took place around 132 A.D. The historians do not fully agree on this though, and some say it took from 132 A.D. to 133/134 A.D. by which time the task was completed. He taught them such a terrible lesson for having rebelled that historians say that over 500,000 Jews were put to the sword. First I thought this could be an exaggeration, but then when I read the Holy Qurans prophecy that He would bless the Jews with many children and would bless their numbers greatly, then I understood that this was precisely a true historical fact. Truly, in those days over 500,000 Jews were killed there and the Temple was destroyed. Thus, twice the Temple of Solomon was built and twice it was destroyed. After all this had happened, God Almighty says: That even now it could happen that God may turn to you with mercy. That is to say upon the fulfilment of these two prophecies and these two destructions. Even then it could happen that God may turn to you with mercy. The question of when and how this is to happen is addressed in a verse towards the end of this Chapter (Sura). This verse pertains to the period of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and is surrounded by discussions of these very topics of the Holy Prophets life. It means that this event of mercy was to occur in the latter part of the era of Hazrat Muhammad (saw) and in the time of his followers so it is said: (in verse 105) that when the time for the fulfilment of that last promise arrives, when you would be gathered together from all parts of the world and brought to this land then the decree of God would so arrange that all of you would be gathered together. Indeed this has occurred for the very first time. Previously, the Jews repeatedly settled in Palestine, but never once did it happen that the Jews of the Diaspora or the area where the Jews had scattered were all again gathered together. This is the first such instance in the history of the world. Observe how clearly and with what amazing brilliance the prophecies of the Holy Quran have been fulfilled and will continue to be fulfilled in the future. Thus, I wish to inform the Jews that Gods decree, in keeping with these prophecies, has decided to have mercy on you and as a result of the extreme injustices perpetrated upon you by Nazi Germany, has decided that enough is enough. Maybe now you have learnt your lessons. You have been forgiven and again been granted domination in the land. The Muslim powers will not have the strength to break this dominance for we learn from the sayings of the Holy Prophet of Islam that a great mischief will rise up from that narrow sea between Iraq and Syria which will drink up all its water. This sea which is mentioned in the sayings of the Holy Prophet is in Israel and is called the Sea of Tabriyya. It is a small sea through which the Jordan River passes. There a great army shall be gathered together there and will emerge from there and a very great power it will be which shall issue forth from there for the attack. Thus if Israel fails to learn from the lessons of the last two destructions then a disturbance will rise from Israel to destroy the peace

and security of the entire world. This has been destined and cannot be changed by any worldly power. Then, God Almighty, says we shall destroy it and shall so arrange that they and all the powers that have joined them and are helping them are blown to pieces and made a sign of warning for posterity. The last message which is in the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is that God would cause to grow such carbuncles (boils) in their throats and will inflict such diseases on them that they would be killed on a wide scale and in a most horrible manner. This is that same disease, resembling AIDS which I have already mentioned. This estimation of mine is based on the following prophetic sayings of Hazrat Muhammad (saw). It is related that one day the Holy Prophet (saw) made mention of the Dajjal (anti-Christ) and while mentioning in great detail the circumstances surrounding him, he said: (I shall present only a few sentences from the detailed account) the Anti-Christ shall appear from the area between Syria and Ira. Right, left, or which ever direction he shall turn to, he shall go on causing death and destruction. It shall move with the swiftness of a rain-laden cloud which is being propelled from the rear by fast winds (just like the jets of today) He went on to say that: in such circumstances, Allah, the Exalted shall raise the Promised Messiah (as) and shall inform him through revelation: That i have now created such people against whom no one shall have the power to wage war. Then he further said: Allah shall raise Gog and Magog and they shall leave behind every height leaping over them rapidly. He said the first parts of this locust-like army of Gog and Magog, shall pass by the Sea of Tabriyya drinking up all its water so that when the latter parts of the army arrives, it shall say that once there used to be water here, where has it gone? In these heart-rending times, the Prophet of Allah i.e. the Promised Messiah (as), and his companions, will pray to Allah and Allah shall accept their prayers. And He will cause to develop such germs in the necks of Gog and Magog which would result rapidly in their death on a large scale. (Sahih Muslim, Kitabul Fitan, Chapter: Zikr-ud-Dajjal). Then in another Hadith, His Holiness, Hazrat Muhammad (saw) says: if a nation becomes afflicted with sexual shamelessness and makes open display of it, then a kind of plague-like affliction spreads amongst it which has never spread in any earlier generations. (Sunan Ibn Maaja Kitaab al fatan Chapter al-aqobaat) This is that saying of the Holy Prophet (Hadith) which specifically points to the Aids disease in very clear terms. And this Aids is what has been referred to as a plague-like disease and about which it has been said that it has never spread in the world before. It is interesting to note that the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, too was given the news of the spreading of a new kind of plague. This is a revelation of March 13, 1907. He says: A type of plague will spread in Europe and other Christian countries which would be very severe. (Tazkirah p. 705). Thus this is a catastrophe which is destined for them either today or in the future. If these nations do not reform themselves then the most dreadful calamities shall befall them as a consequence of their misdeeds. It is important at this point to clarify that all ominous prophecies, i.e. prophecies predicting evil consequences are always conditional even if the conditions are not spelled out in

clear words. A clear example of this is found in the incident of the Prophet Hazrat Jonah (as) that a categorical prophecy was averted through the repentance of his nation.