A Reminder in Two Parts – Part A

1. “The Hour will not come until…”

“A detailed description of the individual duty of jihad was promulgated in a fatwa from the ‘Seat of the Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire” written in 1915 that called for global jihad.”¹ The Ottoman Empire had entered the First World War as an ally of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The fatwa was issued at the instigation of the German government as a means “to incite Islamic uprisings in British and French colonial holdings in order to divert their resources from the European theatre.”²

The fatwa, an official legal ruling, was addressed to all Muslims: “It is necessary that they should know from today that the Holy War has become a sacred duty and that the blood of the infidels in the Islamic lands may be shed with impunity (except those who enjoy the protection of the Muslim power and those to whom it has given security and those who are confederate with it).”³

Verbal and written assurances can turn out to be meaningless, but this declaration of universal jihad exempted three groups of non-Muslims: 1) those who enjoy the protection of the Muslim power, which would include those had paid the poll-tax or provided military defense; 2) those to whom the Muslim power had given security, as would be the case with a signed, sworn treaty; and 3) those who were joined with the Muslim power in a federation. This official legal ruling declared that jihad, even a global jihad, did not apply to those who met any of these conditions.

This was a genuine declaration of jihad. It brought the term “genocide” into the modern vocabulary.⁴ According to Henry Morgenthau, Sr., at that time the U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, the 1915 fatwa did not accomplish the German purpose, but its authorization triggered the slaughters, forced starvation and death marches that eventually destroyed an estimated 600,000 to 1,200,000 Armenian Christians.⁵

There are those for whom jihad is a way of life, and of death. Such intent and actions have also appeared in many non-Islamic places at various times. In pursuit of a secular or religious ideological vision, or in pursuit of personal ambitions and desires, political and religious leaders have callously manipulated people and events, placing a minimal value on human life. Sometimes they publicly justify their actions in terms of what they consider a greater good.

In his defense of Stalin, Walter “Duranty loved to repeat, when Stalin’s atrocities were brought to light, ‘you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.’ Those ‘eggs’ were the heads of men, women and children, and those ‘few’ were merely tens of millions.”⁶ The “omelet” was the great new society that Stalin was allegedly building. That vision of the future was used to justify obscene brutality in the present.

In all three religions with which we are here concerned — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — a belief prevails that the end of this age will see great violence on the earth, some initiated by humans and some from God alone. These “apocalyptic” visions are so-called because of the Apocalypsis, also called “The Book of Revelation,” in the Scriptures in Greek. The literal meaning of apo-calypsis is “something that takes off the cover,” i.e. something that reveals — a revelation.

In all the apocalyptic scriptures, there are things that are not clearly seen or understood. The faithful believe the text to be true, but they, by divine design, do not fully understand everything that is described in it. Nevertheless, in all three religions, there are those who believe that they understand completely what is said and know exactly what will take place. They believe in the absolute truth of their own understanding. But that understanding is contradicted by the text itself.

Moses said, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this Torah.”⁷ God has revealed some things to His people, who are required to live in accordance with what He has revealed. But there are some things that He has not revealed.

Muhammad said, “‘And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah.’ The Prophet then recited: “Verily, with Allah (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour.”⁸ There are things which will happen in the future that no human being knows; among these is the Last Hour.

Jesus said of the time of his return to the earth: “But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”⁹ His statement is clear and explicit. Nevertheless, throughout history there continue to arise people who say they are his followers yet claim that they know the day and the hour. In effect, they believe they know better than the one they claim to follow.“

“Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The Last Hour would not come until there would arise about thirty impostors, liars, and each one of them would claim that he is a messenger of Allah.”¹⁰

Isa/Yeshua said, “Beware of false prophets who come to you⁺ in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are voracious wolves. You⁺ will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every healthy tree produces good fruit, but the rotten tree produces worthless fruit.”¹¹

Peter/Kefa said, “But there were false prophets also among the people, as there will also be false teachers among you⁺, who will secretly bring in destructive choices, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.”¹²

Jeremiah the prophet said, “Then the Lord said to me, ‘The prophets prophesy lies in My Name; I did not send them, nor did I command them, nor did I speak to them. They prophesy to you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nothing, and the deceit of their heart.”¹³

In all of the different Holy Scriptures, there are prophetic passages that describe different events that will take place at the end of this Age. Some are “natural,” in that they happen because humans choose to do certain things. Other events are “supernatural,” in that only God can make them happen.

In the Islamic Holy Scriptures, especially the hadiths, there are many such passages. The same is true for those in Hebrew and those in Greek. Countless books have been written where each author explains how everything fits together and the sequence in which events will happen. Of course, it is easy to see that the authors do not agree with each other.

For the purposes of this proposal, I want to look at one particular hadith, as an example that is especially relevant to the option of reconciliation which I am presenting. Then we’ll look at some other passages that are connected to understanding how this particular hadith relates to what actions are required in the present. It is a hadith that some, like the Islamic State and also Bin Ladin, have used to claim that Muslims and Jews should not today coexist in peace or cooperation. It has been used by some to advocate jihad.

Here is the hadith: “Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.”¹⁴

Some have used this hadith to claim that all Muslims today must never cease to war against Israel and the Jewish people. But that is not the only way to understand it. Even as Muhammad said, “This Qur’an was revealed to be recited in seven different ways,”¹⁵ so this hadith is also seen differently by different followers of Muhammad.

There are some who question the authenticity of the hadith, but that is a question for Islamic scholars, and they have not categorized it as false. Some scholars, however, point to different accepted versions of the hadith to show that it does not refer to all Jews, but only to the small percentage who will follow the Dajjal/Antichrist at the time of the end; and to show that it does not refer only to Jews.

“Meanwhile, misguided Christians, Jews, and Muslims will be following the Dajjal. Indeed, other hadith demonstrate that many of the Dajjal’s forces will actually be deviant Muslims (Sunan Ibn Majah 179)…. It is about these specific combatants in the Antichrist’s army that rocks and trees will say, ‘There is one hiding behind me, come and slay him!’ The religious identity of the Dajjal’s soldiers includes evildoers from all backgrounds (including misguided Muslims). Other variants of the hadith state that the rocks and trees will simply say, ‘Here is a rejector of truth hiding behind me!’ (Musnad Ahmad 3546) or ‘Here is a soldier of Dajjal!’ (al-Buhur al-Zakhirah 1/493) and do not focus on the religious identity.”¹⁶

It is clear that the hadith, as with all communication, is most properly understood in its own context. In that context, it describes something that will happen at a future time; it is a supernatural sign that the Last Hour is coming. It is not presented as a command for all Muslims all times, nor as a description of what will happen at all times. There are many things recorded in the hadiths about the time preceding the Day of Judgment; and these, in general, are understood to be descriptive rather than prescriptive. I.e., they contain lessons to be learned, but they do not contain commands for Muslims living at other times. They do not present uniques circumstances as being normative.

For example, Muhammad said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight against the Turks; people with small eyes, red faces, and flat noses. Their faces will look like shields coated with leather. The Hour will not be established till you fight against people wearing shoes made of hair.”¹⁷ As a description, this passage is very similar to the above hadith about the Jews, and should therefore be approached in the same way.

My knowledge is limited, but I do not know of any jihadist groups or individuals who understand this war against the Turks to be a present and ongoing obligation. Since most Turks today are Muslims, understanding Muhammad to have commanded continual warfare against the Turks would be very problematic.

That is especially true because he elsewhere condemns Muslims fighting against other Muslims. In a hadith about “When two Muslims confront each other with swords,” “Ahnaf b. Qais reported: I set out with the intention of helping this person (Hadrat ‘Ali) that Abu Bakra met me. He said: Ahnaf, where do you intend to go? I said: I intend to help the cousin of Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him), viz. ‘Ali. Thereupon he said to me: Ahnaf, go back, for I heard Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: When two Muslims confront one another with swords (in hands) both the slayer and the slain would be in Fire. He (Ahnaf) said: I said, or it was said: Allah’s Messenger, it may be the case of one who kills. but what about the slain (why he would be put in Hell-Fire)? Thereupon he said: He also intended to kill his companion.”¹⁸

So Muhammad said that when Muslims fight other Muslims, they all end up in the Fire. How then can it be that people who say they follow Muhammad choose to war against other people who say they too follow Muhammad? The act of fighting each other clearly places such Muslims outside of Allah’s protection and under His condemnation.

Certainly, one or both sides can say of the others, “They are not really Muslims.” It is not unusual in a conflict within a group defined by faith or ideology for the combatants to, in effect, excommunicate each other. But in the quoted hadith, Muhammad identifies both sides as Muslims. It is only when they stand before God that He will identify them both as non-Muslims, i.e. as unsubmitted individuals. God Himself will identify their cause, what led them to war against each other, as one of the seventy-three sects of Islam that will go into the Fire.

“Often bigotry and takfir (meaning to declare another person to be an unbeliever or kafir) are disguises for the more fundamental sins of greed, jealousy, revenge, and the desire for power. Takfir is a means by which a soul justifies its taking of innocent life, when in reality such a person is merely covering his bloodlust and brutality with a pious veneer. He may fool himself into thinking that the human being he devalues has no right to life, property, or honor, but his judgment does not bind God, though God’s judgment will bind him.”¹⁹

Nevertheless, one of the signs of the Last Hour is that Muslims will kill Muslims. Abu Musa narrated that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “‘Before the Hour comes there will be Harj.’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is Harj?’ He said: ‘Killing.’ Some of the Muslims said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, now we kill such and such a number of idolaters in one year.’ The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘That will not be like killing the idolaters, rather you will kill one another, until a man will kill his neighbor and son of the cousin and a relative.’ Some of the people said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, will we be in our right minds that day?’ The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘No, reason will be taken away from most of the people at that time, and there will be left the insignificant people who have no reason.’”²⁰

“Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) many ahadith and one of them was this: The last Hour will not come until the two parties (of Muslims) confront each other and there is a large-scale massacre amongst them and the claim of both of them is the same.”²¹ They each claim that they are the true Muslims and the others are not, but Muhammad said that both sides will all be condemned to the Fire because they kill, or are prepared to kill, their brothers.

Those who engage in jihad do not consider most Muslims to be their brothers. They consider themselves alone to be true believers. That is the rationale by which they justify killing, despising, and terrorizing others.

Not only does the Quran caution against such presumption and violence, it also cautions against presuming that all non-Muslims are not your brothers; or of presuming that they all will end up in the Fire. As an illustration, it claims that there are Jews and Christians who are guilty of believing and embracing this kind of separatism.

“And they said, ‘None will enter the Garden unless he be a Jew or a Christian.’ Those are their hopes. Say, ‘Bring your proof, if you are truthful.’ Nay, whosoever submits his face to God, while being virtuous, shall have his reward with his Lord. No fear shall come upon them; nor shall they grieve.“²²

The passage is intended to serve as a warning to Muslims not to reach and teach the same false conclusion. Muhammad taught that “whosoever submits his face to God, while being virtuous, shall have his reward with his Lord.” And this is also supported in hadith, where Muhammad taught that many or most of those in Paradise will not be Muslims.

“Abu Sa’id reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Allah, the High and Glorious, would say: ‘O Adam!’ and he would say: ‘At Thy service, at thy beck and call, O Lord, and the good is in Thy Hand.’ Allah would say: ‘Bring forth the group of (the denizens of) Fire.’ He (Adam) would say: ‘Who are the denizens of Hell? It would be said: They are out of every thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.’ …He (the narrator) further reported that he (the Messenger of Allah) again said: ‘By Him in Whose Hand is thy life, I hope that you would constitute one-fourth of the inhabitants of Paradise.’ ‘We extolled Allah and we glorified (Him).’ He (the Holy Prophet) again said: ‘By Him in Whose Hand is my life, I wish you would constitute one-third of the inhabitants of Paradise.’ ‘We extolled Allah and Glorified (Him).’ He (the Holy Prophet) again said: ‘By Him in Whose Hand is my life, I hope that you would constitute half of the inhabitants of Paradise….’”²³

The hadith makes two major points. First, the vast majority of the Children of Adam are living a life that will bring them to the Fire rather than to Paradise. Many think otherwise, but they are deceiving themselves. Muhammad said that 999 out of every1000 human beings are headed to the Fire.

Second, Muslims will constitute 25-50% of the small number of the inhabitants of Paradise. The other 50-75% will not be Muslims. Who will they be? As it says in the Quran, they will be “whosoever submits his face to God, while being virtuous”. Someone who believes in Muhammad needs to believe that this is true of non-Muslims. To believe and proclaim otherwise is to reject his teaching.

There are other hadiths that continue the theme of Muslims at the end not really knowing their faith. “While the Prophet was saying something in a gathering, a Bedouin came and asked him, ‘When would the Hour (Doomsday) take place?’ Allah’s Apostle continued his talk, so some people said that Allah’s Apostle had heard the question, but did not like what that Bedouin had asked. Some of them said that Alllah’s Apostle had not heard it. When the Prophet finished his speech, he said, ‘Where is the questioner, who enquired about the Hour (Doomsday)?’ The Bedouin said, ‘I am here, O Allah’s Apostle.’ Then the Prophet said, ‘When honesty is lost, then wait for the Hour (Doomsday).’ The Bedouin said, ‘How will that be lost?’ The Prophet said, ‘When the power or authority comes in the hands of unfit persons, then wait for the Hour (Doomsday.)’”²⁴

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “The Hour will not begin until you kill your ruler and fight one another with swords, and your world is inherited by the worst of you.”²⁵ The Prophet said, “The Hour (Last Day) will not be established until (religious) knowledge will be taken away (by the death of religious learned men), earthquakes will be very frequent, time will pass quickly, afflictions will appear, murders will increase and money will overflow amongst you.”²⁶

It is not stated, but perhaps this is a contributing factor to the Ka’ba being burned. “‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr reported that a person came to him and said: ‘What is this hadith that you narrate that the Last Hour would come at such and such time?’ Thereupon he said: ‘Hallowed be Allah, there is no god but Allah (or the words to the same effect). I have decided that I would not narrate anything to anyone now. I had only said that you would see after some time an important event that the (sacred) House (Ka’ba) would be burnt and it would happen and definitely happen.’”²⁷

“Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: ‘The Ka’ba would be destroyed by an Abyssinian having two small shanks.’”²⁸ In any case, it would seem very strange if some Muslims wanted to hasten the coming of the day when the Ka’ba would be destroyed, especially since those who inherit the world then will be “the worst of you.”.

While there is still Islamic religious knowledge, an appropriate authority could issue a universal fatwa affirming that it is forbidden for Muslims to war against Muslims or (as stated in the 1915 Ottoman fatwa) against those who “enjoy the protection of the Muslim power” because they have a treaty, pay the poll-tax, or provide for military defense. The Saudi Arabian constitution (Chapter 5, Article 23), for example, contains a provision for issuing fatwas: “The source of the deliverance of fatwa in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are God’s Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger. …“

As for the statement that “money will overflow amongst you,” it is not clear what the cause of this will be, but one of its effects will be a great slaughter. “The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:”The Hour will not begin until the Euphrates uncovers a mountain of gold and people fight over it, and out of every ten, nine will be killed.’”²⁹

The Prophet said, “The Hour (Day of Judgment) will not be established till your wealth increases so much so that one will be worried, for no one will accept his Zakat [alms] and the person to whom he will give it will reply, ‘I am not in need of it.’“³⁰

Another hadith connects the return of Jesus, “a just judge,” to this abundance of wealth. “Spite, mutual hatred and jealousy against one another will certainly disappear and when he summons people to accept wealth, not even one would do so.”³¹

The hadith looks forward to that time. “Spite, mutual hatred and jealousy against one another” are presented as evil things that should disappear. I.e., they are not things which Allah desires.

Muhammad mentioned other important signs. “The Messenger of Allah (saw) looked out from a room, when we were talking about the Hour. He said: ‘The Hour will not begin until ten signs appear: The rising of the sun from the west (place of its setting); Dajjal; the smoke; the beast; Gog and Magog people; the appearance of ‘Eisa bin Maryam(as), the earth collapsing three times — once in the east, one in the west and one in the Arabian Peninsula; and fire that will emerge from the plain of Aden Abyan and will drive the people to the place of Gathering, stopping with them when they stop at night and when they stop to rest at midday.”³²

”The Prophet (saw) looked out at us from a room, when we were talking about the Hour. He said: ‘The Hour will not begin until there are ten signs: Dajjal, (False Christ), the smoke, and the rising of the sun from the west.’”³³

The rising of the sun in the west is one of the supernatural signs that indicate the Last Hour has come. ”I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: ‘The Hour will not begin until the sun rises from the west (i.e. the place of its setting). When it rises, the people will see it, and everyone on (earth) will believe, but that will be at a time when faith will not benefit anyone who did not believe before.’”³⁴ Like Pharaoh, they will learn before they die, but it will be too late.

Such an occurrence could find precedents in two events recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. The first takes place when Joshua, the successor to Moses, is militarily leading the Children of Israel to take possession of the land of Canaan. To avoid destruction, the king and people of the city of Gibeon had made a covenant peace and defense pact with them. When five other Amorite kings in the land heard of it, they allied together to war against Gibeon. The Gibeonites sent messengers to Joshua, and he brought the army of Israel to fight against those kings.

God supernaturally fought from heaven against the attacking armies, striking them with large hailstones from heaven. As the battle continued, “Then Joshua spoke to the Everpresent Lord in the day when the Everpresent Lord delivered the Amorites before the people of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, ‘Sun, stand still upon Gibeon; and you, Moon, in the valley of Ayalon.’  And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies…. So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hastened not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.”³⁵

The second instance takes place when God tells Hezekiah, a righteous king of the southern kingdom of Judah, to make final arrangements because he is about to die. Hezekiah pleads with God to extend his life, and God consents to do so. “And Isaiah [the prophet] said, ‘You will have this sign from the Everpresent Lord that the Everpresent Lord will do the thing that He has spoken; Shall the shadow [of the sundial] go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?’

“And Hezekiah answered, ‘It is easy for the shadow to go down ten degrees; No, but let the shadow go back ten degrees.’ And Isaiah the prophet cried to the Everpresent Lord; and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial…”³⁶

These are rare occurrences in the Hebrew Scriptures, but they are clear supernatural signs of God’s intention. The purpose of prophetically announcing supernatural signs like these is to remove all doubt. These are not natural occurrences that might coincidentally happen. They can only occur by God’s intervention.

As for what Muhammad said, the sun naturally “rises” in the east because the earth rotates on its axis towards the east. For the sun to rise in the west, the earth would need to rotate on its axis towards the west, the opposite direction. For that to happen everywhere on the earth — “the people will see it, and everyone on (earth) will believe” — it would be necessary for the earth to rotate towards the west for at least 24 hours.

In the same way that the particular hadith records the prophecy that the Sun will rise in the west, so the hadith with which we started records that the rocks and trees will cry out. Other ahadith record other signs, both natural and supernatural, which must take place before the Last Hour has come. When these signs occur, the Last Hour has begun. Before they happen, the Hour and the time for an unrelenting war of Muslims against Jews has not yet come.

Muhammad said that another sign of the Last Hour is that “Allah will send ‘Eisa bin Maryam, who will come down at the white minaret in the east of Damascus, wearing two Mahrud [garment dyed with Wars and then Saffron], resting his hands on the wings of two angels. When he lowers his head, beads of perspiration will fall from it. Every disbeliever who smells the fragrance of his breath will die, and his breath will reach as far as his eye can see. Then he will set out and catch up with him (the Dajjal) at the gate of Ludd, and will kill him. Then the Prophet of Allah ‘Eisa will come to some people whom Allah has protected, and he will wipe their faces and tell them of their status in Paradise.”³⁷

In the Hebrew Scriptures, Zechariah the prophet records something similar but quite different: “Behold, the Day of the Lord comes, and the plunder taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city will be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women raped; and half of the city will go into exile, and the remnant of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet will stand on that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives will be split in its midst toward the east and toward the west, and there will be a very great valley; and half of the mountain will be moved toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”³⁸

There is a passage in Joel the prophet which gives more detail to this scenario. God says: “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come to pass, that whoever will call on the Name of the Lord will be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the remnant those whom the Lord will call.

“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I will bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will enter into judgment with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and have divided My land.”³⁹ Again, some things are similar to what is presented in the ahadith; but much is quite different.

Concerning the Biblical prophecies of judgment, it is important to keep in mind that some of them can be averted. God promises both individuals and nations that a change in their behavior will result in a change in their destiny. The Gibeonites escaped the destruction that God had decreed for them by making a peace and mutual defense treaty with the Children of Israel.

Centuries later, God sent Jonah the prophet to proclaim His judgment on the city of Nineveh. In response, the king and the people turned away from their evil deeds, fasted, covered themselves in sackcloth and ashes, and cried out to God. “And God saw their doings, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil which He had said that He would do to them; and He did not do it.”⁴⁰

In the Hebrew Scriptures, God’s mercy is available to those who turn to Him. “And when I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ if he turns away from his sin, and does that which is lawful and right; If the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he will surely live; he will not die. All the sins that he has sinned will not be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he will surely live.’”⁴¹

The same is true for nations. “The moment I speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom that I will pluck it up, and I will pull it down, and I will destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the evil that I intended to do to it.”⁴² In the Bible, and in the Quran, God makes it clear that everyone needs mercy, because everyone deserves judgment for his, her, or their sins.

There is a contrary human tendency to self-righteousness. Though we have ample evidence to the contrary, we tend to proclaim ourselves righteous. In the Hebrew Scriptures, God clearly says that this is not wise. In the words of King Solomon, the wise: “He who covers his sins will not prosper; but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”⁴³

Every individual and every nation will give account to God, both in this Age and in the Age to Come. Each is responsible before God for their actions, and we are not wise to ignore that. If we recognize this inalienable responsibility, we then seek to confess and forsake our sins — we seek to make restitution — even if it is generations later.

Some of our afflictions — past, present, and future — are self-inflicted. Some come because of our own self-will which we confuse with the will of God. Truly great individuals choose what is a truly pleasing priority to God, rather than their own desires: “whosoever saves the life of one, it is as though he saved the life of mankind altogether.”

FOOTNOTES

1. Coughlin,Great Detriment, p.171, cf. National Society of Defense – The Seat of the Caliphate, “A Universal Proclamation to All the People of Islam,” The Seat of the Caliphate: The Ottoman Empire: Muta’at al Hairayet, 1313/1915, trans. American Agency and Consulate, Cairo, in U.S. State Department document 867.4016/57, 10 March 1915
2. ibid. p.276
3. 1915 Fatwa, p.9, cited in Coughlin, Great Detriment, p.281 n.537
4. “Lawyer Raphael Lemkin, the coiner of the word and later its champion at the United Nations, repeatedly stated that early exposure to newspaper stories about Ottoman crimes against Armenians was key to his beliefs about the need for legal protection of groups (a core element in the UN Genocide Convention of 1948).” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-armenian-genocide-1915-16-overview
5. Henry Morgenthau, Sr., Ambassador Morganthau’s Story, (Detroit: Wayne State University, 2003) pp.112-118. cited in Coughlin, Great Detriment, pp.275-277. Thousands of Armenians had been massacred in the 1890s.
6. “Useful Idiot,” Mark Y. Herring, review of Stalin’s apologist : Walter Duranty, the New York Times man in Moscow, by S.J. Taylor, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990)

http://www.ukemonde.com/news/usefulidiot.html

7. Deuteronomy 29:28 in Hebrew
8. Hadith No. 48 From: Sahih Bukhari. Chapter 2, Belief. Narrated/Authority of Abu Huraira
9. Mark 13:32
10. Sahih Muslim Book 41, Number 6988
11. Matthias 7:15-17
12. 2Peter 2:1
13. Jeremiah 14:14
14. Sahih Muslim Book 41, Number 6985. http://www.hadithcollection.com/ “The last hour” is understood to mean the Day of Judgment.
15. Al-Bukhari, p.877-878. Chapter 2. [6:514-O.B.]
16. The Myth of An Antisemitic Genocide in Muslim Scripture, Omar Suleiman, Nazir Khan, & Justin Parrott, Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, 2017, pp.4, 5 Sahih Muslim Book 41, Number 7034 says, “The Dajjal would be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing Persian shawls.” The Myth points out “this number amounts to less than 0.5% of the global population, a tiny fraction…” p.4n.2
17. Sahih al Bukhari 53. The book of Jihad, Chapter 43. Fighting against the Turks. 1262. p.601 (Bukhari 4:179) This is the very next hadith after “Fighting against the Jews”.
18. Sahih Muslim Book 41, Number 6898, Chapter 4 : WHEN TWO MUSLIMS CONFRONT EACH OTHER WITH SWORDS
19. “Forty Hadith on Divine Mercy,” The Royal Aal A l-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Jordan, 2009, p.22
20. Hadith No: 3959. From: Sunan Ibn Majah. Chapter 39, The Chapters on TribulationsNarrated/Authority of Abu Musa
21. Sahih Muslim Book 41, Number 6902, Chapter 4.

www.hadithcollection.com

22. Quran, The Cow/Barqarah 2:111-112
23. Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 0430
24. Hadith No. 54 From: Sahih Bukhari. Chapter 3, Knowledge. Narrated/Authority of Abu Huraira
25. Hadith No: 4043. From: Sunan Ibn Majah. Chapter 39, The Chapters on Tribulations. Narrated/Authority of Hudhaifah bin Yaman
26. Hadith No: 146. Sahih Bukhari. Chapter 17, Invoking Allah for Rain (Istisqaa). Narrated/Authority of Abu Huraira (See Hadith No. 85 Vol 1)
27. Sahih Muslim, 041: 7023: Chapter 021
28. Sahih Muslim Book 41, Number 6951

www.iium.edu.my/deed/hadith/muslim/041_smt.html

29. Hadith No: 4046. From: Sunan Ibn Majah. Chapter 39, The Chapters on Tribulations, Narrated/Authority of Abu Hurairah. Other ahadith say, “ninety-nine out of one hundred,” e.g. Sahih Muslim Book 41, Numbers 6918, cf. 6922.
30. Hadith No: 493. From: Sahih Bukhari. Chapter 24, Obligatory Charity Tax (Zakat). Narrated/Authority of Abu Huraira
31. Sahih Muslim Book 1, Number 0289 “Narrated by Abu Huraira”

https://www.iium.edu.my/deed/hadith/muslim/001a_smt.html

32. Hadith No: 4055 From: Sunan Ibn Majah. Chapter 39, The Chapters on Tribulations. Narrated/Authority of Hudhaifah bin Asid, Abu Sarihah
33. Hadith No: 4041 From: Sunan Ibn Majah. Chapter 39, The Chapters on Tribulations, Narrated/Authority of Hudhaifah bin Asid
34. Hadith No: 4068 From: Sunan Ibn Majah. Chapter 39, The Chapters on Tribulations. Narrated/Authority of Abu Hurairah.
35. Joshua 10:12-14
36. 2Kings 20:9-11
37. Hadith No: 4075 From: Sunan Ibn Majah. Chapter 39, The Chapters on TribulationsNarrated/Authority of Nawwas bin Saman Al-Kilabi
38. Zechariah 14:1-4
39. Joel 3:3-5, 4:1-2
40. Jonah 3:10
41. Ezekiel 33:14-16
42. Jeremiah 18:7-8
43. Proverbs 28:13