Khuddam USA Souvenir 1989 — Page 5
HOLY PROPHET MOHAMMAD (Peace and Blessings of Allah Be Upon Hlm) On the Advent of the Messiah 1. THE DECLINE OF ISLAM Ali (r. a a. ) relates that the Holy Prophet (s. a. w. ) said: A time will come when nothing will remain of Islam except its name and nothing will remain of the Quran except its script. Mosques will be full of worshippers, but as far as righteousness is concerned they will be empty and deserted Their "ulama" (religious scholars) will be worst of crea tur es under the canopy of the heavens Evil plots will originate from tht. m and to them will they return. (M1shkat) 2. THE RIGHTEOUS SECT Abdullah bin 'Amar (raa. ) relates that the Holy Prophet (s. aw. ) said. Surely things will happen to my people as happened earlier to the Israelites They will resemble each other like one shoe in a pair resembles the other- to the extent that if anyone among the Israelites had openly committed adultery with his mother, there will be some who would do this in my um mah (people) as well Verily, the lsraehtes were d1v1ded into 72 sects. but my people will be divided into 73 sects All of them will be in the Fire except one. The Companions asked, Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? The Holy Prophet (s. a. w) said: They are the people who will follow my practice and that of my companions (Tirmidhi) 3. ADVENT OF A REFORMER Abu Hurairah (ra. a) narrates: When Sura Jum ·a (chapter 62) of the Holy Quran was revealed to the Holy Prophet (s. aw. ) we happened to be there in his company When he recited the verse "wa akhareena minhum lamma yalhaqoo bihim," that IS, ffthose of th em who would come later and have not yet 1oined them" (This phrase is a part of a verse mentioning the first advent of the Holy Prophet (s. a. w. ), followed by a refer- ence to the future events saying that in the latter days also there would be some people who would attain the rank of the earlier followers of the Holy Prophet (s. a. w. ). Apparently, it speaks of a second advent of the Holy Prophet (s. a. w. ) in the latter days, because this subclause is governed by the verb used earlier to refer to the first advent of the Holy Prophet (s. a. w. )J. One of those present asked, Who are they? O Messenger of Allah' The Holy Prophet (s. a w. ) did not pay attention. The man repeated the question two or three times. At that time Salman the Persian was also sitting among us The Holy Prophet (s. a. w. ) turned to him, placed his hand on him and said, Even if faith ascended to the Pleiades (completely dis- appearing from the earth), there would be some from his people 11n another version "one man" 1s mentioned in- stead of"some people")- who would restore faith (back) to earth" (Bukhari) 4. ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH r ~ Abu Hurairah (r. a. a. ) relates that the Holy Prophet (s. a. w. ) said: By Him in Whose hands is my life. the son of Mary will soon appear among you. He will admintSter justice. He will break the cross, kill the swine, abolish war (for the sake ofrehgion, under Divine guidance) distribute wealth, but no one will accept 1t In those days one prostration before Allah will be better than the world and what 1t contains. In his narration Abu Hurairah (r. a. a. ) states (note that this is the opinion of Abu Hurairah (r a a. ) not the words of the Holy Prophet (s. a w. ) J. If you wish you may read the verse, "Waimmin ahlilkitabi ilia layu'minanna bihee qabla mautih. Wa yaumalqiyamati yakoonu •aJaihim shaheeda'. " And there is none among the People of the Book but will continue to belteve in it before his death: and on the Day of Resurrection, he (Jesus) shall be a witness against them " (Bukhari) 5. EXTEND MY GREETINGS TO THE MESSIAH Anas (r. a. a. ) states that the Holy Prophet (s. aw. ) said· Whoever from among you meels Jesus, son of Mary, should convey my greetings to him (Dar Mansoor) 6. MISSION ANO SIGNS OF THE MESSIAH Beware, there will be no prophet or messenger belween Jesus, the son of Mary, and me. Remember, he shall be my Caliph after me to my people. Remember, he will kill Anti- christ , break the Cross, abolish lhe taking of J1zia (tax collected from defeated people), as there would no longer be any war. Remember, whoever meets him should convey my greetings to him. (Tabraani) 7. ACCEPT THE MAHDI Thaubaan (r. a. a. ) relates that the Holy Prophet (s. a. w. ) said: When you find the Mahdi, perform bai'ah (pledge of allegiance) at his hands. You must go to him, even 1f you have to reach him across icebound mountains on your knees. He is the Mahdi and the Caliph of Allah. 8. SIGN OF ECLIPSES Muhammad bin Ali (r. a. a) said. (lbn Maajah) Surely two signs will appear for our Mahdi which have never appeared before (as signs of trulh for anyone else), since the creation of heaven and earth. Jn the month of Ramadhan, the moon will be eclipsed on the first of its nights (of eclipse). * and the sun will be eclipsed on the middle day (of its days of eclipse). Both these eclipses will take place in the same month of Ramadhan. And these two signs have never occurred before since Allah created the heavens and the earth. (Sunan Dar Qutni) 9. MESSIAH WILL BE ONE OF YOU Abu Hurairah (r. a. a. ) relates that the Holy Prophet (s. a. w. ) said: What a (wretched) state you will be in when the son of Mary will descend among you while he will be your Imam (religious leader) from among you? In another version it is said, "He will lead you from among you. " (Bukhari) •obviously the first night of the month is not meant here. because the moon is not referred to as "hilal" (crescent) the word applicable to the first three days of the moon's appear- ance. Moreover, the moon of the first night can never be eclipsed, not to mention the difficulty of sighting it. Khuddam- ul -Ahmadiyya U. SA. - 5. .