UNDERSTANDING SYRIA TODAY: Madinah returns to the centre stage in Akhir al Zamaan by Imran Hosein

In just another 10 years from now in the month of Rabi al­Thani 1443 the world of Islam will mark the 100th anniversary of the transfer of power in Makkah from the Ottoman Turks to the Arab Sultan ‘Abd al­’Aziz Ibn Saud. Troops loyal to the Sultan of Najd conquered Makkah in the month of Rabi al­Thani 1343 (i.e., October 30th 1924 in Pope Gregory’s western Christian Catholic calendar) in consequence of which ‘Abd al­’Aziz eventually proclaimed himself Sultan of Najd and King of Hejaz.

In 10 years from now it will also be a hundred years since Makkah and Madinah were taken out of Dajjal’s Ottoman frying pan only to enter into Dajjal’s Saudi­-Wahhabi fire. Let there be no doubt in the reader’s mind that after having shamelessly aligned Saudi Arabia with the Zionist Anglo­American Judeo-­Christian alliance for the longest while, Saudi Arabia’s leaders have now made that State a strategic ally of the Zionist State of Israel. And hence it is clear that they work for al­ Masih al ­Dajjal, i.e., Dajjal the false Messiah or Anti­-Christ. This is perhaps the implication of the vision in which Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) saw Dajjal making Tawaf around the Ka’aba. There is also considerable evidence that the Ottomans acted, consciously or unconsciously, on Dajjal’s behalf by rendering considerable assistance to western Christianity. They did so by repeatedly plunging a vicious and venomous knife for some 600 years into the heart of its rival, i.e. eastern Christianity or Rum. This was in accord with Dajjal’s agenda since it was western Christians who made an alliance with Jews, and it is that alliance which brought Israel into being. Rum never made such an alliance with the Jews! The predictable result was intense hatred for Islam and hostility towards Muslims on the part of those in Rum who suffered so unjustly and for so long a period of time. Both the Ottoman State, as well as Saudi Arabia, mysteriously and wickedly disregarded the prophecy of the blessed Prophet that Muslims will make an End­Time alliance with eastern Christianity or Rum. Hence both the Ottomans as well as the Saudi­-Wahhabis rendered strategic assistance to Dajjal.

The Ottoman Empire conquered and occupied much of the Arab world – including the Hejaz – and succeeded in transferring the capital of the Khilafah (Caliphate) – for the first time ever – out of the Arab world to the former Christian Byzantine city of Constantinople in Euro­Asia. The Ottomans hardly had any credentials to rule over the heart­land of Islam. Yet, in accordance with Dajjal’s plan, they did so for more than 400 years until a European­ engineered Arab Spring dismantled Ottoman rule, destroyed the institution of the Khilafah, and installed pro-­western rulers over the Arabs (including the Hijaz). The destruction of the Khilafah and transfer of power to pro­-western Arab rulers paved the way for a State of Israel to be successfully established in a Holy Land that was located in the very heart of the Arab world. Without 400 years of imperial Ottoman rule over the Arabs, followed by that ‘Arab Spring’, the Zionist State of Israel could never have been established. Sharif al-­Husain, the Ottoman­ appointed Arab Sharif of Makkah, did claim the Khilafah for himself, in response to the Turkish abolition of the Khilafah, but it was too late for an Arab Khilafah to be restored. Britain used ‘Abd al­’Aziz Ibn Saud to make short work of that short­lived Arab Khilafah and to then ensure that the Khilafah of Islam could never be restored so long as the Saudi-­Wahhabis controlled the Hejaz. Husain had to flee, and the subsequent Saudi­Wahhabi rule over the Hejaz ensured (from a British view) that the Khilafah remained permanently buried – never to be restored (see my book entitled ‘The Caliphate the Hijaz and the Saudi­Wahhabi Nation­State’ on my website: http://imranhosein.org/books/126-the-caliphate-the-hijaz-and-the-saudi-wahabi-nation-state.html

For just over 400 years of Ottoman rule Makkah and Madinah remained gloriously restricted and cleverly suppressed as places of grand annual pilgrimages, without even a hint of these now­remote cities playing any other role in Islamic affairs. However when the Saudi­-Wahhabis took over the Haramain al­-Sharifain they launched a sinister effort to exploit the Hajj of 1344 to gain political and religious legitimacy in the world of Islam for their rule over the Hejaz and the Haramain. The effort failed. They then proceeded to exploit the city of the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) for propagating an Islamic creed with a one­eyed epistemology that robbed Arab Islamic scholarship of spiritual insight (firasah al­mu’min). Madinah became a university town with an agenda of refashioning both Arab and non­-Arab Islamic thought in such wise that scholars could ensure that the purest expression of Islam would prevail in Madinah. Instead, that ‘purest’ expression of Saudi Islam produced Islamic scholars who could no longer distinguish between appearance and reality in matters pertaining to Dajjal. As a consequence Saudi Arabia could bury the Khilafah and continue to maintain fraternal ties with the Zionist West with no significant scholarly religious opposition. In fact, University scholars and students who dared to challenge the Saudi­-Wahhabi agenda that has now culminated in secret alliance with Israel could even lose their heads.

 

Jerusalem Moves To Center ­Stage 

During these more than six centuries while Madinah remained a back­water town, and subsequently became a mournfully silent one­eyed university town, a Judeo­Christian Anglo­American alliance (which nurtured the Zionist Movement from its very birth) moved incrementally and successfully to take Jerusalem to center­stage in world affairs. Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) prophesied as much when he said:

Narrated Mu’adh ibn Jabal: The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said:

The flourishing state of Jerusalem will be when Yathrib (i.e., the city of Madinah) will be desolate; the desolate state of Yathrib will be when the great war comes; the outbreak of the great war will be (followed by) the conquest of Constantinople; and the conquest of Constantinople will be (followed by) Dajjal’s (Antichrist) coming forth (i.e., appearing or emerging). He (the Prophet) then he tapped with his hand the thigh or the shoulder of the one to whom he was talking and said: This is certainly true like you are (sitting) here (he meant Mu’aadh ibn Jabal). (Sunan Abi Daud)

Great Wars Will Soon Lead to the Conquest of Constantinople

This essay presents a viewpoint that we are now located at that moment in time when Jerusalem is flourishing while Madinah, in comparison to Jerusalem, is in a state of silent mournful desolation – playing absolutely no role whatsoever in the affairs of either the world of Islam or the world at large. If this viewpoint is correct, then the implication would be that we can now expect great wars prophesied in the above Hadith to soon commence. This writer expects those wars to commence within the next few months of the publication of this essay. Those wars will eventually provoke civil war in Turkey which, in turn, will result in the prophesied End­Time conquest of Constantinople in contra­distinction to the barbarous Ottoman conquest of the city that was disgraceful and an embarrassment to Islam. It is only after the coming Islamic conquest of Constantinople, at which time the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia will be returned to the Eastern Christianity with an apology, and the city will recover the name of Constantinople, it is only then that ‘a day like a week’ will end (see Jerusalem in the Qur’an) and Dajjal will appear in person while attempting to rule the world from Jerusalem (see above Hadith).

It is difficult to anticipate how the Turkish civil war will take place. But it entirely possible that a Turkish military adventure into Syria to bring about such regime change as would advance the Zionist agenda, could provoke the Turkish Muslims to commence the effort to free Turkey from NATO’s venomous embrace. That effort can be assisted by Arab fighters flocking to Turkey from all over the Arab world. The world can also witness fighters flowing into Turkey from Albania, Bosnia, Azerbaijan and other neighboring territories. There are many who would argue that the prophecy concerning the conquest of Constantinople has already been fulfilled, and hence it is necessary for us to address the subject at some length.

Has the Conquest of Constantinople Already Occurred?

The blessed Prophet was full of praise for the army that would accomplish that conquest, and for the Amir who would command that army:

“Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her leader be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!” ( Musnad, Imam Ahmad)

When secular Turkish nationalists conquered the city and proceeded to establish the modern secular Republic of Turkey in 1923, they chose Istanbul as the official name of the city and prohibited the use of the previous name or names; as a consequence the name ‘Constantinople’ has been receding from common vocabulary. Indeed it now appears to have entered into the museum of history. Istanbul was not a new name. It was one of several names previously used for the city. However the name by which the city was best known was without doubt the name of Constantinople. And the prohibition of the use of any other name appears to have directed primarily against the use of that most well­known name. There is a reason why the name of the city was changed, and the use of other names prohibited, and this essay explains that reason.

It is commonly believed that this prophecy of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was fulfilled in 1453 when the Ottoman Turks, under the command of the young Sultan Muhammad (Mehmet) Fatih, conquered Constantinople. However the hadith quoted below makes it quite clear that the conquest will take place in Akhir al­Zaman just prior to the appearance of the Anti­Christ (or al­Masih al­Dajjal) in person (i.e., in the form of a human being who would declare that he is the Messiah):

Narrated Mu’adh ibn Jabal: The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said:

…the outbreak of the great war will be (followed by) the conquest of Constantinople; and the conquest of Constantinople will be (followed by) Dajjal’s (Antichrist) coming forth (i.e., appearing or emerging)… (Sunan, Abi Daud)

The essentially godless secular Turkish nationalists did not want Muslims to ever realize that the conquest of Constantinople prophesied by Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa salaam) had not as yet occurred, and was still to come; and that appears to be at least one of the reasons why they changed the name of the city. Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) used the name Constantinople (al­Konstantaniyyah in Arabic) when he prophesied about the city. He did not use any other name. Hence if that name were to be relegated to a museum, it was quite possible that Muslim attention would be diverted from the implications of the prophecy.

We pointed out earlier that we are now located at that moment in history when Jerusalem is flourishing while Madina is in a state of desolation. Hence it is clear that the world now stands on the brink of great wars which, in turn, will provoke the prophesied Muslim conquest of Constantinople. That Muslim conquest will not only liberate the city from godless nationalist Turkish rule, but also extricate and liberate the city from NATO’s venomous Zionist embrace.

In the unlikely event that further evidence is required to prove our thesis, we now present further evidence which prove beyond doubt that the 1453 Ottoman conquest of Constantinople could not have been the conquest prophesied by Prophet Muhammad  (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).

 

Consider the following:

The army that conquered Constantinople was comprised of several units. Some were volunteers who were attracted by the prospect of looting the city. Others were well­ trained regular  troops drawn from all parts of the Ottoman Empire. But at the heart of that Ottoman army was the best­trained elite unit of Janissaries. These were comprised of Christian children who were taken by force from their parents (in territories conquered by the Ottomans), and who were then converted to Islam by force and were given the best military training possible. They all owed their loyalty personally to the Sultan. Never in the history of Islam did Muslims ever disgrace Islam in such a way as to seize Christian children and convert them by force to Islam, and to then use them as such an elite fighting force that was supposed to be fighting in the name of Islam. This was manifestly sinful, monstrously embarrassing and a direct violation of Allah’s command in the Qur’an prohibiting conversion to Islam by force. The predictable result was to create eternal hatred and enmity for Islam and Muslims in the territories from which these Christian children were abducted. Those eastern Christian territories were precisely the Rum concerning whom the Prophet prophesied that Muslims would enter into an End­Time alliance (i.e., with them).

When the Ottoman army broke through the defenses of the city and finally succeeded in entering the city as conquerors, what followed was “killing, looting, raping, burning and enslaving”. This may have been, and may still be the way that armies behave when they conquer a city, but this was not the way of Islam which enjoins respect and protection for the lives and honour of women, children, the elderly and those – like priests – whose lives are devoted to religion. Indeed there is evidence that even the Christian churches and monasteries were violated by the rampaging so­called Islamic army which broke in and proceeded to rape, plunder and kill even inside the church. The Sultan gave permission for this to continue, unrestricted by any ethical norms of warfare, for a period of three days. The Ottomans were unconcerned about the fact that Constantinople was the capital city of Byzantine Christianity (or Rum). Such conduct on the part of the Ottoman army ensured eternal hatred for Islam in Byzantium.

But the conduct of the Sultan himself, as soon as he entered the city, was deplorable. He disgracefully and sinfully ordered that the great Byzantine Cathedral of Hagia Sophia which had been constructed 1000 years earlier by the Emperor Justinian, to be converted into a Masjid. When Muslims conquered Jerusalem at the time of the Khilafah of Umar bin al­Kahttab, the Patriach of Jerusalem, Sophronius, refused to hand over the city to other than the Khalifah himself. Umar had to travel from Madinah to Jerusalem to accept the keys to the city. While he was being escorted on a tour of the holy churches of Jerusalem the time for Salat arrived and the Patriach graciously invited Umar to perform his Salat right there in the Church of the Resurrection. Umar declined because he feared that it might constitute grounds for Muslims to subsequently convert the church to a Masjid. The Ottoman conversion of Hagia Sophia to a Masjid was not an ordinary event. This was the greatest and most magnificent church in the entire Christian world. It had retained that position for 1000 years. In converting the church to a Masjid the Sultan not only embarrassed the world of Islam, but also drove a venomous knife into the very heart of eastern Byzantine Christianity that would never ever be forgotten. While others may convert churches, monasteries and even masajid (e.g. Cordoba) an Amir who is personally praised by the Prophet himself cannot be expected to descend to that disgraceful standard of conduct.

We may note finally that Ottoman Sultans never married – because they did want to be encumbered with respect for legal rights which Islam gave to wives and to blood brothers (in matters pertaining to succession to leadership in a hereditary system of leadership). And so they restricted themselves to sleeping with slaves. Islam restricted a man to four wives, but there was no restriction as to how many female slaves he could own and with whom he could sleep. And so Ottoman Sultans had a stable of slaves referred to as the Harem. These women were almost exclusively taken from conquered Christian territories. They had no rights. The prophet of Islam had commanded: Give your slaves to eat the food that you yourself eat, and give them to wear the clothes that you yourself wear. Thus Islam restored the humanity of slaves and gave them rights. The Ottoman Sultans on the other hand, would sleep with a slave woman, and if she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, he would then terminate all sexual contact with her. He did this to ensure that she would have no more children, and hence no rivals to her son if he were ever to become Sultan himself. The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) declared that “marriage was a half of faith”. It is not at all possible that the blessed prophet would condone such conduct on the part of Ottoman Sultans.

It is clear to this writer that Sultan Muhammad Fatih could not qualify as the Amir mentioned in the hadith; nor could that Ottoman army which he led qualify as the army mentioned in the hadith. The implication is that the Muslim conquest of Istanbul or Constantinople is an event which is yet to occur. The reader is encouraged to study the subject further and to then come to his own conclusion.

 

Madinah Returns To Center-­Stage

This essay presents arguments and evidence that Madinah will soon be liberated from being a back­water silent Saudi­-Wahhabi university town into a city that will dramatically occupy center­stage in the affairs of the world, and this should warm the hearts of Muslims around the world. Central to this thesis is the End-­Time prophecy that the Arabs will be destroyed by epidemics (formerly referred to as plagues):

Narrated Auf bin Malik: I went to the Prophet during the Ghazwa of Tabuk while he was sitting in a leather tent. He said, “Count six signs that indicate the approach of the Hour: my death, the conquest of Jerusalem, a plague that will afflict you (and kill you in great numbers) as the plague that afflicts sheep, the increase of wealth to such an extent that even if one is given one hundred Dinars, he will not be satisfied; then an affliction which no Arab house will escape, and then a Truce between you and Banu Al­Asfar who will betray you and attack you under eighty flags. Under each flag will be twelve thousand soldiers. (Sahih Bukhari)

Abdullah bin Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “There will come a calamity which will wipe out the Arabs. Their slain will be in hell. The tongue will be more severe in this than the blow of the sword.” (Tirmiidhi, Ibn Majah)

There is evidence that the present ‘Arab Spring’ which commenced more than one year ago, like the one which preceded it one hundred years before, was Judeo­-Christian­European crafted, and is meant to prepare the way for an Arab slaughter which will facilitate the imposition of Israeli political and economic dominion over the Arabs. It is almost certain that Zionists will soon wage biological war against the Arabs (on Dajjal’s behalf) as prophesied by the Prophet, with which to bring about a substantial reduction in the population of the Arab world. There are several Ahadith which inform us that neither plague nor Dajjal can enter Makkah and Madinah:

Abu Huraira (radiallahu ‘anhu) said: The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: There are angels at the entrances of Madinah. Neither plagues nor Dajjal shall enter it. (Sahih Bukhari)

Our view, and Allah Knows best, is that this prophecy pertains to the biological attack on the Arabs that would be launched on Dajjal’s behalf (hence the juxtaposition of plague with Dajjal in the Hadith). Hence our conclusion is that Makkah and Madinah are destined to dramatically recover center­stage in Islamic and world affairs when the two cities provide dramatic and providential safety at that time when the biological attack on the Arabs is launched.

But Madinah, the university town with the purest expression of Saudi-­Wahhabi Islam, is destined to play an even greater and more dramatic role in history, – a role that will be  profoundly embarrassing for the Saudi­-Wahhabi expression of Islam.

 

Madinah Will Eclipse Makkah at Center­-Stage

It is not at all difficult for us to anticipate large­scale movement of Arabs to Makkah and Madinah as soon as Israel commences her great wars. One can even expect that this essay might possibly provoke that movement to commence even before the wars begin. The Arabs will do so since they will be in a state of expectation of the epidemics that are prophesied to decimate or wipe out the Arabs. When Makkah and Madinah are over­flowing with Arabs seeking safety and refuge from death by plague, that mass gathering will surely provoke a spontaneous and volatile combustion between those with the chemical of faith in Islam in their hearts on the one hand, and those who serve Dajjal on the other.

It is easy today to recognize those Arabs who serve Dajjal since they are the ones who are shamelessly and sinfully supported the recent unjust NATO overthrow of the Libyan regime, and are now beating drums in support of an equally unjust Israeli/Turkish/NATO war on Syria and on Iran. They have forgotten that the Qur’an has prohibited Muslims from being friends and allies of a Judeo­Christian alliance (al­Maida 5:51) and has also prohibited unjust war while enjoining absolute justice!

The spontaneous combustion in Madinah is destined to lead to dramatic events with a potential to profoundly embarrass that ‘purest’ expression of Saudi Islam. The Prophet prophesied the following:

Anas Ibn Malik (radiallahu ‘anhu) said: The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said:

There is no town that Dajjal will not enter except Makkah and Madinah. There is no entrance of its entrances that is not guarded by angels in rows.  Then, Madinah will quake with its people three times, and then Allah will bring out of it every kafir and munafiq (hypocrite).  (Sahih Bukhari)

Anas Ibn Malik said: The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: There is no town that Dajjal will not enter except Makkah and Madinah. There is no entrance of its entrances that is not guarded by angels in rows. Dajjal will camp at a salty barren area, then Madinah will shake three times, and then every kafir and munafiq (hypocrite) will come out of it to join him. In a similar narration with the same final chain of transmission, he says instead: He shall come to the barren salty area of Juruf and set up his camp. And he also said: And then every male and female hypocrite will come out to join him. (Sahih Muslim)

Abu Huraira said: The Messenger of Allah sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: The False Messiah will come from the east, intending to go to Medina, until he encamps behind Uhud.
Then, angels will divert his face (his direction) toward Sham (The North, i.e., Greater Syria), and there he dies.(Sahih Muslim)

These Ahadith indicate that Israel will eventually attack the Hijaz. At that time Dajjal will be the leader of the Jewish State. Perhaps the Israeli forces will launch that attack because of the belief that Madinah is a part of the Holy Land (since the Jews lived in Madina for a long time). When Israeli forces land outside Madinah, every supporter of the Zionists will leave the city to join the Israelis. The three times that Madinah will shake (resulting in the city being emptied of all Kuffar or disbelievers and Munafiqun or hypocrites) could, perhaps, represent three revolutionary Islamic uprisings that would send tremors around the world.

In addition of course, there is also the well ­known phenomenon of ‘rats leaving a sinking ship’. But this ship would not sink. Instead the angels would then divert the Israeli attack to Damascus and it would be at that time that Nabi ‘Isa (‘alaihi al­Salam) the true Messiah would dramatically descend to kill Dajjal the false Messiah. It should please the heart of every sincere Muslim that the city of the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) is destined to play such a dramatic and strategic role in Akhir al­-Zaman when it returns to center­-stage in both International and Islamic Affairs to separate those who remain faithful to Islam from those who have become Kuffar and Munafiqun while serving the Anglo-­American Judeo-­Christian Zionist alliance. How wonderful it would on that day for the world to witness the angels purifying and defending the city of the blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and diverting the Israeli attack to Damascus. One can only wonder how many scholars – if any – would be left in the Saudi­-controlled Islamic University of Madinah after Madinah has shaken three times! May Allah guide and strengthen the sincere scholars of Islam in Saudi Arabia to rise up before Madinah shakes three times. Amin!

(This writer gratefully acknowledges the expertise of Dr Tammam ‘Adi in the translation of some of the above Ahadith to English. He is also indebted to his dear friend and brother, Muhammad Alamgir in Sydney, who read the first draft of this essay and alerted him to the Ottoman connection with Dajjal’s plan to demolish the Khilafah.)