The Arrival of Masih ad-Dajjal . Antichrist . Armilus

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Masih ad-Dajjal (Arabic: المسيح الدجّال‎ al-Masīḥ ad-Daǧǧāl, Arabic for "the false messiah"), is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology.[1] He is to appear pretending to be Masih (i.e. the Messiah) at a time in the future, before Yawm al-Qiyamah (Judgment Day), directly comparable to the figures of the Antichrist and Armilus in Christian and Jewish eschatology, respectively.


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Signs of his coming

Hadith attributed to Muhammad give many signs of the appearance of the Dajjal, and exhorted his followers to recite the first and last ten verses of Sura Al-Kahf, as protection from the trials and mischief of the Dajjal.[citation needed]

The following signs are ascribed to Ali in the coming of Dajjal:[7]

    People will stop offering the prayers
    Dishonesty will be the way of life
    Falsehood will become a virtue
    People will mortgage their faith for worldly gains
    Usury and bribery will become legitimate
    Imbeciles would rule over the wise
    Blood of innocents would be shed
    Books about the quote "As a man thinketh"
    Pride will be taken on acts of oppression
    The rulers will be corrupt
    The scholars will be hypocrites
    Adultery will be rampant
    The liars and treacherous will be respected
    There will be acute famine at the time
    There will be no shame amongst people
    Children would challenge their mothers
    Youngsters would perform marital relationship with their parents
    Many people would worship Satan
    There would be no respect for elder people

....

Eschatology

The Dajjal will appear somewhere between Syria and Iraq and will travel the whole world preaching his falsehood, but will be unable to enter Mecca or Medina.[9] Isa (Jesus) will return and the Dajjal will gather an army of those he has deceived and lead them in a war against Jesus, who shall be accompanied by an army of the righteous.


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Ahmadiyya beliefs

Ahmadis believe that Dajjal is not a physcial person as quoted in the hadith but is a name given to the European nations, Secularism and Christianity of today. The purpose of the Jesus coming means that a man from Muslims will come and will prove the truth of Islam on the Christians and Secular people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masih_ad-Dajjal


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b]The Arrival of Masih ad-Dajjal . Antichrist . Armilus[/b]
By alfaarooq1

In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful

Welcome to the Great Kingdom of Islaam

Topic: Masih ad-Dajjal . Antichrist . Armilus

Masih ad-Dajjal (Arabic: المسيح الدجّال‎ al-Masih ad-Dajjal, Arabic for "the false messiah") is an evil spirit figure. He is to appear pretending to be Masih (i.e. the Messiah) at a time, before Yawm al-Qiyamah (Judgment Day), directly comparable to the figures of the Antichrist and Armilus in Christian and Jewish eschatology, respectively. Al-Masih ad-Dajjal refers to "the deceiving Messiah", a specific end-of times deceiver. Mšiha Daggala,  as used in the Syriac Language.

The Masih ad-Dajjal is an Evil Spirit, to the liking of Iblees (The Devil), he will be similar to the making of mankind in appearance and will be to the liking in abilities of the Jin (unseen spirits made from fire), he will be one eyed (i.e. he will only see naari Baatil, Kufr and Evil), he will have the letters KFR (Kufr/ Disbelief) on his forehead, he will call mankind to total destruction (Idolism: Democracy), he will claim to be a prophet then claim to be the Almighty, he will perform miraculous things to lure people into Shirk and Kufr and ultimately those who follow him will go to Hell.  Isa Ibn Maryam and Imam Mahdi are the Two Witnesses of the End Time who will fight the Dajjal and defeat him with Al Haqq.

According to Hadith tradition of, Nabi (Prophet) Mohammed Sallallahu Alaihi Wa'salaam, he prophesized that the Masih-ad-Dajjal would be the last of a series of thirty Dajjals or "deceivers" (Masih-ad-Dajjal will be the false prophet).

Hadith attributed to Nabi (Prophet) Mohammed Sallallahu Alaihi Wa'salaam, give many signs of the appearance of the Dajjal, and exhorted his followers to recite the first and last ten verses of Sura Al-Kahf, as protection from the trials and mischief of the Dajjal. It is said that he will have the right eye damaged and the left will be working because knowledge acquired through the right eye can be noori (means that pertaining to light) and through the left naari (that pertaining to fire). It is also said that he will have the word Kafeer (nonbeliever) on his forehead.

The belief is based around the events prior to the Day of Judgment around the Second Coming of Isa Alaihi Salaam, when Ad-Dajjal who is blind in his right eye, shall gather an army of those he has deceived and lead them in a war against Isa Alaihi Salaam, who shall be accompanied by an army of the righteous.

He will appear somewhere between Syria and Iraq, then the Mahdi (Rightly Guided One) will come, at which time Prophet Isa Alaihi Salam will return, the Dajjal will travel the whole world preaching his falsehood (Democracy) but will be unable to enter Mekka or Medina. (See Article: Democracy VS Our Religion) his calling will be like music to which people will dance to his tune [i.e. follow a demonic rule "Demon-Cratic"] under this rule all evils like sodomy, interest, fabrication of faith, murder, oppression, abortion, gambling, extra marital relations etc... will be allowed, women will not cover their modesty, natural disasters will become the order of the day.
The 30 Dajjal's (Deceivers) are people who speak Baatil (Fabrications of Truth)
Hadith

The name given in the hadith to certain religious impostors who shall appear in the world; Nabi Mohammed Sallallahu Alaihi Wa'salaam is related to have said there would be about thirty. These impostors / deceivers are also known as Ulama-e-Soo they will fabricate religion and call people to various forms of Idolism (See Article: Ulama-e-Haqq [Scholars of Truth]  VS Ulama-e-Soo [Evil Scholars of Fabrication] )

The Masihu d-Dajjal or "the lying Christ" it is said will be the last of the Dajjals. According to all the hadiths, the masih dajjal has a blind eye, curly hair and also something wrong with his foot. The Masih Dajjal will first say that he is a prophet and then claim to be the Almighty. He will have a hell fire and a paradise by his side and people who refuse to follow him, will be forced to enter the hell-fire, that accompanies him. However, this will merely be an illusion and this will, in reality be cool and safe for this person.

The Illuminati are Illusionists that give people a false impression of what the truth is, they are all agents of Dajjal [The Evil Spirit] Antichrist, they are preparing for his coming in flesh [i.e. in the appearance of man] the Illuminati come in many forms of groups and man made religions. They teach by the eye of Lucifer [electronic communications TV, Radio, Mobile Phones etc...]; their mass hypnosis of the entire world's population, false news agencies etc... have crept into the homes of the innocent people who follow them blindly. If we look at the Hadith narrated by Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrated, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "No Prophet was sent but he warned his people about the one-eyed liar. He is one-eyed, but your Lord is not one-eyed, and between Dajjaal eyes will be written 'kaafir.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 6598) The Dajjal Antichrist has been around in the form of an Evil Spirit for many years luring Jin and Mankind into Idolism and through his false calling various misleading religions of Idolism and self idolism was formed. If we look at another Hadith it stands as confirmation of this; narrated by 'Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: 'From the time of the creation of Adam until the Hour begins [Judgement Day], there will never be a bigger creation than the Dajjal." (Narrated by Muslim, 5239)

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "There are three things, whoever is saved from them is truly saved: my death, the killing of a patient Khaleefah, and the Dajjaal ('antichrist')."

Ibn Umar radiyallahu anhuma narrates from the Last Prophet regarding Dajjal, '...red complexioned, fat, curly haired man, blind in the right eye which looks like a bulging grape.' (Bukhari)

According to the many Ahaadith describing Dajjal, the most distinguishing feature of his face besides the bulging eye will be the Arabic letters Kaaf (k), Faa (f), Raa (r), on his forehead. These letters spell Kufr (disbelief). All believers, regardless of their literacy will decipher these letters. It has also been ascertained from the Hadith that he will emerge from between Syria and Iraq, and his emergence will become known when he is in Isfahaan, at a place called Judea. He will be of Jewish origin and the Jews of Isfahaan will be his main followers and they will refer to him as the Messiah of Democracy. As he (The Evil Spirit) goes on through the world, Jews and a great number of non-Jewish women will flock to him upon witnessing his false miracles.

Imran ibn Hussain radiyallahu anhu narrated from the Prophet Mohammed (peace & blessings be upon him), 'Those who hear about Dajjal should stay away from him. By Allah! A person will approach him thinking himself to be a believer. But on seeing his amazing feat he will become his follower.'(Abu Dawood)

'The Beast (Evil Spirit) was taken and with him the false prophet (al-Masih ad-Dajjal) who wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them.' (Revelation:19)

The miracles and feats spoken of by the Prophet and John, the writer of the Book of Revelations, are further clarified by the Hadith narrated by Hadhrat Huzaifah radiyallahu anhu: 'Dajjal will be blind in the right eye. He will have thick hair on his body and he will also have Paradise and Hell with him. Though his Paradise will appear as Jannah (Heaven), in reality it will be Hell, and likewise, though his Hell will appear like Jahannnam, in reality it will be Paradise.'(Muslim)

Those who obey the Dark Messiah will enter his Paradise (and thus enter Hell), and those who denounce him will enter his Hell (and so shall in reality be entering Paradise) [i.e. To the liking of the fire that Ibraheem Alaihi Salaam was thrown into, where he lived for fourty days and fourty nights shall be the fire Dajjal presents unto you for it shall be but an Illusion, Allah is our Protecting Friend and Helper.]. He will travel by means of a gigantic mule, at impossible speeds. He will cause droughts and famine upon those who reject him. But the Thikr [remembrance of the true Lord] will satiate them (See Article: Ark of the Covenant . Tabut al Sakina ). Ubadah ibn Saamit radiyallahu anhu narrates from the Noble Prophet, 'If you still have any doubts regarding him (Dajjal), then remember, Allah your Sustainer is not one-eyed.people who believe him will go to hell after life, people who don't believe him will get burned by his smokeless fire.'

A couple of hadith describe the Dajjal as follows:

    Prophet Mohammed narrated:

The Prophet mentioned the Anti-christ Dajjal in front of the people saying, Allah is not one eyed while Anti-christ, Dajjal is blind but one eye will be covered by thick film and the other will be protruding like a bulging out grape.

    Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: "Allah's Apostle said. 'While I was sleeping, I saw myself (in a dream) performing Tawaf around the Ka'ba. Behold, I saw a reddish-white man with lank hair, and water was dropping from his head. I asked, "Who is this?' They (angel jibreel) replied, 'The son of Mary.' Then I turned my face to see another man with a huge body, red complexion and curly hair and blind in one eye. His eye looked like a protruding out grape. They said (to me), He is Ad-Dajjal.' The Prophet added, 'The man he resembled most is Ibn Qatan, a man from the tribe of Khuza'a.'" (Translation of Bukhari ,book 88,volume 9,number 242)

    `Abd Allah ibn `Umar narrated: Once Allah's Apostle stood amongst the people, glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and then mentioned the Dajjal saying, "l warn you against him (i.e. the Dajjal) and there was no prophet but warned his nation against him. No doubt, Noah warned his nation against him but I tell you about him something of which no prophet told his nation before me. You should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed."

    Muhammad told his companions: "Every Messenger of Allah did warn his nation about the trials of Dajjal. Allah, however, delayed Dajjal's birth and did not let him appear until now. Be aware! he will claim to be the Almighty Allah and try to create doubts in your minds. Have a firm belief, the one-eyed creature cannot be your Lord. He will come out riding on a 'donkey', which will have a distance of one mile between its two ears. He will claim to have come with the gifts of paradise and arsenal of hell."

    Al Imam Ali was reported to have said: "His right eye will be punctured, and his left eye would be raised to his forehead and will be sparkling like a star. Only the believers will be able to read the word 'Kufr' [disbelief], inscribed in bold letters, on his forehead. There will be big mountains of smoke at both front and backsides of his caravan. People will anticipate food within those mountains, during the severe famine. He will be riding on a huge white coloured 'donkey' who will cover a mile in a single stride. All rivers, falling in his way, will become dry and he will call upon people in aloud voice, "O my friends come to me! I am your lord who has made your limbs and given you sustenance.

The signs of his coming

The following are signs of the forthcoming of Dajjal:

    People will stop offering the prayers (Salaah)
    Dishonesty will be the way of life (Fabrication)
    Falsehood will become a virtue (Lies)
    People will mortgage their faith for worldly gains (Sell their faith in fabrication for worldly gain)
    Usury and bribery will become legitimate (Capitalism)
    Imbeciles would rule over the wise (Fools instead of true Religious Leaders)
    innocents would be burned by smokeless fire (Innocent People will be killed in Wars)
    Pride will be taken on acts of oppression  (War Crimes will be taken pride of)
    The rulers will be corrupt
    The scholars will be hypocrites (They condemn evil in words but do not act upon it)
    Adultery will be rampant
    Women will dress like men and men will dress like women (Sodomy)
    The liars and treacherous will be respected
    There will be acute famine at the time (Recession)

The Beast of the Earth
Allah says in the Qur'an, "And when the word [message/ command] is fulfilled concerning them. We shall bring forth a Beast of the Earth [Masih ad Dajjal] to speak unto them because mankind had no faith in our revelation." (Surah An-Naml 82)

Abdullah-b-Umar said, "I memorised a Hadith from the Messenger of Allah which I have not forgotten. I heard the Messenger of Allah saying, 'The first of the signs that will come is the rising of the sun from the place of its setting and the emergence of the Beast upon the people. Whichever of these two occurs before the other then the other is right behind it." (Muslim)

Tafsir [Commentating] on the above verse Ibne Kathir has said that the beast [Dajjal] will appear very near the end of time. When disintegration, corruption, kufr and evil prevail, commands of Allah are ignored, the Deen changed and made a mockery of, it is then Allah will take out the Beast from the earth. (Ibne Kathir) [i.e. Various conflicting Sects and Mathabs will be formed]

Imam Hakim in the light of the above Hadith has said that the rising of the sun from the west will take place before the emergence of the Beast [Masih ad Dajjal]. The Beast will appear on the same day the sun has risen from the west or very soon thereafter. Ibne Hajar after quoting Imam Hakim mentions, "The wisdom in the Beast appearing after the sun has risen from the west is that the door of repentance will close at the time the sun rises from the west. Thus the Beast will emerge to distinguish the believers from the non-believers completing the aim of closing the door of repentance." (Fathul-Bari)

 

Biblical verses that confirms the Islamic views:

Masih ad Dajjal's right eye shall be totally blinded (Zechariah 11:17), we also find In the book of Revelation 13, that Saytaan [Satan] is called the Dragon and Dajjal [the Antichrist] is called the Beast who has the blasphemous name of [KFR i.e. Kufr - Disbelief] on his head [i.e. in his face], the Masih ad Dajjal will then be given the authority of evil by Iblees [the Devil], The Antichrist Dajjal will then call people to Kufr and Shirk [i.e. Idolism], he blasphemes the Almighty Allah by associating partners with Him, and he [Antichrist Dajjal] will slander the Name of Allah, then the Antichrist Dajjal will make war against the Mumineen [those who truly believe in Allah], The representatives and followers of Masih ad Dajjal [the Antichrist] will claim that he is with them as the Holy Spirit but they will in fact be demon possessed by the Evil Spirit, they will call themselves Jews and try to lure people into Idolism [Kufr and Shirk] by means of Illusions, they will set up Images of the Antichrist Dajjal for Idolism.

[Conclusion: It is evident from this that it is without doubt Trinitarian beliefs] Our evidence against these false beliefs are recorded in a list of articles and debates [See Article: The lies of Trinity (The False Trinitarian Beliefs)]
Defeat and death of Dajjal

As before, through the medium of the Hadith, the event of Isa's return and all that follows has been accurately recorded. He will descend on Mount Afeeq, on the white Eastern Minaret of Damascus. He will descend from the heavens with his hands resting on the shoulders of two angels. His cheeks will be flat and his hair straight. When he lowers his head it will seem as if water is flowing from his hair, when he raises his head, it will appear as though his hair is beaded with silvery pearls. He will descend during the time of Fajr and the leader of the Muslims (Imam Mohammed al Mahdi) will address him thus, 'O`Prophet of Allah, lead the prayer.'

Isa Alaihi Salaam will decline with the words, 'The virtue of this nation that follows Islam is that they lead each other.' Implying that he will pray behind the imam (leader of the muslims) Al Mahdi, as the deen of Allah was completed after revelation of Qura'n and Nabi Mohammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wa'salaam being the last prophet of Allah.

After the prayer, Isa Alaihi Salaam will prepare himself to do battle and shall take up a spear. An army shall return from a campaign launched before the arrival of Isa [as]. Isa [as] shall set out in pursuit of Masih ad Dajjal. All those who embraced the evil of Dajjal shall perish even as the breath of Isa [as] touches them. The breath of Isa shall precede him as far as the eye can see. Dajjal will be captured at Lydda. The Dark Messiah shall begin to melt, as lead melts in fire. The spear of Isa shall plunge into Dajjal's chest, ending his dreaded reign. The followers of Dajjal will be rooted out, for even the trees and rocks will speak out against them. Then all battles shall cease and the world will know an age of peace (Misianic Age). Then truly the sheep will lie in the shadow of the wolf without fear. The rule of Jesus will be just and all shall flock to him to enter the folds of the one true religion, Islaam.

Imam Mahdi and Nabi Isa Alaihi Salaam will call all of mankind to Islaam [i.e. Total Submission to the will of Allah] and all of  mankind will be united as Allah has commanded from the Ambiya and their Representatives the Ulama-e-Haqq [The Uniting of the Ummah ]

 Beneficial Articles:

In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful

Welcome to the Great Kingdom of Islaam

1)      The Beauty of Islaam

 

2)      The Mumin (True Believer: Arabic: مؤمن‎)

 

3)      Uniting The Muslim World

 

4)      SODOMITES IN THE LIGHT OF ISLAM

 

5)      The Torah and Bible Confirms Islam is the Only True Religion

 

6)      Democracy VS Our Religion

 

7)      Woman's Reflection

 

     Death and the Mu'min (True Believer)

 

9)      Shariah Law: The Perfect and Complete

 

10)  2012 Revival of Islam Campaign

 

11)  Islam Dominates (Rules) The World

 

12)  Reverts to Islaam

 

13)  The UMN Intl Open letter to Vatican and Neturei Karta

 

14)  UMN Fatwa: Can Jews and Christians use the Name of Allah?

 

15)  Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics

 

16)  Is Islam an anti-Christ Movement?

 

17)  THE KINGDOM OF ISLAM

 

18)  ACT Against Crime Together

 

19)  UMN Intl: We applaud the Muslim World

 

20)  Islam: A Light unto the Nations

Brought to you by:

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http://thetruereligion.wordpress.com/20 ... t-armilus/

[Yo Mama]

Islam is just as fraudulent as Christianity.   :roll:

Posted By: Oldspeak @ 01/03/2010 11:45:25 AM

It would probably be helpful if Westerners stopped indulging the notion that Mohammed was a real historical figure. He was made up by the late 7th century caliphate to justify rule along blood lines. Western scholars are skeptical of his historicism. There is no contemporary evidence that he existed. There are no writings of Mohammed, no eyewitness accounts, no contemporary references to him or his actions by historians (of which there were many) inside or outside that part of the world. There are no coins, no artifacts, no buildings in his name, nothing. His case is based strictly on hearsay, forgeries, and absurd interpretations of authentic documents (e.g., the Jacobi Doctrine), and the Mohammed story contradicts many known facts about the region at the time. For example, there was no Mecca in the early 7th century. The first references to him occur about five decades after his supposed death. The oldest known Koran, the Sana'a, was written on palimpset, an erasable parchment. The parchment dates from the late 7th century. The calligraphic writings on it date around 710 ACE, and there are differences with the standard Koran. This is best explained by an ambitious caliphate collating Christian-influenced religious doctrines that had been in circulation, and solidifying it with a compelling story of a divine prophet, to whom they claimed relation.

People have a right to believe what they want to believe, but if they are going to act violent based on certain doctrines, then I don't see that we have any choice but to discredit the doctrines.

[Ahmed]

Good facts CSR, some believe this will happen in our time since all the signs are evident today.

I'm not an Islamic scholar, but there is a Hadith (prophecy) which says Al-Mahdi will arrive from the Khurasan region in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Talmudic Jews and the familiars of Dajjal the anti-Christ are well aware of this, and have tried to subdue Afghanistan many times. In the hope of a Herod style extermination of the one they fear will end their reign and restore justice.

Rothschild has sent three controlled empires against the Afghans: The British Empire could never again raise an army comparable to the one they lost in their wars in Afghanistan. The crypto-Jew dogma of Communism was vanquished there and now Zionism (or Apocalyptic Christian Zionism / U.S. usury based economy) is going the same way.

The Talmudists have run out of shabbos goys to do their bidding and will soon have to turn to their leader; Dajall. This will then lead to the events you've already mentioned. But its by no means guaranteed; if decent people do nothing, then the reign of Dajjal can be a long, drawn out affair. But if they stand up, then the anti-Christ and all the Kaabalists in the world will seem like nothing more than the clowns we know them to be.

[Yo Mama]

Muslim Scholar: Mohammed is a "Myth"
http://brianakira.wordpress.com/2009/02 ... is-a-myth/

Scandal exposes Islam's weakness

By Spengler, Asia Times Online, 2008.11.18

"Did you hear about the German Gnostic?"
"He couldn't keep a secret."

Just such a Teutonic mystic is Professor Muhammad Sven Kalisch, a German convert to Islam who teaches Muslim theology at the University of Munster. Kalisch recently laid a Gnostic egg in the nest of Islam, declaring that the Prophet Mohammed never existed, not at least in the way that the received version of Islamic tradition claims he did. Given that Kalisch holds an academic chair specifically funded to instruct teachers of Islam in Germany's school system, a scandal ensued, first reported in the mainstream English-language press by Andrew Higgins in the November 15 edition of the Wall Street Journal.

On closer reading, Kalisch offers a far greater challenge to Islam than the secular critics who reject its claims. The headline that a Muslim academic has doubts over the existence of the Prophet Mohammed is less interesting than why he has such doubts. Kalisch does not want to harm Islam, but rather to expose what he believes to be its true nature. Islam, he argues, really is a Gnostic spiritual teaching masquerading as myth. Kalisch's heretical variant of Islam may be close enough to the religion's original intent as to provoke a re-evaluation of the original sources.

A labor of love from inside the fortress of Islamic theology may accomplish what all the ballistas of the critics never could from outside the walls. Koranic criticism, I have argued for years (here and elsewhere - You say you want a reformation? Asia Times Online, August 5, 2003) is the Achilles' heel of the religion. That argument has been made about Christianity for years by Elaine Pagels and other promoters of "Gnostic Gospels", and it is dead wrong. In the case of Islam, though, it might be dead accurate.

Kalisch is a Gnostic, a believer in secret spiritual truths that undergird the myths manufactured for the edification of the peasantry. But he is a German Gnostic, and therefore feels it necessary to lay out his secrets in thorough academic papers with extensive footnotes and bibliography. It is a strange and indirect way of validating the dictum of the great German-Jewish theologian Franz Rosenzweig: Islam is a parody of Judaism and Christianity. [See Spengler on Rosenzweig, in First Things, 2007.10]

It is in weird little byways of academia such as Kalisch wanders that the great battles of religion will be fought out, not at academic conferences and photo opportunities with the pope. For example: the Catholic Islamologists who organized the November 4-7 meeting of Catholic and Muslim scholars in Rome envision incremental reforms inside Islam through a more relaxed Turkish version (see A Pyrrhic propaganda victory in Rome Asia Times Online, November 12, 2008 and Tin-opener theology from Turkey Asia Times Online, June 3, 2008). Despite their best efforts at an orderly encounter with Islam, events have a way of overtaking them. Last March, Pope Benedict personally received into the Catholic faith the Egyptian-born Italian journalist Magdi Allam at the Easter Vigil. In September, Kalisch dropped his own bombshell. In a way, it is longer-acting and more deadly.

A small group of Koran scholars, to be sure, has long doubted Mohammed's existence. Their scholarship is sufficiently interesting, though, to question whether it is worthwhile exposing the alleged misdeeds of the Prophet Mohammed, who may not have existed in the first place (The Koranic quotations trap Asia Times Online, May 15, 2007). Earlier this year, I reported on the progress of the critics, as well as belated emergence of a treasure-trove of photocopies of Koranic manuscripts hidden away by Nazi Islamologists (Indiana Jones meets the Da Vinci Code Asia Times Online, January 18, 2008). The Nazis had a Gnostic interest in Islam (call them "Gnazis"). The manuscripts and copies are now under the control of mainstream scholars at the University of Berlin, with deep ties to Arab countries.

Kalisch is the first Muslim scholar to dispute the Prophet's existence, while continuing to profess Muslim. If the Prophet did not exist, or in any case did not dictate the Koran, "then it might be that the Koran was truly inspired by God, a great narration from God, but it was not dictated word for word from Allah to the Prophet", he told a German newspaper. A German Protestant who converted to Islam as a teenager in search of a religion of reason, Kalisch can live with an alternative of reading of Islam. Very few of the world's billion and a half Muslims can.

Islam cannot abide historical criticism of the sort that Judaism and Christianity have sustained for centuries. "Abie, if you're here, then who is that there in my bed?," responds the Jewish wife in the old joke when her husband catches her in delicto flagrante. No one can offer an alternative explanation for the unique persistence of the Jewish people after 30 documented centuries of Jewish life. "If Moses didn't exist," the Jews respond to skeptics, "then who brought us out of Egypt?" Told that perhaps they didn't come out of Egypt, the Jews will respond, "Then what are we doing here today?"

Christians, by the same token, read the writings of numerous individuals who either met Jesus of Nazareth or took down the accounts of people who did, and who believed that he was the only begotten Son of God. Proof of Jesus' divinity, though, is entirely beside the point. If the Christian God wanted to rule by majesty and power, he would not have come to earth as a mortal to die on the cross. The Christian God asks for love and faith, not submission before majesty. The Christian is not asked to prove the unprovable, but to love and believe. Muslims have a different problem: if Mohammed did not receive the Koran from God, then what are they doing there to begin with? Kalisch has the sort of answer that only a German academic could love.

"We hardly have original Islamic sources from the first two centuries of Islam," Kalisch observes in a German-language paper available on the Muenster University (website). It is fascinating reading, and since it is not yet available in English I take the liberty of translating or summarizing a few salient points. Responsibility for any errors of translation of interpretation is my own.

Kalisch continues, "And even when a source appears to come from this period, caution is required. The mere assertion that a source stems from the first or second century of the Islamic calendar means nothing. And even when a source actually was written in the first or second century, the question always remains of later manipulation. We do not tread on firm ground in the sources until the third Islamic century."

This, Kalisch observes, is extremely suspicious: how can a world religion have erupted in a virtual literary vacuum? A great religion, moreover, inevitably throws off heresies: where are the early Islamic heretics and Gnostics? Later Islamic theologians knew the titles of some of their works, but the content itself was lost. "The only explanation for the disappearance is that it had long since become unusable theologically," he alleges of certain Shi'ite sources.

Kalisch draws on the well-known work of Patricia Crone and Martin Hinds, whose criticism of the received version have a distinctly minority position in Koranic scholarship:

It is a striking fact that such documentary evidence as survives from the Sufnayid period makes no mention of the messenger of god at all. The papyri do not refer to him. The Arabic inscriptions of the Arab-Sasanian coins only invoke Allah, not his rasul [messenger]; and the Arab-Byzantine bronze coins on which Muhammad appears as rasul Allah, previously dated to the Sufyanid period, have not been placed in that of the Marwanids. Even the two surviving pre-Marwanid tombstones fail to mention the rasul.

The great scandal of Islamic tradition is the absence of Islamic formulations from coins and monuments dating from the its first two centuries, as well as the presence of material obviously incompatible with Islam. "Coins and inscriptions are incompatible with the Islamic writing of history," Kalisch concludes on the strength of older work, including Yehuda Nevo and Jutith Koren's Crossroads to Islam.

The oldest inscription with the formulation "Mohammed Messenger of Allah" is to found in the 66th year of Islamic reckoning, and after that used continuously. But there also exist coins found in Palestine, probably minted in Amman, on which the word "Muhammed" is found in Arabic script on one side, and a picture of a man holding a cross on the other. Kalisch cites this and a dozen other examples. Citing Nevo/Koren and other sources, Kalisch also accepts the evidence that no Islamic conquest occurred as presented in much later Islamic sources, but rather a peaceful transfer of power from the Byzantine empire to its local Arab allies.

"To be sure," Kalisch continues, "various explanations are possible for the lack of mention of the Prophet in the early period, and it is no proof for the non-existence of an historical Mohammed. But it is most astonishing, and begs the question of the significance of Mohammed for the original Muslim congregation in the case that he did exist."

The numismatic, archeological, source-critical and other evidence against acceptance of the received version of Islamic history was well developed by other scholars. But it was never accepted by mainstream Orientalists. Cynics might point to the fact that most Middle Eastern studies programs in the West today are funded by Islamic governments, or depend on the good will of Middle Eastern governments for access to source material. Academia is not only corrupt, however, but credulous: the question arises: if Mohammed never existed, or did not exist as he is portrayed, why was so much effort devoted in later years to manufacturing thousands of pages of phony documentation in the Hadith and elsewhere?

Why, indeed, was the Mohammed story invented, by whom, and to what end? The story of the Hegira, Mohammed's flight from Mecca to Medina allegedly in 622, provides a clue, according to Kalisch. "No prophet is mentioned in the Koran as often as Moses, and Muslim tradition always emphasized the great similarly between Moses and Mohammed," he writes. "The central event in the life of Moses, though, is the Exodus of the oppressed Children of Israel out of Egypt, and the central event in the life of Mohammed is the Exodus of his oppressed congregation out of Mecca to Medina ... The suspicion is great that the Hegira appears only for this reason in the story of the Prophet, because his image should emulate the image of Moses."

Furthermore, "the image of Jesus is also seen as a new Moses. The connection of Mohammed to the figure of Jesus is presented in Islamic tradition through his daughter Fatima, who is identified with Maria ... The Line Fatima-Maria-Isis is well known to research. With the takeover of Mecca, Mohammed at least returns to his point of origin. Thus we have a circular structure typical of myth, in which beginning and end are identical. This Gnostic circular structure represents the concept that the soul returns to its origin. It is separated from its origin, and must return to it for the sake of its salvation."

Kalisch concludes that Islam itself began as a Gnosis, a secret teaching much like the Gnostic Christian sources rejected by the Church Fathers. "The myth of Mohammed ... could be the product of a Gnosis, which wanted to present its theology in a new and original myth with a new protagonist, but actually is the old protagonist (Moses, Jesus). For the Gnostics it always was clear, that the issue was not historical truth, but rather theology. Moses, Jesus and Mohammed were only different characterizations of a mythic hero or son of god, who would depict an old spiritual teaching in mythical form."

He explains,

In the Islamic Gnosis, Muhammed appears along with [his family members] Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussein as cosmic forces ... the Gnostic Abu Mansur al Igli claimed that God first created Jesus, and then Ali. Here apparently we still have the Cosmic Christ. If a Christian Gnosis was there at the origin of Islam, then the Cosmic Christ underwent a name change to Mohammed in the Arab world, and this Cosmic Mohammed was presented as a new edition of the Myth of Moses and Joshua (= Jesus) as an Arab prophet.

Thirst for secret wisdom drew Kalisch to Islam as a teenager, and keeps him within the faith despite his devastating critique. As he writes,

The teachings of Islamic mysticism are not specifically Islamic. They are a new minting of the perennial philosophy, which is found everywhere in the world in various traditions ... For me, this perennial philosophy is what the Koran means when it speaks of a teaching that God brought to humankind in all epochs.

My own views on the subject of Islamic mysticism are contained in a recent essay, (Sufism, sodomy and Satan Asia Times Online, August 12, 2008). Kalisch, it should be noted, adheres to a minority sect within the minority Shi'ite current in Islam, the Zaydi variant. His conclusions will convince few in the Islamic mainstream. But his work points to the great vulnerabilities of Islam. As I wrote some months ago, the German Jesuits who advise the Vatican on Islamic matters invested heavily in the supposedly moderate establishment of Sunni Islam in Turkey, and the theology department of the University of Ankara in particular (Tin-opener theology from Turkey Asia Times Online, June 3, 2008).

Of far greater interest may be the wide assortment of variant and quasi-heretical trends within Islam. Something very ancient and entirely genuine long buried within Islam may be struggling to the surface, a cuckoo's egg, as it were, waiting to hatch. It is noteworthy that Germany's Alevi community (immigrants from Turkey's 5-to-15 million strong Alevi population) expressed solidarity with Kalisch when he came under attack from other Muslim organizations.

Coming from a minority within a minority, Kalisch has offered a new and credible explanation of the motive behind the great reshuffling of Islamic sources during the second and third centuries of the religion. I cannot evaluate Kalisch's handling of the sources, but the principle he advances makes sense. It is another crack in the edifice of Islam, but a most dangerous one, because it came from the inside.

[joeblow]

Apologies for being so late to respond. A quick google search shows that this sad piece of Gnostic disillusion was easily to be found among all the popular openly Jewish and anti-Jesuit  :lol:  websites. I found an essay which debunks (not an especially difficult task) Z.O.G.'s (P.S. if you want to have your name changed, just ask) reply better than I could...

http://muslim-responses.com/Historical_ ... Existence_

Reflections of a Western Muslim Student upon the Christian Usage of Muhammad Sven Kalisch.

Yahya Hayder Seymour.

Revised on 27/01/09

It would appear that recently over the past month, certain Islamophobes[1] as well as Christian Missionaries[2] and Apologists[3] (and yes I definitely distinguish between the approach and method, as well as aims of the two) have been ever so happy to bring to the attention of the Muslims, the recent case of a German Academic, one that believes that the existence of Muhammad is something which in all likeliness cannot be proven and was never true.

Muhammad Sven Kalisch as the Professor is named has gained a now found fame, not because of his research having brought to us any conclusive evidence, in fact; to be honest evidence nor even his very thesis have even been brought to our attention (being something which only those with access to the German Language can really have access to currently), Rather we are being bombarded with his conclusion: Namely, Muhammad ibn Abdullah the Prophet of Islam, he most likely is not a historical figure rather a construct of the collective imagination of the Muslims.

Whilst Muslims are no strangers to the concept of radically revisionist hypothesis' regarding the truth claims of Muhammad, how much we know of Islamic History being factually correct, as well as several new revisionist theories upon the codification and compilation of the Qur'an (Hagarism of Crone and Cook rings familiarly in the collective memory of most of us, as well as the attempt to apply Wellhausen's higher criticism to the Qur'anic Text applied by John Wansborough) Kalisch is an interesting new case for one reason and that reason alone.

Namely, Kalisch claims to be a Muslim[4] and is a German convert supposedly extremely sympathetic to Islam.

(After some research, we have actually been able to investigate further the extent of Dr. Sven Kalisch's views, there are several interesting points which give us some insight into exactly the extent of Kalisch's views, elaboration is required and will be given!)

In an exchange between an eminent Scholar of Judaism, Alon Goshen Gottstein and the Scholar we have been discussing, namely Dr. Kalisch, some of Kalisch's publicized views are developed in more explanation, we quote Dr. Kalisch as saying:

"I start from the traditional Zaidite and Mu'tazilite viewpoint that reason (?aql) is superior to revelation"

In regards to the Bible, Dr. Kalisch has stated:

"Modern Archaeological research has shown to us that stories told in the Bible and the Qur'an are not History. Personally I think that the approach known as Biblical Minimalism represented by scholars such as Niels Peter Lemche[5], Thomas Thompson[6] and Philip Davies[7] is the best approach to deal with all such problems."

Even more fascinating..

"In my opinion the obvious result of modern research is that the patriarchs, Moses and even David and Solomon are not historical persons. They never existed."

(Thanks for the opinions Dr. Kalisch, guess we'll have to wait to see the rationale behind them.)

(All Cited from his initial first exchange with Dr. Gottstein in the Gerald Weisfield Lectures of 2006[8])

 Whilst this may very well be the case, it is not our concern here to decide who or not is within the boundaries of Islam and therefore I shall not be attacking Mr. Muhammad Sven Kalisch in any form of Ad Hominem or personal insult, rather here I am concerned only with ideas and thoughts.

It was a surprise to hear that Dr. Kalisch had been subscribing to such a view for indeed, it would not be unfair nor unbalanced of us as Students of Islamic Studies to indeed be quick on the ball in calling this theory nothing but extremely revisionist as well as nothing more than a conspiracy theory. However, we can only hope that Dr. Kalisch's book shall be released shortly so that his peers in Academia as well as we who have been so keen in following the trend in Islamic Studies of theories relating to Muhammad's existence can see for ourselves what exactly has lead to this conclusion.

Returning to my whole purpose in writing this reflection/piece of contemplation however, I had merely wanted to remind our friends within the World of Christian-Muslim Apologetics that responding to Muslims with the tu quoque of

"Well if you're going to apply that criteria to the New Testament and the Historical Jesus, would you like it if we were to use such a criteria on the Qur'an?" (Those of you familiar with Dr. James White's polemical responses to Islam shall be familiar with such a oft-repeated manta.)

and

"Well what about Muhammad Sven Kalisch, do you consider him a Muslim? If you're going to refer to people like Raymond Brown." (Again, something which Dr. White (ad verbatim) had said to Shabir Ally).

 Well, whilst this might seem like a good opportunity to play the role of Character assassination of the source, and poisoning the well by drawing a false analogy between a highly respected authority on the New Testament Text, on Christology and the Johannine Gospel[9] and Dr. Kalisch, who has been relatively unknown in the circle of Islamic Studies until recently[10]. This unfortunately will not stop or pressure those of us who are serious in our endeavor to arrive at the truth, and to ultimately reach a conclusion upon the historicity of both Islam and Christianity, in fact if we are truly serious, we should view this as an opportunity. It will allow us to prove or disprove once and for all that Muhammad is the only Historical Prophet.

So my position is that I eagerly await the release of Dr. Kalisch's book and his published research, for I am genuinely interested in where he derived his entirely unique hypothesis from, I am interested to see whether it actually has any basis and I am interested to know for what reasons Dr. Kalisch still has for affiliating himself with Islam.

Many of us who are currently students in the Islamic Studies setting are no strangers to revisionist thesis' for there was a point in the 1970s and 1980s when Islamic Studies in Academia went through the crucial transition into a more balanced and nuanced period, where we saw the extremely skeptical theories of Wansborough being honestly questioned by Academics who recognized that there was a degree of hyper-skepticism. These scholars were not Super-naturalist, nor were they Muslims, rather Scholars like Harald Motzki, Nadia Abott, Neil Robinson and I.K.A Howard.

We even saw the rejection of what is now considered outdated and unprovable hypothesis' such as Hagarism.

With books like "In the Eye of the Beholder." Written and compiled by the Islamicist and Historian Uri Rubin, it seemed like it was famously established that Muhammad did indeed exist, for had he not existed how would there have been non-Muslim Sources on the man?

Finally we could be intrigued by the statement made by none other than the Scholar behind the Skeptical Work (Hagarism) herself in which she has stated:

 "There is no doubt that Mohammed existed, occasional attempts to deny it notwithstanding. His neighbours in Byzantine Syria got to hear of him within two years of his death at the latest; a Greek text written during the Arab invasion of Syria between 632 and 634 mentions that "a false prophet has appeared among the Saracens" and dismisses him as an impostor on the ground that prophets do not come "with sword and chariot". It thus conveys the impression that he was actually leading the invasions."[11]

Her Partner in Crime (Metaphorically Speaking) Dr. Cook[12] has also left us with some interesting thoughts to ponder over:

(Continuing from an earlier discussion)."What does this material tell us? We may begin with the major points on which it agrees with the Islamic tradition. It precludes any doubts as to whether Muhammad was a real person: he is named in a Syriac source that is likely to date from the time of the conquests, and there is a account of him in a Greek Source of the same period."  (Cook, 1996,Oxford Press, p.74)

Should it not come as a shock to most that whilst our most harshest of critics are coming out with clear cut admissions of the absolute abundance of evidence to support the existence of Muhammad as a Historical figure, we're being told by Christians that Muhammad did not exist and that the proof of this is the "opinion" of a Muslim who hasn't given any justification for it what so ever?!

I have one request for the Christian Apologist who raised this Professor up in a Dialogue between himself and Shabir Ally: "Show some respect for the audience, Please Sir!!!" for the issue is entirely irrelevant.

 In Conclusion, I plead with my Muslim Colleagues and Christian friends not to blow this drastically out of proportion by expecting us to join in with the "Liberal Modernist" Bogeyman approach or mere denouncing without engaging with or reading their work. For merely denouncing one as Liberal or as Modernist has never ever held any ground within the framework of academic research and criticism. What must be done however is to analyse one's thesis, particularly hypothesis and conclusion, then we can weigh up the evidence and decide whether or not one has adequately proven or at least put forward a strong case for their claims.

All Praise is due to Allah, and only the mistakes have been my own.

 

Yahya Hayder Seymour.

 

 

 

[1] Here we can include those like Robert Spencer, the renowned Islamophobe and Pseudo-Academic, we have included a link to his usage of the news: http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023531.php

[2] I was first brought the attention of Kalisch by Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries (http://www.aomin.org) during his debate with Muslim Apologist- Shabir Ally (http://www.shabirally.com) on the topic "Is Muhammad foretold in the Bible."

[3] David Wood and Nabeel Qureshi of Acts17/Answering Muslims.com were also quick on the ball to post a link to the recent articles on Mr. Kalisch.

[4] Kalisch professes to be a follower of the minority Zaydi Madhab, this would make sense as many are now denouncing him as Mu'tazilite (Hyper-Rationalist), which although we have no problem with, would explain perhaps something of the hyper scepticism of his thesis.

[5] Author of "The Israelites in History and Tradition" (1998, SPCK, London)

[6] Author of "The Mythic Past: Biblical Archaeology and the Myth of Israel" (2000, New York)

[7] Author of "In Search of Ancient Israel" (Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 1995)

[8] Islam and Inter-Faith Relations, The Gerald Weisfeld Lectures, 2006, Edited by Perry Schmidt-Leukel, SCM Press.

[9] The late Father Raymond Brown, was an authority recognised for being a scholar on Christology, and the Johannine Text. William Lane Craig and Jay Smith, two highly rated Christian Apologists who have been working with Muslims in their Polemics both have stated that they recognise Raymond Brown as an authority on this area. However certain Apologists such as Dr. James White has been been denouncing Brown as "Liberal", as if merely name throwing can actually discredit someone's research and work. Such name calling was thrown around during the recent elections, where as for those of us who are not biased, the mere denouncing of someone as "liberal" is not enough to discredit their research.

[10] I am not familiar with the German Context, therefore I speak mainly of the Western Paradigm, however seeing as most Scholars we are familiar with here such as Rubin, Kohlberg and others are as far off as Israel, it is perhaps safe to say that until recently Dr. Kalisch, has been relatively unknown internationally.

[11] http://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-euro ... d_3866.jsp (A Crucial Written piece by Patricia Crone)

[12] Muhammad (Oxford Past Masters Series), 1996 Reprint, p. 74.