Islamic Apocalypse: 6 Things You Should Know

The following article was obtained from the Zwemer Center for Muslim Studies and written by Warren Larson.

Islamic Apocalypse: 6 Things You Should Know 

1. Geography matters

An ancient prophecy quotes Muhammad as saying Dabiq (near Aleppo in Syria) will be where Islam defeats Christendom (Sahih-Muslim, Vol. 4, Ch. 41, 1501). Yet, only within the last year has ISIS linked that prophecy to its territorial ambitions, and even launched a digital publication under that name. This monthly magazine, filled with images of blood and gore, is a major means of recruitment. Though most Muslims reject such claims, the apocalyptic emphasis in Islam is only second in importance to tawhid (monotheism).

2. There Will be Signs and Wonders

Several Qur’anic verses describe the dramatic events leading up to “The Day”: “When the sun is folded up; when the stars fall, losing their luster" (81:1-2); “When the oceans are suffered to burst forth; and when the graves are turned upside down” (82:3-4); “What is the day of noise and clamor? … It is a day whereon men will be like moths scattered about and the mountains like carded wool” (56:4-6).

One Islamic website is entitled, “50 Signs of the Day of Judgment From the Words of Allah and His Messenger,” whereas a tradition mentions ten signs (Al-Muslim, Vol. 4, 1503f):

Thereupon he [Muhammad] said: “It will not come until you see ten signs before and (in this connection) he made mention of the smoke, Dajal [Anti-Christ], the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus son of Mary (Allah be pleased with him), the Gog and Magog, and land-slidings in three places, one in the east, one in the west and one in Arabia at the end of which fire would burn forth from the Yemen, and would drive people to the place of their assembly.

3. There Will be Moral Decay

Moral conditions at that time will be at an all-time low: “Narrated Anas Allah’s Apostle said, ‘From among the portents of the Hour are the following: Religious knowledge will be taken away by the death of religious learned men; Religious ignorance will prevail; Drinking of Alcoholic drinks will be very common; There will be prevalence of open illegal sexual intercourse’” (Al-Muslim, Vol. 4, 1503-1504).  And, “Women will increase in number and men will decrease in number so much so that fifty women will be looked after by one man  (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, 68).  It is also said that musical instruments will precipitate much of the moral decay.

4. It Will be Terrifying

This is only one of many traditions describing the prevailing terror (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8, 354).

Narrated Abu Huraira, Allah’s Apostle said: “The people will sweat so profusely on the Day of Resurrection that their sweat will sink seventy cubits deep into the earth, and it will rise up till it reaches the people’s mouths and ears.”

If this isn’t bad enough, the most terrible moment will be when each person is handed a book of deeds done on earth, and these are then weighed upon a scale. The final obstacle is a bridge to be crossed–for al-Ghazali–the most frightful of all.  He referred to it as “The Traverse,” for it stretched over hell and was “sharper than a sword and thinner than a hair.”  The saved would cross over and enter the gates of paradise but the damned would slip off and be caught by the “angels of hell with their hooks and grapples.” (Al-Ghazzali: The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife,  205-206).

5. Hellfire and Brimstone

Some Qur’anic verses seem to suggest no one will escape hell: “And for this did He create them: and the Word of thy Lord shall be fulfilled: “I will fill hell with jinns [spirits] and men all together” (11:119). And, “Not one of you but will pass over it; this is with thy Lord, a decree which must be accomplished”(19:71). Moreover, the  Hadith describes the extent to which people will suffer (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8, 368-369):

Narrated An-Nu man bin Bashir: “I heard the Prophet saying, ‘The least punished person of the hell fire on the Day of Resurrection will be a man under whose arch of the feet two smouldering embers will be placed, because of which his brain will boil just like Al-Mirajal (copper vessel) is boiling with water.”

6. Jesus has A Key Role

Muslim theologians often consider the return of Jesus to be the most significant event at that time (connected with eight of the fifty signs referred to above). When he returns he will slay the false Messiah (Anti-Christ, or dajjal), and establish peace and righteousness on earth. Qur’anic commentators usually link the this verse to Jesus: “And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness against them” (Qur’an, 4:159).

Al-Bukhari  adds several other actions of Jesus (Vol. 3, 233-234).

Narrated Abu Huraira, Allah’s Apostle said, “By Him in whose hands my soul is, son of Mary, Jesus will shortly descend amongst you people (Muslims) as a just ruler and will break the cross and kill the pig and abolish the Jizya” (tax taken from the non-Muslims under the protection of the Muslim government).

For most Muslims, death and the grave speak of fear and uncertainty, whereas the Bible gives Christians ample assurance they can face the Judgment with confidence and hope. For example, “But we know that when he appears, we shall see him as he is.  Everyone who has this hope purifies himself, just as he is pure” (I John 3:2-3). We must, therefore, lovingly tell our Muslim friends that faith in Jesus as the crucified, risen and coming Messiah makes all the difference in this world–and the world to come.

Ishmael and Isaac: The Sons of Abraham

Abraham, originally known as Abram, is the common patriarch of the three Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In Judaism he is considered the founding father of the Covenant [or the special relationship between the Jewish people and God]; in Christianity, he is the prevalent prototype of all believers, Jewish or Gentile; and in Islam he is seen as a prevailing link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad.  

When God changed a person's name and gave him a new name, it was usually to establish a new identity. God changed the name Abram [meaning "high father"] to “Abraham,” [meaning "father of a multitude"] (Genesis 17:5) and his wife's name from “Sarai,” [meaning “my princess,”] to “Sarah,” [meaning “mother of nations”] (Genesis 17:15–16).

According to the Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Ishmael was the firstborn son of Abraham and Sarah's handmaiden, Hagar. (Genesis 16:3-4). Most know the story of how Sarah grew impatient to bare the 'promised child' in her old age and insisted that Abraham take her Egyptian slave as a concubine to fulfill the Creator's promise to make Abraham a father of a great multitude. From the seed of this union would rise the modern Muslim nations.

In the Genesis account of the story:

"Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?" ~ Genesis 18:18

In the Qur'an, it states: 

"And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled: He said: "I will make thee an Imam to the Nations." He pleaded: "And also (Imams) from my offspring!" He answered: "But My Promise is not within the reach of evil-doers." (Surah Al-Baqara, 124)

The Book of Genesis and Islamic traditions consider Ishmael to be the ancestor of the Ishmaelites and patriarch of Qaydār. This is where the similarities stop between the Muslim, Jewish and Christian factions. According to Muslim tradition, many Islamic scholars portend the ancient Jews rewrote the holy scriptures of the Torah to state Isaac was the 'chosen' lineage to seal the Covenant with God, instead of Ishmael. Islam believes the Covenant was established exclusively with Ishmael, by way of his birthright as being the oldest son. 

In Judaism and Christianity, they disagree with the Islamic concept. They believe the sanctioned promise was given to Abraham and his wife, Sarah. In this aspect, Isaac also becomes a 'firstborn son'. From the seed of this union rose the modern Jewish nation. 

It is recorded in Genesis 17:19, the Covenant was established with Issac (Sarah's son), not Ishmael. But Abraham's oldest child was not forgotten by the Creator. In Genesis 17:20, God promised to make a great nation from Ishmael (Hagar's son) through 12 sons of his own. These sons, known as the 12 Tribes of Ishmael, include: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

Another argument concerning the Ishmael and Issac debate is the "sacrifice of Abraham's son". While the Jews contend that Isaac was the one offered up for sacrifice by Abraham, the Muslims argue that it was Ishmael. 

The Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 9, under the heading "Ishmael", describes:

"It is related that a renowned traditionalist of Jewish origin of the Qurayza tribe, and other Jewish scholars that converted to Islam, told Caliph Omar Abd al-Azizi (717-20) the Jews were well informed that Ishmael was the one bound for sacrifice, but they [the Jews] concealed this fact out of jealousy."

The strongest case for Ishmael is in the Qur'an, which decrees that directly after the sacrifice narrative, Abraham is told of the coming of Isaac's birth; therefore, it must be Ishmael who was about to be sacrificed if Isaac had not yet been born.

Since its beginnings Islam’s finest scholars have debated which son Abraham was commanded to sacrifice, yet both Judaism and Christianity host no such discussion. The reason for this is simple, the Torah names Isaac multiple times, while the Qur'an keeps the boy’s identity a secret. In the absence of a name Muslim scholars sought answers from those who walked with Muhammad. Incredibly, 38 of the companions of Muhammad confirm the Jewish narrative and are recorded as saying it was Isaac, not Ishmael, who became the sacrifice. 

In the Torah (Genesis 22:1–18)

"After these events, God tested Abraham. “Abraham!” He said. “Yes?”, “Take your son, your only one, whom you love – Isaac, and go away to the Moriah area. Bring him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will designate to you”.

In the Quran (Suwar 39:99-113)

"And [then] he said, “Indeed, I will go to [where I am ordered by] my Lord; He will guide me. My Lord, grant me [a child] from among the righteous”. So We gave him good tidings of a forbearing boy. And when he reached with him [the age of] exertion, he said, “O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you, so see what you think.”

So which view is authentic? Proving one opinion over the other is not as important as both views having a legitimate stance in both Jewish and Islamic traditions. And, modern Jews, Christians and Muslims may never come to terms with or agree upon the actual sacrifice and who was offered up to the Lord for a Covenant with their people. 

The only accepted and common narrative in the sacrifice story is that child sacrifice, which was a common practice during antiquity, was not an appropriate form of worshiping the Creator. Both the Jews and Muslims can agree on this.

Another thing Judaism and Christianity can agree upon is that both Ishmael and Isaac came to their father (Abraham) in his old age, right before his death. They stood united as brothers as they buried their father in the Cave of the Patriarchs [in modern-day Hebron, Palestine] (Genesis 25:8-9). For a moment in time, they presented one of the most fascinating stories of unity in the entire Bible/Tanakh.

Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, are said to be buried next to the Kaaba in Mecca (Saudi Arabia). According to the Genesis account, Ishmael died at the age of 137 (Genesis 25:17).

According to tradition, Isaac was buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs [in Canaan, present-day Hebron] at the age of 180. (Genesis 35:28-29)


Related Stories:

Abraham Sacrifices His Son
Chayei Sarah (5769) – On Judaism and Islam