My dear Brothers and sisters the belief of the sun rising in the west and other major signs of the day of judgement being figurative rather than literal is a deviant belief and not one adopted by the majority of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah.
The sun WILL literally rise from where it emerges from in the west and all the major signs of the day of judgement WILL literally take place. They are NOT figurative.
Consider the following:
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
The Hour will not be established until the sun rises from where it sets. When that happens and people see it, all of them will believe. This is when "it shall not profit a soul to believe that never believed before, or earned some good in its belief." (Quran, 6:158) Surely, the Hour will happen when two men have spread out a piece of cloth between them, which they will neither buy or fold up. Surely, the hour will happen when someone has just finished milking his camel, but he will never drink what he milked. Surely, the hour will happen when someone is making a water reservoir which he will then never drink from. Surely, the hour will happen when one of you has raised a morsel to his mouth which he will then never eat. (Bukhari)
The great hadith scholar Ibn Kathir said that the sun's rising from where it sets towards the end of time is mass-narrated (mutawatir) from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) [1], which is why classical manuals of Islamic belief, such as the celebrated creed of Imam Tahawi, include it as an article of belief. [2]
According to the order of the events of last days, there are many signs that precede the sun's rising from where it sets, including the Dajjal, the Mahdi, and the heavenly descent of the Prophet Jesus (upon him be peace). The great turmoil and subsequent peace and prosperity will be followed by a gentle wind that will take the soul of every believer, which will then be followed by the sun's rising from where it sets, and the emergence of the Beast of the Earth. [3] When these last two signs occur, the period of human responsibility (taklif) will come to an end and the door of repentance will be closed: the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Whoever repents before the sun rises from where it sets, Allah will relent to him." (Muslim)
Even a casual perusal of the hadiths about the sun's rising from the West or the events surrounding this momentous event will clearly reveal that the current spread of Islam in the West is not what is meant by the hadiths. Plugging this figurative meaning into the hadiths would mean that the long hadith mentioned at the beginning of this answer would not make sense, that the Dajjal, the Mahdi, and the Prophet Jesus (upon him be peace) would already have appeared, and that the door of repentance would already have been closed, none of which is actually the case. There is complete scholarly agreement that the sun will really and literally rise from where it sets shortly before the end of the world, and this is what we are religiously obligated to believe.
And Allah Most High knows best.
[1] Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya: al-Nihaya wa Dhikru Ahwaliha, Dhikru tulu` al-shamsi min maghribiha
[2] Hamza Yusuf (translator), The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi, Article #125
[3] There are numerous hadiths regarding all these events in the collections of Bukhari and Muslim.
My dear Brothers and sisters the belief of the sun rising in the west and other major signs of the day of judgement being figurative rather than literal is a deviant belief and not one adopted by the majority of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah. ... There is complete scholarly agreement that the sun will really and literally rise from where it sets shortly before the end of the world, and this is what we are religiously obligated to believe.
Assalamu alaikum, and what, in your opinion, should be our attitude as Muslims toward those who say it is figurative and who apply their own non-literal interpretation to this hadith?
Assalamu alaikum, and what, in your opinion, should be our attitude as Muslims toward those who say it is figurative and who apply their own non-literal interpretation to this hadith?
We should tell those brothers and sisters to desist from taking such a dangerous position for believing such assumptions goes against the belief that such signs will literally take place. As mentioned in my previous post the hadith in which it is stated that the sun will rise from the west is Mutavatir which means it is authentic without a doubt.
Therefore believing otherwise that it is figurative rather than literal will cause one to be stepping into dangerous grounds for which one wil sgtart assuming that many other things in the Qur'an and Sunnah are also figurative.
So let us keep away from believing in such dangerous assumptions and instead take these major signs in the literal sense. For Allah says "Be" and it is. So be in no doubt that such signs will literally take place and only after the sun rises from the west will the doors of repentance be closed because then it will be apparent what is the truth.
Wa alaikum assalam, Brother Hamza, I agree with you that we should be hesitant to apply a figurative or symbolic interpretations to what seems literal and actual albeit they may be difficult for us to comprehend. What comes to my mind is that isra and the mi'raj was a literal journey and ascension.
Would you agree that we should be cautious of listening to a scholar who applies a figurative interpretation to the sun rising from the west and who says that the punishment for adultery is not stoning but rather 100 lashes?
Wa alaikum assalam, Brother Hamza, I agree with you that we should be hesitant to apply a figurative or symbolic interpretations to what seems literal and actual albeit they may be difficult for us to comprehend. What comes to my mind is that isra and the mi'raj was a literal journey and ascension.
Would you agree that we should be cautious of listening to a scholar who applies a figurative interpretation to the sun rising from the west and who says that the punishment for adultery is not stoning but rather 100 lashes?
Certainly yes. Scholars are entitled to differences of opinion as long as those differences are not deviant beliefs and having beliefs such as the major signs of the day of judgement being figurative and differing in beliefs regarding Hadd punishment like stoning of adulerers for which there is overhwleming support for in hadith and the Sunnah, then this should make one cautious to follow such a scholar. Rather it is best to follow a scholar who holds onto orthodox beliefs backed up by the Qur'an and Sunnah in accordance with the Ahlus Sunnah wal jama'a.
As soon as you start stepping out of the box like some scholars like to then you are in fact stepping onto very dangerous grounds in which you can start to look at other aspects of Islam in a different way and this opens the doors to having many other deviant beliefs.
May Allah enable us to follow the right path. The path of those whom he favoured and not those who were misled or went astray. Ameen
Certainly yes. Scholars are entitled to differences of opinion as long as those differences are not deviant beliefs and having beliefs such as the major signs of the day of judgement being figurative and differing in beliefs regarding Hadd punishment like stoning of adulerers for which there is overhwleming support for in hadith and the Sunnah, then this should make one cautious to follow such a scholar. Rather it is best to follow a scholar who holds onto orthodox beliefs backed up by the Qur'an and Sunnah in accordance with the Ahlus Sunnah wal jama'a.
As soon as you start stepping out of the box like some scholars like to then you are in fact stepping onto very dangerous grounds in which you can start to look at other aspects of Islam in a different way and this opens the doors to having many other deviant beliefs.
May Allah enable us to follow the right path. The path of those whom he favoured and not those who were misled or went astray. Ameen
That makes me cautious about reading Imran Hosein's book.
That makes me cautious about reading Imran Hosein's book.
My sister it is best to avoid following such scholars as there maybe some truths but also many dangerous assumptions which may mislead us into believing that which is not true. Especially when it comes to the major signs of the day of judgement. Almighty Allah revealed to us and the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) only as much as is relevant to us. We do not need to delve so deeply into this topic that we start believing things to be figurative when in actual fact they are literal.
Believing the major signs to be figurative or metaphorical is in some ways rejecting authentic hadith as some of those hadith describe those major signs in detail. How can they be figurative when they have been described in a literal sense? It is very dangerous to move into such a realm where one starts viewing what is written in hadith as figurative and metaphorical. Doing so may also make us question other things whether what is described on the day of judgement and in jahannam and jannah is also metaphorical and figurative.
We must also realise that our own day of judgement will come as soon as we die which could be at any moment. So rather than look ahead we should concentrate on the present for Allah has revealed to us about the signs of the last day as much as we need to know and not anymore. After that it is just assumptions about the order of the signs etc etc.
So it is best to keep away from such dangerous assumptions which have no basis and instead accept the majority view of the ahlus Sunnah wal jama'a and that is that the major signs WILL literally take place.
And Allah knows best in all matters
Last edited by Hamza Asadullah; 01-14-2012 at 10:15 PM.
My sister it is best to avoid following such scholars as there maybe some truths but also many dangerous assumptions which may mislead us into believing that which is not true. Especially when it comes to the major signs of the day of judgement. Almighty Allah revealed to us and the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) only as much as is relevant to us. We do not need to delve so deeply into this topic that we start believing things to be figurative when in actual fact they are literal.
Believing the major signs to be figurative or metaphorical is in some ways rejecting authentic hadith as some of those hadith describe those major signs in detail. How can they be figurative when they have been described in a literal sense? It is very dangerous to move into such a realm where one starts viewing what is written in hadith as figurative and metaphorical. Doing so may also make us question other things whether what is described on the day of judgement and in jahannam and jannah is also metaphorical and figurative.
We must also realise that our own day of judgement will come as soon as we die which could be at any moment. So rather than look ahead we should concentrate on the present for Allah has revealed to us about the signs of the last day as much as we need to know and not anymore. After that it is just assumptions about the order of the signs etc etc.
So it is best to keep away from such dangerous assumptions which have no basis and instead accept the majority view of the ahlus Sunnah wal jama'a and that is that the major signs WILL literally take place.
And Allah knows best in all matters
Assalamualaikum,
Thank you brother for the warning. I will try to be more cautious when listening to scholars. I will avoid such things which leads to misleading and confusion. May Allah protect me from all the fitnah and help me acquire the true knowledge of Islam.
Thank you brother for the warning. I will try to be more cautious when listening to scholars. I will avoid such things which leads to misleading and confusion. May Allah protect me from all the fitnah and help me acquire the true knowledge of Islam.
have you read his book "Dajjal: The Anti Christ"? Has anyone else?
Maybe, who is the author?
RE: Dajjal: The King with no clothes (Ahmad Thomson / TaHa Publishers / 1986)
format_quote Originally Posted by Abz2000
that is of the most informed books i've ever read, i took it to the police station with me and was able to concentrate on it,
it made so much more sense in that orwellian setting =)
I must admit, I was very impressed too. His understanding of world agenda and the mechanics employed to help them fruit are remarkable. For me, that helped to connect some very elusive dots.
Wa alaikum assalm, yes, that is it. I think the revised version of the original book by Ahmad Thomson you noted is the one I referenced. Insh'Allah, I will order it soon.
When Mahdi comes then Dajjal will soon follow and no one should hope for the coming of Dajjal as all the Prophets feared his arrival he will be the biggest fitnah to befall mankind and most people including strong Muslims will fail the test.
May Allah save us from being born at the time of the coming of Dajjal. Ameen
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I didnt go. I was waiting for my sister to return from her shopping trip but shes not back yet and its too late
Re: Is it possible that the Mahd(ra)i is here ?
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