OOOOOH Armageddon… Since 632AD

by JoSEditorin Stupidityon Posted on

Many European thinkers have claimed across the ages that Islam is a ‘life-affirming’ religion in comparison to Christianity that is not based on hatred and rejection of the world. While Islam may lack the doctrine of original sin and some of the more cutting aspects of Catholic Christianity that encourage relentless self-hatred, we think this type of statement is incredibly naïve at best. Islam is almost as prolific in endlessly harkening to the end of days as the Jehovah’s Witnesses which can frankly be based on nothing other than life-denial and rejection of reality.

Beyond humor, nothing shows how much of a mental illness this thing is.

The Quran endlessly affirms the end:

ٱقْتَرَبَتِ ٱلسَّاعَةُ وَٱنشَقَّ ٱلْقَمَرُ ١ وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ ءَايَةًۭ يُعْرِضُوا۟ وَيَقُولُوا۟ سِحْرٌۭ مُّسْتَمِرٌّۭ

The Hour of the End has drawn near, and the moon has split. Yet, whenever they see a sign, they turn away, saying, ‘Same old magic.’

Quran 54:1-2

ٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّمَا ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌۭ وَلَهْوٌۭ وَزِينَةٌۭ وَتَفَاخُرٌۢ بَيْنَكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرٌۭ فِى ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَوْلَـٰدِ ۖ كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ ٱلْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُۥ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَىٰهُ مُصْفَرًّۭا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَـٰمًۭا ۖ وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ عَذَابٌۭ شَدِيدٌۭ وَمَغْفِرَةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرِضْوَٰنٌۭ ۚ وَمَا ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَآ إِلَّا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلْغُرُورِ

Know now that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children. It is as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the hereafter there is a severe torment for the disbelievers and there is forgiveness from Allah and good pleasure for the believers. And the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.

Quran 57:20

وَنُرِیدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى ٱلَّذِینَ ٱسۡتُضۡعِفُوا۟ فِی ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَنَجۡعَلَهُمۡ أَىِٕمَّةࣰ وَنَجۡعَلَهُمُ ٱلۡوَ ٰرِثِینَ

And we wanted to confer favor upon those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and make them inheritors, and establish them in the land and show Pharaoh and Haman and their soldiers through them that which they had feared.

Quran 28:5

The hadiths are no different. So many hadiths are concerned with apocalypse, to list them would be like a novel:

“بُعِثْتُ وَالسَّاعَةَ كَهَاتَيْنِ”

(The Prophet raised his middle and index fingers and said,) “The time of my advent and the Hour of Judgement are like these two fingers.'”

Hadith 151, Book 63, Sahih Bukhari, Muhammad al-Bukhari

Muslims take this belief in apocalypse VERY seriously:

However, in 2012 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 50% or more respondents in several Muslim-majority countries (Lebanon, Turkey, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco) expected the Mahdi (the final redeemer according to Islam) to return during their lifetime. The expectation is most common in Afghanistan (83%), followed by Iraq (72%), Turkey (68%), Tunisia (67%), Malaysia (62%), Pakistan (60%), Lebanon (56%), and Muslims in southern Thailand (57%).

Here is a non-comprehensive list of Islamic apocalypse claims since 632AD.

  • 686 CE (66 AH): Al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi in Kufa claims that Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, was the mahdi and the world would soon end. This belief fuels  a rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. The world continued to exist.
  • 750 CE (132 AH): During the Abbasid Revolution, some supporters declare that the first Abbasid caliph, Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah, was the mahdi and the world would soon end, believing his rule would signal the beginning of a new, just era. The world continued to exist.
  • 874 CE (260 AH): The disappearance of the 12th imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, is a significant date in Shia Islam, marking his occultation. Many Shia Muslims believe he is the true mahdi and at the time that the world would soon end. The world continued to exist.
  • 931 CE (319 AH): The appearance of Abu Tahir al-Jannabi, the leader of the Qarmatians, leading to several violent and radical actions, including the sacking of Mecca. Many interpreted this as the end of the world, especially as the Kaaba is destroyed and the black stone thrown into a sewer where pigs defecated on it. The world continued to exist.
  • 1018 CE (409 AH): A mahdi, Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Tumart, appears in North Africa, proclaiming himself the mahdi. His movement leads to the foundation of the Almohad Caliphate, which played a significant role in the Maghreb and Al-Andalus. The world continued to exist.
  • 1258 CE (656AH): The fall of Baghdad to the Mongols and gigantic levels of civic and cultural destruction along with the enslavement of much of Baghdad’s population provokes claims the mahdi would reappear. The world continued to exist.
  • 1270 CE (668 AH): Egyptian Arab philosopher, doctor and jurist Ibn al-Nafis creates a book named Al-Risalah al-Kamiliyah fi al-Risalah al-Nabawiyyah that explains the events of the end times in great detail. Many are convinced the end times are incumbent. The world continued to exist.
  • 1300 CE (700 AH): Some Muslim scholars believe that the mahdi is appearing around this time due to millenarian expectations associated with the Hijri calendar. The world continued to exist.
  • 1347-1351 CE (748AH – 752 AH): The black plague enters the Islamic world, decimating many cities such as Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo. The Plague causes a gigantic catastrophe by killing 30-40 percent of the population of the entire Islamic world. Many Islamic personalities consider this the end of the world and the coming of the mahdi. The world continued to exist.
  • 1501 CE (907 AH): Shah Ismail I, founder of the Safavid Empire in Persia, is regarded by many of his followers as the mahdi, uniting the region under a messianic vision and imposing Twelver Shia Islam. The world continued to exist.
  • 1516 CE (922AH): Battle of Marj Dabiq between the Ottoman Empire (conceived as being of Rum aka Rome) and Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt occurs. Muslims take this to be a prophetic occasion as it opened the door to the Turkish conquest of Egypt. This is based on a hadith:

لَا تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يَنْزِلَ الرُّومُ بِالْأَعْمَاقِ أَوْ بِدَابِقَ

The last hour would not come until the Romans would land at al-Amaq or Dabiq.

Hadith 6924, Book 54, Volume 7, Sahih Muslim, Muhammad al-Bukhari

The world continued to exist.

  • 1500s CE (10th century AH): Throughout this century, multiple mahdist claimants appear in North Africa, including al-Mahdi of the Wattasid dynasty and various others, capitalizing on political instability. The world continued to exist.
  • 1591-1592 AH (1000 AH): As the Islamic millennium approaches, many Muslims anticipate that the hahdi would appear and that the Day of Judgment would soon follow. This belief caused significant religious fervor across the Islamic world. The world continued to exist.
  • 1635 CE (1044 AH): The mahdist movement of the 17th century has various minor claimants, such as those linked with the rebellion against the Safavids and Ottomans. The world continued to exist.
  • 1742 CE-present (1155 AH-present): The wahhabist movement in its inception claims the decaying value system of the Muslim world is a sign of the end times. The world continued to exist.
  • 1798 CE (1213 AH): Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt is seen as a sign of the appearance of the mahdi and the end times. The world continued to exist.
  • 1799 CE (1214 AH): In India, Tipu Sultan of Mysore sees himself as preparing for the mahdi’s arrival, aligning his military actions against the British with apocalyptic prophecies. The world continued to exist.
  • 1844 CE (1260 AH): Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, known as the Bab, declares himself the mahdi, or the “Gate” to the mahdi, in Persia. This announcement marks the beginning of the Babi movement, which later evolves into the Baha’i Faith that is no longer classified as Islamic. The world continued to exist.
  • 1881 CE (1298 AH): Muhammad Ahmad of Sudan declares himself the mahdi, leading a successful revolt against the Ottoman-Egyptian administration. His movement establishes a mahdist state in Sudan that lasts until 1898. The world continued to exist.
  • 1900 CE (1300 AH):  An Egyptian scholar and jurist Muhammad Abduh predicts the appearance of the dajjal (Antichrist) in 1979 or 1986 based on indepth analysis of traditions. The world continued to exist.
  • 1917 CE (1335 AH): The Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Turks is given mahdist apocalyptic overtones. The world continued to exist.
  • 1920 CE (1338 AH): The Iraqi rebellion against the British is partly fuelled by mahdist expectations, with several local leaders claiming to be preparing for the mahdi’s arrival. The world continued to exist.

Happily for Muslims, Israel was created two and a half decades after this. D’OH!

  • 1934-1937, 1950-1958 CE (1352-1356AH, 1369-1377 AH): Ma Hushan of the Muslim Chinese (Hui) warlords named the Ma Clique encourages mahdist beliefs in his attempt to conquer the Soviet Union and Japan for ‘jihad’. The jihad fails.  Later, Ma Hushan fights an eight year long Islamic insurgency against the communist Chinese with Hui and Uighur forces. The world continude to exist.
  • 1960s CE (1380s AH): Sayyid Qutb, father of the Muslim Brotherhood, via his brother Muhammad Qutb, claims apocalypse is incumbent due to Israel and that God will make the Israelis taste the worst punishment (the second part is true, but he has the wrong God involved, we are sorry to say). The world continued to exist.
  • 1970s CE-present (1390s AH-present): Taliban claim the reappearance of the black Islamist standard over part of Central Asia (Khorasan) is a sign of the mahdi reappearing:

أخبرنا الحسين بن يعقوب بن يوسف العدل ثنا يحيى بن أبي طالب ثنا عبد الوهاب بن عطاء أنبأ خالد الحذاء عن أبي قلابة عن أبي أسماء عن ثوبان رضي الله عنه قال إذا رأيتم الرايات السود خرجت من قبل خراسان فأتوها ولو حبوا فإن فيها خليفة الله المهدي

When the black flags come from Khorasan go to them, even if you have to crawl on snow, for among them is the khalifah from Allah, the mahdi.

Al-Mustradrak, Abu al-Hakim al-Nishapuri

The world continued to exist.

  • 1979 CE (1399 AH): Juhayman al-Otaybi leads a group that seizes the Grand Mosque in Mecca, declaring his brother-in-law, Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Qahtani, as the mahdi. The rebellion is a direct challenge to the Saudi monarchy and reflects a strong apocalyptic belief. This group are massacred and the world continued to exist.
  • 1986 CE (1406 AH): Layla Mabruk claims Gog and Magog are concealed as apocalypse unfolds. The world continued to exist.
  • 1987 CE (1407 AH): Said Ayyub gives an elaborate prophecy where the mahdi soon comes, an Islamic army conquers the earth and Jews and Christians will be ‘trampled at dawn’. The world continued to exist.
  • 1980s CE (1400s AH): In Iran, the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War are suffused with mahdist rhetoric, with Ayatollah Khomeini and other leaders implying that their actions are paving the way for the mahdi’s return. The world continued to exist.
  • 1994 CE (1404 AH): Bashir Muhammad Abdallah claims the end of the world is happening due to the UN security council. The world continued to exist.
  • 1995 CE (1405 AH): Muhammad al-Bayumi, a prominent apocalyptic writer and Islamic scholar, relays a conversation with a student where the student asks if they can find the dajjal (Antichrist) themselves. Bayumi deflects the question. The world continued to exist.
  • 1996 CE (1406 AH): Abdallah Ali, prominent religious writer in Lebanon, claims apocalypse is incumbent as 220 million Arabs are treated as ‘scum’. The world continued to exist.
  • 1998 CE (1408 AH): F. Salim claims Gog and Magog have deceived the world, making the mahdi’s arrival soon to come. The world continued to exist.
  • 1990s CE (1410s AH): Various jihadist groups, including those in Algeria during the civil war, made indirect references to mahdist prophecies to inspire their followers and justify their struggles. The world continued to exist.
  • 2006 CE (1427 AH): Israeli-Hezbollah war leads to mahdist expectations. The world continued to exist.
  • 2015 CE (1436 AH): The Islamic State used its expansion of operations into Khorasan (IS-K) with its black flag to announce the mahdi’s arrival. The world continued to exist.
  • 2016 CE (1437 AH): The Battle of Dabiq is interpreted as the end of the world by IS forces consisting of the final battle between ‘Islamic’ and ‘Roman’ forces. The organization names its online magazine Dabiq to this effect. IS is routed from Dabiq and renames its magazine Rumiyah instead. The world continued to exist.

[JG] Karnonnos