Islamic Eschatology with a Focus on Shi'a Beliefs

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

“OH, ALLAH, HASTEN THE ARRIVAL OF IMAM AL-MAHDI”

- ISLAMIC ESCHATOLOGY WITH A FOCUS ON SHI'A BELIEFS

A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. ED SMITHER

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE COURSE ICST 531

LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

BY

ELKE SPELIOPOULOS

DOWNINGTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2011

CONTENTS

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1

Islamic Eschatological Expectations...............................................................................................2

Al-Janna and Al-Nar....................................................................................................................4

Al-Janna (Garden).......................................................................................................................4

Al-Nar (Hell)...............................................................................................................................6

Satan............................................................................................................................................7

The Dating of the End of Time....................................................................................................8

Mahdism..........................................................................................................................................8

Key Players..................................................................................................................................9

The Mahdi................................................................................................................................9

Jesus.......................................................................................................................................11

Al-Dajjäl (the Deceiver)........................................................................................................12

Al-Dabbah (the Beast)...........................................................................................................13

Yajuj wa-Majuj (Gog and Magog)........................................................................................14

Al-Sufyani..............................................................................................................................14

Specific Shi’ite Beliefs of Mahdism..............................................................................................15

Shifts in Eschatological Interpretation Since 1948........................................................................18

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19

Bibliography..................................................................................................................................20

Introduction

Speaking at the United Nations over the past few years since his 2005 election, Iranian

president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has confounded Western minds paying attention to his words

with his petition for the speedy return of the Twelfth Imam during his speeches. The following is

a portion of the conclusion of his 2011 speech at the UN:

This movement is certainly on its rightful path of creation, ensuring a promising future for humanity. A future that will be built when humanity initiates to trend the path of the divine prophets and the righteous under the leadership of Imam al-Mahdi, the Ultimate Savior of mankind and the inheritor to all divine messengers and leaders and to the pure generation of our great Prophet.

The creation of a supreme and ideal society with the arrival of a perfect human being who is a true and sincere lover of all human beings, is the guaranteed promise of Allah. He will come alongside with Jesus Christ to lead the freedom and justice lovers to eradicate tyranny and discrimination, and promote knowledge, peace, justice, freedom and love across the world. He will present to every single individual all the beauties of the world and all good things which bring happiness for humankind.1

Uncertain of what this reference to Imam al-Mahdi means, some listeners have sought to

understand Islamic eschatology better, in particular, as it appears threatening in light of the terror

attacks of 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The question at hand is whether the

references to this Mahdi are a particularity of Iranian Muslim beliefs (or maybe even a sect,

which Ahmadinejad is a part of), or whether this is an integral part of Muslim eschatology.

This paper will investigate the background of Islamic eschatology with a particular focus

on Shi’ite belief in the Twelfth Imam and its departure from the overall Islamic eschatological

belief system. In the course of discovery, it becomes clear that many elements of Islamic

1 United Nations, Transcript of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Speech at the General Assembly, http://gadebate.un.org/sites/default/files/gastatement/66/IR_en.pdf (accessed October 14, 2011).

eschatology sound vaguely familiar to a Christian believer. Yet there are also significant

departures, in particular in the person and role of Jesus, that need to be properly investigated and

understood. As such, Islamic eschatology needs to be comprehended in more than broad strokes

in order to be successful in sharing Christ with Muslims.

Islamic Eschatological Expectations

Muslims, much like evangelical Christians, are expecting the arrival of the end times to

be ushered in by a number of distinctive signs, in particular “deep moral turpitude and

devastating disruptions of the natural world.”0 Like the time of tribulation in Christian

apocalyptic thinking, Muslim minds see a devastating time ahead for the Muslim community.

The Qur'an makes it clear that God has authority over history. The world will be ended by God

just as he created it, followed by a recreation of the world in preparation for a Day of Judgment.

For a Muslim, this means that all bodies will be resurrected, and a final reckoning of all earthly

thoughts, sayings and deeds will occur.

Qur'anic eschatology centers on two concepts for the afterlife: the joys of the Garden for

believers and faithful followers of Allah, and the pain and punishment of Hell for the wicked.

Many passages in the Qur'an describe the wonderful and refreshing rewards for the faithful,

while warning the wrongdoers in no uncertain terms of horrific punishment in the afterlife. In the

Qur'an, “The Hour’ (al-sä'a)” will come upon all mankind and will bring with it for every

human being a “unique and unprecedented self-awareness of his deeds.”0 At this pivotal moment,

al-äkhira (the end) in Arabic, every person will have an acute awareness of his or her deepest

self, stripped of all the peripherals of life and bared of the falsehoods adopted when exposed to

truth. As will be seen in the discussion on Satan, man has become enveloped in a self-deception,

0 Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Jane I. Smith, “The Anti-Christ and the End of Time in Christian and Muslim Eschatological Literature,” Muslim World 100, no. 4 (2010): 505.

0 Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the Qur'an (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1989), 106.

ghurùr, which has added layers of perverted elements to his consciousness.0 In Surah 81:1-14, a

quite horrific depiction of that day is given. It is certainly a time of no pretense as humans

prepare to give account to their Maker. The Qur'an speaks of prophets who were sent to

communities to convey God’s truth to them. On this day of ultimate accounting, while there will

be a level of judgment on communities and their respective prophets, the judgment will be on

individuals and their actions and thoughts. There will be no advocate, whether family or friend or

clan member, but rather each human will be evaluated for his words and deeds individually. In

the Qur'an, God says, “Now you return to Us, alone, as We first created you: you have left

behind everything We gave you, nor do We see those intercessors of yours that you claimed

were partners of God. All the bonds between you have been severed, and those about whom you

made such claims have deserted you.” (6:94) The Qur'an thus does not allow for an intercession

and highlights a person’s “state of helplessness except God’s own mercy.”0

Interestingly enough, it will be clearly visible to all who falls into which category, as

those who have lived good God-fearing lives will carry the sheets listing their deeds in their right

hand, while those who have done evil will hold them in their left hand (69:19-29). People will

not be able to hide their innermost thoughts, but rather these will become public, in an

interpretation of 100:9-11. In an even more intimate “spilling of secrets”, in 41:19-24 even the

skin gives testimony of the deeds of the person being judged. Rahman writes, “There is, indeed,

no refuge from a situation where one’s mind becomes transparently public and where one’s own

physical organs begin to bear witness against one.”0

0 Ibid., 107.

0 Ibid., 108.

0 Ibid., 109-10.

Al-Janna and Al-Nar

From the limited sources available, it does not appear that pre-Islamic Arabia had an

eschatological framework that included a well-defined afterlife. Rather, it appears that the belief

system centered on pantheistic worship of trees, stones, and gods and goddesses.0 With the

arrival of Muhammad and the penning down of the Qur'an, the understanding of an afterlife

arose featuring a Garden and Fire, for the good and evil respectively. The concept of heaven and

hell in Islamic thinking is somewhat different from the Christian understanding. The terms al-

Janna and al-Nar describe the Garden and the Fire, which depict the two main destinations of

the afterworld Muslims find in the pages of the Qur'an. According to Rustomji, unlike in

Christian thinking of an afterlife, the Muslim believes more in a concept of an afterworld, which

has al-Janna and al-Nar as components. Discussing this framework of eschatological thinking,

Rustomji’s writes that the closest a Christian author has come to this understanding of an

afterworld is Dante Alighieri in his Divine Comedy.0 She adds that “unlike the terms ‘heaven’

and ‘hell’, al-janna and al-nar operate in different semantic fields. They are simultaneously

places and things. One can walk into the Garden or the Fire…when the Garden and the Fire are

promised, it is their spatial dimensions that are invoked.”0

Al-Janna (Garden)

Rustomji describes the afterlife in the Garden as “an everlasting banquet” where the

faithful “experience fully the joy that could not exist for those who toiled on earth for Allah.”0

Hadiths describe believers in the afterworld as having transformed bodies; one tradition

0 Nerina Rustomji, The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell in Islamic Culture (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008), 2.

0 Ibid., xvi-xvii.

0 Ibid., xviii.

0 Ibid., 83.

describes it as follows: “Inhabitants of al-Janna would enter hairless, beardless, eyes anointed

with collyrium, age thirty or thirty three.”0 In addition, there will be no health issues, and no one

would become ill or die. Bodily functions such as urination or defecation also cease, and sweat is

transformed to be sweet-smelling. According to one Hadith, “men will be given additional

strength for sex”, apparently, according to the Prophet, men would have the sexual strength of a

hundred men.0 In general, inhabitants of the Garden will be increasingly more beautiful. Their

residences, furnishings, garments, adornments and perfumes will be of luxurious materials.

Believers’ families will continue in the Garden, even extending to the rejoining of all

generations of extended families. The faithful are served by helpers who may be “angels, youths,

and pure companions.”0 There are male servants, young men (wildan) and slave boys (ghilman)

who will cater to the food and drink needs, but “function as objects in the landscape, as opposed

to sentient, sensitized beings.”0 However, there appear to be no females (huri) in the Garden who

act in a servant function, rather they are there to provide companionship and are described as

“wives with beautiful eyes” and are ascribed virginal aspects. It appears that the understanding of

the role of these companions shifted and evolved from an original concept of purity to one where

the females become sensual companion.0

The Qur'an, in 55:72, speaks of “Companions restrained (as to their glances), in (goodly)

pavilions.”0 In another surah, it says “We have created (their Companions) of special creation.

And made them virgin - unmixed (and undefiled),- Beloved (by nature), equal in age,- For the

0 Ibid.

0 Ibid., 84.

0 Ibid., 91.

0 Ibid.

0 Ibid., 95.

0 Translation Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Companions of the Right Hand.” (56:35-38)0 From these ayat, commentators on the Qur'an have

developed more elaborate afterword pleasures, such as this commentary on 55:72 in Sunan al-

Tirmidhi, “It was mentioned by Daraj Ibn Abi Hatim, that Abu al-Haytham 'Adullah Ibn Wahb

narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudhri, who heard the Prophet Muhammad PBUH saying, 'The

smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants

and seventy-two houri, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine and ruby, as

wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San'a.”0 The rewards for men in the afterworld have

been made rather explicit; however, there appears to be no correlated afterworld experience for

women.

Al-Nar (Hell)

For those who were unbelievers or who were wicked in this life, the afterworld will not

be one that is pleasurable. Al-Nar, or Hell, is a place in which physical punishment is literal, just

as happiness is literal in the Garden. The Qur'an is replete with descriptions of pain, torture, and

blazing fire.0 One Hadith reports that Muhammad interceded for his uncle Abu Talib, who was

then brought up from the lowest to the shallowest fire. Yet even here his brain would boil,

considered the lightest punishment in the Fire.0

Even so, the physical elements of an afterworld for those condemned to Hell are not the

true curse. The real punishment that unbelievers will experience is the realization that they

cannot reverse the outcome of their lives. There is no changing the fact that they will suffer in

Hell. Rahman writes, “the standard Qur'anic terms for the ultimate sequel … are not salvation

0 Translation Abdullah Yusuf Ali.

0 Sunan al-Tirmidhi Vol. IV, Chapters on "The Features of Heaven as described by the Messenger of Allah", ch. 21 "About the Smallest Reward for the People of Heaven", hadith 2687

0 Rahman, Major Themes of the Qur'an, 112-13.

0 Rustomji, The Garden and the Fire, 38.

and damnation so much as success (faläh) and loss (khusrän), both for this life and the

hereafter.”0

It appears like there is some level of interaction possible between the residents of the

Garden and of Hell as well as another category of men who are described as being “on the

Rampart”, and who have not been ascribed to either final outcome, but can see both sides, as is

described in 7:44-50.

Satan

There are ninety-eight references in the Qur'an to Satan (shaytan), which describe him as

the “source of fear, slippage, precipitating hatred, and above all temptation.”0 However, he is

typically not depicted as the ruler of lesser demons, but rather as one who has a large following

of humans and jinn (demons) who serve him as his “cavalry and infantry” (17:64). The Qur'an

describes the jinn as created beings, somewhat akin to humans, with the key difference that jinn

were created by fire, while humans were made of baked clay, according to 7:12.0 Iblìs, another

name for Satan, is described in 18:50 as part of the jinn, and the one who refused to bow down to

humans in pride. There are no superlative assigned to him, meaning that the Qur'an does not

place him in a hierarchical order, however, 14:22 appears to clarify his role as having been

“assigned by God to corrupt mankind.”0

Satan’s role can be summarized as “the paramount power of temptation” and “assigned

by God to corrupt mankind.”0 While this role seems central to the Islamic understanding of

Satan, there is no further role for him once the condemned realize on the Day of Judgment who

0 Rahman, Major Themes of the Qur'an, 108.

0 Abbas Amanat, Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism (New York: I. B. Tauris, 2009), 203.

0 Rahman, Major Themes of the Qur'an, 121.

0 Amanat, Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism, 203.

0 Ibid.

was behind their temptations and ultimate failings, but by then it is too late. Satan has no part in

Islamic eschatology in either part of the afterworld, not even in a sort of purgatory. Modern

thinking appears to have relegated Satan’s role to less of a personalized being and rather to an

“intrinsic force”0.

The Dating of the End of Time

Much like their Christian – and to some degree Jewish – counterparts, Muslims have

attempted to pinpoint a time when these final events would take place. The Qur'an is explicit that

such timing is not possible (7:187, 31:34, 43:85), however the Hadiths traditions have largely

ignored this through all means possible, e.g. gematrical exposition of the Qur'an or Sufi texts.0

Some dating had placed the end of time in 1978, which coincides with the year 1400 A.H. Closer

to the new millennium, the year 2000 became a candidate, despite a lack of apparent Islamic

calendar corollary. The Egyptian writer Amin Muhammad Jamal al-Din has written a series of

books trying to date the end of the world through a methodology that actually leverages Christian

texts to pin a date to apocalyptic events. Most of the predictions given from scholarly sources,

beginning mid last century, are tied to the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.

Mahdism

Mahdism, or the expectation of a future messianic personality who will bring about a

perfect Islamic world in the here and now, is common to Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims. The Mahdi

is “the epitome of what the true Islamic ruler should be; he is the person who will set things

right.”0 Both major branches of Islam expect the arrival of the Mahdi. The key difference,

according to Ayatollah Nasir Makarem Shirazi, is that "Shias believe that the Imam of the time

0 Ibid., 205.

0 David Cook, Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2008), 85.

0 Ibid., 126.

was born and is in occultation, while Sunnis believe he will be born in the end of days. Certainly,

there is a minority among Sunni scholars who share the belief of the Shias in this matter."0

Mahdism, according to Shenk, is an eschatology that has “the potential to form powerful

movements that cannot be trivialized.”0 The introduction of this paper citing Iranian President

Ahmadinejad’s words at the UN seem to hint at this. Shi’ite beliefs specific to Mahdism, which

vary from the Sunni understanding of a yet-to-appear Mahdi, will be discussed in a section

below.

Key Players

Mahdism is not understood by simply telling the story of the Mahdi, especially as there

are conflicting traditions in the Sunni and Shi’a branches of Islam, but rather one ought to

inspect the other elements of Mahdi traditions. There are six primary characters in Mahdism: the

Mahdi himself, Jesus, al-Dajjal (or the Deceiver), al-Dabbah (the Beast), the collective entity

called Yajuj wa-Majuj (or Gog and Magog), and al-Sufyani.

The Mahdi

Al-Mahdi, or “the rightly guided one”, will ring in the end of time, according to Muslim

traditions. The Mahdi himself is not mentioned in the Qur'an, but is mentioned in a number of

Hadiths. While Jesus (see below) holds the more messianic title of al-Masih, a cognate of the

Hebrew mashiakh, it is clearly the Mahdi who “for all intents and purposes …is the more

relevant messianic figure in Islamic thought and history.”0

0 Islamic Insights, Our Responsibilities before Imam Mahdi, http://www.islamicinsights.com/religion/clergy-corner/our-responsibilities-before-imam-mahdi.html (accessed October 16, 2011).

0 David W. Shenk, “Muslims and Christians: Eschatology and Mission,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 33, no. 3 (July 2009): 120.

0 Timothy R. Furnish, Holiest Wars: Islamic Mahdis, Their Jihads, and Osama Bin Laden (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005), 2.

In Sunni eschatology, according to Fahd Salim, a Sunni writer, several events will have

to occur before and directly after the Mahdi is revealed. The Sufyani (see below) will have to

appear, reconquering Israel for all Muslims and killing the Jews. The Madhi will then be

revealed and will reestablish the caliphate (a clear departure from Shi’ite thinking). He will

conquer Constantinople (in several writers’ opinion for the second time due to the reform efforts

in Turkey that led Muslims away from the true faith) and Rome. This will be followed by a

conquering of all of Europe during the time that al-Dajjäl (the Antichrist) proclaims himself.

Jesus will return from heaven and will ultimately defeat al-Dajjäl.

Serving as the central figure of these end times scenarios, the Mahdi will correct that

which has been corrupted and return Islam to its roots and the faithful to their place. In Sunni

tradition, the Mahdi is a “reluctant leader, first chosen by God, after which the choice is

apparently spontaneously confirmed by the masses of Muslims.”0 There will be opposition to the

Mahdi; in the eyes of one Islamic author, M. Da`ud, a gigantic army descending upon Mecca

will consist of non-Muslims (possibly Americans).0 The Mahdi will be provoked by many others,

but will be victorious in conquests. The Arabian Peninsula will be won over with Arab Christians

turning to Islam because of the Mahdi. The Americans become involved (again?), and this

culminates in them battling the Mahdi in a confrontation at a point at which the Mahdi aims at

Israel and seeks the annihilation of the Jews. Mahdi’s armies win decisively, possibly via a

nuclear weapon launched through a suicide bomber on the Western fleet in the Mediterranean.

Most of the Jews will be killed, and many Westerners will willingly surrender to Islam. A sign of

peace and technological wonders follows, as the West is forced to transfer its technological

achievements to the Mahdi and his followers.0 It is not clear when the actual final time of

0 Cook, Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature, 128.

0 Ibid., 130.

0 Ibid., 136-39.

judgment begins, but this could be over a century later, according to some scholars. The Mahdi’s

key role during his time will be to reorder society around the globe in utopian-appearing

realignments of socioeconomic orders.0

Jesus

Jesus, who is described in the Qur'an as the son of Mary and a prophet, not divine (5:75),

will join the Mahdi in the fight against the Antichrist figure of al-Dajjäl (see below). There are

some traditions who believe these two figures are really synonymous; however most traditions

see differences that are clearly distinct.

Some traditions describe Jesus as being of medium height, having a ruddy appearance

and long hair flowing down “as if he had just bathed”.0 In the Qur'an, Jesus did not die, but rather

resides with Allah (4:157-158). Islamic eschatology has him returning, possibly by descending

on a mosque in Damascus, and proceeding to destroy all of the world’s crosses, kill all pigs, and

encourage the Ahl al-Kitab, the People of the Book, to join the lone true religion, the religion of

Allah, Islam. Together with the Mahdi, he will lead the armies of Islam in their battle against al-

Dajjäl. After his defeat, Jesus will live a full life of around 40 years and possibly get married and

have children. He will ultimately die and be buried next to the Prophet Muhammad’s grave in

Medina.0

Al-Dajjäl (the Deceiver)

Haddad and Smith call al-Dajjäl, a type of Antichrist, “perhaps the figure most important

to contemporary apocalyptics.”0 Described as a curly-haired, middle-sized, thin-faced and loud-

0 Furnish, Holiest Wars: Islamic Mahdis, Their Jihads, and Osama Bin Laden, 7.

0 Furnish, Holiest Wars, 18.

0 Ibid.

0 Haddad and Smith, “The Anti-Christ and the End of Time in Christian and Muslim Eschatological Literature,” 514.

voiced albino having red hair and a reddish color with a large head with leftover scarring from

small-pox0, blind in one eye, and with the root of the word kafir written on his forehead, he is the

polar opposite of the Mahdi. He is also said to be the descendant of Abù Sufyan, the enemy of

the Prophet who only very late in life converted to Islam under duress and whose wife was Hind,

the “Liver-Eating Woman” who “chewed the liver of Hamza, the Prophet’s uncle, after the battle

of UHud in 627.”0 His intention is to draw the faithful Islamic community, or `umma, away

from the true faith and to establish himself as the ruler over a powerful kingdom. According to

one tradition, he is said to rule for a period of seven years.0

al-Dajjäl will perform many miracles in order to deceive the Muslim community.

Among them are the healing of lepers, paralytics and the blind, raising the dead, causing

vegetation and rain to appear (or preventing it), making cattle thrive or die, moving entire

mountains and enticing them to fight with each other, and causing the sun to stop from moving.0

Cook writes, “These miracles show a close affinity to those performed by Jesus…. His powers

are very similar in kind, but totally evil in nature.”0 It appears that in Islamic thinking, al-Dajjäl

is the impersonation of evil, while Jesus is the counterpoint in moral goodness. As such, the

battle must be between these two figures. al-Dajjäl is depicted as a very dangerous time of trial

for all of Islam. Several traditions describe al-Dajjäl as extremely cruel. Cook writes:

One Muslim in particular is singled out, cut up, and tortured in various gruesome ways. It is emphasized that he will under no circumstances give in to this torture, despite the fact that the Dajjäl raises him from the dead several times and tortures him further. This

0 David Cook, Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic (Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam) (Greenwich: Darwin Press, 2003), 123.

0 Ibid.

0 Haddad and Smith, “The Anti-Christ and the End of Time in Christian and Muslim Eschatological Literature, 515.

0 Cook, Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic (Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam), 100-1.

0 Ibid., 101.

believer is described as the one possessing the greatest martyrdom in the eyes of God. In all likelihood this story is based on Christian martyrologies.0

However, unlike with al-Sufyani (see discussion below), where many faithful arise to

fight him, few Muslims apparently actually oppose al-Dajjäl. Rather, it is Jesus who battles him0

and who finally defeats him, according to one tradition, by simply looking at him.0

Al-Dabbah (the Beast)

The Qur'an describes a beast arising from the earth in 27:82. This beast is similar to the

Beast in Revelation in the Bible. It does not per se appear to be a malevolent creature despite an

appearance that instills fear, but will mark believers and unbelievers in the forehead, which, of

course, again appears like an allusion to the book of Revelation. However, this is where the

similarities stop. Believers will have a white dot placed on their foreheads, whereas unbelievers

will have a black dot applied. Al-Dabbah is described as a mixture of animals with “the head of

an ox, the eye of a pig, the ear of an elephant, the horn of a stag, the neck of an ostrich, the front

part of a lion, the haunch of a cat, the tail of a sheep, and the legs of a camel.”0 Al-Suyuti

describes al-Dabbah’s appearance from al-Safä in Mecca, while Jesus is circumambulating the

Ka`ba; something that places al-Dabbah during a time when al-Dajjäl has already been

defeated.0

While al-Dabbah seems to bring about fear in the Muslim heart, he is not a creature to be

feared. He is not believed to cause harm to Muslim men and women, and he is even described as

killing the devil in one tradition.0

0 Ibid., 108.

0 Ibid., 108-9.

0 Ibid., 101.

0 Ibid., 122.

0 Ibid., 121-22.

0 Ibid., 122. .

Yajuj wa-Majuj (Gog and Magog)

This composite figure, sometimes seen as one person, is a well-known element of

mythological writings of the Middle East. Mentions are made both in the Qur'an and in the Bible

(Gog and Magog). Some Qur'an scholars have postulated that 21:96-97 seem to refer to a dam in

the northeast, which is intended to confine Yajuj wa-Majuj, and which will be unable to contain

them at the end of times. They are sometimes pictured as large-sized cannibals, who rail against

God and will be a menace to the people upon whom they come.0 However, in the end Yajuj wa-

Majuj will be overcome by fire and other natural disasters. There is no true parallel between

Yajuj wa-Majuj and al-Dajjäl, but they are seen as signs that heralds the end of time – the

coming of the Hour.

Al-Sufyani

Not considered one of the major signs of the end time, the Sufyani is seen as a malicious

leader who will come to power in al-Sham, greater Syria, before the arrival of the Mahdi. As

Furnish writes, “the Sufyani seems to be the crystallization in Islamic tradition of resentment

toward the branch of the Umayyad dynasty descended from Mu`anwiyah b. Abi (or Abu)

Sufyan.”0 While al-Dajjal is typically seen in an Anti-Christ-like role as the one who opposes

Jesus, al-Sufyani is seen as the opponent of the Madhi, especially in Sunni eschatological

thought.0 His coming is heralded by an earthquake, and he will go on many ruthless military

expeditions. He will be faced by several figures that appear to be both apocalyptic and messianic,

such as al-Abqa` in Egypt, al-Ashab in al-Jazìram, and al-Yämanì.0

0 Haddad and Smith, The Anti-Christ and the End of Time in Christian and Muslim Eschatological Literature.

0 Furnish, Holiest Wars, 19.

0 Ibid.

0 Cook, Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic (Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam), 125.

Specific Shi’ite Beliefs of Mahdism

The above section on Mahdism and on the Mahdi himself reflected largely Sunni beliefs.

Unlike Sunnis, Shi’ites believe that the Mahdi is one of the Imams of the Imamate period of

early Islam, i.e. a descendant of Ali. To this day, Shi’ites commemorate the martyrdom of Imam

Husayn, the Third Shi’i Imam in AD 680 at Karbala. Amanat writes, “The Mahdi…in Shi’ism is

not only from the House of the Prophet and a progeny of 'Ali, but, more importantly, is the

‘riser’ (qa’im) who avenges all that went wrong in Shi’i sacred history and all the sufferings that

'Ali, Fatima, Husayn, their family and supporters sustained. He restores their rightful place in

history.”0 With this understanding as a backdrop, it is easy to see that Shi’ite beliefs tie back to

the beginning of Islam and have to do with pain inflicted on them in their persecution.

With today’s Shi’ites largely at home in Iran, Amanat leads back early forms of

eschatological understanding by Shi’ites to an influence of Zoroastrian and Jewish traditions.

The binary approach he sees in Middle Eastern religions “generally functions as a strategy to

resolve the tension engendered by the problem of theodicy.”0 The conflict between good and

evil, there since the world began, will be resolved in one final and destructive battle, in which the

forces of evil are defeated. He likewise sees the influence of Zoroastrian eschatology in the

human messianic or savior figure who will bring about “cosmic reconstruction.”0 The Mahdi in

Shi’ism brings a great revolt (khuruj), which will usher in both the Resurrection (qiyama) and the

final judgment (yaum al-din). Amanat sees in all the religions of the Middle East at the time of

the beginning of Islam (Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity) a very similar battle between

a savior and his evil mirror image. The exception is in Zoroastrianism, where Ahriman is much

0 Amanat, Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism, 5.

0 Ibid., 21.

0 Ibid., 27.

more powerful than the Dajjäl of Islam, the Antichrist of Christianity, or Belial of the Hebrew

Bible.0

Shi’ite understanding of the role of the Mahdi has one other key aspect: to the Shi’ite

mind, the Mahdi is already known. He is the Hidden Imam (or al-Imam al-Gha’ib) who will

reappear after his occultation, or hiding.0 There are several different branches within this line of

eschatological conviction, each following a particular Imam, however the most prevalent form is

that of the Twelver Shi’ites, who believe the Twelfth (and last) Imam who disappeared at the age

of five in AD 873-4 (260 AH) now lives in occultation, possibly in a “celestial visionary space”0

and will reappear to usher in the apocalyptic events of the end times.

In more recent history, Iran’s leadership has begun to pick up strongly on this

eschatology to use it for desired political and social underpinnings of what, according to their

convictions, should form modern (and Islamic) Iran. From the Mahdi-like Ayatollah Khomeini,

who rang in the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 to President Ahmadinejad, the Mahdi

messianic fever has served Iran’s political and religious leadership well.

The beginnings of the association of the United States as the Big Satan and Israel as the

Little Satan began during the period of Stalin’s reign who drove an aggressive anti-Semitic

campaign via the airwaves picked up in Teheran, and it continued after the forming of the State

of Israel, when Russian radio stations beamed radio programs into Iran portraying Zionism as

more and more identifiable with those nations who supported Israel, such as the United States

and Great Britain. The United States were viewed as an “intrusive superpower” ringing in the

“latest phase of an imperial intrusion.”0

0 Ibid.

0 Ibid., 49.

0 Ibid., 52.

0 Ibid., 217.

With the influx of Western influences, begun during the reign of Shah Reza Pahlavi, it

became necessary for the fundamentalist leaders to define a new opponent in the battle against

evil. The existing satanic enemy of Shi’ism was updated and made to play a more important role

than simply being responsible for the “mundane mischief assigned to him in popular beliefs.”0

The wars and upheaval in neighboring countries intensified the proto-messianic feelings in Iran,

in particular a confrontation with U.S. forces at the Mosque of Kufa, bearing great messianic

significance, in 2005.0 With Ahmadinejad at the helm, this messianic frenzy has accelerated.

Ahmadinejad has a soldier’s history, i.e. he has seen much war in younger years. When he

catapulted unexpectedly from virtual obscurity to the top leadership role in Iran in 2005, he

himself saw this as a confirmation of the Mahdi’s support.0 Interestingly, Ahmadinejad touts a

message of the Mahdi’s arrival as heralding “peace, social justice, prosperity, and happiness for

all humanity”0, when according to Shi’ite understanding, the Mahdi’s arrival will bring with it a

violent uprising that will be extremely bloody. Amanat sees this as a paradigmatic shift in

understanding and is concerned over Iran’s nuclear ambitions in parallel to its strong messianic

expectation.

Shifts in Eschatological Interpretation Since 1948

Shenk writes that in recent years, “the volume of Islamic apocalyptic and eschatogical

literature has increased dramatically, especially as a response to the emergence of the State of

Israel.”0 These writings often resemble apocalyptic writings in the Christian realm, such as the

recent Left Behind series. The problem of a disconnect between dispensational Christian beliefs 0 Ibid., 219.

0 Ibid., 227.

0 Ibid., 240.

0 Ibid., 242.

0 David W. Shenk, “Muslims and Christians: Eschatology and Mission,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 33, no. 3 (July 2009): 120.

of the role of Israel in end-times scenarios and the conflicting view of Muslim eschatological

convictions is summarized well by Haddad and Smith who write, “Here then is the crux of the

problem: what is necessary for the fulfillment of dispensationalist Christian belief on the one

hand is exactly what is most painful for Muslims on the other, and seems to be provoking a

counter-response.”0

The shifts in interpretation over time, but especially since the middle of the 20th century

become apparent in the conclusion of a summary paper of a 2009 conference entitled Roads to

Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter, which was printed in the Journal of

Qur'anic Studies:

It became clear that Islamic notions of eschatology and the afterlife, as seen by various scholars, are remarkably varied and diverse. Taking the Qur'anic description of Paradise, Hell and the eschaton as points of reference, Muslim religious thinkers and intellectuals of every period have arrived at their respective individual understandings of the fate of the deceased and the world as we know it. While some of them occupied themselves with rational analysis and logical argumentation, others embarked on a mystical contemplation of a deeper understanding of this and the other world.0

Conclusion

Muslims live in expectation of a final day of judgment, which will divide the good from

the evil and which will be preceded by a time of perfect Islamic society on earth under the rule of

the Mahdi. Many of the eschatological beliefs of Islam are not found in the Qur'an directly, but

rather in the Hadiths. There are a large number of scholars who have rendered often conflicting

interpretations of the vagaries of the texts at hand. Significant differences exist between the

Sunni and the Shi’ite understanding of who the Mahdi is and his role.

0 Haddad and Smith, “The Anti-Christ and the End of Time in Christian and Muslim Eschatological Literature, 511.

0 Christian Mauder and Omid Ghaemmaghami, “Conference: 'Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam': University of Göttingen, 27-31 May, 2009,” Journal of Qur'anic Studies 11, no. 1 (2009): 160.

There has been a prominent rise in interest in eschatology in Muslim scholarship since

the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. Anxieties associated with this geo-political

development have also created a shift in interpretations of passages in the Qur'an and Hadiths

that discuss the end of days and the signs surrounding this period. Many anti-Semitic sentiments

have found their way into the writings of Muslim scholars, both Sunni and Shi'a.

From a closer inspection of Islamic eschatology and in particular Mahdism, it has been

shown that Christians who want to share their faith in Jesus Christ as not prophet, but Messiah,

Redeemer and Lord, will need to understand the Islamic understanding of Jesus’ role in Muslim

end time scenarios, but clearly will also have to have a solid grasp on world history, or rather

Middle Eastern history, to be able to understand and differentiate the spiritual, and in particular

eschatological, mindset of Muslims encountered.

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