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Iqbal Sufi Epistemology
Iqbal Sufi Epistemology
The writer is Imam and Director of Islamic Studies, Masjid Dar-ul-Qur’an, Long
Island, New York (USA).
Iqbal, Sufi Epistemology, and the End of History 41
deception. The story, in Surah Al-Kahf, of Moses (AS) and Khidr (AS)
revealed the inadequacy of that epistemology which admits of
knowledge only through observation. Moses (AS) is mistaken on all
three occasions. Khidr (AS) on the other hand, who sees with the light of
Allah (SWT), corrects the mistakes which Moses made. The story also
indirectly points an ominous finger at the misguided community (or
Ummah) of Moses (AS), i.e., the Jews, as the people who would
experience the greatest deception, would be deceived and would then fail
to read accurately the historical process. In consequence of being
deceived they would blindly follow the most dangerous of all Pied
Pipers, Al-Masih Al-Dajjal, to their final destruction in history. My view
is that deception has already taken place, and the final destruction of the
Jews is now assured.
Iqbal is himself the best example of a scholar with a matchless
capacity to penetrate beyond appearances to grasp the reality of things.
He made a thorough and penetrating study of modern Western
civilization and came to the conclusion that its appearance was quite
different from its reality. Just three months before his death he tore away
the veil or appearance of “progress,” and delivered a stinging
denunciation of the modern West. Many, including the likes of Shaikh
Muhammad Abduh, as well as today’s secular liberals, have declared that
they have seen Islam itself in the modern West. Iqbal was not deceived:
The modern age prides itself on its progress in knowledge and
its matchless scientific development. No doubt, the pride is
justified…. But in spite of all these developments, tyranny of
imperialism struts abroad, covering its face in the masks of
Democracy, Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and heavens
know what else besides. Under these masks, in every corner of
the earth, the spirit of freedom and the dignity of man are
being trampled underfoot in a way of which not even the
darkest period of human history presents a parallel.3
Epistemology of the Modern West
Modern Western civilization emerged in consequence of sudden
unprecedented change that overtook Europe. A civilization which was
previously based on faith (in Christianity), and which had given
collective and dramatic expression of that faith in the Crusades,
experienced such radical change as transformed it into a civilization now
based on materialism. The new epistemology, which paved the way for
the collective embrace of materialism, was one that specifically denied
the possibility of knowledge being acquired through religious
experience, or through revelations from the unseen. Observation and
44 The Qur’anic Horizons 4:1
the age of fitan (i.e., tests and trials), and the Qur’an warned that all of
mankind would be targeted, and that Allah’s Punishment would be
terrible. (Al-Anfal 8:25).
The constantly diminishing supply of water would take place in
consequence of the release into the world, by Allah (SWT), of evil
beings whom He created, viz., Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj. The last two
chapters of the Qur’an were specifically devoted to warning the believers
of the very great dangers which would emerge in the world in
consequence of the release of “evil created by Allah.” The evil would
appear as “evil beings” created by Allah (SWT) to test and to punish.
They are Ya’jooj, Ma’jooj and Dajjal. The Prophet (SAW) described
Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj to be such thirsty beings that they would drink up all
the water of the world. They would pass by a river, he said, and they
would drink it dry.5 The last age would thus be characterized by over-
consumption, waste, and disrespect for water. Mankind would witness, in
the last age, riots and wars fought over water.
When we look around us in the world, it appears to be quite clear
that the countdown has already begun. There is an ominous and growing
shortage of water in nearly all parts of the world today. The head of the
U. N. Environment Program has recently expressed his fear that the
world is heading towards a “period of water wards between nations.” A
Pakistani government minister has warned of the likelihood of riots over
water in Karachi. The Kalabagh Dam project threatens bloodshed. The
Farrakha Dam, built by India, threatens to drown Bangladesh. Turkey
and Syria are poised on the brink of war. Water is one of the issues that
divide them. Israel, the Palestinian Arabs, and the neighboring Arab
Sates (particularly Jordan) have serious and growing differences over the
sharing of dwindling water supplies.
It would therefore appear that the release of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj
has already taken place. Iqbal agrees. Indeed, he appears to be one of the
very few scholars of Islam to have ever had the vision and the courage to
make a formal declaration that the release has taken place and, as a
consequence, that we now live in the last age, or the age which will
witness the end of history. The declaration was made in Urdu verse, and,
predictably, there is not even a hint of it in any of his writings or
statements made in English. This is the verse:
hadith in which the Prophet (SAW) spoke of the return of Prophet Jesus
(AS): “How will you be when the Son of Mary descends amongst you
and your Imam will be from amongst yourselves.” (Sahih Bukhari)
Within seven years of Iqbal’s pronouncement concerning the
release of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj in 1917, the unprecedented power and
influence of today’s dominant Western civilization led to the destruction
of the Ottoman Islamic Empire and, subsequently, to the collapse of the
Caliphate.
Secondly, the Hajj is an institution which is even more central in
importance to Islam, and which has survived for thousands of years. The
Prophet (SAW) has prophesied the abandonment of the Hajj in the
context of the aftermath of the release of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj. The
fulfillment of that prophecy appears to be imminent. It should come to
pass as soon as the Jews deliver on their promise to destroy Masjid Al-
Aqsa in order to rebuild the Temple of Solomon (AS). When it does
come to pass it will confirm, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Iqbal
was absolutely correct in this pronouncement concerning the release of
Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj.
Thirdly, the basic characteristic of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj is their
fasad (i.e., their conduct which corrupts, spoils, ruins). (Al-Kahf 18:94).
The age of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj would thus be one of immense and
unprecedented corruption. Everything will be corrupted — religion and
religious scholars; government and political life; the market, the
economy, and the world of finance or money; law and justice;
transportation, the environment, even the ecological system of the earth;
sex, marriage and family life; sports and entertainment; education, youth,
the role of women in society, and so on. When we look around us in the
world today we find ample evidence of this universal corruption,
indicating that Iqbal was correct, and that the countdown has begun.
Fourthly, another basic characteristic of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj is
their Godlessness and immorality (khabath). The Godlessness was
described in a Hadith Al-Qudsi in which we were informed that only one
of every 1000 of the end-time would enter into heaven (and that person
would be a follower of the Prophet). The rest, 999 out of every 1000,
would all be the people of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj and would all be sent to
Hell.7 The immorality was described in a hadith in which the Prophet
(SAW) conveyed to this wife, Ummul Mo’mineen Zainab (RAA), the
news that the advent of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj would be in consequence of
the increase of khabath in the world.8 The Qur’anic use of the term
khabath includes that sexual perversity which characterized Sodom and
50 The Qur’anic Horizons 4:1
Israel). For example, the Prophet (SAW) said that when Ya’jooj and
Ma’jooj are released they will pass by the Sea of Galilee (which is in
Israel).9 Then there is a very long hadith in Sahih Muslim in which we
are told that Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj will seek to attack Prophet Jesus (AS)
in Jerusalem.
It should be noted that the Jordanian Israeli Peace Treaty
required Israel to supply Jordan with a certain amount of water on a
regular basis. Israel could only fulfill this treaty obligation by pumping
water from the Sea of Galilee. The water level in the Sea of Galilee has
now reached so low that further pumping of water would cause damage
to its capacity to store water. Consequently, Israel has been forced to
suspend its fulfillment of its treaty obligation concerning the supply of
water to Jordan. Israel has recently told Jordan that the latter’s share of
water will be reduced by 60% during the coming summer due to “low
rain fall.” In response, the Jordanian Foreign Minister has urged Israel to
fulfill its commitment and to carry out the signed agreement. The
countdown has begun!
The restoration of the State of Israel not only confirmed the
release of Dajjal and of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj, but it also constituted a
veritable dagger plunged into the very heart of the Arab Muslim world.
This, in turn, fulfilled the ominous prophecy: “woe unto the Arabs.” We
may add, in passing, that the feminist revolution of the modern age (in
which night wants to become day) confirms that Dajjal is now in the last
stage of his mission.
I was pleasantly surprised to find this conclusion confirmed by
eminent Sufi Sheikhs. It is just possible that Iqbal came to the same
conclusion and this was one of the reasons why he called for attention to
be devoted to tafseer harf-e-yansiloon. After all, the Zionist Movement
was established in 1898, and the alliance between the Zionists and the
modern West was painfully revealed to Iqbal in the Balfour Declaration
of 1917.
Iqbal’s Epistemological Ambivalence and the End of History
The major actors in the last stage of history, viz., Ya’jooj and
Ma’jooj, Dajjal, Imam Al-Mahdi, and the return of Prophet Jesus (AS),
and the respective roles which they play, all combine to form an
integrated inseparable whole. It is beyond the scope of this article to
describe that whole, which requires another paper. That paper will
appropriately be entitled tafseer harf-e-yansiloon.
What is truly alarming is that despite Iqbal’s amazing and
52 The Qur’anic Horizons 4:1