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In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Grantor of Mercy
Explanation of the misquoted hadith
A story about a supernatural apocalyptic battle between good and evil
When we look up different narrations of the hadith in
question, we find out that the phrase being quoted is actually part of a
larger narrative in the genre of eschatology (the part of theology
dealing with the end times and the Day of Judgment), describing the
return of Jesus and the apocalyptic battle between Jesus and the Dajjal (Antichrist).[1] In this battle that will take place between the armies of Jesus and the Dajjal, several miracles are said to occur including that the Dajjal will melt when Jesus sees him, and that inanimate rocks and trees will speak and identify soldiers of the Dajjal (Sunan Ibn Majah 4077).
This
is a story about a battle between two groups of soldiers involved in
war, one side of which is clearly unjust; it does not refer to innocent
civilians. And it’s not actually a battle of one religious group against
another! As a matter of fact, Muslims believe that all righteous
Christians, Jews, and Muslims will be following Jesus after he returns
(Qur’an 4:159) united under one creed of monotheism and belief in all of
God’s messengers. Meanwhile, misguided Christians, Jews, and Muslims
will be following the Dajjal. Indeed, other hadith demonstrate that many of the Dajjal’s forces will actually be deviant Muslims (Sunan Ibn Majah 179).[2]
Jews are amongst the good guys in the Muslim apocalypse
The hadith describing the soldiers of Dajjal who happen to be Jewish are in fact referring to a specific cult of 70 000 that takes Dajjal to be their messiah and follows him in his tyrannical actions (Sahih Muslim 2944). Hadith commentary states that those who will become Dajjal’s followers will represent only a small fraction of the global population of Jews (Fayd al-Bari,
Anwar Shah Kashmiri, 4/197). In fact, most Jews will be righteous folk
amongst the forces of good uniting with virtuous Christians and Muslims,
embracing the message of all the Prophets, and fighting against the Dajjal.[3] After all, the Dajjal
will be a murderous dictator who claims to be God, an anathema to all
followers of the Abrahamic tradition as well as to all people of
conscience.
Muslims do not believe that rocks and trees will be pointing out random innocent bystanders, but rather soldiers of the Dajjal—combatants
who are themselves involved in killing innocent people. It is about
these specific combatants in the Antichrist’s army that rocks and trees
will say, “There is one hiding behind me, come and slay him!” The
religious identity of the Dajjal’s soldiers includes evildoers from all backgrounds (including misguided Muslims). Other variants of the hadith state that the rocks and trees will simply say, “Here is a rejector of truth hiding behind me!” (Musnad Ahmad 3546) or “Here is a soldier of Dajjal!” (al-Buhur al-Zakhirah 1/493) and do not focus on the religious identity.
Therefore, this hadith describes
a future battle between warriors and can only occur after the return of
Jesus; in no way can it be interpreted as a prescription to go out and
harm civilians or peaceful members of any faith community. The Qur’an
explicitly condemns violence against civilians and noncombatants,
stating “Whoever kills a soul it is as if he has slain all humanity,”
(5:32) and, “So if they withdraw and do not fight you, and offer you
peace, then God gives you no way against them,” (4:90). War is only
permitted in defense against aggression or to aid the oppressed, as in the case of Jesus fighting against the Dajjal’s forces.
The question of Anti-Semitism and the Armageddon
All
three Abrahamic faiths (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) have
well-established traditions about a prophesied Messiah who will engage
in a battle against the forces of evil in the end times, whether it be
the return of Christ who will battle all the nations of the earth, or
the coming of the Masiach ben Yossef who will destroy the Edomites and
enemies of Israel.[4] All
three groups have had to explicate these esoteric eschatological
passages in order to steer clear of antagonism towards other
communities. In 2012, A DNC County Chairman resigned after he said, “The
Christians just want us to be there so we can be slaughtered and
converted and bring on the second coming of Jesus Christ.”[5] The Bible describes the Armageddon in painful terms regarding the enemies of Christ/Israel (See: Zechariah 14:12).[6] It’s
necessary for people of all faiths to not allow their texts about the
end times to be hijacked in a way that validates hateful speech or
actions in the present. All Abrahamic faiths have eschatological
teachings that are esoteric and require careful critical interpretation.
The mainstream leaders of all faith communities have consistently
emphasized tolerance and respect for others.
Islam denounces all forms of racism
The
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught his companions to respect people of all faith
backgrounds and to care for everyone. He said, “Donate in charity to
people of all faiths” (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 3/177)[7] and he personally used to donate money regularly to sponsor a Jewish family in his community.[8] When
the Prophet ﷺ saw the funeral procession of a Jew passing by, he stood
up out of respect. When some companions pointed out that the deceased
was not Muslim, he rebuked them stating, “Is it not a human soul?” (Sahih Bukhari 1250).
The lesson here is to respect all humanity. Some Jews converted to
Islam and yet others, like the Rabbi Mukhayriq, continued to practice
Judaism and still remained on good terms with the Prophet ﷺ (Seerah Ibn Hisham 1/518). Even when the Prophet ﷺ passed away, he had his armor mortgaged to a Jewish person (Sahih Bukhari 2759),
a narration that shows he maintained good relations with Jews until his
death. As the Qur’an says, “God instructs you to deal kindly and justly
with anyone who has not fought you for your faith or driven you out of
your homes: God loves the just,” (60:8). According to Al-Tabari, one of
the earliest commentators, this verse encourages good relations with
“all the sects, creeds, and religions,” (Tafsir al-Tabari 60:8). These Qur’anic teachings have inspired Muslims throughout the ages. During World War II, the Grand Mosque in Paris rescued Jews
fleeing the Nazis and provided them with a safe haven and means of
escape. This is the legacy that Muslims must recall and revive.
In
addition to respecting other faiths, Islam prohibits harming others and
places great emphasis on Muslims maintaining positive relationships
with those outside the faith. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ issued a stark
warning about persecuting others, “Whoever harms a non-Muslim at peace
with us will never smell the fragrance of paradise, although its
fragrance can be found a distance of forty years of travel,” (Sahih Bukhari 6516).
On the Day of Judgment, the Prophet himself ﷺwill argue on behalf of
persecuted non-Muslims and against the Muslims who persecuted them, “If
anyone wrongs a non-Muslim at peace with us, violates his rights,
burdens him with more work than he is able to do, or takes something
from him without his consent, then I will be his advocate on the Day of
Resurrection.” (Sunan Abi Dawud 3052). This stunning indictment should make any Muslim think twice before hurting anyone.
[1] Fath al-Bari by Ibn Hajar al-’Aqsalani, Sharh Sahih Muslim by al-Nawawi, Umdatul-Qari by Badr al-Deen al-’Ayni
[2] T his narration states that he will emerge from the deviant group known as the Khawarij (Sunan Ibn Majah 179), and according to commentaries on Ibn Majah, he will emerge at the head of a great army (“jaysh al-adheem”) of Khawarij (Shuruh Sunan Ibn Majah, edited by Raed Sabri Ibn Abi Ulfah). Another narration (Sahih Bukhari 1881) states that he will be joined by the inhabitants of Makkah and Madinah who are munafiqeen—those who outwardly claim to be Muslim but whose insincerity in faith will be evident once they join forces with the Dajjal.
[3] Fayd al-Bari explains, “This is only about the Jews whom Jesus is fighting against, namely those in the armies of Dajjal, not all Jews around the world.” In fact, if Dajjal is followed by a cult of seventy thousand wearing green shawls and crowns—as the hadith states—this number amounts to less than 0.5% of the global population, a tiny fraction. As an aside, though not a hadith nor theologically reliable narration of any sort, there is an interesting comment recorded in Kitab al-Fitan by
Nu’aym ibn Hammad (d.228H), the teacher of Imam al-Bukhari (d. 256H),
which states that after al-Mahdi (another Islamic eschatological figure)
recovers the Ark of the Covenant, most Jews will join the Muslims
except for a few. And in the Rabbinical literature, the staff of
Aaron—one of the items in the Ark of the Covenant—will be recovered by
the Messiah, as a token of his authority (Midrash Yelamdenu).
[4] “Appendix II – Mashiach in Jewish Law by Rabbi Dr. J. Immanuel Schochet, from his book Mashiach— the Messianic Era in Jewish Law on
Chabad.org. Dr. Schochet writes, “Interestingly enough, according to
Pirkei deR. Eliezer ch. 28 (in non-censored versions), the Ishmaelites
(Arabs) will be the final kingdom to be defeated by Mashiach.”
http://www.chabad.org/library/moshiach/article_cdo/aid/101747/jewish/Appendix-II.htm#footnote6a101747
[5] http://americanvision.org/6370/christians-just-want-jews-slaughtered-and-converted/
[6] http://biblehub.com/zechariah/14-12.htm
[7] Musannaf ibn Abi Shaybah, and Silsilah al-Saheehah vol 6, p. 628. Arabic: (تصدقوا على أهل الأديان كلها)
[8] Kitab al-Amwal,
Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam d224H, pp. 727-728, Dar alShuruq 1989 .
Arabic: (عن سعيد بن المسيب أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم تصدق على أهل
بيت من اليهود بصدقة ، فهي تجري عليهم ).
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