Sheikh Nuaym Ibn Hammad (d. 843 CE) was one of the early Muslim scholar and muhaddith (hadith expert) who wrote a book called Kitab Al-Fitan where he copied down all the Prophetic ahadith and narrations from the companions that provides us a picture of what will happen in the end of times especially in Syria. A couple of ahadith talk about the sign of emergence of Turks in Al-Jazira (Syria & Iraq) and a big war with Turks in the Arab world centered around this region. With Turkey’s regional ambitions and its role in bringing a swift downfall of Assad I believe it is time to discuss these narrations:

Abdallah bin Amr (r.a) said "The apocalyptic battles for the people are five, so two have passed, but three will happen in this community: the apocalyptic battle of the Turks, the apocalyptic battle of the Byzantines, and the apocalyptic battle of the Dajjal. After the apocalyptic battle of the Dajjal there will not be any other." (Ibn Hammad, Al-Fitan, 1503) 

Background of Assad's downfall in Syria - Who benefits the most?

The Israeli genocide of Gaza has been ongoing for a year, but what just happened in Syria has taken the attention away for many from the genocide to this latest crisis. Syrian Crisis is not new, as we know that opposition protests began in 2011 against Assad’s government with parallel to the so called Arab Spring in Algeria. Gradually the protests turned into a violent rebellion which resulted in a similar violent retaliation from Assad’s military leading to hundreds and thousands dying and displaced over a decade. The opposition protests that may have started as a genuine movement, in fact got hijacked not too long after by Assad’s regional foes Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, with obvious blessings of US & Israel. Their main concern has been Assad’s refusal to accept Israel and allowing Iran-Hezbollah to operate inside Syria who support the Palestinian Resistance groups, a major threat for Israel. For this reason, Arab Spring was pushed in to Syria through proxy to remove him. Millions worth of weapons and thousands of fighters from across the Muslim world "in the name of Jihad" poured into Syria to topple his rule. To the surprise of many, Assad survived these attempts for almost 15 years where rulers such as Libya’s Gaddafi or Yemen’s Amrullah Saleh couldn’t survive. But this long war obviously weakened Assad’s power. A major factor that impacted his power and weakened the country further was sanctions imposed through the 2019 Caesar's Act by the United States, which as per many Islamic scholars a prophecy foretold in the hadith literature: 

Hudhayfa (r.a) said "The people of Iraq are about to not receive either dirham or qafiz further, since the non-Arabs (ajam) will prevent them from receiving it. The Syrians are about to not receive either dinar or bushel (muddan), since the Byzantines (Europeans) will prevent them from receiving it." (Ibn Hammad, Kitab Al-Fitan, 1893, Also narrated from the Messenger ﷺ in Sahih Muslim)

The Romans referred to here are the modern Western powers led by the US. Iraq’s main export is oil and after US invasion in 2003 a law was passed which declared that all revenue from sale of Iraqi oil gets deposited into US Fed Reserve bank in New York and only then disbursed to the Iraqi government hence keeping control over their resources. The Caesar Act was sanctioned on Syria by President Trump in 2019 which has severely impacted the Syrian economy, construction, finance and energy sectors, discouraged foreign investment and complicated the reconstruction efforts. The main exports of Syria is oil, gas and wheat which are also being controlled by the US military inside Syria. 

The latest offensive started on Nov 27th by Takfiri and foreign backed groups led by HTS (Haya Tahrir Al Shaam) formerly called Jubhat al-Nusra, an Al-Qaeda Affiliate and Turkish backed FSA (Free Syrian Army), SNA (Syrian National Army) and their allied groups that have been controlling Northwest Syrian territories such as Idlib and those bordering Turkey. This lightning offensive was quite different than those of previous years by these groups. They were able to move swiftly capturing Aleppo city and countryside, captured Hama, another important city and then finally Damascus on the 11th day! As per journalists & analysts, this sort of major territory loss hasn’t happened since the uprising began in 2011.

Over here its pertinent to mention that Eastern Syria i.e. East of river Euphrates is all Kurdish controlled territory by SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) who are backed by US which also houses bases inside Syria. The main fighting zone is Northwest and Western Syria. 

In this latest fighting Turkey is playing the most active role. All these groups that led the offensive from Idlib are mostly backed by Turkey who provides money, weapons and training. But Turkey hasn’t just gotten involved, in fact Turkey has worked with US, Israel & Arab countries providing support to these groups since 2011. Turkey not only backed these groups but also led its own army into Syria under pretext of fighting Kurdish militants in Kurdish controlled Eastern Syria whose affiliates in Turkey are designated as terrorists such as Turkey’s PKK, or Kurdish Workers Party is considered a terrorist organization. Turkey through its own offensive inside Syria is occupying territory and created a security buffer zone.

Turkey postures itself as a successor of the Ottoman (Osmania) Caliphate in the Muslim world. Turkey’s aim is to control Al-Jazira (parts of Syrian and Iraqi) territories on the footsteps of the Empire that once ruled over it. But the Ottomans were independent empire that made its own decisions unlike modern Turkey being part of Western military alliance NATO, cannot go against US and Western interests in the region. One of the main Western interests is protection and safety of Israel. Israel needs to be protected at all costs especially for US. In such case Turkey, being a NATO member, can only act as much and flex its power and influence through whatever means possible. Assad’s support for the Iran-Hezbollah-Palestinian Resistance corridor through Syria always irked the US and Israel the most. This support corridor part of Axis of Resistance, which includes Iraqi groups and Yemen’s Houthis, proved vital for Palestinian Resistance groups fighting in Gaza & West Bank especially since Oct 7th attack by Hamas against Israeli occupation. The Axis strengthened Hezbollah’s ability to attack Northern Israel in support of Gaza for an entire year inflicting heavy losses on Israel’s military while also sacrificing their own, which forced Israel to accept ceasefire. The simultaneous attacks by Hamas & Hezbollah, Iraqi Resistance and Houthis of Yemen exposed that Israel is a paper tiger only able to slaughter women & children and unable to put up a real fight on ground.

So the plan to initiate this Turkey and US backed offensive in Syria was to start a major infighting in Syria so that Axis of Resistance weakens or to completely cut off Axis’s Syrian support for Palestine which is clear now as many in the rebel leadership are acknowledging future relations with Israel. This strategy will give Israel breathing space and focus on fighting single front of Gaza rather than worrying about Lebanese or Syrian front. Since Turkey also carries its own ambitions for Syria & Iraq in order to achieve its goals it decided to align itself with US & Israeli Zionist plot to overthrow Assad’s government in Syria. For this reason, Turkey continues to covertly support Takfiri groups inside Syria such as Haya Tahrir Al Shaam, and others that come under SNA (Syrian National Army). 
​
How Zionism benefits from Takfiris - the Modern day Khawarij

The groups that have just now taken over Damascus are mostly associated with Khawarij type of ideology because they are quick to declare Takfir for others. Who and what is Khawarij and Takfir? Khawarij is the plural of Khariji, a term which means dissenter or rebel, a reference to those who separated from the main Muslims body and interpreted deen (religion) according to their limited intellect and then declared all other Muslims as kafirs (disbelievers). Takfir is the act of dissociating others from the faith if they don’t follow what is correct. These groups hasty interpretation and misguided notions caused them to consider all other Muslims as kafirs who should be fought and killed or submitted to their interpretation. These groups originated from Iraq as prophesied by RasoolAllah ﷺ:

Narrated Yusair bin Amr (r.a), I asked Sahl bin Hunaif (r.a) "Did you hear the Prophet (ﷺ) saying anything about Al-Khawarij?" He said, "I heard him saying while pointing his hand towards Iraq. "There will appear in it (i.e, Iraq) some people who will recite the Qur'an but it will not go beyond their throats, and they will go out from (leave) Islam as an arrow darts through the game's body.' " (Sahih Al Bukhari)

This is true of the Khawarij of the past and present. The past Khawarij originated from Iraq and so did the modern day Khawarij. The Prophet ﷺ identified them correctly when he said they would appear from Iraq because they were part of Ali ibn Abi Talib’s army in Iraq then separated from him and formed their own group. They then declared Ali and all other Muslims as kafir. Hazrat Ali (a.s) defeated them in the Battle of Nahrawan. After their defeat when someone said: “Praise be to Allah Who has brought them (khawarij) down and relieved us from them.” Ali (r.a) replied: “Verily, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, some of them are still in the loins of men and they have not been born yet, and the last of them will fight on the side of the dajjal (Antichrist).” 

Muslims believe that antichrist is al masih ad dajjal – The false messiah, meaning the ‘greatest deceiver’ claiming to be the messiah for mankind especially Jews, who are awaiting for their messiah. The Zionism ideology that guides the Israeli occupation of Palestine backed by Western elites, is facilitating dajjal’s arrival. The western elite today especially those controlling power in the US, UK, Germany, are members of global secret societies like Freemasons & Illuminati that support Israel and its genocide against Arabs and Palestinians. It is they who are facilitating the arrival of dajjal through their policy of occupation and destabilization of the region. One of the destabilization factors they employ among Muslims is covert assistance to these Takfiri groups because their actions harm Muslims the most. In fact the Prophet ﷺ even warned us about dajjal the false messiah to be associated with the last generation of khawarij, that he will emerge from among them:

Abdallah bin Amr (r.a) heard the Prophet ﷺ saying: “People will emerge from the direction of the east, reading/reciting the Qur’ān, but it will not pass their collarbones. “Every time a horn (generation) emerges from them it is cut off until the Dajjal will emerge from their remnant.” (Ibn Hammad, Kitab Al-Fitan, 1473)

It is important to note here that in other ahadith we are foretold by the Prophet ﷺ that dajjal will actually emerge from the East or 'Khurasan' and will be followed by thousands who will appear as Turks:

“The Dajjal will emerge from a land in the East called Khurasan and he will be followed by people with faces like hammered shields.” (Musnad Ahmad, Sunnah.com) ‘Khurasan’ is an ancient land east of Arabia which includes entire Afghanistan, eastern Iran, Northwest Pakistan and Central Asian states with Turkish populations (Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan). As per Islamic scholars ‘faces like hammered shields’ has always been a reference to the Turkish or Mongol features. It is also important to mention there are several Central Asian fighters fighting alongside the Takfiris in Syria against Assad government, such as the famous Turkistan Islamic Party of Uyghurs and Kitab At Tawhid Wa Al Jihad of Uzbekistan. Both organizations are Al-Qaeda linked and backed by Turkish intelligence and CIA.

Just like the khawarij fitnah of the past, the modern khawarij fitnah of these groups has also emerged from Iraq. After 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the US and their allies in Iraq established prisons where they placed hundreds of individuals suspected as terrorists after rounding them up from different parts of the country. It is these prisons from where several individuals later formed the core of Al-Qaeda and ISIS leadership in Iraq & Syria including suspects like Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS and self-proclaimed Caliph. These prisons were the hub where they were indoctrinated with sectarianism and extremist notions in the name of Islam. It is not a coincident that 17 of the 25 ISIS leaders that operated in Iraq or Syria came from these very prisons! One of the major personality that came from these prisons is Abu Muhammad Al-Julani, the HTS leader who spearheaded this recent takeover of Damascus in Syria backed by Turkey & US. After the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the shia majority of Iraq was backed by Iran to take authority. Iran had suffered a 10-year war by US and Saudi backed Baathist Army of Saddam, and so Iran did not want the same Baathist elements to once again rule Iraq. But after Saddam was toppled there was relatively calm but suddenly the country saw a breakout of sectarian conflict between shia and sunni and these Takfiri groups took advantage of the situation emerging themselves as champions of the Sunni Muslims, however these groups do not adhere to the Sunni Islamic discourse, in fact they are similar to their Khawarij predecessors because whenever they have taken over parts of Iraq or Syria, they attacked minorities, destroyed their places of worship, flamed sectarianism, declared Shias or Sufis as kafirs and permitted attacking shrines and their masjids, attacked and looted homes, taken prisoners, etc. Today it is their members who have now taken over Damascus.

HTS (Hayya Tahrir Al Shaam) is the biggest fighting group leading this takeover in Damascus. HTS was formerly called Jabhat al-Nusra formed in 2012 by ISIL (ISIS) and emerged in Syria. After entering Syria it split a year later and declared allegiance to al-Qaeda. It then severed ties with al-Qaeda and joined with other factions to rebrand itself as HTS in 2017. HTS is based in Idlib governorate in Syria and is estimated to have up to 30,000 fighters. The leadership of Al-Nusra, HTS were all associated in past with these CIA run Iraqi prison camps. Abu Muhammad Al – Julani, the leader of HTS was arrested by US forces in Iraq in 2006 and held for five years in same prisons, al-Julani was later tasked with establishing al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria called al-Nusra Front, which grew its influence in opposition-held areas, especially Idlib. Al-Julani coordinated in those early years with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of al-Qaeda’s “Islamic State in Iraq”, which later became ISIL (ISIS). Today these groups are mainly backed by Turkey and even Qatar. Turkey is a member of Western military alliance of NATO, and in fact is the second largest member of that alliance after US. Turkey is an ally of West in this Syrian war. 

What is Turkey's ambitions & why it backs these Takfiri groups?

Discussing Turkey's role we notice some end times Prophetic narrations that informs us how they will become powerful and descend upon Syria & Iraq, such as:

Makhul (r.a) said The Prophet ﷺ said "The Turks will have two emergences: one of them in which they will emerge in Azarbayjan (modern Azerbaijan is ethnic Turk & ally of Turkey), and the other one in which they will drink on the shores of the Euphrates (in Syria & Iraq).” In another narration we are informed, Kab (r.a) said "The Turks will descend upon al-jazira (Syria & Iraq) until their horses will drink from the Euphrates [River]. God will send a plague against them, and kill them, without leaving even one man of them.” (Ibn Hammad, Kitab Al-Fitan, 1864) 

The Euphrates is a river that originates from Turkey, passes through Syria, enters Iraq passes through its territory before flowing into the Persian Gulf. It seems that by backing Takfiri rebel groups the Turks plan to enter Syria and take more control over the territory and might even enter Iraq through its Northern side. The part of the hadith “they will drink on the shores of the Euphrates” might point to the fact that Turkey continues to build dams on the mouth of this river inside Turkey for its usage. This dam building has caused water shortage inside Syria and even more in Iraq along with the natural climate change which is causing the river to gradually dry up. The drying up of Euphrates is another sign prophesied in a narration, that may play in to the war in Syria in near future:

“The Hour will not come to pass before the River Euphrates dries up to unveil the mountain of gold, for which people will fight. Ninety-nine out of one hundred will die (in the fighting) and every man amongst them will say: 'Perhaps I may be the only one to remain alive." (Riyad as Salihin)

After eruption of the war in Syria in 2011, the Euphrates have become a sort of a demarcation line between Syrian rule of Assad in the East and the US backed Kurdish control in the West. As HTS and takfiri groups wage their offensive in the East and take control from Assad’s forces, we notice them also getting closer to Euphrates. An actual revelation of the gold would make all parties to the conflict in Syria and even inside Iraq to fight over this gold  resulting in large casualties as foretold.

Turkey does not only consider itself a major player in the Middle East but also as a leader in the Muslim world especially among all Turks. To achieve this goal Turkey employs pan-Turkism or Turkish nationalism, which aims to bring all nations of Turkistan (Central Asia), under one organization called Organization of Turkic States (OTS). The OTS is a Turkic alliance primarily led by Turkey, composed of Turkic member states of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, alongside observer states Hungary, Turkmenistan. The aim is to create political, economic & military alliance which could be independent and balance between the US led Western alliance & Russian-China alliance. A recent example of this Turkish cooperation was the Karabakh War in 2021 in which Azerbaijan, with military and political support from Turkey, captured territory from Armenia. If and when this organization becomes stronger then we can imagine Turkey leading this Turkish alliance into Syria and Iraq as stated in several ahadith on this topic: 

Makhul (r.a) narrates "The Turks will have two emergences: an emergence which will be the destruction of Azarbayjan, and an emergence in which they will appear in al-Jazira (Syria,Iraq) snatching up those with anklets [women]. God will give victory to the Muslims; among them [the Turks] will be God’s greatest slaughter, and there will be no Turks afterwards.” (Ibn Hammad, Kitab al-Fitan, 1867) 

This is one of the Apocalyptic wars that will happen between the Arabs & Muslims against an alliance of Turks which we can possibly see would be led by modern day Turkey whose political interference in region of Azerbaijan, Syria & Iraq, Libya, and other places is obvious. 

Turkey's Kurdish excuse for invasion of Syria & Iraq

In the past few decades with the breakouts of wars in the Middle East especially the 2003 Iraqi war and 2011 Syrian war, the changing political landscape of these states bordering Turkey has also changed. The Kurds have a significant population in the bordering region of Syria, Iraq, Turkey & Iran, and have always lived under authority of one of these states but have never had their own independent state. With the breakout of wars and collapse of the governments the Kurds of Syria & Iraq decided to take matters into their own hands and carve their territories in Eastern Syria and Northern Iraq. These 2 Kurdish states border Turkey in the Southeast of the country and since Southeast Turkey also has significant Kurdish population, the Kurds under Kurdistan Workers Party called PKK has fought insurgency inside Turkey claiming oppression by the state. Turkey has used this as a pretext to bomb Kurdish states inside Syria & Iraq and led military incursions. Since Turkey’s geopolitical ambitions are quite clear, we can expect further Turkish incursions into these territories and their occupation might be a fulfillment of the prophecies of Turkish takeover in Iraq & Syria:

Kab (r.a) said "The Turks will surely make an appearance; nothing will stop them short of al-Qatia (close to Damascus) God’s greatest slaughter will be among them." Hudhayfa (r.a) said to the people of Kufa "A small-eyed, snub-nosed people, as if their faces were beaten shields, wearing shoes of hair, will expel you from it (kufa), and will fasten their horses on the palm of Jukha [River], and they will drink from the mouth of the Euphrates." (Ibn Hammad, Al-Fitan, 1878)

Iran's Tensions with Turkey, Azerbaijan 

Azerbaijan is a Turkish nation sharing border with Iran and a stanch ally of Turkey. Azerbaijan also has strong diplomatic ties to Israel and the Israeli presence in border region of Iran is considered a major threat by Iran. It’s important to mention that Iranian President Raesi and Foreign minister were killed this year in a helicopter crash that happened in the mountains of Iran bordering Azerbaijan. As per some journalists Israel has built smart villages on the Azeri border to spy on Iran. In North, Iran has 2 provinces called East & West Azerbaijan that share border with Azerbaijan and are home to millions of Turkic-speaking ethnic Azeris. Iran has long accused Azerbaijan of inciting separatist sentiment inside those provinces. The Turkish assistance for US & Israel to topple Assad’s pro-Iran government in Damascus will now cut off Iran’s influence in Syria, a major victory for Israel. But Israel will not stop at that, considering Iran the biggest threat in Middle East, Israel will continue to push and weaken Iran's influence and may even ally with Turkey and Azerbaijan to somehow harm Iran from inside of Azerbaijan:

Abdallah bin Amr (r.a) The Banu Qantura are about to emerge driving the people of Khurasan and Sijistan before them brutally, until they fasten their mounts at the palm of al-Ubulla (near Basra in Iraq). They will send to the people of Basra: “Either give us your land, or we will descend upon you!” (Ibn Hammad’s, Al-Fitan, 1868)

The Bani Qantura means tribe of Qantura, as per scholars she was a concubine of Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) and the Turks are descended from her. As stated in earlier narrations that Turks will destroy ‘Azerbaijan’ it could be a possible reference to attack on North of Iran and then they (Bani Qantura/Turks) will descend down to ‘Khurasan’ & ‘Sijistan’ which are part of Eastern Iran bordering Afghanistan and then they will go to Iraq. This could either be interpreted in two ways: First, an US/Israeli backed attack on Iran in future by an alliance of Turks. Or it could be breakout of rebellion by Azeri Turks inside Iran, proxies backed by Turkey starting insurgency to create chaos in Iran, just as Turkey assisted in fomenting chaos inside Syria through rebel groups in 2011 which led to Assad's downfall. And Allah knows best!


References:
1. Cook, David, editor. “The Book of Tribulations: The Syrian Muslim Apocalyptic Tradition”: An Annotated Translation by Nu’aym b. Hammad al-Marwazi. Edinburgh University Press, 2017. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1pwt2c1. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
2. Who are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Syrian groups that took Aleppo?
Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/2/hayat-tahrir-al-sham-and-the-other-syrian-opposition-groups-in-aleppo#ixzz8u2V3ksTW
3. Sunnah.com - The Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) at your fingertips
www.Sunnah.com
4. A Strategic Opportunity for the Organization of Turkic States Amid Great Power CompetitionThe increasing cooperation among Turkic states is a strategic regional response to intensifying great power competition and shifting geopolitical dynamics in Eurasia.
https://thediplomat.com/2024/10/a-strategic-opportunity-for-the-organization-of-turkic-states-amid-great-power-competition/#:~:text=Strategic%20autonomy%20has%20emerged%20as,the%20Euro%2DAtlantic%20security%20framework.
5. Why does the US still control every penny of Iraqi oil revenues?https://thecradle.co/articles/why-does-the-us-still-control-every-penny-of-iraqi-oil-revenues 
Hussein Askary
6. Caesar Act 2019 for Syria
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_Syria_Civilian_Protection_Act
7. Washington steals over 80 percent of Syria's oil output per day
https://thecradle.co/articles-id/3195 
8. Taking Syria: The opposition’s battles shown in 11 maps for 11 days
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/8/taking-syria-the-oppositions-battles-shown-in-11-maps-for-11-days
9. Syrian rebel commander urges Israel to support uprising, strike Iran-backed forces
https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-rebel-commander-urges-israel-to-support-uprising-strike-iran-backed-forces/ 
10. Who are the rebels battering Syria’s regime, and do they pose a risk to Israel?https://www.timesofisrael.com/who-are-the-rebels-battering-syrias-regime-and-do-they-pose-a-risk-to-israel/
11. Iraq could have no Rivers by 2040
https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iraq/2021/12/02/iraq-could-have-no-rivers-by-2040-government-report-warns/ 
12. Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkistan_Islamic_Party_in_Syria#:~:text=The%20Turkistan%20Islamic%20Party%20in,in%20the%20Syrian%20Civil%20War.
13. Isis: the inside story, by Martin Chulov, Thurs 11 Dec, 2015, The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/11/-sp-isis-the-inside-story 
14. Analysis: Will Azerbaijan-Iran tensions lead to war?
https://aje.io/zbiuu8 

​Prophet’s prediction of return of the khilafah.

As per Islamic scholars there are many ahadith that speak about the return of the Khilafah in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) such as a famous narration of Abdullah Ibn Hawwala Al-Azdi (ra) who reported that the Prophet ﷺ put his blessed hand on his head and said, “Ibn Hawwala if you see that the Caliphate has taken abode in the Holy Land (Palestine) then the earthquakes and tribulations and great events are at hand. The last Hour on that day will be closer to people than my hand is to your head”. [Ahmad, Abu Dawud]. In another narration the companion Abd Al-Rahman Ibn Abi Umayrah (r.a) relates that the Prophet ﷺ said, “There will be a Bayah (oath of allegiance) according to guidance in Al-Quds (Jerusalem)”. (Bukhari, Muslim) This oath of allegiance is given to an Islamic Ruler, an Imam or Khalifa such as it was given to the successors of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ the rightly guided caliphs Abu Bakr (r.a) or Ali ibn Abi Talib (r.a). 

The khilafah will be reestablished on the footsteps of Prophethood as stated in another narration in which the Prophet ﷺ explains how rulership among Muslims will begin after him and go through different stages till Akhiruz Zaman (end of times): “Prophethood will last among you for as long as Allah wills, then Allah will take it away. Then it will be (followed by) a rightly guided caliphate (khilafah rashida) on the pattern of the Prophethood. It will remain for as long as Allah wills, then Allah will take it away. Afterwards there will be a hereditary leadership (Kingdoms) which will remain for as long as Allah wills, then He will lift it if He wishes. Afterwards, there will be biting oppression (our modern times), and it will last for as long as Allah wishes, then He will lift it if He wishes. Then there will be a rightly guided caliphate (khilafah rashida) according to the ways of the Prophethood.’ Then he kept silent.” (Musnad Ahmad)

What does return of Khilafah in Al-Quds mean?

It means that Al-Quds (Jerusalem) will be the Darul Khilafah (capital) of all Muslims, the khilafah which was abolished in 1924 by colonial powers when Turkey became a secular republic and ended the Ottoman Caliphate. For centuries the Ottoman Caliphs in Istanbul held political authority over Muslims which came to an end. This resulted in formation of Muslim nation states with individual flags and passports, the colonial aim of 'divide & rule' succeeded. As per prophetic ahadith the reestablishment of the system of khilafah will now happen in Jerusalem, and its leadership will be held by those who live in Al-Quds and the surroundings i.e Palestinians.

The Prophet's praise for people of Al-Quds and their Jihad

Allah's Messenger Muhammad ﷺ said “There will always be a party from my Ummah triumphant upon the Truth, victorious over their enemies; there will be no harm from those who oppose them and they will not be harmed until the order of Allah comes and they will be like that [victorious].' They (companions) asked ‘Messenger of Allah! Where are they?’ He replied, “’In Bayt al-Maqdis (Al Aqsa Masjid) and the surrounding areas of Bayt al-Maqdis’…” (recorded in Musnad Ahmad & Al Mujam Al Kabir) - This is a clear reference to the jihad that the Palestinians have been fighting against Zionist oppression for almost 75 years, especially the Palestinian intifada (uprising) that began in the 1980s and continues to unfold in various forms such as second intifada of early 2000s and all small and large uprisings by resistance in occupied Gaza, West Bank and Jerusalem. Despite many neighboring Arab nations with strong militaries the Palestinians have been fighting solely for their existence while powerful Western countries stand firmly behind the Israeli crimes.

The support of 3 groups for Al-Quds

As Israel is brutally invading and massacring men, women and children of Gaza some Muslim groups have decided to stand up and retaliate on behalf of Palestinians from Iraq, Lebanon & Yemen. Hamas, the main ruling and fighting force in Gaza along with PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) has been on the receiving end of financial and logistics support from Iran since its Islamic Revolution of 1979 that toppled pro-American Shah Iran and brought Ayatullah Khomeini into power. Iran's Islamic revolution was not just for its own country but the aim was to oppose all forms of colonialism in the middle east and larger Muslim world, especially Zionism which had been occupying holy land since 1948. Khomeini saw it as a evil arm of the Western imperialism and believed that Muslim region can never be in peace till this arm is cut off. After its successful revolution Iran decided to take steps to counter this occupation. A major step was the creation of Hezbollah in 1980 Lebanon who resisted Israeli occupation for 20 years before liberating South Lebanon from their control. Simultaneously Iran assisted PIJ formation and full support for both, Hamas and PIJ who were able to become a strong force in Gaza that fight Israel on all fronts today. Additionally Iran has also spread its influence inside Iraq and Syria with formations of fighting groups such as Hash Al-shaabi (popular mobilization forces) that counter Israel and its Western allies when necessary. Iran has also supported the rise of Ansarullah (Houthis) in Yemen that succeeded in defeating a US/Israeli backed Saudi-UAE alliance that attacked Yemen to install a pro-Saudi regime. As Israel continues Gaza massacres, Ansarullah has blocked the Red Sea, attacking and destroying Israeli ships which has significantly hit its economy. Ansarullah also continues to hit Israeli cities in South with guided missiles and missile laden drones. Meanwhile Hezbollah in support of Gaza is attacking Israel from the North inflicting major losses to its illegal settlements, soldiers and military outposts. As for pro-Iran groups in Iraq, they are consistently striking US military bases that are occupying territories inside Syria and Iraq. These groups all have one thing in common: the Liberation of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) from Zionist occupation. It is of these groups that we received news of support to the Palestinian jihad through the same companion Abdullah ibn Hawalah (r.a)  who had also narrated hadith about return of the Khilafah: Abdullah ibn Hawalah (r.a) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ  said "It will turn out that you will be armed troops, one is Syria, one in the Yemen and one in Iraq." Ibn Hawalah asked "Choose for me, messenger of Allah, if I reach that time." He replied "Go to Syria, for it is Allah's chosen land, to which his best servants will be gathered, but if you are unwilling, go to your Yemen, and draw water from your tanks, for Allah has on my account taken special charge of Syria and its people." (Abu Dawud) Ash-Shaam (Syria) here means Jerusalem, Palestine where Prophet Muhammad ﷺ received revelations. Syria also includes Jordan, Lebanon & modern day Syria. 

​Palestinian Resistance in Gaza is Islamic Resistance that Israel fears
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Netanyahu in his latest meeting with Twitter (now X) CEO Elon Musk said “We have to demilitarize Gaza after the destruction of Hamas. We have to de-radicalize Gaza, and that will take some time,” he stated. Expanding on his vision of a “de-radicalized” Gaza, Netanyahu told Musk that “you first have to get rid of the poisonous regime, as you did in Germany. Especially work on the mosques and on the schools, that’s where children imbibe their values. And then we have to rebuild Gaza.” The Zionist aim is not only to attack the Palestinian Resistance but also colonize the Palestinian minds to root out the ideology of Islam that inspires them to continue fighting the occupation which Netanyahu refers to as “poisonous”.

Hamas and its allies like PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) take their inspiration from Islam to fight jihad against Zionist occupation. They aim to liberate Palestine and establish their state based on Islamic Principles. This explains why Zionist Israel considers them a primary threat and not secular Palestinian Authority (Fatah), that rules some parts of West Bank and cooperates with the occupation. After the planned Oct 7th attack and their ability to inflict heavy losses on Zionist army during Gaza invasion including having several Palestinian captives released, Hamas has gained increased popularity among all Palestinians and even Arabs & Muslims worldwide. This has further diminished the image of Palestinian Authority in West Bank, and Israel is scared that Gaza would eventually inspire all Palestinians with the Islamic mission to liberate all occupied territories and establish an Islamic government.

The Dangers of Asteroids
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An asteroid struck the Earth on March 11th, 2022, just two hours after it was discovered by an astronomer in Hungary. With the world’s focus on Russia-Ukraine conflict no attention was paid to this incident. Designated 2022 EB5, the rocky object impacted our planet north of Iceland. This was one of the 4 asteroids and smallest among them under observation by NASA that unexpectedly crashed into the Earth. Among those 4 was also a giant one around 910 feet (named 2015 DR215) which passed by and did not collide with the Earth’s atmosphere. Space agencies like NASA observe thousands of asteroids in our space and assess their threat level because these can pose a genuine threat of massive destruction if veered away from their path and head for the earth at the last moment. 65 million years ago it was asteroid Chicxulub, the most dangerous one ever to impact the earth that caused extinction of the dinosaurs. Asteroids are potentially one of the most dangerous natural disasters the planet could experience, especially since there is currently no immediate way to stop them. It is estimated that an asteroid only 100 meters wide can cause an amount of energy at least a thousand times greater than that released by an atomic bomb. In 2013 a small meteor of 17-20 meters in size hit Russian city of Chelyabinsk with its impact causing windows of thousands of homes to shatter and 1500 injured and in need of medical attention. The impact of these objects depends on the size, speed and the pressure it faces as soon as it comes in to contact with the earth’s atmosphere. 

The Quran on Asteroids – “...if they were to see a part of the sky falling down..." (Al Quran 52:42)

The Quran teaches that Allah ﷻ has created a secure heavenly layer around the Earth, which largely protects us from harmful UV rays, small asteroids and meteorites that turn to dust before entering the atmosphere: (Al Quran 21:32) “and We made the sky a well-secured canopy- yet from its wonders they turn away.” But where the Quran mentions how Allah ﷻ has created this mechanism to help prevent the disastrous impact of outer space, it also warns us about The Day when a large asteroid might pass that barrier and impact us, and no advance expertise observation and planning methods will work to avoid it’s happening: (Al Quran 52:44-46) “AND YET, if they [who refuse to see the truth] were to see part of the sky falling down, they would [only] say, "[It is but] a mass of clouds!” Hence, leave them alone until they face that Day of theirs, when they will be stricken with terror: the Day when none of their scheming will be of the least avail to them, and they will receive no help....” The mufassireen say that "Day of theirs" in this ayah refers to the Day of Judgment. But if one ponders over the wording, they also seem to imply that there will be a day when some outer space object enters our atmosphere and causes an impact spreading panic and grief among the people. I am of that belief that this is an implication about the day when that object will enter our planet’s airspace and create an impact exposing the weakness of the disbelieving nations that are blinded by the power of their advanced technology. And obviously Allah ﷻ knows the best. 

Is there a Destructive Asteroid Approaching us?

According to NASA there are over 1 million small and large asteroids in our solar system, but these are only identified ones. Recently in 2019 a city killer asteroid called ‘Asteroid 2019 OK’ appeared out of nowhere and passed by very close to earth and stunned scientists because they had not been tracking this one. One of them even tried downplaying its potential impact by claiming “it is zero percent danger to us” adding “just like sharks in the ocean, they’re really not going to hurt you and they’re really fascinating to look at.” This scientific attitude is a reflection of what the Quran says "they would [only] say, "[It is but] a mass of clouds!”(Al Quran 52:44) In 2004 the astronomers discovered that Earth will experience a dramatic close encounter with a large sized asteroid called Apophis on Friday, April 13th, 2029. The 340-meter wide object will pass within just 19,000 miles of our home planet — a distance that brings it closer than most satellites that orbit the Earth. Due to the tremendous size of Apophis, its close passage will be so bright that around 2 billion people will be able to witness it with the naked eye. First becoming visible in the Eastern hemisphere, the asteroid will appear as a bright star streaking across the sky from east to west. When first discovered, Apophis caused a stir because initial calculations indicated a possibility it would impact Earth in 2029. In recent years the scientists have revised their assessment ruling out its impact in 2029 but they were closely studying Apophis return in 2036. Now, new NASA observations of the asteroid recorded have revealed the space rock poses no real threat to the Earth in 2036. However, these are just estimates and estimates are never absolute! The last space rock to strike Earth similar in size to Asteroid 2019 OK was more than a century ago in 1908. It caused an explosion that leveled 2,000 square kilometers (770 square miles) of forest land in Siberia. It was called the Tunguska event. 

Hadith on Asteroid & Imam Mahdi (a.s)

In Islam, not only the Quran but in fact the hadith literature also mentions this phenomenon of asteroid impacting the earth, a major heavenly event that will happen in the age of Akhiruz Zamaan (End of times). It is also mentioned that this is a sign of the appearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s), a figure in Islamic Eschatology who is to appear in the future to fill the earth with justice and peace just as it had been filled with oppression. As far as my knowledge is concerned, I have found most these ahadith in the book called Kitab Al Fitan (The Book of Trials & Tribulations) by Nuaym ibn Hammad (r.a), a 9th century muhaddith who was also the teacher of Muhammad Ismail al-Bukhari, the famous author of the most authentic hadith collection called Sahih Al Bukhari. The following is a list of a few important ones:

Al Walid (r.a) says that I heard from Kaab (r.a) that “before the appearance of the Mahdi there will be rise a star from the East, which would have many tails, and he also says that sun will eclipse twice in Ramadaan before the appearance of the Mahdi.” Khalid bin Ma’daan says “a big fiery sign will appear in the East (Eastern hemisphere) and the people of the world will see it. Whoever sees it should collect provisions for one year.” Hazrat Kaab (r.a) also said “…. a star thrown (by Allah from Heaven) illuminates like a moon and then turns like a snake until its ends meet. Two tremors will be in the night of Fis’hain. The star thrown (by Allah from Heaven) is a Shahab (asteroid) that rushes from the sky with a powerful sound when it drops in the East and because of it, people will experience magnificent disasters.” Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Jubayr (r.a) said “A sign will appear in the skies but people will differ. If you live to see it then collect your provisions for one year” Hazrat Abdul Wahab bin Bakht said that Rasool Allah ﷺ said “in Ramadaan  there will be a sign of stretched light in the skies, in Shawaal you will experience trials, in Dhul qadah will be destruction, in Dhul hajjah the pilgrims will be attacked and robbed, and what to say about Muharram? (meaning so much will happen in Muharram!) (Kitab Al Fitan, Nuaym ibn Hammad)

These and several ahadith found in Ibn Hammad’s Kitab mention about a celestial event that will precede the coming of Imam Mahdi (a.s) and will take place in Ramadaan. The above-mentioned ahadith clearly spell the arrival of an outer space object to earth. A quick comparison between the object mentioned in the hadith and the description of Apophis can help us determine if these two may be the same. Firstly, the hadith mention that “a star will rise in the east” while Apophis will also appear in the Eastern hemisphere. The hadith states that the star will have many tails, an indication to what we know about Apophis that its appearance will look like a speck of light moving from east to west. Scientists claim that at one point it will appear to travel more than the width of the full Moon. They also estimate that as it passes by Earth, it will get brighter and faster. The hadith also state that the bright star that will appear in East will be so bright that people will be able to see it like the full moon. The hadith mentions that it will make a great sound and cause wahiya (disasters). But scientific observations about the path of the Apophis reject that it would impact the earth, they claim that it would only pass by. But we need to remind ourselves that scientific findings are simply estimates which are not absolute. The hadith state that the people will differ over this sign which may imply conflicting claims of scientists that it will strike while others absolutely rejecting its possibility. The hadith also mentions its take place in Ramadaan but estimates say Apophis will strike on April 30, 2029 which will be the month of Dhul Hijjah and not Ramadaan.

But how else can we be sure that Apophis might be that Asteroid predicted in ahadith related to the sign of Imam Mahdi’s appearance? There are some common characteristics shared between the knowledge of Apophis and what is mentioned in the ahadith, but what else can help us be sure that Apophis might be the phenomena that the Quran and the hadith are speaking of? 

Green Arabia & Drying up of Euphrates

A further analysis of some other signs that would happen simultaneously to this heavenly event are also important to mention here. One of them is that Euphrates river in Iraq will reveal a large amount of wealth. Hazrat Kaab (r.a) said “On the banks of Shaam (Syria) or Furaat (Euphrates) will be a large gathering and they will fight over wealth. 7 out of every 9 will be killed. This will happen after the Hadda (powerful, hammering sound) and Wahiya (catastrophe). Then 3 flags will separate themselves and each will want rulership.” (Signs of the appearance of Mahdi, Kitab Al Fitan, Nuaym ibn Hammad) This hadith confirms the event when Furaat (Euphrates) reveals wealth over which people will fight and majority will die, and few will be left. It also states that this discovery of wealth will be after the heavenly event impacting earth. In a similar hadith Prophet Muhammad ﷺ also revealed that this wealth will actually be huge deposits of gold revealed as a result of Euphrates drying up: “The Last Hour would not come before the Euphrates uncovers a mountain of gold, for which people would fight. Ninety-nine out of each one hundred would die but every man amongst them would say that perhaps he would be the one who would be saved (and thus possess this gold).” (The Book of Tribulations and Portents of the Last Hour, Sahih Muslim) In the last few decades Iraq and Syria has experienced a historic drop in the water levels of river Euphrates. But Iraq is impacted worse than Syria because it is the Southernmost state in the path of this river’s stream. Major contributing factors of this drop have been increasing climate change, state corruption in the usage of resources, building of upstream dams by Turkey, Syria and Iran. This low level of water has also increased salinity which is resulting in miles of agriculture being destroyed and populations migrating and abandoning villages. Latest reports from Iraq’s government claims that if this trend continues then severe droughts will happen by 2025 due to change in water levels and if it was not prevented then Tigris and Euphrates will completely dry up by 2040! 

But before the heavenly sign and the discovery of gold, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ also mentioned that greenery will return to lands of the Arabs and they will be filled with pastures and trees: "Days and nights will not depart until pastures (greenery and meadows) and rivers return to the land of the Arabs and until the Furaat lays bare a mountain of gold. They will fight over it, and out of every 100 (people), 99 will be killed, and one will be saved." (Book of the End, Great Trials & Tribulations, Imam ibn Kathir) In 2017 Saudi Arabia along with other Arab countries announced two major green initiatives: The Saudi Green Initiative and Middle East Green Initiative. These 2 projects being spearheaded by Saudi Arabia to plant 10 billion trees across the country and 50 billion trees across the region with the aim to combat pollution, reduce carbon emissions and land degradation. Within the Middle East Green Initiative framework, the Saudi Kingdom is working with neighboring Arab countries to combat climate change. It is the most extensive reforestation program in the world. In partnership with these countries it aims to plant 50 billion trees. These projects are primarily focused more on reliance on clean energy, protecting the environment, and neutralizing the effects resulting from oil usages. The Saudi Green Initiative is also part of the 2030 Vision of Saudi Arabia that aims to decrease its economic dependency on oil and switching to other alternatives for increasing its revenues. Part of the greener Saudi Initiative and 2030 Vision is Neom, a grand futuristic eco-friendly city, also dubbed ‘the Green City’ being built in Tabuk province which will transform the landscape of that region and make the environment green. It is important to note that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ on his trip to Tabuk, a north Western region of Saudi Arabia prophesied to one of his companions named Muadh Ibn Jabal (r.a) “….If you live long enough, Muadh, you will soon see this place filled with gardens.” (Shortening the Prayer, Muwatta Malik)

​If the Saudi and the Middle East Initiatives succeeds to a large extent in the next decade or so and the Apophis makes contact with Earth during that same period causing destruction and hunger to spread, then we can expect a major civil war to grip the lands of the Arabs as a result of the enormous gold that the drying up of Euphrates will reveal over which they would all fight to take the largest share. This inter-warfare situation would kill majority of the Arabs and dwarf the present conflicts taking place in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen and would also engulf Saudi Arabia and the GCC states. If that happens then we can understand why Allah ﷻ will choose to send Imam Mahdi, whom people will choose for leadership to bring stability throughout the region as it had been destroyed through internal wars, corruption and foreign interventions.

This is a simple observation based on what we have come to learn about discovery of Asteroids by space agencies and see how it can apply to the contemporary affairs in the light of what the Quran and Hadith say about it. If it is true, then may Allah ﷻ help us and keep us safe from their impacts and if it is not true then may Allah ﷻ guide us and make these matters clear for us.