A Jew hiding behind me… or IN me? Introduction

عن أبى هريرة أن رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قال « لا تقوم الساعة حتى يقاتل المسلمون اليهود فيقتلهم المسلمون ، حتى يختبئ اليهودى من وراء الحجر والشجر ، فيقول الحجر أو الشجر : يا مسلم يا عبد الله هذا يهودى خلفى فتعال فاقتله ، إلا الغرقد فإنه من شجر اليهود

Abū Hurayrah رضى الله عنه narrated that Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم  said:
The Hour shall not arise until the Muslims fight the Jews. The Muslims will slay them to extent that the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stone or the tree will call out, “O Muslim! O slave of Allāh! This is a Jew hiding behind me. Come and kill him!” The exception will be the Gharqad [Boxthorn/ Goji], for it is a tree of the Jews. [Muslim]

A Ḥadīth which the politically correct are uncomfortable with….fortunately, this loose cannon is not politically correct.

So what do we understand from this Ḥadīth?

• Before Qiyāmah there will be [or already is today] a major conflict between the Muslims and the Jews.
• Implicit to the above as that whilst individual Jews may be guided, the masses will remain in opposition to truth until the bitter end. There is however hope for the guidance of others.
• The Muslims will ultimately triumph.
• The remnants of the Jewish foe will flee for their lives.
• Creation which do not normally make any sound let alone speech, will call out for the destruction of these enemies of Allāh.

It is this last point which I wish to delve into in a series of postings inshāallāh.

There are some who have love interpreting the clear words of Qurān and Ḥadīth and declare them to be symbols in their complicated theories These theories deny the literal words of Allāh and His Rasūl صلى الله عليه و سلم  as if Allāh and His Rasūl صلى الله عليه و سلم  are incapable of saying directly  what they mean!  May Allāh save us from such thoughts.  Such esoteric interpretations, or rather the mind-set which necessitates such interpretations, are more appropriate, I believe, to the Masons. Our father, Idrīs ‘alayhis salām, was a scientist, but Allāh chose for his Final Ummah a nabī who could neither read nor write. Surely there is a reason behind that? Similarly Sulaymān ‘alayhis salām was a king-nabī, but our Nabī صلى الله عليه و سلم chose not to be. In other words, the Sunnah of our Nabī صلى الله عليه و سلم  can be fulfilled by every Muslim without needing to possess wealth, kingship or intricate scientific knowledge. Islām must be equally practical and comprehensible to a descendant of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم , a sophisticated European convert and an Amazon tribesman.
But I digress. I do not deny the clear literal words of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم. I firmly believe that stones and trees will speak with a human voice to expose the Jews. At the same time, I ponder if perhaps there is an additional aspect to the literal words.

The major distinction between stones and trees is that one is organic and the other is inorganic. The major commonality is that neither speaks. Consider that the Arabic also seems to have nice poetic metre - ḥajar and shajar. Does this not perhaps indicate that the entire creation will reach such an extreme level of uncontrollable frustration at the mischief which has been wrought on the earth, that even the organic creation of trees (instead of organic animals which at least make sounds) and the inorganic creation of stones, will scream with pent up frustration boiling over from centuries, “Enough! Enough! Enough! We’ve had enough of this mischief! Our earth is polluted, our air and our skies! We have been deformed and misused beyond any further point of forbearance. We have witnessed every possible mischief and rebellion against Allāh. We, the unspeaking, speak and demand that you clean us of these mischief makers! In the name of Allāh! O slave of Allāh, save us.”
Really, are the Jews that bad? If you believe in Allāh’s words and His Rasūl’s صلى الله عليه و سلم , then you already know the answer.

In our upcoming discussion, I shall seek to explain various aspects of mischief which have defiled the earth and must ultimately lead to the events described in the above Ḥadīth.  Whilst the list of mischief is long and painful, my primary concern is how Jews have managed to mentally colonise Muslims and modify their behaviour. Hence I ask each Muslim to ask, “Is there a Jew hiding in me?”
The balance Islām demands is not easy. It is not palatable to both the irreligious and the zealot. The zealot must be reminded that most of us are not in the domain of war and must treat every Jew we encounter with Islāmic character. Let him remind himself that ‘Abdurraḥmān bin ‘Awf  رضى الله عنه berated his wife for just once not sending a portion of her cooking to their Jewish neighbour. Let those who close their eyes to what mischief is wrought on earth remind themselves:

You will undoubtedly find the severest people in enmity against those who believe to be the Jews and those who ascribe partners [unto Allāh]. (al-Māidah: 82)