9. The Abomination Of Desolation
The abomination of desolation is a very important Biblical term.
It is quite clear, but the Christians have, as usual, surrounded it with a ring
of obscurity concerning the term and its interpretation.
This term has been translated in various ways such as: 'beast of
desolation,' 'abominable desolation,' as well as interpretive translations such
as: 'transgression of desolation,' 'desolation of transgression,' and it has
even been rendered more clearly as 'the kingdom of transgression.' As for Bates,
he has determined that it is the 'abominable destroyer.' It can also be
translated as the 'unclean' or 'abominable destroyer.' Perhaps the most correct
translation, and the one most in harmony with Allah's Words, is to call it the
'abominable corruptor' or the 'corrupting abomination.'
Let us read what the book of Daniel says about it, since it is he
who gave the term its great historical importance. But let us begin my
explaining that after the first angel explained to Daniel the vision of the
previously mentioned four beasts, he concluded with a definitive conclusion:
“Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most
High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and
obey Him. This is the end of the account.”
However, Daniel was greatly disturbed, and needed more
understanding. It is as if he understood that the dream of the idol was general,
and connected to the king who saw it, while the vision of the four beasts
especially concerned himself. So he desired a clearer explanation of what would
happen in the near future, as well as at the end of time, which are the two eras
of interest to most people. As for the near future, everybody, wise or ignorant,
strives to understand the development of humanity and the events which occur
during his own lifetime. As for the distant future, the end is always a subject
of question and interest: The end of the world, the end of his own nation, the
end of the people of faith, or of unbelief, especially, for one who is a prophet
or a follower of the prophets.
Thus, we have the third vision:
“I lifted up my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the
river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was
higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram pushing
westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor
was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will
and became great.
“And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the
west, across the surface of the whole earth, and without touching the ground;
and the goat had a notable horn between its eyes.
“Then he came to the ram with two horns… and ran at him with
furious power. And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against
him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power to the ram to
withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him…
“Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became
strong, the large horn was broken, and in its place four notable ones came up
toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came a little horn which
grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the
Glorious Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of
the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.
“He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by
him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was
cast down. Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to
oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all
this and prospered.
“Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to
that certain one who was speaking, 'How long will the vision be, concerning the
daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the
sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?' And he said to me, 'For
two-thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary
[Translator's note: The Hebrew and Arabic word for used here for sanctuary: qds, is identical to the Arabic name for Jerusalem.] shall be cleansed.'”
(8:3-13)
According to one of the Catholic translations it is:
“For two-thousand three hundred days; then the rights of the
sanctuary shall be returned to it.”
Thus, did Daniel ask the angel to interpret the vision, so he said
to him:
“Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the
end…Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the
indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.
“The ram which you saw, having the two horns –they are the kings
of Media and Persia. And the male goat is the king of Greece. The large horn
that is between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken horn and the four
that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but
not with its power.
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors
have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who
understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own
power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall
destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause
deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He
shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of
princes; but he shall be broken without human means.
“And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is
true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.”
(8:2-26)
However, the desire for knowledge increases. Especially, since
Daniel lived during a time of great events in the struggle between the two
empires of Babylon and Persia. He was very concerned for the future of his
wretched, captive people, and he was very concerned for Jerusalem and who would
conquer it. So he began to beseech, cry and pray to Allah until showed him a
vision of more detail concerning times and numbers. However, its interpretation
is very difficult. Without doubt they have distorted it, and changed its clarity
and accuracy into obscurity. It is the well-known vision of the weeks, in which
the angel says:
“Seventy weeks are determined for your people, and for your holy
city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make
reconciliation for iniquity, to bring an everlasting righteousness, to seal up
vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand,
that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until
the Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks…
“And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the
city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of
the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many
for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice
and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the
desolate.” (9:24-27)
According to the Catholic translation:
“A prince will come and destroy the city and the sanctuary, and
its end will be by flood. Until the end shall be the killing and desolation that
have been determined. In one week he will make a covenant with many, a firm
covenant, but in the middle of the week he will end the sacrifices and
offerings. In the wing of the temple will be the abomination of desolation,
until the consummation is determined to finish the desolate.”
It is because of this obscurity that we assert the occurrence of
distortion, although scholars have gone to great lengths to interpret this
prophecy so that it will conform to the birth of Christ, or the sending of
Muhammad –Allah's blessing and peace be on them.
In any case, Daniel understood the time line of events. But how
would they happen? The human has a strong desire to understand, and the Lord is
generous in giving every time. So Daniel went back to his prayers and petitions,
and the angel came to him and said:
“Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your
people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”
(10:14)
Here we should note the repeated advice that the time of the
fulfillment of the vision would be delayed, so that Daniel would not err in this
regard. This is because Daniel wanted to know about the near future, but the
vision concerned what the more important end-times of the distant future. Thus,
the angel advises Daniel not to forget that, and suppose that it concerned the
near future. Nevertheless, he informed him about the wars that would occur
between the kings of Persia and Greece, and the king of the North and the king
of the South. The portion which interests us is his saying:
“And forces shall be mustered by him [the king of the North], and
they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily
sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.” –(11:31)
He refers to a pagan government that will conquer the sanctuary of
Jerusalem and establish their worship there. The followers of the Bible disagree
about their identity. That is not our concern, but what concerns us is to
explain the other abomination of desolation which will be set up by the beast,
or the little horn in the land itself, which is a state. The name here is the
same, but what is mentioned here is pagan, while the later one is Israelite.
His discussion of these events is concluded with the arrival of
the final hour, and the day of resurrection, then he says to Daniel:
“But you Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the
time of the end.” However, the two angels talk to each other so that Daniel can
hear them and understand:
“ When the power of the holy people is completely shattered, all
these things shall be finished.”
At this point Daniel says:
“Although I heard I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord,
what shall be the end of these things?” And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for
the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end…And from the time
that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set
up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who
waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. But
you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest.”
So the book ends and Daniel rests, especially, since he learns
that Jerusalem will have its rights restored in forty-five years. But the Jews
and Christians have not rested, and will have no rest about the meaning of these
events, except for those who leave aside their partisanship and open their eyes
to the truth. Yes, they have tired themselves, and tired the world, and tired
us.
The preceding was a brief treatment of the most important of all
the Biblical prophecies: the book of Daniel. From it we take note of several
matters:
A clearer picture of the 'little horn.' He is a devious,
treacherous conspirator who is not established by his own power, but through the
power of others. His enemies are the holy people, the followers of the seal of
the prophets. He lords himself over them, and overthrows the leader of their
rulers (the caliph) without an army. His most wicked deed is his subjugation and
defilement of Jerusalem with his forces, his canceling of the daily prayers
[The actual biblical term translated as 'daily sacrifices' is 'tamid' literally: 'continual, perpetual,' and refers to acts of worship that are done continually on a daily basis, and thus, could refer to the daily prayers as well as the Temple sacrifices.], and
his destruction of the House of Allah. He will establish his state there which
is called the 'abomination of desolation.' This little horn will do so during the days of the rule of the
last kingdom, the kingdom of the Holy ones, not during the days of the Persians
and Romans. The establishment of the unclean state does not mean the end of that
everlasting kingdom. This is emphasized throughout the book. It is simply an
event that occurs for a limited time at a certain place. It is in no way
comparable to vision of the idol, in which one kingdom falls and another is
established in its place, nor is it comparable to the vision of the four beasts
in which one huge, frightening beast defeats the others. No, it is nothing like
that at all. He is a little horn, and the extent of his power is limited. But
his conspiracy is large, and his shrewdness is great, and behind him stands the
great power in support of him. This is accompanied by the straitened
circumstances [referred to by Daniel in 12:1] and great weakness of the holy
people, however, their straitened circumstances end, and the saints are once
again granted victory. They celebrate the day that the abomination of desolation
is removed, and Jerusalem is purified.
This wicked, corrupt little horn destroys and builds. He destroys
the sanctuary of Allah, and sets up the abomination of desolation in its place.
For this reason some of Biblical commentators say that it is an idol set up in
the temple. In actuality it is the temple that will be set up in the sanctuary
[the mosque]. This does not contradict the meaning of 'abomination' [or
defilement]. A foreign, enemy structure cannot be set up within the holy place
of a nation, except by force. Thus, an abomination is what it is in both its
general and particular meanings. In general, it is the establishment of the
unholy state itself, and the particular instance is the setting up of the idol,
or abomination that is worshipped or in which they worship.
Likewise, the idol cannot be removed from the house of Allah
except by force. That is what the Prophet –Allah's blessing and peace be on him-
did when he conquered Makkah, and that is what his followers will do when they
enter the sanctuary of Jerusalem and find that an unholy structure is set up
there by an unholy state.
It is possible that the only abomination there will be the flag of
the Zionist state. Therefore, most of the commentators do not doubt that the
establishment of the abomination is the establishment of an unholy, destructive
state in the land of Jerusalem. But what is this state? Each of the three
religions which venerate Jerusalem have established states there, or conquered
it, and there is no doubt that only one out of the three is the abomination.
By this we are able to identify this state, not only from the
statements of Daniel alone, but from history and reality. The important matter
here is that this state will arise after Christ, since, as in Matthew and other
gospels he relates the words of Daniel and explains that it will be in the
latter days, as will be explained in greater detail soon. This demonstrates the
error of that the setting up of the abomination of desolation occurred before
the time of Christ, or that it means the idol of Zeus that was erected in the
temple, or that it refers to the events shortly after his ascension in 70 or
135, for many reasons:
Those events were normal in course of history, and Jewish
history in particular witnessed many similar events.
The Jews of that time were unbelievers due to their rejection of
Christ, but those events will occur to those who believe in his message.
Those events were not in accord with the times and conditions
specified by Daniel and Christ. Moreover, they are not in accord with the
descriptions found in most of the prophetic books of the return of the Jews,
their unholy gathering, and their judgment by Allah and the sending down of His
wrath upon them by the hand of His chosen nation, as will be explained to the
full satisfaction of our readers.
Jewish commentators, due to their rejection of Christ and his
message, do not even consider his statements, and because of this interpret the
abomination of desolation as an idol set up in the temple. Thereafter, they are
confused and differ concerning the time when this occurred or will occur. Some
of them place it in the time before Christ, and some of them after, and they are
extremely contradictory concerning the time which Daniel specified with such
precision, especially those who understand by 'days' the usual meaning of the
term. As for those who interpret it as years, they must admit that it has not
occurred and will not except after two thousand, three-hundred years have
passed. Especially since in all of history there has never been a state that
came after 2,300 days and established a state that lasted for 45 days, and then
passed away. This would be such a trivial event that it wouldn't even deserve to
be recorded in history, except as a footnote.
This is because the Biblical prophecies themselves specifically
refer to years as 'days,' such as in Ezekial (4:6): “I have laid on you a day
for each year,” and in the text of the vision itself: “Blessed is he who waits,”
does not mean forty-five days, but one who waits for forty-fives years.
Furthermore, we have the witness of the Jews themselves. A large
segment of them believed, and still do believe, that the Zionist entity which
exists today is the abomination. They have continually warned their followers
about Zionist ideology in the past and present. They have a deep faith that the
Jewish gathering is taking place so that the vengeance of Allah's wrath can be
poured down upon them. This is a large movement in America and elsewhere. They
have large communities in the occupied territories themselves, including Rabbi
Hirsch, leader of the 'Naturei Karta [Guardians of the City]' and the minister
for Jewish affairs in the cabinet of Arafat's Palestinian Authority
[Translator's note: He is referring here to the ultra-orthodox or 'Haredi' Jews whose main centers are in New York and Jerusalem. They are divided between non-Zionists and Anti-Zionists. They are represented by parties such as Agudath Israel and Naturei Karta.]. Other Jews
believe this fact also, but interpret it in a secular manner, such as the
philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky. Enough then from the Jews, let us see
what the Christians say.
The common mistake of both camps is that they consider the
abomination of desolation to be of a people other than the Jews. Both religions
consider people other than the Jews to be idolaters. In this case, it is easy to
describe any idolatrous state as an abomination. Bates himself, despite his
admission that the Jews will be idolaters in their worship, interprets the
abomination as the 'Kingdom of Assyria,' which will invade the holy land in the
latter days (p 209).
Perhaps he can be excused since he wrote this before the
establishment of the State of Israel. Nobody imagined the establishment of a
Jewish state. For this reason, he does not call them a state after their return
to Jerusalem, but a 'bloc' or group, as we have previously seen.
Furthermore, he and others like him, imagined that the Jews would
be oppressed by a gentile state (the Arabs), and so they would quickly turn to
faith in Christ at the approach of the millennium, or at the time of his
descent, which would be a great miracle as, in the words of Macintosh:
“The entire world on that day will be baffled, 'How did this
unclean nation become holy to the Lord?'”
[Quoted in the commentary of Revelation, from the Arabic magazine: "Al-Maraai al-Khudhraa" July 1934, p 16.]
He explains it by the fact that “only a third of them will be
saved from the consuming fire and poverty,” by which he is referring to the end
of the unholy state as depicted in the prophetic books, which will be featured
in an upcoming chapter.
Thus, they possess half the truth, which is the Jew's unbelief and
unholiness, but as far as their possessing a state, that is the half which they
lack. Yet, without doubt, they are better than the other commentators and
historians on whom contemporary fundamentalists rely, including Stephen Ronsman,
author of the well known book concerning the crusades, who said:
“One day in the month of Febuary, 638, the Caliph `Umar entered
Jerusalem…
“The Patriarch Saphronius came to the side of the Caliph, since he
was considered the chief administrator of the surrendered city. Upon which `Umar
immediately proceeded towards the site of the Temple of Solomon from which his
companion Muhammad ascended into heaven. While the Patriarch stood watching him,
he recalled the words of Christ, and began uttering them through his tears,
'when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel…'
“That was the last public service done by the Patriarch, which was
the dramatic culmination of a long life which he spent in service of Orthodoxy,
and the unity of the Christian world.”[History of the Crusades pp 17,18.]
Sharing this opinion is the Arab Christian historian Phillip
Hitti.[Al-Bashara bi Nabiy il-Islam, Ahmad al-Saqa Hijazi (2:208).]
Rightly-guided Jews and Christians turned to refute this.
Moreover, some of them mention the biblical prophecy of `Umar's entry into
Jerusalem, without knowing who made this shameless statement. That is, the verse
in the book of Zechariah:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; he is just and having salvation,
lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the
chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut
off. His dominion shall be 'from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of
the earth.'”[9:9,10.]
This is the prophecy which the Christians interpret –in spite of
itself- as meaning the entry of Christ into Jerusalem as a lone visitor.
[No previous ruler of the Persians or Romans had ever achieved complete control of the land from the Persian coast to the Mediterranean, and from the Euphrates to Aden. This only happened to `Umar and his successors of the Eternal Kingdom.] Even if
the Islamic conquest is not mentioned in any prophecy, and if its conqueror had
not been `Umar himself, the attribute of abomination or uncleanness is as far
away as possible from the Islamic community of monotheism and its great
conquests, which brought the people out of darkness, oppression and uncleanness
into light and purity. This is the witness of all of history –praise be to
Allah- rejected only by arrogant fools, sickened by bigotry and blinded by
hatred.
Furthermore, it cannot apply to that event in any case since it
must occur 2,300 later, whether beginning from Daniel's death, or from the
Seleucid year, since Daniel died in 456 B.C.E., and between that year and the
Islamic conquest was only 1091 (453+638) years, and if you calculate according
to the Seleucid year it was only 971 years later (333+638).
At this point we must turn to Daniels numerology, although we
would prefer to delay discussing it since the confirmed facts and events of
history are adequate for our purpose. However, it is necessary in order to
complete the picture:
Daniel says that the abomination of desolation will be set up in
2,300 years –as we have explained. The terms 'how long?' 'until' are frequently
repeated, both within the vision itself, and in other books of the Bible. It is
an error of the translator, or a too-literal translation. Especially, as we have
seen, there is emphasis that it shall occur at the latter day, at the
far-distant time of the indignation
None of the commentators who interpret the days as years disagree
with us in this regard, and we have clearly understood the baselessness of its
literal translation as common days. So what is the source of the dispute and
confusion? It is possible to learn the various opinions from Chauncy's
commentary, which he claims to have gathered from eighty-five Biblical
commentaries, in which he says (as summarized by Rahmat-Allah al-Hindi):
“From the earliest times it has been very difficult for scholars
to ascertain and define the time of the commencement of the event to which this
vision refers.
“The majority of the scholars have concluded that the time of its
commencement is certainly one of the four periods in which four royal commands
were issued by the kings of Persia:
Cyrus, who issued his ordinance in 636 B.C. The king Darius, who issued his orders in 518 B.C. Artaxerxes, who gave his commands about Ezra in 458 B.C. The king Artaxerxes, who issued his ordinance to Nehemiah in 444
B.C.
“The days mentioned in this vision are not days as usually
understood, but days signifying years. Keeping this in mind, the ending of the
period of this vision would be as follows:
According to the first command of Cyrus it would end in
1764. According to the second of Darius it would end in 1782. According to the third command of Artaxerxes it would be in
1843. According to the fourth ordinance it would end in
1856.
Chauncy, who wrote his book in 1838, says:
“The first and second periods have passed, and the third and
fourth remain. The strongest in my opinion, is the third, of which I am
sure.”
According to us and the whole world today, this was an error, so
what more can be said?
Chauncy says:
“According to some, its beginning is the Greek Alexander's
attacking the King of Asia (that is Darius of Persia), and according to this the
end point will of the prophecy will be in the year 1966.”
[Ithhar al-Haqq, al-Hindi, pp 128,129 in the English version; 93,94 in the Arabic. The last two paragraphs are not found in the English translation.]
Shaykh Rahmat-Allah (who died in 1891) adds:
“If the falsehood of the first and second periods were apparent in
his lifetime, as he himself acknowledged, and the falsehood of the third, which
according to him is the strongest, is apparent, and likewise the falsehood of
the fourth…then only the fifth period remains.”
[Ithhar al-Haqq, al-Hindi, p94 in the Arabic edition.]
Since the purpose of the Shaykh was to refute all Biblical
prophecies so as to demonstrate that they are distorted or doubtful, he also
expected that the fifth would be false, and said:
“Those who are alive at that time will see that it too is false,
God willing.”
Moreover, when the Shaykh quoted the statements of those of them
who say that it is reality which will demonstrate the truth of this prophecy, he
rejected it with scorn, saying that they are to be excused since it is the words
of the prophecy itself which are corrupted.
[Ithhar al-Haqq, al-Hindi, p94 in the Arabic edition.]
Allah have mercy on Shaykh Rahmat-Allah, he could have suspended
judgment since it is rash to firmly reject the occurrence of something which is
a reasonable possibility, despite the fact that his purpose was to confirm the
existence of distortion in the text of the Bible. Since it is agreed that not
every word of the Bible is distorted, the least one can do is leave open the
possibility of its occurrence.
Furthermore, that being the Shaykh's purpose, he did not attempt
to rule on the relative strength or weakness of the last opinion, which is
necessary, so we say:
The cause of the error of the four opinions is determining the
commencement of the period by the proclamation of imperial decrees concerning
the restoration of Jerusalem, which is not mentioned in the vision itself (the
vision of the ram and goat), it is only mentioned in the aforementioned vision
of the toes, which is a different vision altogether, and in our opinion, the
phrase 'from the going forth of the command' is an interpolation, and Allah
knows best. Therefore, those who interpret the commencement as the appearance of
Alexander are more correct, since they derived it from the text itself. Its
commencement is from the incident of his conquering Asia which was in the year
334 according to some, but was 333 according to the most correct and well-known
opinion. This calendar remained in worldwide use until the Church devised the
Christian calendar.
According to this the establishment of the abomination of
desolation would be (2300-333)=1967, which is what actually happened, which was
a very painful event for the nation of the saints, and of great joy to the
Zionists and fundamentalists.
Indeed, disregarding the numerology and prophecies, it was the
greatest event in Jewish history in nearly two-thousand years.
Now we have seen the establishment of the abomination of
desolation, in all its abomination and its desolation, its barbarity and
atrocity, its idolatry and blasphemy, its cancellation of the daily prayers in
the Aqsa Mosque, and its destruction and burning. We ask Allah's protection from
their evil and to preserve what remains of His sanctuary. Now we will go
back to Christ's statement about it so as to see whether these Evangelical
Zionists are truly Christians as they claim, or followers of the Zionist beast,
whether they know it or not.
According to Matthew:
“Now as [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to
him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things [the destruction of the
Temple] be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the
age?'
“And Jesus answered them and said to them: 'Take heed that no
one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Christ,”
and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that
you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there
will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are
the beginning of sorrows…Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many
people…But he who endures to the end will be saved [through the preaching
of:]…this gospel [or message of good news] of the kingdom will be preached in
all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
“'Therefore, when you see the “abomination of desolation,” spoken
of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads let him
understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who
is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him
who is in the field not go back to get his clothes… |