Sound Familiar? Understanding Islamic End-Times Beliefs

National Review Online ^ | February 28, 2003 | Rod Dreher

[Dajjal]

Here's another thread.

[Dajjal]

Sorry about that! Here's the link.

[Travis McGee]

Ping

[Sabertooth]

Hey, you forgot Victoria.

[Sabertooth]

 
Eclipses during Ramadan
by David L. McNaughton
In "Hamdard Islamicus" (Karachi, Pakistan), vol. XIX no. 1 (Spring 1996): pp. 81-86.

Double Eclipses during Ramadan

Sometimes a Ramadan will contain a solar and a lunar eclipse. That inevitably provokes comment, because of traditions that such a "double-eclipse" is a portent for some unusual event. Ithna'asheri Shi'ites, for example, believe that their Twelfth Imam will reappear after a Ramadan double-eclipse (although those two phenomena will supposedly take place in reverse order, with the solar one occurring in mid-month (5); that will require the moon to suddenly double its speed of movement after the onset of the Holy Month!)

In March/April 1894 (Ramadan 1311), Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (founder of the Ahmadiyya or Qadiani movement in Pakistan) interpreted a double-eclipse as a sign that he was a genuine modern-day prophet (6). The lunar eclipse during that particular month was only partial, although the solar one two weeks later was total in a few places in eastern Asia (7). However, there was nothing at all extraordinary about those two eclipses: every 22 or 23 Islamic years there is at least one Ramadan featuring a pair of eclipses two weeks apart (8) - one of which is usually partial; see Table 1.

Very much rarer is a Ramadan containing two total eclipses.

Table 2 lists all such occasions since AH 1, as well as during the next 200 years (9); (its solar eclipses are all central, with annular ones also included).

It will be interesting to see whether the two total eclipses scheduled to occur during Ramadan 1424 (AD November 2003) - are cited to support a claim similar to that made by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, or as proof of thesignificance of some extraordinary event.

< -snip- >

Table 2

Ramadans with two central eclipses

LUNAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SOLAR

AH . . AD . . . . . . . . . . Date . . . Where visible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Date . . .Where visible

.283 . .896 . . . . . . . ..29 Oct . . .Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . 12 Nov . Canada; Alaska;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(25 Oct) . . landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(8 Nov) . NE Pacific

.305 . .918 . . . . . . . . .5 Mar . . Eurasia; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Mar . .Antarctic; south
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (28 Feb) .NE Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (15 Mar) . .Indian Ocean

.462 . 1070 . . . . . . . . .2 Jul . . .Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Jul . . .Arctic; Siberia
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(26 Jun) . .landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(10 Jul)

.529 . 1135 . . . . . . . . . 4 Jul . . .America; Pacific; . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Jul . . .Antarctic; far
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (27 Jun) . New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(12 Jul) . . .south Pacific

.596 . 1200 . . . . . . . . . 5 Jul . . . Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . *19 Jul . Siberia; Arctic;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (28 Jun) . .landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (12 Jul) . . NW Atlantic

1200 . 1786 . . . . . . . . .11 Jul . . . Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . 25 Jul . . South Africa &
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . adjacent oceans

1424 .2003. . . . . . . . .9 Nov. . .Europe; SW Asia; . . . . . . . . . .23 Nov . Antarctic; south
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Africa; America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indian Ocean

1580 . 2155 . . . . . . . . .9 Mar . . Europe; Africa; . . . . . . . . . . . . .*2 Apr . .China; Russia;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kashmir; Mongolia;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .Afghanistan

Notes for Table 2

Central lunar eclipses are always total.

*The central solar eclipses listed above are total unless asterisked - in which case they are annular.

Dates apply to the instant of maximum eclipse.

Extrapolated Gregorian dates are given even on occasions when the old Julian calendar was in operation;
the corresponding Julian date is then shown below in brackets.

A Google search on ramadan mahdi eclipse yielded 133 results.

A Google search on ramadan mehdi eclipse (alternate "mahdi" spelling) yielded 58 results.

Related FR threads…

Imam Al-Mahdi... The Extension of the Imamate
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			Posted by on 10/25/2001 10:49 AM PDT with 67 comments 10 - 25 - 2001 | Sabertooth I'm looking for information concerning Mohammed's Prophecies of the Imam Mahdi. Particularly where they might shed light on Osama bin Laden's strategies behind the Terror attacks of 9/11. Specific quotes and sources appreciated.

[PleaseNoMore]

For anyone interested in the prophetic from a Christian point of view I highly reccomend a book called "Unleashing the Beast" by Perry Stone. It speaks volumes of Islams desire to control the world and how it fits into the end time prophecies.

[null and void]

Today's 23rd Psalm:

The Lord is my peace Paxil. I shall not live in anxiety...

[null and void]

That’s 2076 our time, folks. Which means that – as bad as things are now – we are on the outer edge of the maelstrom. Fanatic Islamicist millenarianism will get worse as we get closer and closer to that date.

You're just one big ole friggin' ray of sunshine aren't you?

[BlackVeil]

Bump for later reading.

[null and void]

I have a theory.

Our calendar is wrong. Pretty much everyone knows that the start date is at least 4 years off, and that there is no year zero. We supposedly date from Christ's birth, yet start the year 6 days later on January 1.

Further, there is NO Biblical authority for Decemebr 25 being His birthday.

Clearly, the date of His birth is not important. If it were SOMEONE would have reported it!

So what day is certain? The day of Crucifixion, and more importantly, the day of Resurection.

Our calandar should start on Easter. All men are born, all die, the most unique event in Christ's life is the resurection. It is his proof of divinity.

We know the day. Does anyone happen to know if there is any Biblical authority for the year?

If so, step ahead 2000 years for the real Y2K...

[Victoria Delsoul]

Is it eschatology? Or scatology… as is in bovine scatology.

Heck, I know what eschatology means, but I still think the author wanted to say scatology regarding this article.

[Victoria Delsoul]

I forgot this:

Rod Dreher: What are the main beliefs of Islamic eschatology?

He started it. LOL

[Sabertooth]

Escargot.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hmmm, more like leeches, LOL.

[Dajjal]

Sabertooth: Thanks for the links!

Null and void: "You're just one big ole friggin' ray of sunshine aren't you?"

Yup, that's me!

Let me clarify my own POV: I personally don't believe that End-Time prophecies are being fulfilled, whether from the Hadith or from Bible (I follow St. Augustine on the issue).

But I am concerned that because some Muslims believe there is "no future," they are willing to "volunteer" for "the Mahdi's army" and fly planes into the World Trade Center or strap on a dynamite belt and walk into a restaurant. And I'll guess what they'll do with biological, chemical, or radioactive weapons.

So far, public policy assumptions are that this is over political or economic goals (land for Palestinians, remove US airstrips from Saudi land, end the UN sanctions on Iraq, medicine for babies) or even mere societal goals (make women wear burqas, no musical instruments).

The contest may even be about those things for some. But for the most dangerous segment it is about these Islamic prophecies predicting the end of the world.

For them, the invention of the airplanes is a Sign of Qiyamah, the building of skyscrapers is a Sign of Qiyamah, the development of cardiology is a Sign of Qiyamah, the creation of e-mail is a Sign of Qiyamah. This is all in the Hadith, they say.

Right now, Americans have no clue about all this. But if our foreign policy in our democratic republic is to be guided by the opinions of the voting public, we are going to have to get up to speed fast.

The words "Mahdi," "Dajjal," and "Qiyamah" have to become part of our vocabulary.

For example, I would suggest that as our State Department goes around trying to buy influence amongst Islamic leaders, that before we hand one a check, we ask him some version of "Do you now, or have you ever, believed that the United States is the Dajjal?"

[ToTheStars]

For them, the invention of the airplanes is a Sign of Qiyamah, the building of skyscrapers is a Sign of Qiyamah, the development of cardiology is a Sign of Qiyamah, the creation of e-mail is a Sign of Qiyamah. This is all in the Hadith, they say.

And even the "bad" Moslems I know refuse to discuss or debate. They simply quote verses from the Quran, while telling me we have nothing to fear because American Christians and Jews are "People of the Book".

[null and void]

My concern is not so much that Christians and muslims BELIEVE the End Times, but that they want to CAUSE the End Times...

[null and void]

we have nothing to fear because American Christians and Jews are "People of the Book".

and our place is to provide the leather for the covers...

[#3Fan]

Further, there is NO Biblical authority for Decemebr 25 being His birthday.

Jesus was conceived on December 25 because the bible lays out that Mary went to Elizabeth on the day of the Immaculate Conception and Elizabeth was 6 months with John and John was conceived on June 25.

Jesus was born on Sept. 29. September is the birth month of kings. I'm not exactly sure how it goes but it has to do with the Course of Abaya(sp?) (I have no idea how to spell it, I've only heard it orally). In the priesthood, there were time periods called "courses", and Jesus was born during this certain course and at a certain time of the course, which would have been on Sept. 29.

I'm mentioning these because I'm sure there is someone here who knows what I'm talking about. If not, I guess I could spend the day researching this to back it up. :^)

[null and void]

I'm mentioning these because I'm sure there is someone here who knows what I'm talking about. If not, I guess I could spend the day researching this to back it up. :^)

I understand.

Nice thing about FR is that there's always someone who has the data at their fingertips, while us mere mortals often don't even know the questions to ask...