পৃষ্ঠা 284: তৃতীয় অধ্যায়: কিয়ামতের মহা আলামতসমূহ (মাহদী, দাজ্জাল, ঈসা (আ.), ইয়াজুজ-মাজুজ, পশ্চিমাকাশে সূর্যোদয়)

Insight: Presentation of a theological dilemma in the words of Allah, the Exalted: {The Day that some of the signs of your Lord come...}, citing the statements of al-Zamakhshari, al-Baydawi, and others, accompanied by the author's commentary upon it.

And what supports this is what occurs in some narrations: "And the last of that - meaning: the signs - is a fire that will herd the people to their place of gathering."

Nu'aym narrated from Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: "The first of the signs is the Romans, then the Dajjal, the third is Gog and Magog (Ya'juj and Ma'juj), and the fourth is 'Isa (peace be upon him)."

Meaning: 'Isa (peace be upon him) being the fourth is by virtue of his demise after Gog and Magog, even though by virtue of the timing of his descent he precedes them; thus from one perspective he is third, and from another perspective he is fourth.

And the fifth is the Smoke (al-Dukhan), and its explanation and elaboration will follow.

And the sixth is the Beast (al-Dabbah); that is, his enumeration of these is with regard to the earthly signs, which is why he did not count the rising of the sun from the west. This also supports what al-Hafiz mentioned. However, had he said: 'And that ends with the emergence of the Beast' instead of saying: 'with the death of 'Isa (peace be upon him)', it would have been preferable and clearer. The Romans being first is real and absolute, whereas the Dajjal being first is relative, because he is far greater than the Romans, as though the Romans, in comparison to him, are nothing.

Insight

The statement of Allah, the Exalted: {The Day that some of the signs of your Lord come, no soul will benefit from its faith who had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good} [Al-An'am: 158] contains an apparent theological dilemma.

Its formulation is as follows: His saying {had not believed before} is an adjective qualifying {a soul} (nafsa), separated from its qualified noun by the grammatical subject (al-fa'il, 'imanuha').

And His saying {or had earned} is conjunction ('atf) upon the adjective clause.

Thus, the apparent meaning would be: when some of the signs arrive, faith will not benefit a soul that is described by either of two states:

A total lack of faith, which necessitates the non-earning of good within it.

Or the non-earning of good in faith, even if faith is present and the soul is characterized by it.

And this interpretation is only conceivable upon the theological school of the Mu'tazilites (I'tizal), whereas the Ahl al-Sunnah do not subscribe to such a doctrine.