Construction of the Hindu Temple in an Arab Muslim Nation: Is it an 'Apocalyptic Sign'?
By
Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam
16 February
2024
The Qur'an Certainly Makes No Exceptions To The
Freedom Of Worship And Belief. Citing The Pluralistic And Inclusivist Verses Of
The Qur'an, Some Modernist Muslims In The UAE And India Itself Have Welcomed
The Hindu Temple Construction In Abu Dhabi, Saying This Reflects The True
Islamic Values Of Tolerance And Peaceful Coexistence Between The Different
Religions In An Islamic Country
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All world
religions and their primary or secondary scriptures predict an “end” to this
world through certain apocalyptic prophecies. There are some "Lessor
Signs" and some "Greater Signs" for this planet to perish. But
how do we make out that a certain end-time prophecy or sign that predicts the
end of the world has now been fulfilled? In every religion today, there are
some preachers who are gaining popularity as 'eschatologists'-- the theologians
primarily concerned with the interpretation of end-time verses of a scripture.
They apply those end-time verses and references to every situation they
consider antithetical to their religion or community.
The temple has carvings of symbolic animals native to the UAE like
camels, oryxes, and falcons. There are also 14 depictions of parables from
Arabian, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and other civilisations. Photograph:(Twitter)
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For
example, the recent construction of a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, UAE is being
interpreted as a 'sign of the closeness of Doomsday (Qayamat)' by a section of
Islamic clergymen. On February 14th, 2024 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
inaugurated the Swaminarayan Mandir in Abu Dhabi, the first-ever Hindu temple
in the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al
Nahyan along with other Arab leaders have also participated in the launch of Hindu
temple in UAE.
Several
YouTube videos and social media posts tilted, "Ab Qayamat Qareeb Hai"
(the Doomsday is around the corner now) are being circulated now in the wake of
the Hindu temple construction in an Arab Muslim nation. They refer to a Hadith report
on the return of idolatry in the Arabia. There are some prophesies mentioned in
the sayings attributed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) foretelling that some people
who call themselves Muslims will unite with polytheists in every affair
including in worship of idols in the end times. Some of these Hadith reports
are as follows:
(1) "The Hour shall not be established
until tribes of my Ummah unite with the idolaters, and until they worship
idols." (Jami` at-Tirmidhi: 2219)
(2) "What I fear most for my Ummah is the
misguiding leaders. Some tribes among my nation will worship idols and some
tribes among my nation will join the idolaters." (Sunan Ibn Majah: 3952)
(3) "Only the wicked people would survive
and they would be as careless as birds with the characteristics of beasts. They
would never appreciate the good nor condemn evil. Then Satan would come to them
in human form and would say: Don't you respond? And they would say: What do you
order us? And he would command them to worship the idols but, in spite of this,
they would have abundance of sustenance and lead comfortable lives."
(Sahih Muslim: 2940)
What
evidence or situation can enable us to believe and explain these prophecies?
This is one of the crucial questions that the modern Muslim youth have to grapple
with. There are many orthodox Muslims in India who see to the temple
construction in the Arabia as a sign of the Doomsday. They consider it a
"religious setback" in the Arabian Peninsula, citing the above
Hadiths.
Most
Muslims traditionally believe the Arabian Peninsula should remain free of
non-monotheistic forms of worship. Some Indian Muslim clerics have weighed in
on social with the religious edicts allegedly prohibiting the construction of a
non-Islamic place of worship in the Arab Peninsula. But then there are also a
few supporters of the move. Their point of view is more tilted towards
toleration of other faith traditions and their practices which is also
enshrined in Islamic texts.
The Qur'an
certainly makes no exceptions to the freedom of worship and belief. Citing the
pluralistic and inclusivist verses of the Qur'an, some modernist Muslims in the
UAE and India itself have welcomed the Hindu temple construction in Abu Dhabi,
saying this reflects the true Islamic values of tolerance and peaceful
coexistence between the different religions in an Islamic country. Thus, the
Hindu temple construction in the UAE can also be seen in the context of
modernisation, economic liberalisation and increasing multiculturalism in the
Arab world.
At a time
when our world is rife with hostilities based on religions, we redefine
multiculturalism in the Muslim societies. Today's Arabs are reportedly becoming
less 'religious' and more multicultural and progressive today than even the
majority of Muslims in India. While Indian Muslims are looking at the Hindu
temple construction from purely a religious prism, Arabs have shifted the
debate from religion to culture.
Coming back
to the point, apocalyptic theories abound in almost every major religion, not
just in Islamic faith. The idea that a saviour of mankind will emerge in the
end is common to all religions. Muslims
are on the lookout for the appearance of Imam Mahdi (A.S) and re-emergence of
Hazrat Isa or Jesus Christ (pbuh). According to Islamic tradition, he will
defeat the anti-Christ (Dajjal) at the Great Battle known as “Al-Malhama
Al-Kubra” which will be waged to establish the world order, restore peace,
justice, righteousness and law.
Christians
believe that Jesus Christ is both divine and the messiah. They are also waiting
for the second advent of the Christ with the same belief that he will overpower
Satan, or the anti-Christ, at the final battle of Armageddon, known as al-Malhama
al-Kubra in Islam. The only difference is that Christians add that Jesus
will begin his reign from the Davidic throne in Jerusalem for the millennial
kingdom. Jews have long been awaiting the promised messiah or Mashiach or
Moshiach (physically descended from David), the Hebrew word that refers to the
Jewish idea of the messiah. The 10th avatar in Hinduism, Kalki, it is
believed shall emerge in the end. Derived from the Sanskrit Kalka, Kalki
connotes “the destroyer of darkness or ignorance or foulness”.
Similarly,
the Sikh scripture attributed to the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, the Dasam
Granth, also contains the prophecies on the advent of Mahdi in the final era.
It clearly states that “Mahdi Meer” will be born to defeat Kali, who will
become egoistic referring to himself as the “almighty”. It should be clarified
that this Kali is different from the Hindu goddess.
Buddhist
practitioners are also longing for Maitreya Buddha, a Bodhisattva who will
appear on Earth in the future when the Dharma will be forgotten by most in the
world, according to the Buddhist belief. "Maitreya Buddha" is
mentioned in the canonical literature of all major schools of Buddhism.
Therefore, the present-day Buddhists believe that the Maitreya Buddha will
appear in the “late-time” or the “dark epoch” when humanity will be removed
from wisdom.
Thus, the
prophecies about the end of the age are clearly mentioned in most scriptures.
And all these scriptures have many common teachings in the prophecy. For
example, Prophets in many religions taught people that the law of the truth
will be powerless and wickedness will increase at the end of the age. It also
clearly points to the corruption of the religious world, 'faith professionals'
and the priestly class. And this is not difficult to see today. Rapacious
religious leaders and faith professionals are brazenly colliding in the
corruption of the present-day politicians and capitalists across the world.
I think the
sole purpose of all this millenarian and apocalyptic theory in all religions is
to keep us abreast of the ultimate reality — that this world will be put to an
end, sooner or later. But the existing problem with us is that we are
cherry-picker of our scriptural texts. Unaware of the contemporary age we are
living in, we apply those end-time prophecies and apocalyptic references to
serve only our own ulterior motives, rather than awaken our consciousness and
enliven our inner spirits.
Amid the
unceasing Palestinian crisis, Russia-Ukrainian war and now the construction of
a non-Islamic place of worship in an Arab Muslim country, Muslims particularly
youth are falling prey to the apocalyptic theories promulgated by the unaware
Islamic preachers, half-educated clergymen and eschatologists. They are
attracting the youth to believe that the end-time is at hand, but their
preparation for it is abysmal. They are oblivious to the trying times they are
living in. If they are unaware of their own times, how can they devise a plan
for the future, let alone the end of times (As-Sa'ah)? The most imperative and urgent task for them
is to first engage with their own times and then prepare for the final era.
They must learn to live in terms of the reality of their age, as a Sufi adage
goes: “Wise is he who knows the age in which he lives.”
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A Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam
Rasool Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar and English-Arabic-Urdu writer with a
background in a leading Sufi Islamic seminary in India.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-pluralism/construction-hindu-temple-arab-muslim-apocalyptic/d/131729
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