The Hadith are sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, and some address apocalyptic themes. One in particular has attracted a lot of attention recently because it refers to the North Syrian city of Dabiq, and that name and the associated story have inspired the murderous sect known as ISIS/Daesh. Despite that connection, though, the passage in question tells us much of value about apocalyptic ideas, and about the many themes that were shared between Christian and Muslim thinkers.
As I described, the saying attributed to Muhammad portrays a conflict between Roman Christians and Muslims, which would precipitate the coming of Jesus, and the final Judgment.
When the enemy of Allah would see him, it would (disappear) just as the salt dissolves itself in water and if he (Jesus) were not to confront them at all, even then it would dissolve completely, but Allah would kill them by his hand and he would show them their blood on his lance (the lance of Jesus Christ).
(Translated by Abdul Hamid Siddiqui).
That reference to the lance or spear is intriguing. Early Christians were passionately interested in the idea of relics, and one of the most prized was the spear used by the Roman soldier Longinus to pierce Christ’s side at the crucifixion. Throughout history, several objects have been claimed to fit this story, and to be the true Holy Lance. The story was popular in the sixth century, when one Lance was displayed among the relics in Jerusalem. Those relics were seized by the Persian invaders in 614. The incident horrified Muhammad, who saw himself as an ally of the Christians (People of the Book) against the fire-worshipping Persians. The Persian conquest of Jerusalem is cited as a disaster in the Qur’an itself, at Qur’an 30:2-4.
By the seventh or eighth century, the Lance was treasured in Constantinople, and the relic was celebrated. But in this Hadith, it is cited by a Muslim author, who presumably viewed the Lance as genuine, and moreover who attributes the quotation to Muhammad himself. According to the Hadith, Jesus would descend and God would destroy his enemy, although it is not clear whether that term refers to the Romans generally, or to the Antichrist, who was mentioned in an earlier section. Christ would display the Holy Lance, recalling his crucifixion. That suggests a startlingly Christian and un-Islamic attitude towards relics.
Another agenda might have been at work here, although I freely admit it is speculative. Dating the Hadith in question is difficult, but it would fit a situation around the 740s, when two aggressive Byzantine emperors – Leo III and Constantine V – were pushing hard on the Arab frontiers, and threatening Syria. But both emperors had another distinction, in that both were dedicated followers and supporters of the Iconoclast movement, which sought to suppress representations of the divine or holy in the form of icons. The movement also criticized the use of holy relics, and in some cases sought to destroy them. Icons, oddly, were only safe outside the Christian Empire, among Christians who lived under the power of the Caliphs.
Is it possible that the Muslim author who credited that Hadith to Muhammad was actively criticizing the Iconoclasts, and stressing that holy objects were safe under Islamic power?
I offer one wild suggestion, which might explain why this passage suggests such a close affinity with strictly contemporary attitudes towards relics. Might the author have been a very recent Christian convert, even someone who deserted the faith over the Iconoclastic issue?
More on that Dabiq passage shortly.
One fine recent book on related themes is Zeki Saritoprak, Islam’s Jesus (University Press of Florida, 2014).
For the Hadith, and for changing ideas of Shariah law generally, see Sadakat Kadri’s Heaven on Earth.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In