more copypasta
A study of the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also demonstrates that he warned us of the rise of religious extremism in this age in astonishing detail.
Fourteen hundred years ago, he prophesised that a time would come when nothing would remain of Islam but its name, nothing of the Holy Quran but its word, and that many “mosques would be splendidly furnished but destitute of guidance” (Mishkatul Masabih). In these latter days, the true spiritual essence of Islam would be lost, and religion, for the most part, would be reduced to a ritualistic compulsion. He foretold that the clergy would be corrupt and be a source of strife during these times.
How true this is of the extremist clerics in parts of the Muslim world that abuse the pulpit to preach division and hate.
He also went on to describe terrorist groups such as ISIS that would try to hijack the Islamic faith. At this time of dissension, he said there would appear “
a group of young people who would be immature in thought and foolish”. They would speak beautiful words but commit the most heinous of deeds. They would engage in so much prayer and fasting that the worship of the Muslims would appear insignificant in comparison. They would call people to the Holy Quran but would have nothing to do with it in reality. The Holy Quran
would not go beyond their throats, meaning they wouldn’t understand its essence at all, merely regurgitating it selectively. The Prophet (PBUH) then went on to describe these people as “
the worst of the creation”.
As if this outline wasn’t clear enough, another tradition in the book Kitaab Al Fitan reported by Caliph Ali, the fourth successor to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), describes these people as having long hair and
bearing black flags. Their “
hearts will be hard as iron”, and
they would be the companions of a State (Ashab ul Dawla). Interestingly,
ISIS refers to itself as the Islamic State or Dawla. The tradition further mentions that
they will break their covenants,
not speak the truth and
have names that mention their cities. The ISIS caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, (from baghdad) comes to mind.