The Great Battle of Syria- The Malhamah
The Minor signs before the Day of Judgment are numerous with many of them being general. In fact we are living amidst the environment of the general minor signs today. However there are some specific signs which will emerge from the minor signs and lead into the beginning of the Major signs like the drying up of the river Euphrates and those which follow, such as the fierce battle known as the Malhamah which will take place in Syria between the Romans and the Muslims. This is an important event which marks the transition between the minor and major signs before the establishment of the Hour.
Mu’aadh bin Jabal narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘When Bait Al Maqdis is flourishing, Yathrib (Madeenah) will be in ruins. When Yathrib is in ruins, the Malhamah will take place.’ (sunan of abu dawood)
Prior to this battle we know that Madeenah will be in a state of desertion and ruin, while Jerusalem will be thriving.
Mustaurid narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah saying, ‘The Hour will be established when the Romans outnumber the people.’ (saheeh of muslim)
We also know from the above text that the Romans will be large in number, outnumbering other people during this time. By the word Romans, the Europeans or Christians are meant.
Dhu Makhbar narrated that he heard the messenger of Allah saying, ‘You will make a peace treaty with the Romans, and both of you will attack a common enemy. You will be victorious and will take booty.’ (sunan of abu dawood)
During this time the Muslims will be at peace with the Romans with a treaty between them. For as long as Allah wills this treaty will be preserved. During this time, the Muslims and Romans will join forces to attack a common enemy with the above text making no mention of who the enemy is.
Dhu Makhbar narrated that he heard the messenger of Allah saying, “You will make a peace treaty with the Romans, and both of you will attack a common enemy. You will be victorious and will take booty. Then you will return safely until you camp in Marj Dhi Talool. Then one of the Christians will raise the cross and say, ‘The cross has won.’ One of the Muslims will become angry and will break it. At that point the Romans will break the treaty and start preparing for the Malhamah.” (sunan of abu dawood)
After this battle with the common enemy, the Romans will break the treaty with the Muslims over an incident where a Muslim will break the cross of a Christian who attributed victory to the cross. However it should be noted that the Romans will be the ones to break the treaty and prepare for battle as an offensive.
Auf bin Maalik narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘A Treaty of peace will be made between you and the Romans who will commit treachery against you and come to you with eighty standards, under each standard there will be twelve thousands warriors. (sunan of ibn maajah)
The Romans will prove treacherous, taking full advantage of their strength of numbers at the time. In fact, eighty standards will be set up with each standard having twelve thousand men, giving a total of 960,000 men, 40,000 short of a million.
Abdullah bin Mas’ood said, ‘The Hour will not begin until inheritance is no longer shared out and there is no joy in the spoils of war.’ Then he gestured with his hand (towards Shaam) and said, ‘An enemy will gather against the people of Islam and the people of Islam will gather against them. I said, ‘The Romans?’ he said, ‘Yes.’ (saheeh of muslim)
The battle will take place somewhere in Shaam, where both the Romans and Muslim forces will meet. The Romans will come from the North while the Muslims will come from the South.
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘The Hour will not be established until the Romans would land at ‘Amaaq or Daabiq. An army will come out from Madeenah to challenge them, composed of the best people on Earth at that time. (saheeh of muslim)
The hadeeth of Abu Hurairah mentions how the Romans will land in ‘Amaaq or Daabiq, which are two cities close to Aleppo in Northern Syria. So although the hadeeth of Abdullah bin Mas’ood mentions Shaam which includes Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel of today, the mention of ‘Amaaq and Daabiq shows us that the Romans will in fact land in Syria and this is where the battle will take place. The Muslim army will set out from Madeenah to confront them and the army will be composed of the best people of that time. Although Madeenah will be in ruins, Emaan will return back to Madeenah and the best of the people will reside there and they will come out to fight, not caring about the great number of Roman warriors.
Abu Hurairah narrated that The Messenger of Allah said, ‘When the fierce battles take place Allah will send a troop of the freed Muslims who would be better horsemen than the Arabs and equipped with better arms. Allah will help the religion through them.’ (sunan of ibn maajah)
In addition to the Madeenah Army and the Muslim reinforcements, the Non Arab freed Muslims will be instrumental in this battle and Allah will assist the religion through them, for they will be better trained and more equipped than the Arabs. These freed Muslims may be people the Muslims took captive during the time when the Romans and Muslims defeated a common enemy or they may be captives taken from the Romans after the treaty was dissolved. Other texts mention 70,000 sons of Ishaaq (Isaac) from the children of Israel and it is possible that these are the people that were taken captive. In any case, these captives of war will be freed after they embrace Islam and will fight the Romans as true sincere Muslims.
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, “…When they face one another, the Romans will say, ‘Leave us alone with those who took our people as war prisoners.’ The Muslims will say, No, by Allah we will not leave you alone with our brothers.’ Then they would fight them and a third will flee and Allah will never forgive them, and one third will be killed and they will be the best of the Martyrs with Allah, and one third will attain victory. (saheeh of muslim)
This text supports the view that the prisoners will be taken from the Romans before the great battle takes place. These captives will now be Muslims. In general the Muslim army will consist of three groups including 1/3rd which will flee form the battle, 1/3rd which will attain martyrdom and 1/3rd which will attain victory. 70,000 Muslims from the children of Israel will be amongst those who survive for they will subsequently conquer Constantinople according to the authentic Ahadeeth.
Abdullah bin Mas’ood said, ‘Muslims will make it a condition not to return unless they win. They will start fighting until the night stops them. Both sides will return without victory. Both forces will perish. Then Muslims will again make a condition for death and not to return unless victorious. They will again fight until the night stops them. Both will return without victory. The forces will perish again. Again Muslims will make a condition for death or victory. They will fight til the night and both armies will return and the forces will perish. On the fourth day the remaining Muslims would be prepared and Allah will decree that the enemy should be routed. And they will fight such a fight, the like of which would not be seen, so much so that if a bird passed their flanks it would fall down dead before reaching their end. When counting would be done only one out of hundred men related to one another would be found alive.’ (saheeh of muslim)
In the hadeeth of Abdullah bin Mas’ood a more detailed account of the battle is given with the Muslims attaining victory despite their small numbers after Allah accepts numerous Martyrs from amongst them. If anyone wants to ponder over this battle then let them read the above hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood and reflect on its description for this is the great battle known as the Malhamah which will take place in Syria. How many times have the believers defeated the disbelievers not caring about numbers? This will again happen and the Muslims will fight this battle, not returning unless dead or victorious. The hearts of all the Muslims will be like the heart of one man and the units will be displaced in succession with the same goal of death on the battlefield or victory. The Romans who encounter the Muslims will perish along with the Muslims, with one attaining the Fire and the other attaining Firdous. After days of continuous fighting limited by the night, a day of immense fighting will take place, the like of which we cannot imagine to the point that birds moving in the air above will fall down dead. This will continue until Allah decrees victory for the believers and the war lays down its burdens.
Mu’aadh bin Jabal narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘When the Malhamah takes place, Constantinople will be conquered.’ (sunan of abu dawood)
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Then they would fight them and a third will flee and Allah will never forgive them, and one third will be killed and they will be the best of the Martyrs with Allah, and one third will attain victory and conquer Constantinople. (saheeh of muslim)
After the Malhamah is concluded, Constantinople will be conquered for the second time by the remaining Muslim Army. This conquest should not be confused with the first conquest of Constantinople for it concerns itself with the end of time. However we learn from this, that a time will come in the future when Constantinople will again be taken over by the Romans. It is in this context that the second conquest is mentioned.
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet said, ‘The Hour will not be established until a coastal town is invaded. Did you hear of a town of which one side is in sea and the other in land?’ They said, ‘Yes O Messenger of Allah.’ The Prophet said, ‘Seventy thousand of the sons of Ishaaq will invade it. When they enter the town, they will settle down and fight with no arms or arrows but they will just say, ‘Laa Ilaaha Illallaah Wallahu Akbar’ and one side will be conquered. Then they will say the second time ‘Laa Ilaaha Illallaah Wallahu Akbar’ and the other side will be conquered. Then they will say for the third time, ‘Laa Ilaaha Illallaah Wallahu Akbar’ and the town will be opened for them and they will enter it and have its booty.’ (saheeh of muslim)
The Muslims who conquer Constantinople will include seventy thousand Muslims from amongst the children of Israel who embraced Islam and fought in the battle of the Malhamah. They will conquer Constantinople by saying, ‘Laa Ilaaha Illallaah Wallahu Akbar’ without using arms and ammunition of any kind.
It is important to mention the significance of Constantinople is only in reference to the defeat of Christianity. When we review the collective texts on this city we find that our Prophet mentioned it will be conquered twice. He praised those who conquered it the first time but this praise is restricted to only those who took part in the conquest, and not the Muslims who resided in Constantinople thereafter, nor the Ottoman Empire which followed. This is clear from the texts. In fact its conquest was a historical event for the Christians which marked a mighty blow to their empire. Similarly our Prophet praised those who conquered other lands occupied by the disbelievers without extending the praise to the empire and dynasty which followed.
Thawbaan narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Two groups of my Ummah will be saved by Allah from the Fire; the group which conquers Hind and the group which will be with Isa Bin Maryam.’ (sunan of nasaa’ee’ musnad of ahmad)
In the above hadeeth we again have the praise for the Muslims who conquered a disbelieving land, this time Hind, which is the area known as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh today. However this praise is again restricted to the Muslims who conquered the land which was flooded with paganism. This hadeeth cannot be used by residents of Hind to justify their superiority over others for superiority is only with Taqwa and the praise is restricted in meaning. Similarly the texts which talk about the different regions serve to highlight how Islam will spread and defeat Kufr. This is the case with the conquest of Constantinople which shows how the Romans and Christians will be defeated twice.
Furthermore we need to ask an important question. Why would the Muslims conquer Constantinople after the great battle of Syria, when Constantinople or Istanbul is currently in the hands of the Turkish Muslims? The answer to this question is clear in that the Romans will again conquer Constantinople in our future, prior to the great battle of Syria. So this city is again important in reference to its position with the Christians who have rich history embedded in this land and will reclaim this land in the future. In this way the Romanisation of Istanbul is an upcoming event which is part of our future. So no attention is paid to Turkey today for it is in absolute mess, being far away from the Sunna. In fact, as a nation it is increasingly becoming Roman, begging and pleading to join the European Union while lacking self respect and allegiance with Islam. The Turkish people are increasingly abandoning the teachings of Islam leaving a very same number of our brothers and sisters behind. Perhaps Islam will fade completely in Turkey as the generations pass on. Turkey may merge with the European Union and become part of the Roman Empire in that way or the Romans may actually invade and conquer it sometime before the Malhamah begins. Allah knows best.
But one thing is for sure and that is Constantinople will again belong to the Romans. It is only after the great battle of Syria that the Muslims from amongst the Children of Israel will again conquer this city by the grace of Allah, bringing a defeat to the Romans.
Mu’aadh bin Jabal narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘When Bait Al Maqdis is flourishing, Yathrib will be in ruins. When Yathrib is in ruins, the Malhamah will take place.’ When the Malhamah takes place, Constantinople will be conquered. When Constantinople is conquered, Dajjal will appear.’ (sunan of abu dawood)
Another point which shows that the conquest of Constantinople is only significant in reference to the defeat of Christianity is the fact that after its conquest, attention will shift towards the Dajjaal and the Muslim Capital will be in Jerusalem, as the authentic narrations show. So the great battle of Syria known as the Malhamah is of particular significance for it marks the transition between the end of the Minor signs and the beginning of the Major signs of the Hour; a transition which will bring the horrific trial of the false Messiah known as Dajjaal.
Written By Kamillah Khan.
