https://x.com/sankrant/status/2000780986116972784?s=46

• The post quotes Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 2926, an authenticated narration where Prophet Muhammad describes an end-times battle against Jews, with stones and trees calling Muslims to kill hidden Jews, framing Islamist terrorism as faithful adherence to this prophecy.
• It ties the Hadith to the 1988 Hamas charter, which invokes similar eschatological texts to justify eliminating Israel, interpreting “from the river to the sea” as a genocidal slogan rather than a call for Palestinian statehood.
• While mainstream Islamic scholarship views the Hadith as apocalyptic prophecy without prescriptive force against civilians today, extremist groups like Hamas cite it to motivate violence, highlighting ongoing debates over scriptural interpretation in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

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Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 2926, narrated by Abu Huraira, states: “Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, ‘The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, ‘O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.'” 21 This narration, also found in similar forms in Sahih Muslim and other collections, is part of Islamic eschatology describing events leading to the Day of Judgment. Below are explanations from various scholars, drawing from traditional, classical, and progressive perspectives to provide a range of interpretations.

Traditional and Classical Scholarly Explanations

Many classical scholars view the hadith as a prophetic description of an apocalyptic event involving the Antichrist (Dajjal) and the return of Jesus (Isa), rather than a general directive for Muslims today. It is seen as a miracle where nature reveals hidden enemies during a final battle between forces of truth and falsehood.

• Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 1449 CE), in his commentary Fath al-Bari on Sahih al-Bukhari, explains that the fighting referenced occurs specifically when the Dajjal emerges and Jesus descends to confront him. The hadith describes a future victory over the Dajjal’s followers, including Jews aligned with him, emphasizing its eschatological timing rather than contemporary application. 35 He notes the miraculous element of stones and trees speaking as a sign of the Hour, limited to combatants in this supernatural conflict.
• Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (d. 1277 CE), in his Sharh Sahih Muslim, interprets parallel narrations (e.g., Sahih Muslim 2922) as part of end-times prophecies where Jesus leads Muslims against the Dajjal. The revelation by stones and trees is a divine miracle identifying “soldiers of the Dajjal,” not all Jews, and variants in other hadiths generalize it to any rejectors of truth (e.g., “Here is a rejector of truth hiding behind me!”). Al-Nawawi stresses this as a narrative of cosmic justice, not a call for earthly violence against civilians. 59
• Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328 CE) describes the hadith in the context of the Dajjal’s emergence, noting that Jews (specifically 70,000 from Isfahan wearing distinctive head coverings) will follow the Dajjal, whom they await as a messiah. The battle involves Muslims, led by Jesus, defeating these followers, with nature aiding in exposing them. He frames it as a prophecy about a specific group of deviants, not the entire Jewish people. 30
• Abdul-Aziz ibn Baz (d. 1999 CE), a modern Salafi scholar, explains it as a sign of the Hour where Jesus kills the Dajjal at Lod (near Jerusalem), and Muslims accompanying him defeat the Dajjal’s Jewish followers. Stones and trees calling out is a miracle, but the event is future-oriented and tied to divine intervention, not a prescription for current actions. 30
• Anwar Shah Kashmiri (d. 1933 CE), in Fayd al-Bari, limits the hadith to “only the Jews whom Jesus is fighting against, namely those in the armies of Dajjal, not all Jews around the world.” He estimates this as a small cult-like group (around 70,000), portraying the conflict as a war between good (including righteous Jews, Christians, and Muslims) and evil forces, where identity is secondary to allegiance. 31
• Badr al-Deen al-Ayni (d. 1453 CE), in Umdatul-Qari, and Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Saffarini (d. 1774 CE), in al-Buhur al-Zakhirah, echo this by highlighting variants that refer to “followers of Dajjal” without specifying ethnicity, reinforcing its focus on combatants in an apocalyptic scenario rather than religious groups broadly. 31

These scholars generally emphasize that the hadith prohibits misapplication to justify harm against non-combatants, aligning with Quranic principles like justice toward peaceful people (Quran 60:8) and the sanctity of life (Quran 5:32).

Progressive and Reformist Perspectives

Some progressive Muslim thinkers and critics question the hadith’s literal interpretation or authenticity, viewing it through modern ethical lenses or as potentially influenced by historical contexts. They often advocate for allegorical readings or internal critique to align with contemporary values of interfaith harmony.

• Scholars associated with the Ahmadiyya community, such as those in Al Hakam, interpret the hadith allegorically: the “stones and trees” symbolize advanced technology or surveillance systems in a future conflict, representing betrayal by any obstructive groups (not exclusively Jews) to divine order. They argue it does not promote antisemitism, as the Quran praises righteous Jews (e.g., Quran 2:63) and treats them as People of the Book, with conflicts in early Islam being political (e.g., treaty breaches by certain tribes) rather than faith-based. 32
• Progressive voices on platforms like Reddit and New Age Islam call for reevaluating such hadiths due to apparent contradictions with Quranic emphasis on peace and justice. For instance, some argue it may reflect 7th-century geopolitical tensions rather than eternal doctrine, urging Muslims to prioritize the Quran’s non-violent interfaith directives over potentially problematic narrations. 44 Critics like those at Almuslih contend that Bukhari’s collection sometimes contradicts the Quran’s merciful tone, labeling such hadiths as offensive to Islam’s core and calling for scholarly reform. 50
• Yasir Qadhi, a contemporary scholar, has publicly described the hadith as a “prophecy” about end times, not a “command” for Muslims to act violently today, rejecting its use to incite hatred. 9

These views highlight ongoing debates, with some progressives seeing the hadith as symbolic of moral struggles against oppression, while others advocate scrutinizing its chains of transmission for possible fabrication or contextual bias. 43