And their Prophet (Samuel) said to them: Verily! The sign of His Kingdom is that there shall come to you At-Tabut (a wooden box), wherein is Sakinah (peace and reassurance) from your Lord and a remnant of that which Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron) left behind, carried by the angels. Verily, in this is a sign for you if you are indeed believers.
(2:248)
The importance of khilafah
The Quran uses the term khalifa twice. First, in 2:30, it refers to God creating humanity as his khalifa on Earth. Second, in 38:26, it addresses King David as God's khalifa and reminds him of his obligation to rule with justice.
A famous scholar once said: Khilafa means representative. Man, according to Islam is the representative of "people", His (God's) viceregent; that is to say, by virtue of the powers delegated to him, and within the limits prescribed by the Qu'ran and the teaching of the prophet, the caliph is required to exercise Divine authority. Adam (pbuh) was said to be God's first vicegerent on Earth and his crown was restored to him when he repented off his sin. Adam (pbuh) was also the first Prophet, and he was granted revelation, able to speak and write and possessed knowledge of everything. Adam is said to have built an altar to God first in Mecca where the Black Stone fell and later at Jerusalem at Bait al-Maqdis.
What is the Arc of the Covenant?
The Arc of the covenant is the most important artifact in the monotheistic tradition of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. When Adam (pbuh) descended to earth in addition to the crown on his head, he is said to have also gotten an Ark containing what are now known as Hajr al Aswad (the Black Stone), the Staff of Moses, the Ring of Solomon, the Sword of Prophet Muhammad (s) called Zulfiqar among many other relics. These were later stored in the Arc of the Covenant - a symbol of God's covenant with the children of Israel and then later to the whole of mankind.
This ornate, gilded case is said to have been built some 3,000 years ago by the Israelites to house the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written. Biblical accounts describe the Ark as large, about the size of a 19th-century seaman's chest, made of gold-plated wood, and topped with two large, golden angels. It was carried using poles inserted through rings on its sides.The Ark has been linked to several of the Old Testament's miracles but we cannot go down that route here...
According to the Book of Exodus, God instructed Moses on Mount Sinai during his 40-day stay upon the mountain where God was and he was shown the pattern for the tabernacle and furnishings of the Ark to be made of shittim wood to house the Tablets. Moses instructed Bezalel and Oholiab to construct the Ark. In Deuteronomy the Ark is said to have been built specifically by Moses himself without reference of Bezalel or Oholiab. Other heavenly tokens were then placed in it too.
The Book of Exodus gives detailed instructions on how the Ark is to be constructed. It is to be 21⁄2 cubits in length, 11⁄2 in breadth, and 11⁄2 in height (approximately 131×79×79 cm or 52×31×31 in). Then it is to be gilded entirely with gold, and a crown or molding of gold is to be put around it. Four rings of gold are to be attached to its four corners, two on each side—and through these rings staves of shittim-wood overlaid with gold for carrying the Ark are to be inserted; and these are not to be removed. A golden lid, the kapporet which is covered with 2 golden cherubim, is to be placed above the Ark. The Ark is finally to be placed under the veil of the covering.
In the Christian New Testament, Hebrews 9:4 reads that "The ark of the covenant [was] covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
The biblical account continues that, after its creation by Moses, the Ark was carried by the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. Whenever the Israelites camped, the Ark was placed in a separate room in a sacred tent, called the Tabernacle.
Kings Saul and David
The Ark stayed in the family of Moses with the Children of Israel and they placed in it the relics of Moses and Aaron as well. Moses and his brother and their family remained the chiefs of the Israelites and eventually placed it back in Bait ul-Maqdis in Palestine, which was originally built by Adam.
When the Children of Israel rebelled against the House of Moses, the Ark was taken from them and hidden during the era of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. In search for the Ark, Nebuchadnezzar sacked both Mecca and Bait ul-Maqdis. The Adnanites buried Abraham and Ishmael’s treasure and the Hajr ul-Aswad which was from the Ark in Mecca, and fled to Yemen.
Nebuchadnezzar seized the Ark from the Israelites in Palestine. Faced with destruction and defeat, the Israelites then approached asked the Prophet Samuel to pray God sends them a new King, to fight in God’s way and restore their lost blessings.
Samuel prayed, and as he was a Prophet, Allah heard his prayer. Saul was appointed as the King of the Children of Israel, and the sign of his kingdom was that he would be given the Ark of the Covenant (2:246-249).
Saul was a descendant of Ben Yamin (Benjamin), the younger brother of Yusuf (Joseph), the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Saul promised to marry his daughter and surrender the Ark of the Covenant over to the person who would kill Goliath.
The Qur'an states David, who was a direct descendant of Yahuda (Judah), the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, killed Goliath, inherited the Ark and the kingdom from Saul.
As the new guardian of the Ark of the Covenant, David now became the King of the Children of Israel. The House of David restored the Bait ul-Maqdis and placed the Ark therein. It is interesting to note that the Dajjal aka the AntiChrist would claim descent from the House of David but would fail to show proof.
Solomon inherited the Ark of the Covenant from David and thereby became King. He rebuilt the Bait ul Maqdis in Jerusalem, in honor of the Seal of Prophets, Muhammad, who was to come to it on the night of Ma’raj, and lead all Prophets in prayer. The fate of this temple is for another future part.
The Babylonian Conquest
In 587 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple. There is no record of what became of the Ark in the Books of Kings and Chronicles. An ancient Greek version of the biblical third Book of Ezra, 1 Esdras, suggests that Babylonians took away the vessels of the ark of God, but does not mention taking away the Ark.
In Rabbinic literature, the final disposition of the Ark is disputed. Some rabbis hold that it must have been carried off to Babylon, while others hold that it must have been hidden lest it be carried off into Babylon and never brought back. A late 2nd-century rabbinic work known as the Tosefta states the opinions of these rabbis that Josiah, the king of Judah, stored away the Ark, along with the jar of manna, and a jar containing the holy anointing oil, the rod of Aaron which budded and a chest given to Israel by the Philistines. This was said to have been done in order to prevent their being carried off into Babylon as had already happened to the other vessels. Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon, in the same rabbinic work, state that the Ark was, in fact, taken into Babylon. Rabbi Yehudah, dissenting, says that the Ark was stored away in its own place, meaning, somewhere on the Temple Mount.
The Rediscovery of the Arc
The whereabouts of the Arc of the Covenant have been unknown since 587 BC, and it is generally accepted by Islamic scholars that it will be found by the Mahdi. As stated in the Qur'an, the Ark of the Covenant is "a sign" for the faithful (2: 248), for which reason believers have looked for it down the years. The fact that it has remained lost despite all this detailed research may be an indication that it will be found in our own time, when a great many portents regarding the end times have been fulfilled.
There are many ahadith that talk of the rediscovery of the Arc but they point to different places indicating that that the site is not known for sure and is perhaps under special protection for the Mahdi.
The Hz. Mehdi will remove the Ark of the Covenant from Lake Tiberias. (Iqd al-Durar fi Akbar al-Imam al-Muntadhar, by Shaikh Jamaluddin Yusuf al-Damishqi, p. 51-a)
The reason he will be known as the Mahdi is that he will go to one of the mountains in Sham. From there he will unearth the (true) books of the Torah and bring forth evidence against the Jews. (Suyuti, al-Hawi li'l Fatawa, II, 81)
One significant claim is that the Ark was hidden in a warren of passages beneath the First Temple in Jerusalem before the Babylonians destroyed it in 586 B.C. But that theory can't be tested because the site is home to the Dome of the Rock shrine. Digging beneath it simply isn't an option. There is also this:
There is also strong reason to believe that the Arc of the Covenant is in Ethiopia. Before the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, it is said to have found its way to Ethiopia, where it still resides in the town of Aksum, in the St. Mary of Zion cathedral. Church authorities, however, say only one man, the guardian of the Ark, is allowed to see it, and they have never permitted it to be studied for authenticity. For more about this claim, watch this:
Why would the Mahdi need it?
In future parts it'll become clear that the order of the signs would go like:
1. Appearance of the Mahdi to unite the broken Muslim world reigning from Medina and then Damascus
2. Reconquest of Jerusalem and Constantinople under the black banner/standard
3. The Antichrist (Dajjal) appointed as King of Israel restoring the Kingdom
4. Wars between Greater Israel and the Muslim Ummah under Mahdi
5. Descent of Jesus the Actual Messiah in Damascus
6. AntiChrist under the zionist banner vs Jesus under the black banner
With the Arc of the Covenant in his hands, Imam Mahdi would be able to convince many of those of the Jewish and Christian tradition that his side is in the way of God.
“After the discovery of the Ark of the Covenant, Enoch and Elias will restore the Holy Sacrament of the Altar; Because of the fact that the Ark of the Covenant will be in the possession of the two holy prophets and not in Antichrist’s hands, the Jews will recognize that Jesus is the true Messiah…”
( Luetzenberg, Antichristus Chapter 29 as cited in Birch D.A. Trial, Tribulation & Triumph. Queenship Publishing, Goleta (CA), 1996, p. 509)
Related by Sulaiman ibn Isa: “I was informed that the Ark of the Covenant will emerge from the Tabariyya Sea through the efforts of Imam al-Mahdi. It will be placed before him at the Sacred House (either the Holy Ka’aba or Bayt al-Muqaddas in Palestine). When the descendents of Judah (the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham) see this (Ark), all except a few will embrace Islam.” (Ibn Hammad transmitted in al-Fitan (1:360#1050); and Suyuti copied it in al-Hawi li’l Fatawa (II:83).
It is reported in Tazkia Lil Qurtabi on Page 704-706 that Huzaifa once asked the Prophet about the Ark of the Covenant, where upon the Prophet, salutations be upon him, informed him “it would be brought forth by Al Mahdi”. Thereafter, Huzaifa states the Holy Prophet (s) recited the following verses of the Quran in reference to this,
4 And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Scripture: Ye verily will work corruption in the earth twice, and ye will become great tyrants.
5 So when the time for the first of the two came, We roused against you slaves of Ours of great might who ravaged (your) country, and it was a threat performed.
6 Then we gave you once again your turn against them, and We aided you with wealth and children and made you more in soldiery.
7 (Saying): If ye do good, ye do good for your own souls, and if ye do evil, it is for them (in like manner). So, when the time for the second (of the judgments) came (We roused against you others of Our slaves) to ravage you, and to enter the Temple even as they entered it the first time, and to lay waste all that they conquered with an utter wasting.
8 It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you, but if ye repeat (the crime) We shall repeat (the punishment), and We have appointed hell a dungeon for the disbelievers. (Quran, 17:4-8)
as always Allah knows best
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