Chapter 2: Arab Bedouins Prophecy
Throughout his 23 years of prophethood, Muhammad made numerous
claims about many different events, in different times and places, which
would transpire in the future.
One of them is Arab Bedouins Prophecy:
In the following prophecy, Muhammad was asked about the signs of the
"Last Hour" (meaning the approach of the Day of Judgement).
He stated that a very specific group of people would one day compete in the construction of tall buildings:
"Now, tell me of the Last Hour," asked the man.
The Prophet replied, "The one asked knows no more of it than the
one asking."
"Then tell me about its signs," said the man.
The Prophet replied, "That you see barefoot, unclothed herdsmen
competing in the construction of tall buildings." [122]
Notice the detailed characteristics that Muhammad provided: the barefoot,
unclothed herdsmen were mentioned.
When Muhammad was asked about the identity of these people, he responded by identifying the Arabs: "It was said: 'Who are the barefoot herdsmen?' He [Muhammad] answered:
'The Arabs'" [123].
We can see that Muhammad prophesied that a very specific group from among the Arabs, the barefoot, unclothed herdsmen, would one day compete in constructing tall buildings.
In fact, this detailed description refers to a very particular type of Arab,
the Bedouins.
From millennium past there are two types of Arabs, city
dwellers and Bedouins.
The former make up the majority and live in ancient cities like Damascus, Cairo, and Baghdad.
In contrast, the Bedouins are nomads, they travel through the vast deserts and are constantly on
the move.
Even during the Golden Age of Islam when the Arabs were the
richest and most learned people on earth, Bedouins remained in virtually
the same state they had been for thousands of years, poor, uneducated
and cut off from rest of the world.
As recently as the 1940s the English
explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger was travelling through the deserts inhabited
by the Bedouin and documented their condition:
"As I listened I thought once again how precarious was the existence
of the Bedu. Their way of life naturally made them fatalists; so much
was beyond their control. It was impossible for them to provide for a
morrow when everything depended on a chance fall of rain or when
raiders, sickness, or any one of a hundred chance happenings might
at any time leave them destitute, or end their lives. They did what
they could, and no people were more self-reliant, but if things went
wrong they accepted their fate without bitterness, and with dignity
as the will of God." [124]
Many early Muslim scholars and classical commentators understood
Muhammad's prophecy to be a reference to the Arab Bedouins who were
known as the "people of the desert".
The famous jurist Imam an-Nawawi
(1233 – 1277) said the following in his interpretation of Muhammad's
prophecy:
The people of the desert and their like are people of need and poverty. (A time will come) when the world will be laid open for them
until they compete with one another in (the construction of) buildings, and God knows best. [125]
The renowned scholar Al-Qurtubi (1214 – 1273) said:
What is meant here is the prediction of a reversal in society whereby
the people of the desert will take over the conduct of affairs and rule
every region by force. They will become extremely rich and their
primary concern will be to erect tall buildings and take pride in
them. [126]
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