The Sufi Interpretation of Doomsday and Apocalyptic Omens

This article is intended to discuss the Sufi interpretation of Doomsday and apocalyptic omens. The Arabic word “Qiyāmah” refers to the ending of life on Earth and the following resurrection in the Hereafter. According to the Islamic belief, these events will certainly take place and be preceded by some phenomena. Sufis clearly state that they accept the physically-occurring of Doomsday and the preceding phenomena. However, they tend to subject both Doomsday and the preceding phenomena to an allegorical interpretation on the base of their Sufi experience. In addition, they endeavor to explain their own spiritual journey on the base of esoteric and allegorical interpretation of these phenomena that differs from the exoteric interpretations of other Islamic disciplines. In this context, one can mention the Sufi interpretation of such apocalyptic omens as a female slave’s giving birth to her master, shepherds’ living in high buildings, the appearance of anti-Christ, the appearance of Mahdī (Rightly-Guided One), Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and the appearance of Dābbat al-Ard (the Beast sprung from the earth) and Gog-Magog.

Keywords

Sufi Experience, Doomsday, omens, anti-Christ, Mahdī, Dābbat al-Ard.