In an October 20, 2023 article in the Qatari daily Al-Arab, journalist Mansour Al-Mutlaq wrote that "what is happening in Palestine" (i.e., Hamas' October 7, 2023 large-scale terrorist attack on Israel and the war that broke out in its wake) is the fulfillment of Allah's words in Surah 17 of the Quran. Some Muslims interpret certain verses in this surah as conveying a divine promise regarding Palestine: the Jews will come from all over the world to settle in Palestine, and will sow corruption there and gain power, but will ultimately be defeated by the servants of Allah who will humiliate them and recapture the Al-Aqsa mosque. Based on this interpretation, Hamas officials have envisioned a war against Israel called "the Promise of the Hereafter," involving the Palestinians and other Arab countries and organizations, who will together eliminate Israel. [1] Al-Mutlaq expresses hope that Allah's promise for the defeat of the Jews in Palestine will come to pass in the near future.
It should be noted that Qatar has for years financed Hamas' military buildup and harbored its leaders. Qatar is also enabling Hamas' current war against Israel. Hamas' leaders are managing this war from Doha and conveying their messages via Qatar's Al-Jazeera television channel, while the Qatari media expresses unreserved support for Hamas and its terrorist actions.[2]
Mansour Al-Mutlaq with Jassim Bin Hamad, the brother of Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Aal Thani, who serves as the Emir's personal representative.[3]
The following are translated excerpts from Al-Mutlaq's article:[4]
"The Arabs are stricken with sorrow about what is happening in Palestine, [but] at the same time hope has been revived, for the words of Allah, may He be exalted, have come true: 'And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book: You will surely work corruption in the land twice, and you will ascend to great heights. So, when it was time to fulfil the promise for the first of these, We sent against you some servants of Ours possessed of great might in war, and they penetrated the innermost parts of your dwellings, and it was a promise fulfilled. Then We gave you a turn against them, and aided you with wealth and children, and made you larger in numbers (Quran 17:4-6).'
"According to my understanding of these verses, and on the basis of what religious scholars say, the past and the present events are nothing but divine wisdom that Allah articulated [there], in Surat Al-Israh [Surah 17 of the Quran]. If the promise regarding the first time has already been fulfilled, as the verse states ('it was a promise fulfilled'), then the promise regarding the second and last time is 'the other promise,' which Allah explains in detail [in the next verse of the surah]: 'Now, if you do good, it is for the sake of your own souls; and if you commit evil, it will only harm yourselves. So, when the time comes for the other promise, they will cover your faces with shame and they will enter the Mosque as they entered it the first time, and they will utterly destroy all that they conquered (Quran 17:7).'
"This means that the Muslims will enter the temple in Jerusalem [i.e., Al-Aqsa] again, and the loftiness of this sinful entity [Israel] that worked corruption in the land will come to an end. This is a divine promise which will inevitably be fulfilled.
"In spite of the tragedies and the deep grief for the martyrs of Palestine, I am hopeful, because I realize that we are in the last phase of the gradual divine plan that threatens those who work corruption in the land. For Allah says in His Book, 'And when the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass, We shall bring you all together' (Quran 17:104).
"Everyone knows that the Children of Israel were scattered among many nations on earth and lived in many countries across the world. There was almost no country without a Jewish neighborhood or a Jewish colony until the so-called Balfour Declaration, which promised to establish a national home for the Jews.
"This is a fulfilment of His words, 'and when the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass, We shall bring you all together.' This is what we now see in the land of Palestine, since 'We shall bring you all together' means as a mixed assembly, a blend of all sorts: Jews from Arab countries, from Europe, from Asia and from other places.
"What now remains [to be seen] is the timing of this promise, which, I hope, will be soon, for Allah never breaks His promise."
[1] See MEMRI reports: Special Dispatch No. 9575, "Hamas-Sponsored 'Promise Of The Hereafter' Conference For The Phase Following The Liberation Of Palestine And Israel's 'Disappearance': We Must Differentiate Between Jews Who Should And Should Not Be Killed, And Prevent A Jewish 'Brain Drain' From Palestine," October 4, 2021; No. 10015 - Senior Hamas Official Mahmoud Al-Zahar: The Jews Were Banished From Every Country In The World, Sent To Palestine To Weaken Our Historic Islamic Movement; Ukraine Is A Jewish Country – December 8, 2022;
Special Dispatch No. 10391 - Senior Hamas Official Mahmoud Al-Zahar: The 'Army Of Jerusalem' Will Not Liberate Palestinian Land Only; The 512 Million Square Kilometers Of Planet Earth Will Come Under A System With No Zionism, No Treacherous Christianity – December 22, 2022.
For other references to the Promise of the Hereafter, see e.g.,:
Clip No. 10131 - Senior Al-Azhar Official Sheikh Muhammad Al-Duwaini At Arab League's 'Jerusalem Summit': Allah Has Promised That Jerusalem, Palestine Will Be Liberated; The Zionists Falsified History; International Institutions Recognize Al-Aqsa Is Ours, Yet Nobody Lifts A Finger Against Israel – February 12, 2023;
Special Dispatch No. 10418 - Iran-Backed Conference In Damascus On The Topic Of Israel's Demise: Israel Is A Malignant Tumor That Will Be Eliminated Thanks To The Syrian Armed Forces, And The Lebanese And Palestinian Resistance – January 11, 2023.
Special Dispatch No. 10252 - Marking The Anniversary Of Saladin's Conquest Of Jerusalem, Muslim Intellectuals, Islamists Express Hope, Conviction That Muslims Will Reconquer Jerusalem – October 10, 2022.
Special Dispatch No. 10235 - In Ramallah Friday Sermon, Palestinian Islamic Scholar Dr. Nasser Al-Qaram Praises Martyrdom, Adds: The Jews Are The People Of War And Corruption – September 28, 2022.
[2] See MEMRI reports: MEMRI Daily Brief No. 536 - Qatar – Enabler Of Islamist Terrorism And A Dishonest Broker – November 1, 2023; Special Dispatch No. 10872 - Qatar Enabling Hamas' War Against Israel – October 15, 2023; Special Dispatch No. 10879 - Presenters, Reporters From Qatar's Al-Jazeera Praise Hamas Attack, Celebrate Israel's Disaster – October 17, 2023; Special Dispatch No. 10910 - Qatari Media Compare Israel To Nazis, Netanyahu To Hitler, Gaza To Auschwitz – October 27, 2023; Special Dispatch No. 10909 - Qatari Press Attacks U.S., West For Their Support Of Israel: They Are Complicit In Its Crimes And Pose A Threat To Democracy And Morality; The U.S. Itself Won Its Independence By Means Of Terror – October 26, 2023;
Special Dispatch No. 10887 - In Qatari Daily, Poem Of Praise For Hamas Attack: 'Falling In Battle As A Martyr Is Not Falling; It Is The Beginning Of Victory, And Exaltedness – October 19, 2023; Special Dispatch No. 10862 - Poem In Qatari Daily Praises, Encourages Hamas Terrorists: 'Rise Up, Oh Resistance Fighter… Victory Is Nigh; Saddle Your Horses And Charge'; 'Spill The Blood Of Sacrifice For [Islam's] Sake' – October 13, 2023.
[3] Facebook.com/almutlke, September 7, 2016.
[4] Al-Arab (Qatar), October 20, 2023.
