Nahiem Ajmal’s Misquoting of Ibn ‘Ashur on the Beast

When people become hellbent on proving their viewpoint to be true, no matter how ridiculous it may be, it is common to see them gleefully embrace any information that confirms their view but dismiss or undermine anything that contests it. For people of this bizarre disposition, or “confirmation bias” to be more precise, the internet is an absolute goldmine, and “evidence” in support of the most preposterous arguments is just a few clicks away.

Nahiem Ajmal[1], however, takes academic dishonesty to a different level altogether, where Googling to find a few dissenting opinions or ignoring an opposing view would not even be frowned upon. The former school-teacher relentlessly misquotes others and engages in what can only be labelled as woeful contextomy.

On the issue of the emergence of the Beast (dābba), one of the major signs of end times that is decisively proven from the Qur’an and authentic hadiths, Nahiem Ajmal purposefully misquotes the renowned Maliki exegete, Tahir ibn ‘Ashur (d. 1393). According to Nahiem Ajmal, Ibn ‘Ashur claims that the Beast will emerge on the Day of Judgment itself and not, as Muslims believe, before the Hour. He further claims on the authority of Ibn ‘Ashur that all the narrations on this topic are weak and unreliable.

Why Nahiem Ajmal is religiously devoted to distorting the consentient understanding of the Quran and Sunnah, who he seeks to appease with his academically-putrid methodology, and furthermore, why he feels nobody can detect his gross quoting-out-of-context are all discussions for another day. Here we will just show what Ibn ‘Ashur actually said and how Nahiem Ajmal, yet again, failed spectacularly in trying to put words into Ibn ‘Ashur’s mouth.

“…We will bring forth for them a creature from the earth speaking to them…”

After introducing Ibn ‘Ashur (rahimahullah) as: the Don of the Twentieth Century; the Legend; the Grand Mufti of the Malikiyya; the Shaykh al-Islam of the Twentieth Century; and “one of my indirect teachers who my chains of knowledge go through”, Nahiem Ajmal impresses upon his viewers that he is presenting Ibn ‘Ashur’s take on this issue, reinforcing this impression by passionately displaying the book and reading “directly” from it. But what Nahiem Ajmal forgets is that we have been taken down that route one time too many, and that we prudently live by the prophetic statement: “A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice”.[2]

Nahiem Ajmal begins by talking about verses 80-81 of Surah al-Naml, which ironically mention how guidance does not benefit those who are blind and deaf to the truth. Thereafter, coming to the crux of the matter, Nahiem Ajmal presents his musings on the following verse which mentions the Beast:

Nahiem Ajmal’s “Interpretation”

Taking a cursory look at how Nahiem Ajmal explains 27:82 and comparing it to what Ibn ‘Ashur actually said really hits home how academic propriety is a concept foreign to Ajmal.

In explaining 27:82, Ajmal says:
Nahiem Ajmal is claiming that the bringing forth of the Beast will occur in the afterlife when “the matter has been resolved”, as opposed to before the Hour, and with the purpose of showing people how Allah brings the dead to life.

The Purpose of the Beast According to Nahiem Ajmal

Before looking at what Ibn ‘Ashur actually said, an obvious question here that highlights the ludicrous nature of Ajmal’s claim is why Allah would need to present an inanimate creature, on the Day of Judgment of all days, to show people how He brings the dead to life! Each and every person ever to have stepped foot on earth will rise from his or her grave, so what further evidence is required to show how Allah revives? This will be a self-evident truth, which every denier of the Resurrection will have no choice but to accept on that day.

Allah says:

“And the Horn will be blown; and at once from the graves to their Lord they will hasten. They will say, ‘O woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping place?’” (Qur’an, 36:51-52)

He says elsewhere:

“Their eyes humbled, they will emerge from the graves as if they were locusts spreading” (Qur’an, 54:7)

Ibn ‘Ashur’s Commentary

Moving on to Ibn ‘Ashur’s full text, it is not at all surprising to see that it reveals quite a different narrative to that presented by Nahiem Ajmal.

Firstly, Nahiem Ajmal translated the beginning of the verse: “when the word (qawl) befalls (waqa’a) them” as: “the matter has been resolved”, explaining this to mean once everything has been settled in the afterlife.

In his magnus opus commentary Al-Tahrir wa ’l-Tanwir, Ibn ‘Ashur says that qawl refers to the accounts of the Hour they used to deny.[3] As for waqa’a, which Nahiem Ajmal translates as “resolved” and “established”, Ibn ‘Ashur says it refers allegorically to the onset of the Hour, which is from the time the world begins to draw to an end until people enter their ultimate destination in either Paradise or Hell.[4]

To cut it short, Ibn ‘Ashur is not entertaining, even for a moment, that this is referring to after “the matter has been resolved”, but in fact says the beginning of this time is when the world comes close to the end of its temporal existence. The emergence of the Beast, being one of the major and last signs before the Hour, sits perfectly with the time frame Ibn ‘Ashur has highlighted.

Nahiem Ajmal will, quite predictably, assert his right to interpret Ibn ‘Ashur the way he has claimed, but Ibn ‘Ashur himself leaves no room for Ajmal’s venturesome misinterpretation, and clearly sets the context:
Unless the word “sign” has an esoteric meaning which we are unaware of and which Nahiem Ajmal can kindly share with us, Ibn ‘Ashur has made it very clear that the emergence of the Beast is a supernatural sign that will transpire before the Hour. Hence, the only thing that makes sense in all of Nahiem Ajmal’s explanation is why he would choose not to cite the abovementioned text, which proves “unequivocally” that Ibn ‘Ashur does not interpret the Beast except as a sign before end times. Nahiem Ajmal has a knack for misquoting, but with Allah’s grace and ability, our knack to pinpoint his academic dishonesty is just as good, if not better. And all praise is for Allah.

Did Ibn ‘Ashur say the verse is speaking about the Beast emerging in the Afterlife?

Nahiem Ajmal says:
This is the text of Ibn ‘Ashur which Nahiem Ajmal quotes:
Naheim Ajmal, in his trademark prevarication, slips in the words “this beast” to imply that Ibn ‘Ashur is saying the Beast will emerge in the hereafter, whereas Ibn ‘Ashur has not even commented on the Beast at this point. Ibn ‘Ashur writes the text above immediately after citing 27:82, merely stating that the verses from this point onward are now focusing on the Day of Judgment and its events. The discussion on the Beast begins two paragraphs later, and in its own clear-cut context as one of the signs before the Hour. Again, it does not take a brain surgeon to work out how Nahiem Ajmal is misquoting Ibn ‘Ashur.

Another Gross Misinterpretation

After fast-forwarding past a few important paragraphs, Nahiem Ajmal continues:
The Arabic text Nahiem Ajmal selectively quoted, and translated even more selectively, is as follows:

The translation of Ibn ‘Ashur’s statement is as follows:
So, did Ibn ‘Ashur say the Beast will speak to them upon the occurrence of the Day of Judgment? How can Allah show the people how He will revive the dead if the Beast is brought after they have already been resurrected? There are numerous objections to Nahiem Ajmal’s illogical and untenable spin on this issue, but this much is enough for sincere readers. As for crooked minds, even the right things get crooked in them, as we have witnessed on so many occasions.

Moreover, it is important Ibn ‘Ashur is allowed to speak for himself and not put into a straitjacket and gagged by Nahiem Ajmal. Explaining why the Beast will speak, Ibn ‘Ashur says that it will be a means of belittling the people and making them regret their indifference to the profound truth of the Qur’an that had come to them through the best of Allah’s creation, the Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). This will be a form of humiliation for them at the end of time, i.e., close to the Hour, for which they will be taunted on the plain of resurrection: it will be said that these are the people who turned away from the words of the Noble Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), so they were addressed by a mute animal.[8]

Ibn ‘Ashur further says:
He further says:
Ibn ‘Ashur cites Qur’an 6:158 to substantiate that after the emergence of the Beast, nobody’s acceptance of Islam will be accepted. This is also stated in a hadith of Sahih Muslim (198).

As a final nail in the coffin for Nahiem Ajmal’s argument, it will be appropriate to relate what Ibn ‘Ashur stated in commentary of the verse: “The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith that had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good” (Qur’an 6:158).

Ibn ‘Ashur says that procrastination in the matter of accepting faith is extremely perilous, lest a time comes when it is too late to make amends and repent. This is either at the time of death, or when one of Allah’s supernatural signs of punishment descends, after which repentance is of no avail.[11]

He then states:
In very explicit terms, Ibn ‘Ashur is referring to the signs of the Hour and these supernatural signs of punishment (amongst them the emergence of the Beast), as the point after which faith and repentance will not be accepted of a person. This is before the Hour, not on the Day of Judgment. Thus far, Nahiem Ajmal has only been able to show any disparity between Ibn ‘Ashur’s belief and that of Muslims by misquoting and distorting; once his academic improbity is denuded, it is evident how Ibn ‘Ashur’s belief is harmonious with the decisive belief of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Did Ibn ‘Ashur say all Hadiths on the Beast are Weak and Unreliable?

As a last gasp to support his dying argument, Nahiem Ajmal wraps up this episode with a claim in Ibn ‘Ashur’s name that the hadiths on this topic are all weak.

Ajmal says:
Nahiem Ajmal is misrepresenting Ibn ‘Ashur here, as evident from what Ibn ‘Ashur actually said:
Nahiem Ajmals’ hyperbolic tone and translation, with added emphasis when pronouncing da’if, does not change the reality of what Ibn ‘Ashur said here, nor does it abrogate all his clear statements in the very same discussion which affirm the emergence of Beast as a sign of the Hour. Ibn ‘Ashur has acknowledged the weakness of certain narrations regarding the Beast, but that in no way implies he denies its very existence. The same can be ascertained from Tafsir al-Qurtubi to which Ibn ‘Ashur has referred readers.

It is also important to note that Ibn ‘Ashur did not say all the narrations are weak and clashing, as Ajmal has quoted. Ajmal’s use of the word “all” when translating Ibn ‘Ashur’s text is almost as tragicomical as his saying “some” people believe that the Beast will emerge in this life.

But this is nothing new or unexpected from Nahiem Ajmal, nor would it surprise us if after getting caught misquoting again, he were to relegate Ibn ‘Ashur from being the legend, shaykh al-Islam, grand mufti and so forth, to just being a later Maliki scholar. It happened with ‘Alusi previously. In fact, he even did an official handover and told us to “keep Alusi”, who was once a legend and now just a “later Hanafi scholar”.

Conclusion

Contrary to what Nahiem Ajmal tried to prove, Ibn ‘Ashur clearly believes the emergence of the Beast to be a sign before the Hour, as decisively established in the Qur’an and Sunnah, and there is nothing in Ibn ‘Ashur’s texts which would even indicate that the Beast’s emergence will be in the afterlife on the Day of Judgment.

There is no plausible reason why Nahiem Ajmal engages in such blatant misquoting without fear of being unmasked, but that is not a worry we have to take on board, and it seems Nahiem Ajmal is not losing sleep over it either. As Charlie Chaplin said, “Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.”

May Allah guide us all and grant us conviction in Him and His Messenger. Peace and blessings be on him, his family, his companions and all who follow their way in excellence. Amin.

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[1] aka Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki
[2] Bukhari, 6133, Muslim 2998
[3] Al-Tahrir wa’l-Tanwir, Vol 20, pg 38
[4] Ibid, Vol 20, pg 38
[5] Ibid, Vol 20, pg 38
[6] Ibid, Vol 20, pg 38
[7] Ibid, Vol 20, pg 39
[8] Ibid, Vol 20, pg 39
[9] Ibid, Vol 20, pg 39
[10] Ibid, Vol 20, pg 39
[11] Ibid, Vol 8, pg 186
[12] Ibid, Vol 20, pg 39
[13] Ibid, Vol 20, pg 39

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Taken from HERE