A Sign from Heaven

In the first verse of Surah Nooh (71) of the Karim Qur'an, Allah -Glory be to He-, after confirming the Prophethood of the Prophet Nooh -Noah- (PBUH), has stated that he (PBUH) was commanded to deliver His message" Warn your people before there come upon them a painful chastisement".

The verses 2 through 4 are statements quoted from the Prophet Nooh (PBUH) according to which the people were called to obey Allah and their Prophet, and were given the good news that if they did so, Allah would forgive their sins.

In verses 5 through 24, Nooh's (PBUH) expression of disappointment is narrated; the Prophet of Allah has indicated that although he had tried very hard to warn them, encourage them to repent and seek forgiveness from their most forgiving Lord Allah, remind them of their Lord's bounties and blessings and of His Magnificence and Omnipotence, instill the fear and Awe of Allah in them, and …, but most of his people were not only listening, but were also insisting on their old beliefs and paths, and were misleading others too.

It is noteworthy to mention that according to verse 14 of the Surah Ankaboot (29) of Qur'an, the duration of the Prophet Nooh's (PBUH) living among those mostly unbelieving people, up to the time of the Great Flood, was 950 years, sufficient time during which they were tested and retested and …; the story of those tests- requiring much patience and steadfastness- as described by the AhlulBayt (PBUT) holds many lessons for us …

Verses 26 to 28 of the Surah Nooh, indicate that the Prophet of Allah, while praying and asking forgiveness for the Believers, finally execrated the never-believing people: "And Nooh said: O my Lord! Leave not of the disbelievers, a single one on earth … and increase not, the unjust in aught but destruction!"; thus Nooh (PBUH) requested Allah to destroy the disbelievers, for:

Qur'an 71:27 For, surely if Thou leave them they will lead astray Thy servants, and will not beget any but immoral, ungrateful (children).

So, this is how it was that:

Qur'an 71:25 Because of their wrongs they were drowned, then made to enter Fire, so they did not find any helpers from other than Allah.

Therefore, Allah gave them many opportunities to choose Salvation, but they, as the direct result of their own decisions and actions, earned Perdition!

… Then finally came the Final Prophet of Allah, he who according to Qur'an, Surah Anbiya (21), verse 107, was: "Mercy unto the worlds"; he (PBUH&HP) is who Qur'an has described as follows:

Qur'an 9:128 Certainly a Messenger has come to you from yourselves; grievous to him is your falling into distress, excessively solicitous (he is) regarding you; to the Believers (he is) compassionate, merciful.

As "mercy unto the worlds", Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP) wanted to save all human beings from the sure punishment Allah will inflict upon those who have not believed and not followed the Religion of Allah, so much so that Allah addressed him:

Qur'an 26:3 It may be that you worry yourself to death that they do not become Believers!

Then Allah, the Omnipotent, revealed:

Qur'an 26:4 If We will, We shall send down upon them a Sign from heaven, for which, they will bend their necks in humility.

Thus actually Allah through His beloved Prophet Muhammad and his infallible and merciful AhlulBayt (PBUT) has been giving THE FINAL TIME, more than plenty, to humankind to believe, but there shall come the Day when this time will be over and Allah -the Undefeatable and Magnificent- " shall send down upon them a Sign from heaven, for which, they will bend their necks in humility".

In interpretation of this verse (26:4), Imam Reda (PBUH) has said:

… An announcer from heaven will proclaim the call toward him, a call which shall be heard by all inhabitants of the earth, and he shall say: Behold that he is surely the Hojjat (Proof) of Allah, certainly the Hojjat of Allah has surely appeared by the Bayt of Allah (Ka'bah), so obey him. And Haq (the Truth …) is with him and in him … .

(Kamaal-O-Ddeen, …)

After Imam Mahdi (PBUH) -so distressedly- will request his Emergence from Allah and it shall be granted, then Jebraa'el, the Heavenly Announcer, from the top of the Ka'bah will announce Imam Mahdi's (PBUH) Reappearance, a call which will be heard by all the people of the universe. The Believers, from every nook and corner of the world, will set out for his aid and assistance.

(Montakhab-Ol-Athar, part 7, chapter 8)

If Allah SWT Wills, neck-bending Signs will Appear from heaven:

As documented in the Tafsir of al-‘Ayyashi, vol. 2, p. 128, al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an vol. 2, p. 502, H. 3741, and …, Zurarah, Hamran and Muhammad ibn Muslim have narrated from Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (PBUT)- in regard to the Verse: “On the day when some of the Signs of your Lord shall come, his faith shall not benefit a person who did not believe before, or earn good through his faith.” (An’am 158)- who (PBUT) asserted that one of those Signs would be the rising of the sun from its Maghrib (its setting point) i.e. from the west …

For more information regarding the sun rising from the west please refer to: Warning … Danger … Wake up! part 7, in this site kindfather.com

Yes, when Jebraa'el will make that call, THE TIME will HAVE BEEN OVER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN DISBELIEVERS OR FOR SOME WHO HAVE BEEN INDIFFERENT SO-CALLED BELIEVERS; AND THEIR BELIEVING AFTER OBSERVING THE NECK-BENDING SIGNS WILL NOT DO THEM ANY GOOD! Surely not only Mohammad and his AhlulBayt (PBUT), but also all previous Prophets and Successors (PBUT), have been warning the disbelievers "before there come upon them, a painful chastisement".

AS it is stated in the gospel of Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. … 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. … 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the "Son of man" cometh.

(It is surely a miracle that still in the midst of the darkness of distortions, shines certain rays of the truth; notice that in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 24, in the first statements, it is said that the Prophet Jesus (PBUH) had predicted the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (in Bayt-Ol-Moqaddas); then he talked about all the hardships of the Final days and he even said that "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. "; and while he had already elsewhere mentioned his future ascension and therefore, being in heavens at the final days prior to reappearance, in statements 26 and 27, it is recorded that he mentioned someone whom no one would know his whereabouts in the Last Days, would appear from the east and would also shine upon the west, AND THAT IS HADRAT MAHDI (PBUH); in addition to and after the appearance of this person from the east, in statement 30, a descender from heaven, AND THAT IS JESUS (PBUH), is also mentioned; notice that statement 28 has clarified the location where these two persons, i.e. one appearing from the east, and then the other one descending from heaven, would join, where it says where the carcass would be, i.e. where the carcass of the temple would be, meaning in Bayt-Ol-Moqaddas, the eagles would join together …

Although one cannot find for instance the following interpretation of Matthew 24 in the internet anymore:

"When the 'Eagles are JOINED' (gospel of Matthew 24:28), as typified by the two messiahs, then comes full and complete Salvation." 

But still some Early Father Quotations can be found in which the eagles are said to be saints, contrary to newer interpretations which wish to insist that the eagles are actually vultures and the enemies of Israel:

-----

St. Thomas Aquinas,
in his Catena Aurea (Golden Chain), includes the following citations of the early church fathers for their commentary on Matthew 24:28:

Hilary: That we might not be ignorant of the place in which He should come, He adds this, "Wheresoever (p. 820) the carcass, &c." He calls the Saints "eagles," …

Origen: And observe, He says not vultures or crows, but "eagles," shewing the lordliness and royalty …

Jerome: They are called eagles whose youth is renewed as the eagle’s, and who take to themselves wings … . (marg. note: Ps 103,5 Is 40,31)

And St. Thomas Aquinas in Catena Aurealists the following citations for Luke 17:37 “And they said to him, ‘Where, Lord?’  He said to them, ‘Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.’ ”:

CYRIL;
… so when the Son of man shall come, all the eagles, that is, the saints, shall haste to meet Him.

And S. Jerome says, “Eagles are they who take wings to fly …”; … Moreover, the saints are rightly compared to eagles, because the eagle is the king of birds, as the lion is the king of beasts. So likewise are the Saints kings, not of earth, but of Heaven. …

-----

In addition, if we pay attention to the Bible statements before Luke 17:37- for which St. Thomas Aquinas in Catena Aurea has listed the above citations- it is quite obvious that IN THAT NIGHT, by the Eagles certain believers are meant who will be taken to certain place; and there is no indication of enemies of Israel:

Luke 17:34 I tell you, IN THAT NIGHT there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.  17:35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  17:36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  17:37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be.

If, as it seems, the main joining eagles are Hadrat Mahdi and Jesus (PBUT), or according to biblical terminology the two Messiahs, there may be other so called saints who will join them; such as the Prophet Elias from the area of Lebanon, who as confirmed by the AhlulBayt (PBUT) is alive and with Hadrat Mahdi (PBUH):

Ezekiel 17:1-3 The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell the house of Israel a parable. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon …

Or perhaps by another eagle, Hadrat Khezr is meant:

Ezekiel 17:7 But there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage …

And so on …

For more information in this regard please read the article “Two Messiahs” in this site: kindfather.com

And at the end of Matthew 24, in statement 42 it is recorded that Jesus (PBUH) warned them to be ready and watch, because they knew not when it would happen, and again statement 44 states that he told them to also be ready because they knew not when the Son of man would return too.

In regard to the issue of son of man refer to part 3 of Imam Mahdi's (PBUH) Birth, Ascension and Rise, and the Revelation of John.

And finally at Mahdi's (PBUH) hand, Allah will: leave not of the disbelievers, a single one on earth … and increase not, the unjust in aught but destruction; and not just the disbelievers of those days, but certain disbelievers who were the root cause of deviation of human, and …, will also be brought back and will face justice on this earth too …

Allah has given disbelievers many opportunities to choose Salvation, but they, as the direct result of their own decisions and actions, have been earning Perdition!

Then, Hadrat Mahdi (PBUH), who shares the title "mercy unto the worlds" with his beloved forefather, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP), will spread his merciful wings upon the Believers worldwide …

May Allah hasten those wonderful days …