Reality of Bedouin prophecy
As in the last chapter we can see that these early Muslim scholars and classical commentators, who were writing centuries ago, were consistent in their identification of the Arab
Bedouins.
This shows just how clear Muhammad's description of these
people was.
Today we find in the Arabian Peninsula that a particular
group of Arabs, the Bedouins who used to be impoverished herders of
camels and sheep until the mid-twentieth century, are now competing to
build the tallest tower blocks, just as Muhammad foretold.
How did this change happen seemingly overnight? How did one of the poorest people
on earth, who literally wore rags, become one of the wealthiest nations
on earth?
One thing made this rapid change possible, something upon
which the modern world would revolve around perhaps more than any
other, the discovery of "black gold", oil. The seemingly empty deserts of
the Bedouins had it in abundance. The Bedouins went from camels to cadillacs in a generation!
Today one of the highest concentrations of tall buildings in the world is
in the Arabian peninsula, specifically the areas in which Bedouin Arabs
lived.
In 2012 the tallest building in the world was the Mecca Clock Tower,
standing at 601 metres, this gigantic structure was built in the desert city
where Muhammad was born. Only two years after its completion, the
Burj Khalifa was built in Dubai with a height of 828 metres. A short time
after the Burj Khalifa was completed, a rival family in Saudi Arabia announced that they would build a taller one (1,000 metres); the Kingdom
Tower.
The Bedouin Arabs of today are literally competing with each
other over who can build the world's tallest building.
What would motivate Muhammed to even make such a prediction? If
he was going to make up such a prophecy it would make more sense to
relate this prophecy to the superpowers of his time: Rome, Persia, or
even China who (unlike the Arabs) already had a tendency to construct
extravagant buildings and palaces.
For example, the Hagia Sophia cathedral was built by a Roman emperor in 537 CE, the century before Muhammad, and it remained the world's largest cathedral for nearly
a thousand years. Furthermore, the immense detail that Muhammad
provided in this prophecy is very revealing.
Muhammad could have made a prediction such as
"you will see the construction of tall buildings". Such a prediction uses
very general descriptions that are flexible enough to be applied to anyone
in the world.
But the prophecy that Muhammad did make
is filled with lots of very specific details.
He gave a clear context for the building construction, that of competition.
He also identified who the builders would be, the Arab Bedouins, by describing some unique
distinguishing features such as their physical appearance ("barefoot and
unclothed") and their way of life ("herdsmen"). We can see that such
a prophecy contains multiple variables, each of which is very detailed
and must be fulfilled in a very specific manner, which strictly limits
how the event could happen.
The construction of tall buildings among the Arab Bedouins has even
reached Mecca, Muhammad's city of birth. The last few decades have
seen a massive surge in building construction in Mecca. The famous
Mecca Clock Tower is currently the third tallest building in the world.
In order for such construction to be possible, many of Mecca's ancient
mountains have been demolished in order to make room for the tall
buildings that have sprung up. Amazingly, this is also something that
Muhammad foretold; he said that mountains will one day be moved
from their places: "The Hour will not be established until mountains
are moved from their places" [128].
This tremendous feat of demolishing entire mountains has only been possible in the twentieth
century with the advent of technology such as explosives. Thanks to
these modern technical advances, mountains can now be blasted into
rubble in order to make room for massive city infrastructure such as
buildings and highways.
It's important to point out that Muhammad himself did not like Muslims to be involved in trying to unnecessarily increase in wealth.
Indeed he often warned of its dangers and how it would corrupt his nation.
He did not like or promote the construction of extravagant buildings.
He was a simple man who lived in a simple house and wanted other
Muslims to maintain that simplicity.
That is what he taught and how he lived.
So, if he wanted to "will" this prophecy to become true, he
would have encouraged the Arabs to build tall buildings and perhaps
start off trying to do that himself!
In fact the Qur'an itself discourages
such behaviour: "Do you build on every height a monument? Vain is
it that you do. And you make strong fortresses as if you were to live
forever?" [26:128-129].