One Thousand But Not Two

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One Thousand But Not Two!

Towards the End of the Second
Millennium: Narrating the Future!
Telling the Future
People of all cultures, at all times have always wanted to
know what is going to take place, and what has been hidden
from them. The fear of the hidden, unclear and unknown
future has motivated them to try to see the future, forecast
the hidden and to know what will happen ahead of time,
both out of curiosity and out of a desire to try to plan for it,
to prepare for dangers which the future will lead, and to try
to change the future using sacrifices, vows and prayer.1
All early nations developed methods and ways of seeing
the future, in the East, in Assyria and Babylon, in Egypt, in
Greece and Rome, and also, of course, in ancient Arabia 2.
In Egypt, Pharaoh's priests did not succeed in interpreting
his dreams and foreseeing the future, until Joseph did it 3.
In Mesopotamia, there were many methods, such as
spinning the famous top. In Greece they had the Delphian
Oracle.
In the Bible, Moses and the prophets prayed to God and

asked to know what would happen. King Saul turned to the
1
Najeeb Badawy:(Arabic):Optimism and Pessimism,Cairo,1978,p. 57
2
ibid 68
3
Genesis 41
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Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

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witch of Endor 4, and Solomon looked at the clouds in

order to know the future 5.
Others saw the future with the help of the internal organs of
sacrifices which were killed:
If they were healthy and complete - the message was

positive, and if they were damaged, the message was scary
and threatening
In ancient Arabia there were more than a tree and an idol to

tell the future. The ancient Arabs developed many methods
of telling the future. The most famous methods were:
With the aid of their priests: They believed that their priests
had demon servants. The demon-servants would listen and
eavesdrop over what was happening in the heavens, behind
the curtain hiding the Almighty Throne. They would report
the news to the priests.
The priest could ask the demon-servant anything he wanted

to know about, and the servant would quickly come back
with the answer 6. The ancient Arab chronicles retained a
list of priests. The flood and destruction of the Dam of
Ma’rib in the fifth century7 was foreseen by a woman-priest
4
1 Samuel 28
5
(Hebrew):”Legend of Three And Four”,Bialik’s version,p. 345-352
6
A(l) Nowairy:(Arabic):Nihayatu (a)l Arab Fee Funoon (E)l Arab, Cairo
1943,Vol. 3,p. 128
7
Hitti Ph. K.:History of the Arabs, London 1958, p. 54
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called Tarifa 8, the falling of the Persian Empire in the

seventh century was foreseen by the priest Satteeh’ 9, and
others.
Not only prophets could uncover the future and expose its
secrets. Also plain people and other folk heroes could: The
Yemenite king Tubba’ Hassan who stole Jalleelah from her
lover - fiance - cousin Kulaib did not know that among his
bride’s servants was found Kulaib himself in a clown
costume. And on the night of the wedding, before joining
with his bride, Kulaib exposed his real identity and wanted
to kill Tubba’ and save the world from his crimes. Tubba’
asked for time and in a rhyming classical epic, and very
quickly, he told Kulaib all about what would be happening
to him and the world for the next hundreds of years10 !
The problem is that no one can verify if the descriptions of

the prophecies were written after the historical events
which relate to them, or if they were really written
beforehand!
People also used birds’ flight patterns in order to reach

conclusions about the future using specific criteria
developed over the years. They interpret and explain the
general direction of the flight, the direction in relation to
the man himself, the type of flight, and the number of birds.
In this way, for example, upon leaving for a special task, if
8
Qissas el Arab (Arabic),vol. 1,pp. 80-83
9
ibid,ibid, pp. 90-93
10
Sirat A(l) Zeer,(Arabic folk epics), Beirout 1983,pp. 55-58
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a raven flies overhead ,you will succeed, but if the raven

called from over a dry tree, there is no way to succeed11.
Also, in such a way Umayya the famous poet foresaw the

end of his life 12. There is no doubt that this method was
developed and improved after the flood, when the raven did
not return to Noah’s ark, but the dove did return and
foretold the end of the flood by bringing an olive branch13.
Optimism and pessimism are tools for foretelling the

future14. Different signs and symbols have received certain
significance over the years, even if for random and illogical
reasons, they have hinted at the essence of the future: good
or bad? This category includes all folk beliefs which
attribute certain traits to specific places, animals or birds.
For example, the camel is a symbol of suffering and wealth
in the Arab culture. The horse is a symbol of nobility, a
black cat crossing is a sign of a disaster which will occur, a
raven portends a bad thing, the owl is identified with the
night, cannot bring good news, because it lives only in the
ruins15.
Al-Firasah (intuition) along with searching and uncovering

footprints are a tried method of foretelling the future:
According to certain signs in a person’s appearance, his
11
A(l)Nowairy,ibid,p 134
12
Qissas el Arab (Arabic),vol. 1,pp. 94-96
13
Genesis 8
14
A(l)Nowairy,ibid,p. 143
15
Hasan (Arabic):Civilization of the Arabs before Islam,pp. 32-33
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future could be told. His footprints showed his traits16.

Clearly this is the most “scientific” method of all because it
is the compilation of all of the knowledge and rich
experiences which the various generations gathered and
transferred to the coming generations.
The future was also foretold using arrows shot in the

direction of an idol. If it fell on one side it was a good sign,
and if it fell on the other side it was a bad sign, so Imro’
Elqais , the great Arab poet from the era before Islam, did
when he wanted to avenge his murdered father’s blood, in
order to find out the results of the future war ahead of time.
He turned to the arrows because telling the future in this
way was accepted and common in his days. He shot a few
arrows towards a certain idol. The arrows fell on the wrong
side, which meant the poet would not succeed. He reshot
the arrows twice and the negative results did not change.
Then he hit the idol’s head with the arrows, turned and
went on his way...17
The oysters near the ocean also foretold the secrets of the
future to those who listened to them and were able to
understand what the oysters tried to whisper in their ears.
In the East, the Gypsies used to throw handfuls of oysters
and draw conclusions from the way they fell and were
placed. An additional method was to draw different lines
16
A(l)Nowairy,ibid,pp. 149-152
17
Imru (E)l Qais (Arabic),the “Diwan”(the complete collection of ghis
poetry),the introduction
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in the sand “spontaneously” and then explain the

symbolism in the lines according to different and varied
signs18.
Cards were also used as a method of telling the future:

Cards were shuffled and one random card was drawn.
Every card signified something specific: The ace signified
success, rule, kingdom; the queen signified women, love,
romance; The king symbolized stability, wealth, honor but
also health problems (because of the age)19.
An additional method was the “Mandal”: A mixture of oil

and other materials which were mixed in a bowl and looked
at with deep concentration. The shapes, drawings and the
reflections seen in the “mixture” were explained according
to a certain theory of symbols and signs20.
The most common method of telling the future of all times

in the Arab East, was probably coffee: Coffee has been
attributed with supernatural traits in the East and it has the
role of telling the future in addition to its other
conventional roles. When someone drinks coffee, his
future comes out of it from his mouth and is “poured” into
the cup. This draws various diagrams in the coffee dregs
remaining in the empty cup. Then the dregs dry, the
drawings can be explained according to certain symbols: a
bird denotes good news; a circle symbolizes an engagement
18
Al-Jawhary (Arabic): Science of Folklore,vol 2,p. 211
19
From an interview with a “professional” future-teller on 15.4.1998
20
From an interview with another “professional” future teller on 16.4.1998
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or wedding ring; dark dregs show sadness and anger; light

dregs show happiness and welfare; and the more that the
drawing is closer to the edge of the cup, the sooner the
signs will take place. The lower down it is, the farther
away it is.
An additional method is the numerical horoscope: One

computes the numerical value of the person’s name and his
mother’s name (A=1,B=2,C=3,etc...). This is divided by the
twelve known zodiacal signs in order to set his sign. The
sign plus the remainder are the code for one’s future which
is interpreted using books of ancient Arab culture and other
ancient cultures. These are also related to dream
interpretations of classic cultures21
The movement of the stars and the appearances of comets

were an excellent method of foretelling the future. Comets
prophesied disaster. The elders continue to tell how their
parents told them about the comets which appeared before
the First World War and the Second, immediately after
which the war started and led to death, destruction, hunger
and plague22.
The last method is holy writings which are somewhat a

continuation of the prophecy of the distant past. One opens
a holy book randomly (the most liked book is Psalms) and
turns seven pages, counting seven lines and begin to read.
If we find the name of God there are good things, comfort
21
From an interview with third “professional” future-teller on 19.4.1998
22
From an interview with a man who was born in 1909,hold in Al-
Boqaia,on 22.4.1998
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etc., then the future is good, if not then the opposite will
occur23.
In summary of the methods, there are three main

categories:
1. A religious category which believes that the words of the

holy books hint towards the future and can explain it.
2. A category which accumulated the experience of past

generations and attributes every symbol, drawing or sign,
significance which have been validated in the past and
are known as good or bad signs.
3. A category which depends on random things which have

no connection to logic or belief and are closer to trickery
or fraud.
Telling the future, without relating to any specific method

of course, is common enough that we can say that almost
all of the daily Israeli newspapers and all television and
radio stations publish a daily astrological forecast. The
weekend sections, and the year end sections of the paper
include at least two pages on weekly forecasts. The official
astrology “industry” alone receives large sums of money
yearly, more than $350 million, in addition to the fortune
23
From an interview with a village Greak-Orthodox priest, 70 years old,on
24.4.1998
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tellers who make their money and manage their business

far from the eye of the media24.
Symbols and Abnormal Signs

In principle, it is possible to say that every abnormal thing
or anything which deviates from the norm draws special
attention to it. This creates a complete system of beliefs
and ceremonies connected to it. Especially, attribution of
supernatural or magic forces and the ability to understand
the future and uncover the hidden meanings!
King Solomon had the trait of understanding the bird’s and

animals’ languages and speaking to them, attributed to him.
Not only Solomon, but also the poet Umayyah had control
over this language. Zarqaa’ El-Yamamah, was given this
name because her blue eyes were unusual in the Arab
Semitic culture. They say that after her death blue material
(Kohl, eyeliner) was discovered in her eye sockets, but
when she was still alive she was attributed with the trait of
seeing to a distance of three days walk, which is very far
even by today’s standards!
It was as if her eyes were like radar for her tribe. Every
time the enemies attacked, she discovered their movement
and warned her tribe, who went out towards the enemy and
beat them. Only the last time, the enemy camouflaged
24
“Mamon”-weekly-suppliment of the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth,Tel-
Aviv 15.5.1998 pp. 4-5
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himself in the branches of the trees. She told her tribe

about this and warned them that they were camouflaging in
the trees, but no one believed her, and the tribe was
destroyed. This motif was well known regarding Zarqaa’
El-Yamamah many hundreds of years before Shakespeare
used it in his “Macbeth”25.
In any case,anything out of the ordinary awakens the fear

of humans, and their imagination creates infinite
interpretations regarding what is about to happen…
Magic, Religion and Science

Any unusual occurrence turns quickly into a portend of
something, clarifies something or turns into a warning from
heavens in a way that is not understood, whether on the
personal, family, social, local, regional or even worldwide
level.
This phenomenon is more common among religious,

conservative and undeveloped cultures than among more
“advanced” cultures. However, even in the most atheist
culture, when something not understood or illogical occurs,
they will say it happened because of luck or coincidence,
and they will return and believe in unseen powers which
continue to influence and control our lives.
This is the way of the world and this is the nature of

humans: when we could not influence nature and explain
25
Zaidan G.(Arabic),The Arabs before Islam, Beirout 1966,p 89
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things that happened – we needed magic and sorcery. And

when these did not help and their time passed, religious
beliefs were embraced. However when science supplied
rational interpretations to events and the logical answers to
questions were given, they turned their backs to religion
and magic26!
The most evident example is rainfall: In the beginning, in

early times, sacrifices were made in order to cause rain to
fall or in order that the rivers be filled with water.
Afterwards they began to pray and go on pilgrimages to
holy places in order to cause rain to fall, but when science
supplied the solution, they sent the planes to disperse silver
iodide in the clouds27 !
However, the moment that the hand of science is too short

to be of salvation, people return quickly to religion, and if
that does not help, they look to magicians and sorcerers,
witch doctors and fortune tellers. Certain people suffering
from difficult or malignant illnesses which science cannot
cure are an example of this phenomenon. Barren women
whom science cannot help, quickly swear oaths, and go on
pilgrimages to holy graves, and when this does not help
they turn to the writers of hexes, witch doctors and
sorcerers28.
26
Haddad Moni’m (Arabic):Palestinian Heritage between Obliteration And
Revival, Nicosia 1989,p.9
27
ibid,ibid,p. 22
28
“Mamon”,(note 24),ibid,ibid
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The Personal and the General

This is valid on all levels: personal, familial, social, local,
national, regional and worldwide.
Personal appearance or behavior which is not in the spirit
of adults ,for example, can awaken a response which says
clearly that the end of the world is nigh, or that the after life
is beginning…
Political and war related events, and natural disasters are

explained as signs of the end of the world.
Military revolutions or political revolutions in various

countries, inter tribal wars, world wide crises, all are signs
or the end of the world, in addition to earthquakes, volcano
eruptions, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. Even El nino -
the proof of which, they will tell you, is that it was given
the name of baby Jesus.
It is clear that also improper interpersonal relations, the

increase of individualism, and the ignorance of tribal spirit
and collective responsibility, the dissolution of the family
unit, personal behavior, loss of values, rise in crime,
increase of violence and drug use, all are seen as signs of
the imminent end.
You don’t have to go out looking for people to tell you

these things. In the market, on a taxi or a bus, in the
supermarket, and the hospital, and even in the schools the
students act poorly compared to the past. Everyone will
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tell you that these are signs of the end of the world – be
prepared!
It is worthwhile to note the fact that many grocery stores

had used to sell on credit. After certain military events
which took place on the Lebanon border, not far from us,
they stopped selling on credit with the claim that these were
signs that the end was near!
The End of the World – What

is it?
People can describe in detail what will occur at the end of
the days:
At the end, the “liar” or the trickster Al-Dajjal,or the

Antichrist29 will come from the north, and make his way to
Palestine.
When he passes through a place he will lead many people

astray by showing them visions of rocks which look like
hills of meat and rice. Rivers and ponds will look like
drinks tasting like the Garden of Eden. Many will follow
him and among them even many good men, all because of
the difficulties of the times and the difficulties which will
reign in these times; the skies will be like steel, the
earthquakes and volcanoes will cause damage, plagues will
decimate them, drought will lead them to difficulties, wars
29
Al-Mawrid,Arabic-English Dictionary,p. 537
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and robbery and lack of security will destroy everything

they have.
His army will grow and occupy the entire land. His
enemies and opposition will fight with no success. The
battles will be blood filled. The armies will go up on the
walls of Acre.
The waters of the Na’amain river from the south of the city
will be red from the blood spilled into it. The roads of
Jerusalem will be rivers of blood. Bodies will cover the
place.
The deciding battle will take place in Lydda, where he will

meet the Christ who will come down from the sky and kill
Al-Dajjal, putting an end to his black rule. Then the post-
wicked era will begin, the era of happiness, peace and life
for the righteous, but not before the Christ will judge the
world, and the “Al-Qiamah” will take place30.
Resurrection of the Dead

The direct translation of the term “Al-Qiamah” is
awakening, or resurrection. It signifies confusion and
disaster also. The descriptions of Al-Qiamah are taken, it
seems, from the many descriptions that the monotheistic
prophets brought and from the holy writings about the end
of the days, the day of judgment and the resurrection. The
most popular religious description is as follows:
30
see note 22,and A(l)Nowairy,vol 14,pp. 275-285
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One heavenly blow of the trumpet will cause a great

earthquake. The graves will open up their mouths and all
of the dead will arise from the graves31. No one can
describe how they will look, skeletons only or if they will
grow skin and veins and be covered with flesh. Will the
souls return to them? How?
Everyone will stand in true judgment, righteous judgment

before the Christ, and woe to the religious leaders on that
day, because they know best of all their responsibility and
the need to act properly. If one of them sinned his
punishment will be much worse than any other regular
person.
Christ will judge everyone. Everyone will stand before

him. The wicked will be sent to his left, to the burning fire
of hell, to the brimstone, tongues of fire, the thirst and the
hunger, the torture that the demons will perform32.
The righteous will be sent to the Garden of Eden (the
Paradise), to the good eternal life, to spiritual enjoyment
and all other good things!
The Place!
The place that the resurrection will take place is a point of
argument. There are those who point to general spots as the
place of the resurrection. This place is usually limited to the
31
A(l) Nowairy,vol. 14,pp.286-288
32
Al-Afeefy:(Arabic):Safety from the Horrors of “Al-Qiamah”,the whole
book describes these horrors.
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limited geographic knowledge of the individual - their

village or a close place.This is the center of the village
people’s life. Others believe that the holy monotheistic
religious places are the place of the future miracle. There
are also those who say the garden of Eden (The Paradise) is
the place, and point to Eden in the south of the Arabian
Peninsula, to Yemen, Iraq, Babylon, Aram, Mesopotemia,
Palestine, and other places in the Middle East, such as
Egypt, the Nile Valley, where all humans will gather for
judgment on the final judgment day33.
More religious people regard Jerusalem and specific points

therein as the spot, as Jerusalem is the holy city of the
largest number of monotheistic believers, more than any
other city in the world, and therefore is worthy of being the
place of judgment. This is the direct influence of the holy
shrines in the city.
When?
The most difficult question is when will this miracle
happen? This is a most difficult and complex question. On
one hand, people will tell you: God shares this secret with
his modest and inferior creations. On the other hand, only
God has answers!
Most people look for signs for the end in ongoing

events.Political and other events are seen as signs
signifying the end.Unusual occurrences signify the awful
33
Al-Jameely(Arabic):”Stands” of the “Al-Qiamah”,the whole book
describes it.
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disaster which all are afraid of. As we already said, the

common denominator between all of the descriptions is
taken from the descriptions of the end of the days in the
various holy books. Al-Qiamah will take place in a world
that is all good, or more specifically: in a world which is all
evil!
When the wickedness and sins get stronger, hate increases,

love decreases, love and respect step aside for evil and hate
34
.
Hints to this can be found in the various holy books35.
It is enough that an old woman does not like the modern

dress and make up of her daughter or granddaughter or her
behavior does not find favor in her eyes, or that an elderly
father does not like his son’s behavior and long hair, and
they will say to one another, this is surely the end. The
world it at its end or drawing to a close...
Very many see the end of the second millennium,and the

beginning of the third as the appropriate time for the
occurrence of Al-Qiamah.There is more than one
explanation for this:
One Thousand and its

Significance
34
A(l) Nowairy,vol. 14,pp.232
35
see,for example:Ezkiel 39,Zechariah 14,Revelation 20
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One thousand was thought of in the ancient Arab culture as

the final number, larger than others and absolute. One
million did not exist. Arabs used multiples of one thousand
to note higher quantities: one thousand thousands, ten
thousand thousands, etc.
One thousand signified exaggeration. Until fifty years ago,
it was said about the richest person: “His “piaster”
completed one thousand”, that is, he had one thousand
pennies, or ten “Liras”36, which were the apex of richness, a
real “multi billionaire” in our terms. All because of the
dearth of money and the fact that one thousand signified a
lot, a great and infinite number.
A poisonous snake which is old and even worse than the

snake who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden and caused
her departure from there, has it said about him the
“thousand” snake, that is, he has reached one thousand
years!
When the Moslems conquered Persia in 637 37, these desert

people ravaged the beautiful treasures of the Persian
palaces.One Bedouin took a sack of “camphor”,a white
powder of perfume, and thought that it was salt. He added
it to his cooking and saw that the taste did not change, so he
decided to trick a Persian and sell him this worthless “salt”.
He looked and looked and finally found someone. After
36
The “Lira” was the official currency in Palestine during the era of the
British Mandate on Palestine (the
years 1918 - 1948), ,it was didided to 00 piasters.
37
Hitti Ph. K.:History of the Arabs, London 1958, p. 155-159
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long bargaining, the Bedouin succeeded in tricking the

Persian and multiplying the price many times from ten
dinar to a thousand dinars. He took the money and returned
to his camp, happily. His commander, who knew what
happened, turned to him and told him that it was a perfume
and not just worthless salt. He wanted to prove him an
ignorant boor, and that the sack was worth many times the
price which he got.
The Bedouin answered him that first of all, he did not know
it was perfume and not salt.
Secondly, “If I knew a number greater than one thousand, I
would have asked for it, but you know that one thousand is
the biggest number in the world, right? commander?”38
In ancient Arabia, they used to grow camels. But when the

number of camels reached one hundred, they feared the evil
eye and maimed the one hundredth camel. When the
number of camels reached one thousand, they were very
afraid, because one thousand signified completeness and
infinity, and therefore they gave the thousandth camel a
greater wound, because they believed that this defended the
camels from the evil eye and from robbery and harm39.
In the eighteenth century, in the Galilee in the north of

Palestine, there was a Bedouin Emir named Dhaher El
Omar. He ruled with law and order, and woe to the person
who dared to break the laws. Therefore, justice reigned in
38
A well-known folk story,(a version of literary story mentioned in many
books about the fall of Persia).
39
A(l) Nowairy,vol. 3, p. 128
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the land and his days were known as peaceful, constructive

and secure. They say that once they stopped someone
because of a certain criminal act. The “guards” did not
have handcuffs and therefore they bound him to a
watermelon vine and sent him to Acre for judgment. The
convict traveled very far, a distance of a number of days
without daring to untie the “watermelon cuffs”. On the
way he passed through Shafa-Amru town. At that time
they were building there a fortress and palace for the A’li,a
son of Dhaher. This was a special day.They were intending
to put the last stone on the building in a festive ceremony
signifying the end of the work. Ali’s daughter saw the
convict with his watermelon handcuffs and asked him what
this meant. He told her the story. At that time she said to
stop the work and not to continue it and not to place the last
stone. Everyone was wondering and expressed their
disappointment, but she met with her father and explained
to him:
• Father, your reign has come to its end, father!
• But I am at the height of my strength, daughter, peace
reigns in all places!
• This is what frightens me father!
• Why my daughter?
• Because you have reached the top! Perfection! And
perfection is only for God, and so...
• And so what my daughter?
• Therefore perfection is the beginning of the end, and you
should prepare for the end which is coming soon40.
40
Moa’mmar T.(Arabic):Dhaher (E)l Omar,p. 276
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And so, not many years later, Dhaher’s rule reached its end.
Therefore, after perfection, comes the end, or the beginning

again, just like the moon...
If this is not enough to clarify the meaning of one thousand,

then look at Arabian Nights, known in Arabic as: One
Thousand Nights, and considered to be the greatest literary
creation of Arab culture, known worldwide, and which has
been translated into almost all languages.
A Special Expression
The Arab expression "‫“ "ֹﺗﺆﻟّﻒ وﻻ ﺗﺆﻟّﻔﺎن‬Tua’llef Wala
Tua’llefan” belongs to classic literary Arabic. Its
grammatical form is the dual form which does not exist in
the local spoken colloquial language. Even so, the
expression is common among the people, especially the
illiterate. It is not common among those who speak in
literary Arabic.
A thorough search in the classic resources dealing with the

apocalypse, in the various dictionaries, in indices and
among the researchers, did not uncover anything regarding
this expression, although the masses recognize the
expression and can explain it. It is based somewhere in
folklore writings which were written but were never
seriously disseminated.
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The meaning of the expression “Tua’llef Wala Tua’llefan”

is: It will complete on thousand but will not complete two
thousands! This is talking about the universe and the world!
The explanation given for one thousand is special: It speaks

about the universe in which we live that it will only reach
one thousand, and if it makes it past this, it will not be able
to complete another thousand.
The question, what will then happen? There is an

unequivocal answer: the Al-Qiamah will arise, whose
literal meaning is: The reawakening will arise! Judgment
day will arrive, the end of the world and the end of life will
arrive!
The Beat of the End

The signs for the end of the world, the judgment day, Al-
Qiamah among the folk, are: the revelations of various
prophets to believers in various opportunities. The
newspapers often publish descriptions of the appearance of
Virgin Mary in various places in Palestine and Israel: In
Bet Jala, near Bethlehem, in Galilee, and in other
places.People claim that the Jesus Christ, St. George and
other saints appeared to them, and healed their illnesses.
Wonders and miracles which took place in recent years:

Sometimes there are descriptions of people who have
pictures of holy people that have dripped oil, sweat or
water.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................

23
The appearance of false prophets: More than one person

has claimed to have supernatural powers given to him by
the heavens or outer space, and by which he can cure the
sick and perform miracles with no effort.
The UFO scares: There are articles in the papers about

UFO’s which came from outer space, landed here and
disappeared after leaving various traces.
The rise of violence in the world: wars and tension in all
areas of the world point to the closeness of the end. All of
the evening news broadcasts on television do not disappoint
us regarding the approach of the end.
Natural disasters also are a clear sign that the end is near:
volcano eruptions, floods, famine and drought, these all
portend the end.
Revolutions are also signs of the end because these explain

the descriptions of the end in the collective folk images,
just like wars and international skirmishes.
The phenomena of confusion of times is a very clear sign.

When the rains continue to fall in the late spring and the
beginning of the summer in a Mediterranean climate, this
causes fear, because it says: if God is angry with you he
will turn your summer to winter41!
41
As happened this year, when it was raining during all the second half of
May 1998
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................

24
An this year, it rained at the beginning of June in Galilee.

These rains are a sign that the coming of Christ and
Judgment Day are upon us.
For this there are also clear signs and computations. These
computations show the end of the second millennium and
the beginning of the third as the time to expect Judgment
day, and end. The reasons for this are many.
The declaration of the judgment day will be done in two

breaths or two blows of the trumpet, separated by forty. No
one know if this is forty days, forty months or forty years.
What is important is that the first blow will cause
destruction of everything, and the second blow will signify
the resurrection42!
The approximated time is the end of the millennium. If the

first thousand passed and nothing happened, then certainly
the second thousand and the beginning of the third is the
estimated time of arrival!
The matter of "‫“ "ֹﺗﺆﻟّﻒ وﻻ ﺗﺆﻟّﻔﺎن‬Tua’llef Wala

Tua’llefan” clarifies this well, but not only this, one book
quotes the following conversation:
“...And then it will be said: Oh, people, hurry to your gods
“Stand them up because they are responsible”. Say: Then
say: Take out those saved from the fire and ask from when?
and it will be answered: from ONE THOUSAND NINE
42
A(l) Nowairy,vol. 14, pp. 285-289
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................

25
HUNDRED NINETY NINE. Say and this will turn babies

into elderly”43.
Additional quotes from Christian sources (Revelation) tells

on the end of the days:
“... An angel come down from heaven,having the key of the

bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid
hold on the dragon, that old serpent,which is the devil,and
satan,and bound him a thousand years.And cast him into
the bottomless pit,and shut him up,and set a seal upon
him,that he should deceive the nations no more,till the
thousand years should be fullfilled: and after that he must
be loosed a little season....
... And when the thousand years are expired,Satan shall be

loosed out of his prison.And shall go out to deceive the
nations which are in the four quarters of the earth.Gog and
Magog ...And the devil that deceived them was cast into the
lake of fire and brimestone,where the beast and the false
prophet are...
And I saw the dead ,small and great ,stand before God, and
the books were opened...” 44.
All of those who were not resurrected will be so with Christ

for one thousand years. The rest of the dead will not live
until one thousand years are completed.
43
Al-Jameely(Arabic):”Stands” of the “Al-Qiamah”,p. 15.
44
Revelation 20
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................

26
This is the first Al-Qiamah. Whoever arises in this Al-

Qiamah will not die again, and will be a priest to God and
Christ and rule with him for one thousand years.
How easy to do this calculation: Christ imprisoned the

Satan and redemption of Adam from original sin. This
time lasts one thousand years. The second thousand the
Satan celebrated and did all the evil he desired. Now the
second thousand is ending. Upon its end the Christ will
return the second time and redeem the world again.
We are in the last three years of the millennium, on the

threshold of the third millennium.
Therefore upon its completion we should expect everything

mentioned above.
The future Al-Qiamah does not have to be the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorra in its literary version. Hiroshima
and Nagasaki were also Al-Qiamah in the Second world
War.
How much more so can Al-Qiamah take place soon during
the coming days, in light of the present balance of powers,
the stress, the struggles, the arguments, the wars and the
ecological attacks and natural disasters, and especially in
light of the nuclear weapons spreading in the world.
Certain folk interpreters 45 identify the biblical Gog and

Magog as coming from the north.
45
Most of the aged people in Al-Boqaia town.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................

27
Other powers are clearly seen and point out political and
military powers and see them as the danger in the cause of
the coming Al-Qiamah.
The religious conditions of the Al-Qiamah are already

mature.The political,military situation worldwide in general
and in the Middle East in particular also seems to be on the
verge of explosion!
At this point, both science and religion agree!
We can only rely on God!

Selected Bibliography
1.Al-Afeefy Taha Abdullah (Arabic):Safety from the
Horrors of “Al-Qiamah”,-Beirout-Cairo 1983.
2.Al-Jameely A(l)Sayyed (Arabic):”Stands” of “Al-
Qiamah”,Beirout 1987.
3.Al-Jawhary Mohammad (Arabic): Science of Folklore,
Cairo 1990, 2 vols.
4.-Nowairy Shihabu (E)Ddeen Ahmad (Arabic):Nihayatu
(A)l A'rab Fee Funoon (E)l Arab, Cairo 1943,14 Vols.
5.Baalbaki Rohi: Al-Mawrid, Arabic-English Dictionary ,
Beirout 1991.
6.Bible:Ezkiel, Genesis, Samuel 1, Revelation (New
Trestament), Zechariah
7.Haddad M.(Arabic):Palestinian Heritage between
Obliteration And Revival, Nicosia 1989.
8.Hasan Hussain (Arabic):Civilization of the Arabs before
Islam,Beirout 1984.
9.Hitti Ph. K.:History of the Arabs, London 1958.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................

28
10.Imru (E)l Qais (Arabic),the “Diwan”(the complete

collection of ghis poetry),Cairo 1982
11.Interviews with informants on:15.4.1998, 22.4.1998,
24.4.1998, 6.4.1998, 19.4.1998
12.”Legend of Three And Four” (Hebrew) ,Bialik’s
version,p. 345-352
13.“Mamon”-weekly-suppliment of the Hebrew daily
Yedioth Ahronoth,Tel-Aviv 15.5.1998
14.Moa’mmar T.(Arabic):Dhaher (E)l Omar, Nazareth
1979.
15.Najeeb Badawy: (Arabic):Optimism and Pessimism,
Cairo,1978.
16.Jadul Mawla M. ,Bajjawy A..,Ibrahim A.F., (Arabic):
Qissas el Arab, Cairo 1979,4 vols.
17.Sirat A(l) Zeer,(Arabic folk epics), Beirout 1983.
18.Zaidan G.(Arabic),The Arabs before Islam, Beirout
1966.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................

One Thousand But Not Two

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1

One Thousand But Not Two!

In the Bible, Moses and the prophets prayed to God and

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

witch of Endor 4, and Solomon looked at the clouds in

If they were healthy and complete - the message was

In ancient Arabia there were more than a tree and an idol to

The priest could ask the demon-servant anything he wanted

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

called Tarifa 8, the falling of the Persian Empire in the

The problem is that no one can verify if the descriptions of

People also used birds’ flight patterns in order to reach

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

a raven flies overhead ,you will succeed, but if the raven

Also, in such a way Umayya the famous poet foresaw the

Optimism and pessimism are tools for foretelling the

Al-Firasah (intuition) along with searching and uncovering

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

future could be told. His footprints showed his traits16.

The future was also foretold using arrows shot in the

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

in the sand “spontaneously” and then explain the

Cards were also used as a method of telling the future:

An additional method was the “Mandal”: A mixture of oil

The most common method of telling the future of all times

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

or wedding ring; dark dregs show sadness and anger; light

An additional method is the numerical horoscope: One

The movement of the stars and the appearances of comets

The last method is holy writings which are somewhat a

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

In summary of the methods, there are three main

1. A religious category which believes that the words of the

2. A category which accumulated the experience of past

3. A category which depends on random things which have

Telling the future, without relating to any specific method

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

tellers who make their money and manage their business

Symbols and Abnormal Signs

King Solomon had the trait of understanding the bird’s and

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

himself in the branches of the trees. She told her tribe

In any case,anything out of the ordinary awakens the fear

Magic, Religion and Science

This phenomenon is more common among religious,

This is the way of the world and this is the nature of

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

things that happened – we needed magic and sorcery. And

The most evident example is rainfall: In the beginning, in

However, the moment that the hand of science is too short

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

The Personal and the General

Political and war related events, and natural disasters are

Military revolutions or political revolutions in various

It is clear that also improper interpersonal relations, the

You don’t have to go out looking for people to tell you

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

It is worthwhile to note the fact that many grocery stores

The End of the World – What

At the end, the “liar” or the trickster Al-Dajjal,or the

When he passes through a place he will lead many people

Haddad: One Thousand But Not Two...

and robbery and lack of security will destroy everything