It is narrated by Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“The End Times will not come until Muslims and Jews fight each other. The Jew will hide behind a stone or tree, and then that stone or tree will say to the one chasing him, ‘O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me; come and kill him!’ Only the garkad tree will remain silent, for it belongs to the Jews.”
Bukhari, Jihad 94, Menakib 25; Muslim, Fitan 82.
Explanation
It is understood that this war, which will occur between Muslims and Jews and will completely finish the Jews’ affairs, will take place after the descent of Jesus (peace be upon him) to earth. For Jesus (peace be upon him) will fight the Jews and completely end their affairs. The primary target of Jesus (peace be upon him) is the Dajjal and his followers. Due to the Jewish lineage of the Dajjal, he will receive the most support from the Jews, and therefore they will incur the wrath of Jesus (peace be upon him) and be wiped off the face of the earth.
The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) hadith describes the demise of the Jews with a striking example. If a Jew manages to escape the Muslims’ weapons and hide behind a stone or tree, that stone or tree will speak and tell the mujahid chasing the Jew, ‘The person you are looking for is hiding behind me.’ The phenomenon of trees and stones actually speaking is a sign of the approaching End Times. This means that the struggle between Jews and Muslims will continue until that time.
Garkad is a thorny tree species, a type of shrub, which grows abundantly in Palestine and other regions of Arabia. It also grew in the Baki Cemetery (Jannat al-Baqi) in Medina.
Lessons from this Hadith
- There will be a final war between Muslims and Jews before the End Times arrive.
- In this war, all Jews will be killed by the Muslims.
- Even if a Jew survives and hides behind something, the living or inanimate entity he hides behind will tell the Muslim mujahids chasing the Jews that there is a Jew present and to go kill him.