I received this review directly from the author, Sulaiman Kindi who is quite knowledgeable and responsible for the popular “Conquest of Syria” English translation book.
Arrivals of Deception
Having heard much about, “The Arrivals,†I finally watched the series. I thought I could learn something, but then realised that something was amiss. I write these words to awaken the overly trusting to points which might have been overlooked.
Unauthentic “Researchâ€
Certain “facts†are in fact plain conjecture. Other facts which can easily be researched are simply copied and pasted without verification. For example, quotations are simply extracted from the audio, From the Shadows, including the most glaring error claiming that the Freemasons realised their error in France when they lost control of Napoleon. They therefore made certain that when they later inspired the American Revolution that they installed a Freemason, George Washington.
The producers make much of their “research†yet as Americans, they should know a basic fact that the Treaty of Paris terminating the Independence War was signed in 1783, which is 16 years before Napoleon came to power in 1799. Did the Masons then invent a time travel machine to install George Washington back in 1775? Incidentally Washington died in 1799, the year Bonaparte came to power and broke away from Masonic control. How could the French Revolution possibly have been before the American Revolution?
If these widely available facts are mysteries to these great researchers, why should we trust them on their novel, obscure claims?
Brazen distortion of QurÄn and ḤadÄ«th
Our interpretation of QurÄn and ḤadÄ«th is what AllÄh and His RasÅ«l (pbuh) taught us, via the chain of the á¹¢aḥÄbah (R.A), MufassirÅ«n and MuḥaddithÅ«n. AḥÄdÄ«th warning against personal interpretations are well known.
Perhaps the most detailed ḤadÄ«th describing ad-DajjÄl is narrated by an-NawwÄs bin Sam‘Än ï´ in al-ImÄm Muslim’s á¹¢aḥīḥ, Chapter on the Mention of ad-DajjÄl. It is quite lengthy, but based on the print version where it covers 16 lines; the producers conveniently only quote a half-a-line to suit their purpose. Due to the length I only mention the relevant parts below:
Ù† النواس ابن سمعان…… انه خارج خلة بین الشام Ùˆ العراق ….قلنا یا رسول الله Ùˆ لبثه ÙÙ‰ الأرض قال أربعون یوما یوم كسنة Ùˆ یوم كشهر Ùˆ یوم كجمعة Ùˆ سائر أیامه كأیامكم قلنا یا رسول الله Ùذلك الذى كسنة Ø£ تكÙینا Ùیه صلاة یوم قال لا اقدروا له قدره
An-NawwÄs bin Sam‘Än (r.a) narrated…. [RasÅ«lullÄh (pbuh) said that ad-DajjÄl] will emerge on the road between ‘IrÄq and Syria….
We asked, “O RasÅ«lullÄh,†How long will he stay on earth?â€
He replied, “Forty days. A day like a year, and a day like a month, and a day like a week, and the rest of his days will be like your days.â€
“O RasÅ«lullÄh,†we asked, “That which is like a year, will the á¹¢alÄh of a day suffice us in it?’
“No,†he replied, “Calculate for it according to its extent.â€
The producers make the following claims:
* Ad-DajjÄl has already emerged.
* The first day represents his rule in England, starting in 900 of the Christian era.
* The English monarchy started in 900.  The second day represents his rule in America, starting in 1917.
* The third day represents his rule in Palestine, starting in 2001.
The unbiased will realise:
* England and “between Iraq and Syria†cannot be the same.
* The continuous monarchy of England is dated from the reign of Egbert in 829. Is Arrivals deliberately lying to get their date of 900?
* The question of the á¹¢alÄh, clearly shows that the á¹¢aḥÄbah (RA) understood the prophecy to mean that a normal 24 hour day will be extended to a year.
* This is in line with the clear, uncomplicated DÄ«n which RasÅ«lullÄh (pbuh) brought us.
* The esoteric UK-US theory seems more in line with Masonic thinking.
Let the unbiased ask, “Has there been a single day since 900, when the day had to be shortened to 24 hours and divided into 5 for á¹¢alÄh purposes?†Obviously this has never happened in the general world, except for the poles, which is a permanent feature. If we accept the producers’ theory, we must accept one of two possibilities: RasÅ«lullÄh (pbuh) did not know the real meaning of his prophecy, but the producer did! The stupidity of such a belief is self-evident. RasÅ«lullÄh (pbuh) knew the real “sophisticated†meaning but chose to toy with the á¹¢aḥÄbah (RA) when they made their “simple†interpretation.
AllÄh save us from having either of these filthy thoughts against RasÅ«lullÄh(pbuh). We must however ask, “The producers omitted the question of á¹¢alÄh which tears down their argument. Was this an oversight, coincidence or something more sinister?â€
Exaggeration
A conspiracy of evil forces certainly exists, but exaggeration only serves the evil cause by making opponents seem false. This is in line with the very accusation of Arrivals against Zeitgeist – mention some truths mixed with falsehood, and the truth seems false.
An example of exaggeration is the clip showing an artist drawing, what appears to be sexual organs, but are mere curves in cartoons. The clip is well-known and the artist’s intentions are plain. His humour – however poor in taste it may be – is to shock the viewer to think he is drawing a private part and then continues to draw a bear etc. He is open about it, and there is no conspiracy. To claim otherwise, is either naïveté, dishonesty or something more sinister.
Sacrilegious depiction of sacred personalities
What kind of a Muslim depicts, not once, but repeatedly, the Mahdī as a magician from Lord of the Rings!!! In all their research did they never read Sūrah al-Baqarah, from which they would have understood that magic is Kufr?
If that is not bad enough, Arrivals has the audacity to state that Muslims are “hurt†by the Council of Nicea declaring Jesus to be God. Is it plain stupidity or hypocrisy that they portray ‘ĪsÄ ïµ as the KÄfir king of the same movie! What are these people’s motivations?
Vilification of the á¹¢aḥÄbah (r.a)
O Muslims, protect your faith against all sly attacks. Know that he who bears rancour against the á¹¢aḥÄbah (RA) has cut himself from RasÅ«lullÄh (pbuh) and has already lost the battle. Arrivals repeats the filthy lie of the RawÄfiḠ[Shī‘ah] that Mu‘Äwiyah (RA) killed al- Ḥasan (RA). When it is convenient they quoted Tirmiẓī, but are silent of the du‘Ä’ of RasÅ«lullÄh (pbuh) for Mu‘Äwiyah(RA) in the same book. Will you prefer a video clip over the ḤadÄ«th of RasÅ«lullÄh (p.b.u.h)?
Other RawÄfiḠbeliefs The Arrivals cleverly draws one in, with facts and half-truths and then draw in the unwary with the RawÄfiḠbeliefs on the MahdÄ«. Yes, we believe that the family of RasÅ«lullÄh (pbuh) has a special position of honour. Yes, we must confess that just like our other responsibilities, we have failed in this. Yes, the MahdÄ« will be of the sacred progeny. The Arrivals however makes no substantiation for interpreting this duty as recognising the fairy-tale RawÄfiḠbelief of the Twelve ImÄms. Furthermore why these twelve, are there not other sects which follow Seven? To accept ‘AlÄ« (RA) as First ImÄm is declaring AbÅ« Bakr (RA) to be illegitimate and a usurper. The two beliefs cannot be reconciled. Arrivals opens the door to other filthy beliefs, such as the Alteration of the QurÄn [TaḥrÄ«f] and ‘Āishah raá¸iyallÄhu ‘anhÄ being an adulteress.
Music
Even ignoring the issue whether music is permissible or not, it is ironic that Arrivals which purports to warn against the DajjÄl uses one of his main weapons – music. Is it just ironic or something more, that there is almost non-stop music? The chosen medium uses audio and video. Other documentaries will have used the audio aspect for verbal explanations. Arrivals forces the viewer to read all explanations on the screen. Audio is almost completely devoted to music. Even when the QurÄn is shown, music is being played. Even when clips with some dialogue are shown, the dialogue is blurred with music. Why?
At certain places Arrivals seems to explain the evil of some music videos. Fine, but why play it at such length after the point has already been made?
Immodesty
Arrivals deceives us to believing that some evil must be shown for educational purposes. It labels those who disagree as “extremist.†Why then does it go to extremes like showing the almost nude woman washing a vehicle and showing pose after pose of erotic stances? One thinks that the point has been made, and it will stop, but no such luck. Arrivals deceives one to believing one is IslÄmically educating oneself. One wonders how many parents might have shown it to their children in the belief that they are being warned and educated. Had there been a dialogue (already discussed) Arrivals could have mentioned how almost everything is western society is sexualised; and anyone living on this planet would have understood. If they believed that depiction was necessary, then why such excess?
Arrivals declares women not dressed according to the QurÄnic junctions as “moderate†according to the teachings of RasÅ«lullÄh (pbuh)! AllÄh knows their hearts best, but whoever falls for this video has weakened towards the DajjÄl.
Infiltration
Arrivals makes much about how religions have been infiltrated, but only harps on Christianity. Its quite strange that they are basically silent on infiltration in IslÄm. There are two forms of infiltration – individuals and groups. Ibn Ḥajar al-‘AsqalÄnÄ« writes in FathÅ«l BÄrÄ« that ad-DajjÄl will undergo three phases. In the first phase he will present himself as a pious Muslim and will deceive even the genuinely pious into following him. Thus even senior figures in the community can be in the service of others. As we cannot read hearts, we cannot accuse (although when a senior figure can show non scruple at lying, one wonders…)
Parallel methods exist in infiltration on a group level. On this matter Arrivals makes a valid point that for the conspiracy to be implemented over centuries, a continuous Hidden hands is required. That Hidden Hand is none other than the Devil himself.
Note how he used a Jew, Saul, to pretend to convert to Christianity. He then turned a faith preaching about One God, into a different faith preaching Three gods and elevating Jesus to godhood, above his true station of Prophethood. It is no coincidence that The Jew, Ibn Saba’, pretended to convert to IslÄm. He managed to cleave a new religion out of IslÄm which cast doubt in the á¹¢ahÄbah ï¹ and the QurÄn as being authentic. He raised ‘AlÄ« (RA) to godhood, above his true station of Companionship.
The RawÄfiḠtoday (although most do not take ‘AlÄ« (pbuh) as god) oppress the Ahlus Sunnah in IrÄn, but confer full respect on their brothers, the Jews. History testifies how at critical moments, they always assisted the enemies of IslÄm, such as the Crusaders and Mongols. Even if they are supposedly great warriors in freedom struggles today,
consider: How they treat us once in power – investigate IrÄn.
If a Communist Atheist fights oppression, does that make him a Muslim? Similarly the kufr beliefs of RawÄfiḠare not excused by war rhetoric. The ḤadÄ«th mentions DajjÄl’s supporters coming from Iá¹£fÄhÄn. Guess where IsfÄhÄn is? When ad-DajjÄl reaches al-MadÄ«nah, an earthquake will expel all hypocrites who will go to him. Did you know that there are many RwÄfiḠliving in al-MadÄ«nah?
Arrivals is correct that there is infiltration. They are just slyer than many expect.
Submitted via email from:
Sulaiman al-Kindi
12 Responses to “A review on The Arrivals series”
February 18, 2010
IslamBrilliant review of severely overrated documentary. An acquaintance of mine tried to sell it to me as the truth to live by, and he got me to watch several clips. You could see through it from the start.
Jazak Allah kheir for the review.
February 19, 2010
IrfaanAs Salaamu Alaykum
Jazkallah for your article br Sulaiman
Below is a reply from Imran Hosein http://www.imranhosein.org :
wa ‘alaikum assalaam!
Other than for a few parts, I have not viewed The Arrivals, hence I am not in a position to comment on the critique presented by Br Sulaiman al-Kindi. I am however astonished by the large number of emails I have received from those who have become Muslims, who are now attracted to Islam, or who have had their faith in Islam revived as a result of viewing The Arrivals. That is no mean achievement in this age of declining interest in religion.
A critique of The Arrivals that is worthy of a Muslim should therefore direct attention to the great good that has been done, even while pointing to alleged mistakes which have been made. Secondly, a critique of The Arrivals should not set out to be a demolition job; rather alleged mistakes should be addressed constructively and with due respect for the integrity of those brothers in faith who are being corrected.
I have just had the very difficult task of writing a long essay entitled Iqbal and Pakistan’s Moment of Truth in which I have had to offer a critique of that great scholar’s thought – pointing to monumental errors I believe he made. Yet throughout my essay you will find evidence of my most profound respect for Iqbal.
Br Sulaiman also ventured to offer a critique of views expressed in The Arrivals (that are also found in several of my books) pertaining to the Hadith of Sahih Muslim describing the length of Dajjals’s life on earth. The views expressed in The Arrivals concerning the length of each stage of Dajjal’s life on earth are different from mine, but I have made no attempt to respond to that since the authors of The Arrivals have never presented themselves as scholars. And I simply do not have the time to attempt to correct every mistake I find on the internet. Secondly I would have been astonished to find scholarly agreement with my interpretation of that Hadith on Dajjal since Jerusalem in the Qur’an was published in 2002 and, as far as I am aware, has not impressed the world of Islamic scholarship.
I am now writing a comprehensive book on Dajjal which I hope, will clarify the subject Insha Allah.
with love,
Imran N. Hosein
February 20, 2010
abdoeragmaansalaams
watched the arivals begining to end. I must say I agree with alot including the cartoons. have you watched kids when they glued to movies. my son mentioned to me that the female penguins in happy feet have breast. & when you watch the movie you can see that the female penguins do have figures resembling ladies. & you find this in nearly every cartoon. seriously if you watch happy feet from start to the end & listened you would rather have your 3 year olds watching south park.
arrivals was a bit over the top though. & the bit where they claim Muawiyahs involvement in the murders is just rediculous. but the chritic mentiones way to much about shias as if shiasm is being discused.
February 21, 2010
Asma Bhamasalam mu alakum
does any one knw wen the 2nd series of The Arrivals wud b out.
ive watched episode 1-50 …
jazakilallah hughyrun
February 22, 2010
سليمان الكندىBr Irfaan/ Imraan
“who are now attracted to Islam, or who have had their faith in Islam revived as a result of viewing The Arrivals”
You are of course aware of the Hadith that Allah even uses a Faasiq for the Dien. If Allah’s wish is achieved, it does not mean that the means or the perpetrator are to be lauded. The Quraan calls Nebuchadnezzar “a slave of Ours,” for implementing Allah’s decision on Baytul Muqaddas. We neither laud the idol-worshipper, nor his massacre of the sinful believers of the time.
“A critique of The Arrivals that is worthy of a Muslim should therefore direct attention to the great good that has been done, even while pointing to alleged mistakes which have been made.
Secondly, a critique of The Arrivals should not set out to be a demolition job; rather alleged mistakes should be addressed constructively and with due respect for the integrity of those brothers in faith who are being corrected.”
On this basis I should direct attention to wine and gambling which the Quraan declares to have benefit. Whatever “good” the series presents is a cover for an irreligious agenda.
I do not have respect for Rawaafid who do not have respect for the Sahaabah radiyallahu anhum and the Ummahaatul Mumineen radiyallhu anhunna. These are NOT my brothers in faith.
“the Hadith of Sahih Muslim describing the length of Dajjals’s life on earth.”
I am not shy to reiterate: Our interpretation of QurÄn and ḤadÄ«th is what AllÄh and His RasÅ«l (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) taught us, via the chain of the á¹¢aḥÄbah (radiyallahu anhum), MufassirÅ«n and MuḥaddithÅ«n.
February 22, 2010
سليمان الكندىBr abdoeragmaan,
Arrivals admits that it presents matters piece-meal, “opening up the mind.” It then presents more difficult matters to accepot after the previous matter has been swallowed. Even if the lable is not Shiasm, the final agenda is such. The kernal of this fitnah must be exposed.
February 22, 2010
سليمان الكندىSr Asma
Abdullah Hashem has produced “Dajjal the Anti Christ” wherein he presents that Dajjal is a “shape shifting reptile” who has walked on earth for over 10,000 years. This is clearly taken from Icke, a Kaafir who argues that Islam is a concoction of the Vatican which aimed to used Islam to capture Baytul Muqaddas from the Greek Orthodox.
I fail to understand why people fall for such gimicks instead of Quraan and Hadith. have those who watched and are mesmerised by these people actually studied what Allah and His Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam have to say on the matter?
February 23, 2010
Abdoeragmaanwhat they did show us though is how the kufaar are working to imorolize the world. most of the scholars used were sunni also. except for the clips of Nasrullah there were no shia scholars.
i think something must have gone wrong in their google search when they were proving many points & only came out to shia sites.
what was said about our love for the ahlul bait was spot on. Im sure if you were to say I love ahlul bait or the decendants of ali you would be labled as shia. because that is how we taught to think.
March 1, 2010
أبو مصعبLillaahi darruka yaa mawlaana sulaymaan, this series was long overdue for a refutation, the amount of muslims taken in by it is mind boggling.
March 1, 2010
Reihaan ErodisI have watched all 50 of the episodes and although I am not well versed , I have had to view things in a different light . firstly , the part that said that only the divine religions have over the ages gone to war against each other was rather unsettling but alas true . I feel that we spend to much of our religious lives arguing as who is more religious than the next . the message that the arrivals in my opinion tries to bring across is that we as Muslims must open our eyes and see what is indeed happening around us and how our faith has been infiltrated and yes to a large degree how we have become weaker. The point I am trying to make is that, are we to condemn the arrivals because it is more or less right or wrong or , are we to become steadfast in our beliefs and stand together and protect our children and bring them up in true Muslim manner. I neither support nor do I condemn the arrivals but we have to recognize that it has inspired a revival and a renewed interest in Islam . For that my brothers and sisters we as Muslims should give praise for .My intention is not to insult anyone , I only wish that one day our faith will be as strong and as driven as our desire to find fault .
March 2, 2010
OutspokenAs salaam u alaikum
It is rather a sad day when all we muslims can do is critisize one another and attack each other such as the Sanha /Jamaitul Ulama KZN issue, i am not fully aware of the entire issue but i have seen alot of backward and forward attacks instead of us acting as one Ummah. The muslims strength lies in unity and this is sadly something we have lost.
The Arrivals, while with some difficult info to digest, in my opinion was made as a broad documentary to target Muslims and non Muslims alike, to create awareness of the Fitna of the Dajaal and its associated agendas.
It is no co incidence that Muslims all over the world are being attacked in social and public forums – I am by no means an academic or aalim but i have done reading, at the time when Dajaal is attacking the muslims under the rule of Imam Mehdi – and the time when Hazrat Isa AS comes down, the world will basically be fighting a fight that is Muslim vs Kufaar. Allah will have granted Dajaal powers of deception and powers to lead the world – the time before Hazrat ISA AS comes down, Dajaal forces will be inumerous times greater than the muslims – hence why the time of Dajaal will be a great trial and tribulation to the muslims. If the masses of the world are following Dajaal, they will be following him because they belive him to be right and will oppose the rejectors of the Dajaal as their enemies.
Is it no coincidence today that the entire world is attacking Islam (Islam = terrorism, War on Terror, try going to any airport in the world with a big beard and long Kurta and see what extra security measures you will be subjected to compared to normal people). These are the beggining steps to what i believe is start labelling Muslims as enemies of the world. Think about Sept 11 – Afghanistan was invaded under the face of terrorism and no result has been achieved. It is now 9 years later and I last heard that 33 innocent civilians were killed in a NATO attack. Think about children born post 9 11 (and im talking about your average Kufaar child brought up in a non muslim environment) Today he is 9 years old – for 9 years of his life, he has grown up with only knowing that muslims have terrorised the world by blowing things up. He does not know what it was before, so say in 10 years time, he will be a young adult with the perception that muslims are bad. This thought will be entrenched into his mind because he has not been exposed to what it was before.
Please do not by pass the message of The Arrivals. It has alot of good to it and is a motivating factor to start being a better muslim. I do not refute the overall message of the Arrivals as we know there are minor and major signs to Qiyaamat.
People now adays always ask you where did you hear it and how can you prove it. I am going to say something and i have no backing to it other than i learnt in in a Kitaab when i was in Madrassah. One of the minor signs of Qiyaamat is that music will be played aloud in the mosque. I read this when i was probably 10 years old and pictured people bringing boom boxes into the mosque – i thought that such a time was way off since an image of that being reality seems really far off. One day, while reading namaaz at mosque, I heard someoffs phone going with a rave tune – it hit me that ACTUAL music was being ALOUD in mosque. MP3 ringtones have only been available say 5 Years ago Max – before was polyphonic ringtones, So 5 Years ago – you could read that saying and it would hold no value, since you would ask how music would be brought into mosques. TODAY it holds true. Now if that Kitaab had no backing, how could I have read something almost 15 years ago and now holds true. There is definite truth that our world today is different than 10 years ago. And im not talking technologically, im talking morally and socially. I think everyone is aware of the high Divorce ratings in our communities, about how drugs are ruining our youth, about how corrupt and matierialistic WE ALL HAVE BECOME. We are chasing this world.
I think that if a documentary can have a power to start contemplating things and make a positive impact on urging people to do good – then it should not be attacked.
The Kufaars are our enemy and we should be uniting against this – our future generations will be depending on us to pave the way for a united Ummah and we should be focussing on solutions not problems.
Jazakallah
March 3, 2010
DreamlifeI agree with this last reply: we should look at the overall positive effects of the series, rather than picking it apart and rejecting it because of errors the producers may have made.
Look: the producers explicitly say that the entire contents of the series – apart from Quranic verses (and maybe hadith…not sure) – should NOT be taken as absolute truth. They say that it’s up to us, the viewers, to do our own research on these topics.
So – those who critiscise them for spreading falsehoods should clearly understand this. They’re not claiming absolute truth. They’re presenting their interpretations and their own research – whether those opinions are flawed or correct.
It’s up to US to navigate the information and sources out there to seek the truth about these matters.
The series did a good job of bringing these issues into focus – which is something that i think was needed. We’ve heard and read about the signs of Dajjal; but I’ve never come across a presentation like this which ties these trials to modern times and the world around us.
With regard to the showing of pop culture (music, videos, etc) – I think they’re trying to appeal to a broad audience; and using bits of pop culture brings home the message more effectively than just an article or words that state “Pop culture is bad…”.
Yes, they did go over the top in showing so much sexual material – and that’s something which they could have perhaps avoided, or dealt with more sensitively…but there’s no doubt that showing that material explicitly proved their points about the moral degeneration of the world / media.
Anyway, to conclude, i’ll just re-iterate the point that the series – whether flawed or not – was essentially made with good intentions, and i think overall it does more good than harm.
The missing piece is the work of the audience: for us to do the research to check this information.
Sadly, many of us would rather sit back and criticise; instead of making our own efforts to do research and maybe even present our own, alternative videos that show this information – the authentic and correct version of info – in a more ‘Shariah-compliant’ light.