Gate of Ludd

Gate of Ludd

The Holy Prophet Muhammad^saw stated:

كَاللُّؤْلُؤِ فَلاَ يَحِلُّ لِكَافِرٍ يَجِدُ رِيحَ نَفَسِهِ إِلاَّ مَاتَ وَنَفَسُهُ يَنْتَهِي حَيْثُ يَنْتَهِي طَرْفُهُ فَيَطْلُبُهُ حَتَّى يُدْرِكَهُ بِبَابِ لُدٍّ فَيَقْتُلُهُ

” Every non-believer who would smell the odor of his self would die and his breath would reach as far as he would be able to see. He would then search for him (Dajjal) until he would catch hold of him at the gate of Ludd and would kill him. ” (Sahih Muslim Hadith #2937 a)

The sign which will now be discussed, is the killing of the Dajjal at the Gate of Ludd. Dajjal and Gog and Magog would have its own section, and the purpose of this explanation will primarily be in regards to the Gate of Ludd.

The meaning of this hadith is quite beautiful. Allah States in the Qur’an:

فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرْنَاهُ بِلِسَانِكَ لِتُبَشِّرَ بِهِ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَتُنْذِرَ بِهِ قَوْمًا لُدًّا {98}

So We have made it (The Qur’an) easy in thy tongue that thou mayest give thereby good tidings to the righteous, and warn thereby a contentious people.” (Chapter 19, Verse 98)

An approved commentary of the notes of Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad^ra state:

الد (most contentious) is derived from لد (ladda). They say لده meaning, he contended or quarreled with him vehemently. So الد which is the noun of pre-eminence from it, means, one who is a great quarreler. The plural of الد is لد (Aqrab)

الد refers to the act of one involved in disputes and arguments and can also be defined as the most quarrelsome or argumentative. This refers to the Messiah^as destroying and dismantling the false doctrines of Christianity through evidences from the Qur’an, Bible and all sorts of other arguments, including Historical records as well. Ahmad^as did exactly that. He proved Islam to be the true religion and disproved the trinity, divinity, the concept of Isa^as being raised to heavens and proved many other concepts of different religions wrong. This prophecy further proves that the Messiah would not be fighting dajjal with a weapon or a sword, rather through means of argumentation. For this reason, the Holy Prophet Muhammad^saw also said:

إِنْ يَخْرُجْ وَأَنَا فِيكُمْ فَأَنَا حَجِيجُهُ دُونَكُمْ وَإِنْ يَخْرُجْ وَلَسْتُ فِيكُمْ فَامْرُؤٌ حَجِيجُ نَفْسِهِ

“If Dajjal comes forth while I am among you, I shall contend with him on your behalf, but if he comes forth, while I am not amongst you, a man must contend on his own behalf…” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith #2937 a)

This hadith also refers to the Holy War which was one of the greatest debates against Christianity by Hadhrat Ahmad^as which happened in Amritsar in 1893. The Promised Messiah^as triumphed over Christianity through arguments that the people from the Christian side themselves admit defeat. Amritsar is close to Ludhiana which is why it is called the Gate of Ludd and it is possible that the city of Ludhiana is a secondary interpretation of the word Ludd as that is where Dajjal had its outbreak at first. Hadhrat Ahmad^as proved every Christian wrong who came against him.

There is yet another way this prophecy was fulfilled. We know from the life of the Holy Prophet^saw , that a Khalifa may also fulfill a prophecy of the Prophet. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as beautifully explains this. He states:

“Migration is also a characteristic of Prophets but some of the dreams of a Prophet are fulfilled through him in his own time, and others are fulfilled through a descendant or a follower of his. For instance, the Holy Prophet, on whom be the peace and blessings of Allah, was given the keys of the treasuries of Caesar and Chosroes and these countries were conquered in the time of Hadrat ‘Umar^ra .” (Badr, Volume 1. No.23, September 7, 1905 p.2 and al-Hakam, Vol 9., No.32 September 10, 1905, Pg 3)

This prophecy was also fulfilled through the Promised Son, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad^ra. When he arrived in London, he went to the Ludgate and led a prayer outside the entrance of St. Paul’s Cathedral. His speech on Ahmadiyyat, and it being the True Islam was read out in the Wembley’s Conference of Living Religions during the year of 1924. This sign was indeed fulfilled in the Messiah^as beautifully. The Khulafa are a shield for the believers and continue to carry the true Islam to the all parts of the world.