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Sighting a Flare in the
East
Here we give a brief explanation of
this flame, as follows:
Some people wait for this flame as a sign
that comes suddenly and for no particular
reason, that never goes out, and that everyone
in the world can see. Since the trial continues
during the occurrence of these signs, just
because people will see them does not mean
that they will understand them. Thus, people
will make their decisions by using their
intellect, mind, conscience, and will. If
the End Time signs had been narrated in
full detail (e.g., how, when, and where
they will occur), everybody would have to
accept them. Thus, no differences of degree
would be left among the people. For this
reason, these hadiths have been communicated
in a semi-implicit manner.
The sign concerning the flame must be evaluated
in this manner. A flame is the result of
an accident and neglect, or of a deliberate
action. The hadith does not say that it
must occur as a very strange and extraordinary
sign. What really counts is its occurence
in compliance with the properties of the
flame described in the hadiths and the time
of its occurrence. To do this, first we
must consider its properties.
In July 1991, after Iraq invaded Kuwait,
a huge fire spread throughout Kuwait and
the Persian Gulf as the Iraqis fired Kuwait's
oil wells. This is how this fire was covered
in the media:
- The burning oil in
Kuwait led to the deaths of people and
animals. According to experts, half a
million tons of oil went up into the atmosphere
as smoke. Every day, more than 10,000
tons of soot, sulfur, carbon-dioxide and
large quantities of hydrocarbons with
their carcinogenic properties hang suspended
over the Gulf. It is not just the Gulf
but, on its behalf, the world is burning.1
- Two wells that were
set alight produced as much oil as Turkey
does in one day, and the smoke from them
were even seen from Saudi Arabia, 55 kilometers
away.2
- Hundreds of oil wells set alight in
Kuwait are still burning fiercely. Experts
say it will be "exceedingly difficult
to put those fires out," and it is said
that the fires may affect a wide area
from Turkey to India for the next 10 years.
The fire and smoke coming from the wells
constantly polluted the atmosphere. Daytime
resembled night in Kuwait. The brown smoke
that rose together with the flames reminded
one of the sky as the autumn turns into
winter… It has been stated that it would
take at least a century for Kuwait to
be completely habitable again. The smoke
that rises with the flames is visible
from miles away, totally blocking out
the sky and making the country unfit to
live in. The wealthy are abandoning Kuwait.
According to a statement
by Abdullah Dabbagh, director of the research
institute in Dhahran, in the New York
Times, 106 species of fish, 180 species
of mollusk, and 450 animal species living
in the region struggled to survive because
of the pollution in the Persian Gulf.
It has been stated that smoke rising from
600 oil wells has spread to neighboring
countries, and that smoke containing such
carcinogenic substances as sulfur has
turned into acid rain and reduced agricultural
productivity.3
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In
July 1991, Iraq's invasion
of Kuwait and its firing the
Kuwaiti oil wells caused great
fires in Kuwait and the Persian
Gulf. Upon Saddam's command,
soldiers fired Kuwait's oil
wells. |
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The first part of the hadith says that
the flame "is presently in an extinguished
state." Given that the flame is the result
of burning an inflammable substance, what
waits in an extinguished state is not the
flame itself but rather the material to
be burned by the flame. In this context,
this may mean underground oil. Berehut is
the name of a well. This can be considered
as an oil well. When the time comes, oil
extracted from these wells will become a
fire ready to be burned.
"That flame swallows
up people with terrible pain inside it."
That flame is not merely a burning flare,
but also one that deprives people of their
lives and possessions, making them miserable
and sorrowful, and contaminating the surrounding
environment.
"That flame… burns
down and destroys people and property."
That flame causes the death of certain
people. In addition, it burns down property,
causing material damage and, by polluting
the surrounding environment, destroys what
people need in order to live.
"… spreads all over
the world by flying like a cloud with the
assistance of winds."
This particular element of the flame
is the smoke that it produces. Thus, this
metaphor indicates that the smoke will reach
as high as the clouds and spread in all
directions due to the wind.
"Its heat at night
is much higher than its daytime temperature."
In other words, the flame will burn around
the clock.
"By going as deep as
the center of Earth from above the heads
of people, that flame makes a terrible noise,
just like the thunder between the ground
and the sky." Attention is drawn
to the facts that the flame will climb very
high into the air and cause a very strong
noise and explosions resembling a thunder.
"… a brand new redness
unlike the usual color of red spreading
over the sky…"
This part of the hadith points out
that the incident will occur at night, for
the flames of a large explosion occurring
at night leads to a very strong illumination.
The red illumination caused by such red
flames is very different from the red "dawn"
redness with which people are familiar.
Such an illumination at night, which is
very similar to daylight, is an extraordinary
phenomenon.
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1. M. Necati Ozfatura, Kurtlar Sofrasında
Ortadogu (The Middle East at the Wolves'
Supper), 175. 
2. Hurriyet (A Turkish Daily), January 23,
1991
3. Ozfatura, Kurtlar Sofrasında Ortadogu,
171.
4. Qamus Translation, vol. 1, p. 550
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