moses

Explanation and Evidence

*  The first face shown by the tablet is position (A)  is that of a weeping man who has a cow’s head and a snake on his cheek.  I think that this man is prophet Moses (pbuh) for the following reasons:

1.    Dignity, solemnity, strength, the huge body manifested by the tablet; all of which is congruent with the traits of  Moses (pbuh).  One of the evidence proving that he was a man of physical strength is when he killed a man just because he pricked him: (And he entered the city at a time when its people were not watching: and he found there two men fighting-one of his own people, and the other, of his foes.  Now the man of his own people appealed to him against his foe, and Moses struck him his fist and made an end of him.  He said:  “This is a work of evil (Satan):  for he is an enemy that manifestly misleads!” (Al-Qasas:15)

In addition, when he arrived at Madyan waters, he found two women who were standing aside and asked them as to why they weren't watering their cattle, so they said they would but after the shepherds were done and then told him that their father was an old man after which Moses went to another well covered with a  huge rock that couldn’t be easily removed, but succeeded in moving it alone and watered their cattle for them.  Upon doing that, one of the girls asked her father to hire him since he was not only strong but also trustworthy.  She referred to him as trustworthy because when she invited him to her house so that her father would reward him, he asked her to walk behind him so that he wouldn’t be fascinated with her beauty. {And when he arrived at the watering (place) in Madyan, he found there a group of men watering (their flocks) and besides them he found two women who were keeping back (their flocks).  He said:  “What is the matter with you?” they said:  “We cannot water (our flocks) until the shepherds take back (their flocks): and our father is a very old man.”  So he watered (their flocks) for them:  then he turned back to the shade, and said:  “oh my Lord! Truly am I in (desperate) need of any good that thou dost send me!” Afterwards, one of the (damsels) came (back) to him, walking bashfully.  She said:  “my father invites thee that he may reward thee for having watered (our flocks) for us.”  So when he came to him and narrated the story, he said:  “fear thou not:  (well) hast thou escaped from unjust people.” Said one of the (damsels):  “o my (dear) father! Engage him on wages:  truly the best of men for thee to employ is the (man) who is strong and trusty.”}, (Al-Qasas: 23-26)

Moreover, the man in the tablet looks as if his mouth is a little open with tears dropping from his eyes showing that he is reciting God’s name while crying; Accordingly, one of Moses' trait amongst many other traits is manifested in this verse when he said: {“And give me a minister from my family, Aaron, my brother; add to my strength through him, and make him share my task, that we may celebrate the praise without stint, and remember thee without stint.”}, (Taha: 34-39)

Further, it was narrated by Abu Harairah that prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had also described prophet Moses (pbuh) as a man of physical strength.  (Moses a tall man seems as if he is from Shanua’a men) (reported by: Bukhari).  Shanua’a is a tribe which lived in the southern part of the Peninsula and were known for their tall bodies, courageousness and toughness. Further, Abu Huraira  has reported  prophet Muhammad (pbuh)  saying the following: “I met Moses, he is a huge man of power, as if he is from Zut Men.” (reported by: Bukhari).    

Accordingly, prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) reports go to show that Moses (pbuh) was a brunette with a huge yet fit body, and well coordinated.  As for his personality, he was highly respected.  All of these characters totally comply with that in the tablet.

  1. The presence of the snake on Moses’ cheek is also found in the tablet as with the well known story about Moses throwing his rod which then turned into a serpent.

Further, Moses (pbuh) is the only prophet whose miracles included the rod turning into a serpent on a number of occasions, and was the major cause for his victory over Pharaoh’s sorcerers.  {And what is that in thy right hand, O Moses, He said, “It is my rod:  on it I lean; with it I beat down fodder after my flocks; and in it I find other uses (Allah) said, “throw it , Oh Moses!” He threw it, and behold! It was a snake, Active in motion} (Taha:17-20).  {So Moses threw his rod, and behold, it was a serpent, plain (for all to see)!} (Al Shu’rara’: 32).  {“Throw that which is in thy right hand: quickly will it swallow up that which they have faked:  what they have faked is but a magician’s trick:  and the magician thrives not, (No matter) where he goes.”(Ta Ha: 69).

3.      The presence of the cow’s head in the tablet along with a picture of Moses (pbuh) which is similar to the well known story of the cow which Moses (pbuh) ordered the tribe of Israel to slaughter upon the order of God the most Gracious. {And remember when Moses (Moses) (pbuh) said to his people:  “Verily Allah commands you that you slaughter a cow.”  They said:  “Do you make fun of us?  He said:  “I take refuge in Allah from being among al-jahilun ( the ignorant or the foolish.} (Al-Baqarah: The Cow:67)  This incident took place when a man from among the tribe of Israel was killed, but since the murderer wasn’t identified, Allah has ordered them to slaughter the cow and take some parts of it and hit the victim with it, and when they did, he was resurrected and uttered the name of the murderer and then died once again.  This incident is enough to link Moses (pbuh)  to the slaughter of the cow, and we can further notice that the engraver has shown in his work the two bones that appear whenever a cattle was slaughtered and this alone is ample evidence.

4.      Once the tablet is turned upside down, there appears symbols of the enemies of Moses, those who didn’t believe in him and/or his opponents.  An example of this is the picture of the Egyptian pharaoh which belongs to Moses' Pharaoh who was plotting to kill him: {Leave me to kill Moses, and let him call his lord (to stop me from killing him)!, I fear that he may change your religion or that he may cause mischief to appear in the land.”} (Ghafir:26)

In addition, the pictures of the one-eyed monkey and one-eyed pig refer to those who have committed the crime of breaching the sanctity of Saturday by breaching God’s order of not fishing in the sea, and they were also from the tribe of Israel: {And indeed you knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath (i.e, Saturday).  We said to them:  “Be you monkeys, despised and rejected.”} (Al-Baqarah: The Cow:65)

{Say, oh Mohammad (pbuh), to the people of the scripture:  “Shall I inform you of something worse than that, regarding the recompense from Allah:  Those (Jews) who incurred the curse of Allah and his wrath, and those whom (some) transformed into monkeys and swine , and those who worshipped taghut (false deities); such are worse in rank (on the day of resurrection in the hell-fire), and far more astray from the right path (in the life of this world} (Al-Ma’idah:60)

Thus, Antichrist is an enemy to all the prophets, amongst whom there is Prophet Moses (pbuh).  Therefore, we can assert that since the previous figures are on the evil side then the man on the other side of the tablet is Moses (pbuh)

5.  When the tablet is positioned horizontally (D), both the female as well as the male body parts appear.  This was intended to indicate the potency and fertility of Moses; especially since some of the people among the Tribe of Israel have spread rumors about prophet Moses impotence because his testicles were extremely swollen causing him to be sexually incompetent; this was credible to people especially since there was no mention of Moses having any children in any of the books of interpretation. And when the tribe of Israel refused to enter the Holy Land, he said: {“Oh my lord! I have power only over myself and my brother: so separate us from this rebellious people!” (Al Ma’idah:25).  Now if he had had any children, he would’ve mentioned them in his plead to God.

The following verse was interpreted as follows: {All those who believe do not be as those who harm Moses, and Allah/God exonerates him of what they said, and he was considered by Allah a person of distinction} (Al-ahzab:69)

When Moses’ tribe accused him of being sexually incompetent as has been mentioned previously, he went to bathe and left his clothing on the rock which then ran away with his clothes, so he started chasing the rock until he arrived at the place where his tribe usually gathers and that’s when they were convinced of the falsity of these accusations. And according to a narration by Abu Huraira may God bless his soul: Moses (pbuh) was a very shy and modest man and was never seen naked and when the rock ran away with his clothes, he tried to stop it with his rod and was screaming, “my clothes are a rock, my clothes are a rock” until he reached that place where the tribe of Israel was gathering.

6.      To move on, Professor Dr. Ababneh has come up with eight different interpretations of the letters forming the hair of the man in the tablet in case the tablet belonged to prophet Moses (pbuh), and I will hereby mention the three interpretations that are closest to the truth.

  1. Taban-Laha:  tabana and tabanieh:  acumen, an acumen man is someone who is keen on everything. (Nashwaan Alhameeri), (Shams Aluluum), p.4060. As for the term (laha’) or (luhai’) it refers to: the unrestrained in speech, someone with great knowledge or someone known for his listless, slackness or laziness.
  2. Taban-Lasa’: an acumen man who is proficient and knowledgeable
  3. Taba –Lahaj:  an acumen man who is knowledgeable of the tongue, and lahja refers to the tip of the tongue: (Ibn Mandhoor,) (lisaan Al-‘Arab) (lahj) 419-2

Apparently, these three interpretations refer explicitly to Moses (pbuh) since he was a man of great knowledge and power as is in the following verse: {Moses said: “Oh my lord! Expand me my breast;  “ease my task for me; “and remove the impediment from my speech. “So they may understand what I say}, (Ta Ha:25-28).  He also said, {“And my brother Aaron-He is more eloquent in speech than I: so send him with me as a helper, to confirm (and strengthen) me: for I fear that they may accuse me of falsehood.”}, (Al-Qasas:34)

Furthermore, it was recollected that when Moses (pbuh) was a little boy growing up in the Pharaoh’s palace, he pulled the pharaoh’s beard so hard that the pharaoh wanted to kill him as he had known that his life would be ended by a little boy, but refrained when his wife Asia convinced him that he was only a little boy who didn’t know the difference between a date and a piece of live coal, so they presented him with both.  Fortunately, he took the hot coal and put it in his mouth and burned his tongue which made his speech a little hard to understand.  When Moses (pbuh) came with the message to the tribe of Israel, the Pharaoh approached them and said, {“Am I not better than this (Moses), who is a contemptible wretch and can scarcely spare himself clearly.”} (Al-Zukhruf:52).

The man in the template is similar to that in the previous descriptions, especially that it is written on his head that he is proficient, knowledgeable, with a sting in his tongue that makes his speech heavy and slack.

This previous approach used in referring to someone by his/her traits is commonly used; it is normal to refer to a person by a particular trait that he/she is well known for. For instance, if we say (the father of humans), it refers to Adam, (God’s best friend, we refer to Ibrahim (pbuh), (the faithful) (the honest), or (the last prophet), is prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  Based on the evidence presented earlier, I believe that this man in the template is Moses (pbuh).

*As for the second face which is in position (b) representing a one-eyed young man, I am convinced that this is Antichrist whom prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has mentioned. The assumption I am making is based on the following:

1.   All the prophets have warned their nations of Antichrist.  For example, prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “No prophet was sent to a nation without warning them of Antichrist.” (Reported by Muslim).  Further, it was narrated that the Samarian who misled the tribe of Israel in Moses’ time was Antichrist himself; however, that wasn’t the time when he claimed he was God; an issue which shall be tackled later on in this paper.

2.  Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has provided precise details of Antichrist; all of which completely correspond to the picture of the one-eyed young man which we know as Antichrist.  This is clearly manifested to anyone who might have the chance to see the tablet and compare between the picture and the teachings of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) regarding this matter.  The following are but a few:

A.  Antichrist is a man in his forties as was narrated by Alnawas Bin Sama’an as reported in Sahih Muslim, and this narration corresponds with the template which shows a picture of a man in his forties

B.  It was reported that prophet Muhammad (pbuh) described Antichrist’s forehead as wide and high.

C.  Muslim reported in (Sahih) that Anas Bin Malik reported that between his eyes, the letters KFR (atheism) are engraved. The same letters are found on his forehead in the tablet.

D.  Ibn Abbas reported Tabarrani as saying:  As if his hair was a tree bough; again this is manifested in the tablet.

E.  Tabarani and Ahmad narrated the report of Abdullah Bin Mughfel and sumra Bin Jundub that his left eye was dislocated and that his right eye is so dense with a huge mole on it

F.  Al Bazar narrated the report of Faltan Bin Asem about Antichrist having a bulky neck and this is also true for the template which shows his neck as such.

  1. Thus, Professor Dr. Ababneh has concluded with five probable interpretations of the letters forming Antichrist’s beard in the template, and I shall hereby mention two which I believe are the closest to the original.

a. Jahl-Nasab: a man of unknown linage, unknown kinship and unknown father.

b.      Jahl-Nabah: a person who can be described as a barking dog

These two readings are in harmony with the description of Antichrist as someone with no kinship and that he is similar to a barking dog who will bark no matter what you do, as God has bestowed on him gifts which he devoted to evil, and that is why I truly believe that the second face is that of Antichrist.

*  To move on, the picture shown in the tablet in horizontal position (C) is of Satan’s head on a chair.  Such a case is found in the story of Prophet Solomon (pbuh) when God the Almighty said: {“And indeed we did try (Solomon) and we place on his throne jasad (a devil so he lost his kingdom for a while) and he did return (to Allah with obedience and in repentance, and to his throne and kingdom by the grace of Allah} (Ssad:34). The interpretation of this is that  Solomon (pbuh) who was also a king was overthrown by Satan for 40 days, after which God returned his throne back to him, and then Solomon punished Satan by imprisoning him in the sea.  Then Solomon asked God to give him a property never given to anyone after him.  He said, {My lord forgive me and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me.  Verily you are the bestower.} (Ssad:35)

Further, Bukhari and Moslem amongst others reported that Abu Huraira narrated that:  Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: ('Afreet or a (devil) of the demons was approaching me in order to stop me from performing my prayer, but Allah has enabled me to defeat him, and when I was about to fasten him to a pole of the mosque until morning when everyone would be able to see him, I remembered that my brother Solomon had asked God to grant him a property never to be avail for anyone after him.”

*  What we see in this part of the template is a head with a single horn and an ugly face, and in this respect, God has mentioned the fruits of the zakoum tree;( it is the food of the people of hellfire) which is described as ugly as Satan’s head,   {The shoots of its fruits stalks are like the heads of shaytin. (devils)} (As-Saffat:65)

* Also, it has been narrated that prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had said that Satan has a horn, “the sedition will come out from the same place Satan’s horn comes out”. (reported by Bukhari)

* Upon examining this engraving, a number of archeologists from different parts of the world have confirmed that it is one of a kind in archeology, which leads me to believe that it is the work of the jinn (demons) for Solomon (pbuh), and if this is the case, then this demon has lived in Moses time and witnessed the era in which the tribe of Israel lived in and maybe beyond.

·         Zamakhshari has interpreted the words of God the Almighty regarding the following verse: {They work from him as desire, (making) high rooms, images, basins as large as reservoirs and (cooking) cauldrons fixed (in their places).  “Work you o family of Dawud (David) with thanks!” but few of my slaves are grateful.} (Saba:13)  The statutes in the mosques (which by the way were made of brass, glass and marble in order for people to look it and perform the prayers more faithfully), were of the Angels, prophets and virtuous people. It is well known that demons have a long life span.  Likewise, the time distance between Moses and Solomon (pbut) is relatively short. Prophet Moses (pbuh) died after the tribe of Israel refused to come to Palestine and live with the powerful nation, and told Moses to go and fight with his Lord as they wait, so as a punishment, they were lost in the desert of Sinai for forty years, and then finally came to Palestine with Yohosha Bin Noon.  However, not too long after, they were repelled from Palestine.  After that, God sent them a prophet who assigned them a king named Talut, and among Talut’s soldiers, there was prophet Dawud (David) (pbuh) who then killed Jaluut, the Kaninite’s leader. And since Solomon is David’s son, the time distance between Moses and Solomon was short.  In his book (the Time and Ideological Relations between the Prophets and Messengers), Dr. Muhammad Wasfi makes the claim that the time span between Moses and Solomon was approximately 190 years.

·         Here we have noticed that Solomon (pbuh) ordered the demons not humans to build statutes because their capabilities exceeded that of humans, and that is why we notice that there is a distinguishing feature about these templates; unless you concentrate on the templates for a very long time or someone explains them to you, you will not be able to see all the pictures because of the templates’ complex nature.

This has been a graphic reading and analysis of the components of the template, but before we go on, I would like to comment on some of the implications in the tablet.  In one sense, we can assume that the tablet has two main faces; one of goodness, i,e, Moses (pbuh) along with symbols of good devoted to good welfare including the snake with which God the Almighty has abrogated the guile of the Pharaoh’s sorcerers and the cow which God used to unravel the mystery of the crime.  On the other side there is evil represented by Antichrist; enemy of the prophets along with those other evil symbols living during his time including the scorpion which is a symbol for evil which prophet Muhammad (pbuh) cursed and ordered that would be killed at all times. 

At the back of Antichrist’ head, there is the head of  a one-eyed monkey with its left eye dislocated and underneath this monkey, there is the head of a one-eyed pig with its left eye also dislocated.  In doing this, the maker of the tablet has intended to show the traits of Antichrist as well as of his followers.

In addition, the picture of the Egyptian pharaoh in the tablet refers to the  Pharaoh of Moses’ (pbuh) time, and thus we notice from the tablet that the one-eyed monkey is in the back o the pharaoh’s head as well.  I believe this was intended to show the link between the pharaoh and Antichrist as heralds of evil.

This is my own personal interpretation of the tablet and my analysis of its contents; I hereby consider this a humble effort in analyzing such a unique piece, and I am sure that other specialized researchers and scholars will be able to provide ample details and explanation of this piece more than I could present.

nobody could determine the exact place of this tablet, but the little information indicates that it is in (Azru’at) in the southern part of Syria, for Ibn katheer has reported in his interpretation of Al-Hashr chapter of the Holy Qur’an that:  prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has exiled the Jews of Bani Nazir to (Azru’at) upper parts of Syria, and that this tablet may have been one of their belongings at Madina Munawara at that time and has been transported with them.

As we can notice from the tablet, this type of art is nothing like the common art we are exposed to everyday. The artist has implemented a tremendous number of scenes in one work and intended to use each in so many circumstances, thus every part of the picture is carefully intended to be seen by the viewer as a different picture when the tablet is rotated in a different position. This was not done randomly, but was intended to represent a story and an epic

If we were to compare this tablet with other paintings like the Monalissa for example, which has taken up so much of the world’s attention for so many centuries to the extent that it has become a symbol of fine arts, we would surely give priority to this astonishing tablet, especially if we consider the religious and spiritual aspects which distinguish this piece and is a matter of great concern for the people of the three divine monotheistic religions, we will find ourselves standing before another miracle of the many miracles of God the Almighty in the twenty first century.

And now, after The General Union of Arab Archeologists has taken an honorable stand towards this tablet through allowing the announcement of this event in its ninth conference held in Cairo, November 11th -12th  of 2006.

Which has resulted in the formation of a special committee with a joint cooperation of the union and the French Institute of Eastern Archeology made up of the following members are:

1. Professor Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Kahlawi, Secretary General, head of the commission

2. Professor Dr. Abdu Fattah Al saeed Albanna, Deputy Manager of Archeology Reservation, (College of Archeology), Cairo University.

3. Professor Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud Al-Azabi, Teacher at The Fine Arts College, engraving section, member of the Plastic Arts Association

4. Engineer Mahran Abdul Aamee’, Director of Radiant Carbon, the French Scientific Institute for Eastern Archeology.

Those members of the commission have investigated the tablet in the United Arab Emirates, taking samples and sending them to the Radiant Carbon Lab in Europe to be tested, thus all the Arab and European lab tests reports testified that this was an original archeological piece.  Here the fundamental issue which poses itself is whether this man in the tablet is prophet Moses (pbuh) and the picture on the opposite side representing Antichrist?

I can confirm that the answer yes. I have used as my references: the Holy Qur’an and the traditions and teachings of prophet Muhammad (pbuh), for they provide a precise description of the prophets and messengers (pbut), and that the descriptions of prophet Moses (pbuh) is completely identical to that which is presented in this tablet.  I don’t think that anyone will be able to refute the hard evidence which I have presented before you.

I hereby with a loud and clear voice call upon scholars as well as those who long for knowledge to inspect the tablet and understand its content so that it would be a lesson for us.  Further, I hope that we in the Islamic world will not turn our backs on this tablet thinking that archeology is of Satan, or another logic that prophets have a sacred nature and shouldn’t be portrayed in pictures or paintings. God has ordered us in many verses of the holy Qur’an to inspect and ponder about the history of previous nations.

As for the logic about the portraying of prophets in pictures, I say yes it is a valid argument.  However, we are facing an archeological tablet which we didn’t make or engrave as in the case of Michael Angelo who engraved a statute of his own imagination and claimed it belonged to prophet Moses (pbuh). Likewise, we have do not draw the prophets in shameful pictures as the Danish and others have done.

We respect the sacred nature of the prophets (pbut), but this should not stop us from reading the tablet in the appropriate manner if it is concerned with God’s  the Almighty’s prophets and messengers.  it is mentioned in the holy Qur’an that prophet Solomon  ordered the making of statutes.  In addition, it was proved that the companions of Muhammad (pbuh) have seen a picture of the prophets in Hercules’ palace in Syria.  Shall we ignore and neglect this tablet because the holy Qur’an has sufficient information.  If we find something that complies with the holy Qur’an, should we also ignore it.  With such logic, we are better off neglecting the corpses of the Pharaoh after he sank in the Nile, where God the Almighty told us, it is a miracle and the same is true for Noah’s ship is the miracle for all mankind.

Ladies and Gentlemen: This tablet is a sign from God  and maybe a reply to those who dare portray these prophets in humiliating pictures, so God is bringing out the true image of these prophets manifested in the picture of Moses (pbuh), and at the other side the picture of Antichrist, the enemy of all the prophets, and those who will follow him are those who plot against the prophets

Ladies and Gentlemen: If Muhammad (pbuh) is the last prophet and messenger, this does not in any way mean that the time of prophets has ended, we are still in an appointment with God’s prophet Jesus Christ (pbuh), who will return to judge in fairness as we were told by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Even if we don’t know the exact date of this great event, our minds and memories are sound enough to help us determine our time location from these events, supported by the teachings of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  It is with great grief that I say that many Muslim scholars do not pay great attention to the events of the end of time; while n the meantime, other scholars are precisely following up and are determined to accelerate its coming.

Ladies and Gentlemen: this issue before us is such a critical one, if not the most critical, the case of Jesus Christ ‘Isa bin Mariam (Jesus the son of Mary) hasn’t been closed yet, some of his followers and believes in the west are waging wars against humankind, which may lead to the great holocausts thinking that by doing that, they will accelerate the second return of Jesus Christ.

Former president Ronald Ragan made the following statement at the White House in 1985: “I believe from the bottom of my heart that the lord is taking care of people like me and you to prepare the world for the return of the king of kings and Jesus Christ.  Political prophecy, p. 194 (Grace H)  In recent years, President George W. Bush said something similar :  “God is guiding his strides or he is to be inspired by the lord, and that his wars  are the wars of crusaders.  We hereby wonder which lord steers the strides of the inspired president?

I believe that the presence of Antichrist in this archeological tablet has a great indication about the hot events in the world and in the Arab world in particular. Before the emergence of Jesus Christ , a very dangerous person with great capabilities will emerge to establish a new world system unifying monotheists and atheists and appointing himself as God of all humankind.  He will succeed in that and ill siege and hunger shall be the result for those who do not obey and follow him; he is Antichrist, the creator of the greatest disturbance in history.

We might imagine what that man could do looking at a smaller version of Antichrist and what he has done, for he has indicated in his communist teachings the first article say (there is no god/lord and life is material).  This person was Karl Marx, who established the Communist system, changing the faiths of a great number of people who followed him in establishing his great communist empire.

God the Most Gracious, has lead us to discover this tablet, which may be a loud cry that would create alertness to the coming event which we in the Islamic world believe will be in the very near future.

At last, I  would like to thank everyone who liked this unique tablet as well as and archeologists who were opposed to me, for I don’t blame them, sine this has been an unprecedented event.  In addition, archeology depends on description and analyzing rather than diagnosing, but since this tablet is concerned with one of God's prophets (pbut), archeologists will not be able to diagnose it because the descriptions of the prophets is presented in the holy books and prophet Muhammad's traditions; whereas archeological archives do not maintain these references.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this wonderful piece of art is kept in private possession in the United Arab Emirates, and what we request from you is not to purchase it from its owners, but rather to respect this unique tablet by accommodating it in a highly honored and elegant museum.

I hereby, add my voice to the generous voices which called for the preservation of this tablet under the supervision of the Arab League, represented by its cultural committees.