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'And the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months' - that is to say, the Gentiles shall govern and control Jerusalem forty and two months, signifying twelve hundred and sixty days; and as each day signifies a year, by this reckoning it becomes twelve hundred and sixty years, which is the duration of the cycle of the Qur'an. (Some Answered Questions 46) (195:2) Although 1,260 years is exactly the number of Islamic years which transpired before the Baha'i era began, the outward correlation 'Abdu'l-Baha presents must be understood in general terms. The Muslims did not conquer and begin to govern Jerusalem until shortly after Muhammad's death. Thus, outwardly, Jerusalem was trodden under foot by the followers of Islam not for 1,260 years, but by a people whose era lasted 1,260 years. The literal treading under foot of Jerusalem was a later outward appearance of the treading under foot of the spiritual city that had already begun. (195:3) As previously mentioned, Christians in the West have commonly understood the Roman assault on Jerusalem to be what Jesus was speaking of when He said: 'But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near' (Luke 21:20). However, to the Christians in the East, the appearance of Islamic armies surrounding Jerusalem must have suggested another possible interpretation. After Jerusalem fell to the Muslims, it is reported that the head patriarch, upon seeing Muslims, in particular the Caliph Omar, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, stated it was the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy concerning the Abomination of Desolation.
(195:4)
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