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 XYZ. 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 XYZ 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.