Investigating Ibn Barrajan’s Prediction of the Time of the Conquest of Jerusalem

Predicting historical events is one of the most important topics in historical studies. Ibn Zaki al-Din announced the conquest of Jerusalem in the month of Rajab to Saladin, saying that he derived this prediction from Ibn Barrajan's commentary on the early verses of the Surah Ar-Rum. The purpose of this study is to examine Ibn Barrajan's prediction of the time of the conquest of Jerusalem and how it was calculated. The method of this study is descriptive-analytical and based on library resources.The basis of Ibn Barrajan's prediction is the contemplation of the verses of the Holy Quran with a mystical approach. He predicts with the application of the theory of "Dawa’ir al-Taqdir" (cycles of determination). He views 1000-month cycles and 7-based cycles as important cycles. In his view, these verses state three victories in Jerusalem: Victory of Muslims in the time of the Second Caliph, Victory of Christians in 489 A.H., and the victory of the Muslims in the fourth month of 584 A.H. (End of the 7000 lunar months). He also believes that these verses herald the final victory of Muslims with the advent of the Mahdi (A.S.). His prediction of the conquest of Jerusalem happened a year earlier than the appointed time. Also, his prediction of the advent of Imam Mahdi (A.S.) did not come true at the time of the conquest of Jerusalem.