The Hadith of White house (Arabic: حديث البيت الابيض) is an apocalyptic prophecy of Jihad by the prophet of Islam, Muhammad (ﷺ) which will be fulfilled towards the end of time resulting in the subjugation of the white house by Muslims.[1]
Prophecy[]
In the Hadith collections, the prophet is reported to have said:
"The final hour will not come until the Muslims conquer the white house."
(Al-Tabarani) [2]
“A small portion of Muslims will rise and conquer the White House.”
(Al-Tabarani, Musnad al-Imaam Ahmad) [2]
Interpretation[]
Some scholars believe that this Hadith refers to the palace of the Persian ruler which was conquered during the time of caliph Umar (رضي الله عنه) while others say that white house means the U.S. Executive Mansion since the Hadith refers to the end of time [3] [4].
When determining which target to attack, al Qaeda and other of its ilk consider a potential target's symbolic value as an important criterion. The White House, the concrete symbol of the U.S. presidency, is the kind of symbolic target that would most appeal to jihadists. The reference to a white house in al-Tabarani's hadith only makes the U.S. Executive Mansion that much more attractive.[5]