Introduction...
|
|
Summary of signs
After the lesser signs of the Hour appear and increase, mankind will have reached a stage of great suffering. Then the awaited Mahdi will appear, he is the first of the greater, and clear, signs of the Hour. There will be no doubt about his existence, but this will only be clear to the knowledgeable people. The Mahdi will rule until the False Messiah Al-Masih al Dajjal appears who will spread oppression and corruption. The only ones who will know him well and avoid his evil will be those who have great knowledge and imam.
The false Messiah will remain for a while, destroying mankind completely, and the earth will witness the greatest Fitnah in its history. Then the Messiah Isa(as) will descend, bringing justice from heaven. He will kill the Dajjal, and there will be years of safety and security.
Then the appearance of Yajuj and Majuj will take mankind by surprise, and corruption will overtake them again. In answer to Isa faithful prayer to Allah, they will die, and safety, security, justice and stability will return.
This state of affairs will continue for some years, until the death of Isa The Ulama differ concerning the order in which the other greater signs of the Hour will come about. They are:
-
The destruction of the Ka'ba and the recovery of its treasure.
-
The rising of the sun from the west.
-
The emergence of the Beast from the earth.
-
The smoke.
-
A wind will take the souls of the believers.
-
The Qu'ran will be taken up into heaven.
-
A fire will drive the people to their last gathering place.
-
The Trumpet will be sounded: at the first sound everyone will feel terror, at the second sound all will be struck down; at the last sound all will be resurrected.
Abd'Allah Ibn 'Amr said, "I went to the Prophet
one day
whilst he was performing Wudu' slowly and carefully. He raised
his head, looked at me and said, 'Six things will happen to
this Ummah: the death of your Prophet - 'and when I
heard that I was aghast,' -
this is the first. The second is that your
wealth will increase so much that if a man were given ten
thousand, he would still not be content with it. The third is
that tribulation will enter the house of every one of you. The
fourth is that sudden death will be widespread. The fifth is a
peace-treaty between you and the Romans: they will gather
troops against you for nine months - like a woman's period of
childbearing - then they will be the first to break the
treaty. The sixth is the conquest of a city.' I
asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, which city?' He said,
'Constantinople.'
"
(Ahmad)
Abu Hurayrah said, "The Prophet
Hudhayfah Ibn 'Ubayd said, "The Prophet came upon us whilst, we were busy in discussion He asked us, 'What are you talking about?' We said, 'We are discussing the Hour.' He said, 'It will not come until you see ten signs: the smoke, the Dajjal, the beast, the sun rising from the West, the descent of Jesus son of Mary, Gog and Magog, and three land-slides - one in the East, one in the West, and one in Arabia, at the end of which fire will burst forth from the direction of Aden (Yemen) and drive people to the place of their final assembly.' " (Ahmad)
Destruction of the Kabah
At the end of time, Dhu'l-Suwayqatayn, who will come from Abyssinia (al-Habash), will destroy the Ka'ba in order to steal its treasure and Kiswah (cloth covering). The Ka'ba is the ancient building which was built by Abraham, and whose foundations were laid by Adam. As Tafsir (interpretation) of the Surah 21.Al-Anbiya (The Prophets)
Ayah 96"Until the Gog and Magog (people) are let through (their barrier), and they swiftly swarm from every hill"
, it was reported from Ka'b al-Ahbar that Dhu'l-Suwayqatayn will first emerge at the time of Jesus, son of Mary.
Allah will send Jesus at the head of a vanguard of
between seven and eight hundred. While they are marching
towards Dhu'l-Suwayqatayn, Allah will send a breeze from the direction of Yemen,
which will take the soul of every believer. Only the worst of
people will be left, and they will begin to copulate like
animals. Ka'b said: "At that time, the Hour will be close at
hand." 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr said, "I heard the Prophet say,
'Dhu'l-Suwayqatayn from
Abyssinia will destroy the Ka'ba and steal its treasure and
Kiswah. It is as if I could see him now: he is bald-headed and
has a distortion in his wrists. He will strike the Ka'ba with
his spade and pick-axe.' "
(Ahmad)
It was reported from 'Abdullah Ibn 'Omar that
the Prophet
said,
"Leave the
Abyssinians alone so long as they do not disturb you, for
no-one will recover the treasure of the Ka'ba except
Dhu'l-Suwayqatayn from Abyssinia." (Abu Dawud, in the chapter on
the prohibition of provoking the
Abyssinians)
Ibn 'Abbas narrated that the Prophet said, "It is as if I can see him now: he is black and his legs
are widely spaced. He will destroy the Ka'ba stone by stone." (Ahmad) The Prophet said, "The Hour will not come until a man from Qahtan appears and
rules the people." (Muslim; similar
Hadith in al-Bukhari) This man could be Dhu'l-Suwayq, someone
else, because this man comes from Qahtan, while other reports
say that Dhu'l-Suwayqatayn comes from Abyssinia; and Allah knows best. Abu Hurayrah said, "The Prophet said, 'Day and night will not come to an end until a freed man
called Jahjah holds sway'"
(Ahmad)
This could be the name of Dhul-Suwayqatayn from
Abyssinia; and Allah knows best. 'Omar Ibn al-Khattab reported that
he heard the Prophet say:
"The people of Makkah will leave, and only a few
people will pass through it. Then it will be resettled and
rebuilt; then the people will leave it again, and no-one will
ever return."
Madina will remain inhabited at the time of the Dajjal :
It has been proven in the Saheeh Hadith, as
already stated, that the Dajjal will not be able to enter
Makkah and Madina, and that there will be angels at the gates
of Makkah to ward him off and prevent him from entering. It
was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said,
"Neither the Dajjal nor plague will be able to enter
Madina." As mentioned above, the
Dajjal will camp outside Madina, and it will be shaken by
three tremors. Every hypocrite and sinner will go out to join
the Dajjal, and every believer and Muslim will stay. That day
will be called the Day of Purification (Yawm al-Khalas). Most
of those who go out to join the Dajjal will be women. As the
Prophet said,
"Verily it (Madina) is
good; its evil will be eliminated and its goodness will be
obvious."
Allah said:
Surah 24.An-Noor (The Light), verse 26
"Women impure are for men impure, and men impure for women impure and women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity: these are not affected by what people say: for them there is forgiveness, and a provision honorable"
Madina will remain inhabited during the days of
the Dajjal, and during the time of Jesus son of Mary
until he dies and is buried there. Then it will be destroyed.
'Omar Ibn al-Khattab said, "I heard the Prophet say, 'A
rider will go around Madina and say, There used to be many
Muslims here' " (Ahmad)
(Note: *Dhu'l-Suwayqatayn: al-Suwayqatayn is the diminutive of al-Saqayn (legs); his legs are described as being "small" because they are thin. Thin legs are, in general, a characteristic of the Sudanese and people of the Horn of Africa.)
Emergence of the Beast
It will be very strange in appearance, and extremely huge; one cannot even imagine what it will look like. It will emerge from the earth and shake the dust from its head. It will have with it the ring of Solomon and the rod of Moses. People will be terrified of it and will try to run away, but they will not be able to escape, because such will be the decree of Allah. It will destroy the nose of every unbeliever with the rod, and write the word "Kafir" on his forehead; it will adorn the face of every believer and write the word "Mu'min" (true believer) on his forehead, and it will speak to people.
Allah said Surah 27.An-Naml (The Ant) 82:
"And when the Word is fulfilled against them (the unjust), we shall produce from the earth a beast to (face) them: He will speak to them, for that mankind did not believe with assurance in Our Signs."
Ibn 'Abbas, al-Hasan and Qutadah said that
"It will speak to them" (tukallimuhum) means that it will address them. Ibn Jarir suggested that it means that the Beast will address them with the words Surah 27.An-Naml (The Ant), verse 82:"And when the Word is fulfilled against them (the unjust), we shall produce from the earth a beast to (face) them: He will speak to them, for that mankind did not believe with assurance in Our Signs."
Ibn
Jarir reported this from 'Ali and 'Ata' It was reported from
Ibn 'Abbas that tukallimuhum means that the Beast will cut
them, i e, it will write the word "Kafir" on the forehead of
the unbeliever. It was also reported from Ibn 'Abbas that he
will both address them and cut them; this suggestion
incorporates both of the previous suggestions; and Allah knows best. We have already mentioned the
Hadith of Hudhayfah ibn Usayd, in which the Prophet is reported to
have said, "The Hour will not come until you see ten
signs: the smoke; the Dajjal; the Beast; the sun rising from
the West; the descent of Jesus son of Mary; Gog and Magog; and
three landslides - one in the East, one in the West, and one
in Arabia, at the end of which fire will burst forth from the
direction of Aden (Yemen) and drive people to the place of
their final assembly."
Abu
Hurayrah said: "The Prophet said, 'Hasten to do good deeds before six things happen: the
rising of the sun from the West, the smoke, the Dajjal, the
Beast, the (death) of one of you or general tribulation.'
" (Muslim.) Baridah said: "The Prophet took me to a place in
the desert, near Makkah. It was a dry piece of land surrounded
by sand. The Prophet said,
'The Beast will emerge from this place. It was a very small
area.' " (Ibn Majah)
It
was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said, "The Beast of the Earth will emerge, and will have with it
the rod of Moses and the ring of Solomon."
It was also reported that he said, "(The Beast) will destroy the noses of the unbelievers with
the ring, - so that people seated around one table will begin
to address one another with the words "O Believer!" or "O
Unbeliever!" (i e, everyone's status
will become clear). (Ibn Majah.)
Abdullah ibn 'Amr said, "I memorised a Hadith
from the Prophet which I have not
forgotten since. I heard the Prophet say,
'The first of the signs (of the Hour) to appear will
be the rising of the sun from the West and the appearance of
the Best before the people in the forenoon. Whichever of these
two events happens first, the other will follow immediately.'
" (Muslim).
That is to say, these will be the first extraordinary signs. The Dajjal, the descent of Jesus, the emergence of Gog and Magog, are less unusual in that they are all human beings. But the emergence of the Beast, whose form will be very strange, its addressing the people and classifying them according to their faith or unbelief, is something truly extraordinary. This is the first of the earthly signs, as the rising of the sun from the West is the first of the heavenly signs.
The Rising of the Sun from the west
Allah says,
Surah 6.Al-Anaam (Cattle), verse 158:
"Are they waiting to see if the angels come to them, or thy Lord (Himself), or certain of the signs of thy Lord! the day that certain of the signs of thy Lord do come, no good will it do to a soul to believe in them then if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its faith. Say: "Wait ye: we too are waiting."It
was reported from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Prophet
explained, "The day that certain of the Signs of thy
Lord do come, no good will it do to a soul to believe in them
then...", referring to the rising of
the sun from the West. (Ahmad)
Abu
Hurayrah said, "The Prophet, 'The
Hour will not come until the sun rises from the West. When the
people see it, whoever is living on earth will believe, but
that will be the time when - No good will it do to a soul to
believe in them then, if it believed not before' " (al-Bukhari)
It was also reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet
said, "The Hour will not come until the sun rises from the West.
When it rises and the people see it, they will all believe.
But that will be the time when 'No good will it do to a soul
to believe in them then'" (al-Bukhari)
It
was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said,
"There are three things which, if they appear, 'No good
will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed
not before nor earned righteousness through its faith' They
are: the rising of the sun from the West, the Dajjal, and the
Beast of the Earth." (Ahmad, Muslim,
at-Tirmidhi.)
Abu
Dharr said, "The Prophet asked me,
'Do you know where the sun goes when it
sets?' I said, 'I do not know'
He said, 'It travels until it prostrates itself beneath the
Throne, and asks for permission to rise again. But a time will
come when it will be told, 'Go back whence you came.' That
will be the time when 'No good will it do to a soul to believe
in them then, if it believed not before nor earned
righteousness through its faith' "
(al-Bukhari)
'Amr Ibn Jarir said, "Three Muslims were sitting with Marwan in Madina, and heard him say, whilst talking about the Signs of the Hour, that the first of them would be the appearance of the Dajjal. The three went to 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr, and told him what they had heard Marwan say concerning the Signs. 'Abdullah said, 'Marwan has not said much.
I
memorised a Hadith like that from the Prophet which I have not
forgotten since. I heard the Prophet say: "The first of the signs will be the rising of the sun from
the West, and the emergence of the Beast in the forenoon.
Whichever of the two comes first, the other will follow
immediately"
Then 'Abdullah, who was widely-read, said, 'I think that the first to happen will be the rising of the sun from the West. Every time it sets, it goes beneath the Throne, prostrates itself, and seeks permission to rise again. A time will come when three times it will seek permission and will receive no reply, until, when part of the night has passed and it realises that even if it were given permission, it would not be able to rise on time, it will say: "O my Lord, how far the rising-point is from me! What can I do for the people now?" Then it will seek permission to go back, and it will be told: 'Rise from where you are now' - and it will rise from the West'" Then 'Abdullah recited the Ayah: "No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its faith." (Ahmad)
Some scholars interpret "the rising of the sun from the West" as meaning that Islam will appear in the West, as strong as it was in the beginning, and that the people of the West will carry the flag of Islam.
The Smoke
Masruq said: "While a man was giving a speech among the people of Kindah, he said, 'There will be smoke on the Day of Resurrection which will deprive the hypocrites of their hearing and sight, but the believers will only suffer something like a cold' We were terrified, so we went to Ibn Masud, who was reclining. When he heard about this, he became angry and sat up, and said: 'O people, whoever knows a thing, let him say it; but whoever does not know, let him say, "Allah knows best." It is a part of knowledge, when one does not know something, to say "Allah knows best."
Allah
said to His Prophet Mohammad Surah 38.Sad (The Letter Sad),
verse
86:
"Say: "No reward do I ask of you for this (Qu'ran), nor am I a pretender."
"Quraysh were being slow in embracing Islam, so
the Prophet prayed against
them, saying,
Abu
Sufyan came and said, 'O Mohammad! You came to command us
to keep good relations with our relatives, and your people
have perished, so pray that Allah may relieve them'" The Ibn Mas'ud recited,
"Then watch thou for the Day that the sky will bring forth a
kind of smoke (or mist) plainly visible, Enveloping the
people: this will be a Penalty Grievous. (They will say:) Surah 44.Ad-Dukhan
(Smoke), verse
10, 11, 12, 13, 14 &
15:
" Then watch thou for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke (or mist) plainly visible, Enveloping the people: this will be a Penalty Grievous. (They will say:) "Our Lord! remove the Penalty from us, for we do really believe!" How shall the message be (effectual) for them, seeing that an Apostle explaining things clearly has (already) come to them,- Yet they turn away from him and say: "Tutored (by others), a man possessed!" We shall indeed remove the Penalty for a while, (but) truly ye will revert (to your ways)."
Ibn Maud asked: "Will their punishment in the Hereafter be removed so they can go back to their Kufr?" Allah said Surah 44.Ad-Dukhan (Smoke), verse 16: "One day We shall seize you with a mighty onslaught: We will indeed (then) exact Retribution!"
And Allah said Surah 25.Al-Furqan (The Criterion), verse 77: "Say (to the Rejecters): "My Lord is not uneasy because of you if ye call not on Him: But ye have indeed rejected (Him), and soon will come the inevitable (punishment)!"
These Ayat refer to the Day (Battle) of Badr. Allah said Surah 30.Ar-Room (The Romans), verse 1, 2 & 3: " Alif-Lam-Mim. The Roman Empire has been defeated- In a land close by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious-" (al-Bukhari)
This speaker's suggestion - that the idea that the smoke would be on the Day or Resurrection was not a good one - made Ibn Masud react angrily. But the smoke will appear before the Day of Resurrection; it will be one of the signs, which are: the Beast, the Dajjal, the Smoke, and Gog and Magog, as the Hadith narrated from Abu Sarihah, Abu Hurayrah and other Sahabah indicate. As mentioned in the Sahih Hadith, the fire which will appear before the Day of Resurrection will burst forth from the direction of Aden, and drive the people to the place of their final assembly. It will move with them and halt with them, and will devour any who lag behind.
Evil on the last days
'Abdullah Ibn 'Omar said, "The Prophet came to us and said,
'O Muhajirun, (emigrants from Makkah to al-Madina) you may be afflicted by five things; Allah forbid that you should live to see them. If fornication should become widespread, you should realise that this has never happened without new diseases befalling the people which their forebears never suffered. If people should begin to cheat in weighing out goods, you should realise that this has never happened without drought and famine befalling the people, and their rulers oppressing them. If people should withhold Zakat, you should realise that this has never happened without the rain being stopped from falling; and were it not for the animals' sake, it would never rain again. If people should break their covenant with Allah and His Messenger, you should realise that his has never happened without Allah sending an enemy against them to take some of their possessions by force. If the leaders do not govern according to the Book of Allah, you should realise that this has never happened without Allah making them into groups and making them fight one another.' " (Ibn Majah).'Ali
Ibn Abi Talib said, "The Prophet said:
'If my Ummah bears fifteen traits, tribulation will
befall it.' Someone asked, 'What are
they, O Messenger of Allah?' He said,
'When any gain is shared out only among the rich,
with no benefit to the poor; when a trust becomes a means of
making a profit; when paying Zakat becomes a burden; when a
man obeys his wife and disobeys his mother; and treats his
friend kindly whilst shunning his father; when voices are
raised in the mosques; when the leader of a people is the
worst of them; when people treat a man with respect because
they fear some evil he may do; when much wine is drunk; when
men wear silk; when female singers and musical instruments
become popular; when the last ones of this Ummah curse the
first ones - then let them expect a red wind, or the earth to
swallow them, or to be transformed into animals.'" (at-Tirmidhi)
'Ali Ibn Abi Talib said, "The Prophet led us in praying Salat al-Fajr (the morning prayer). When he had finished, a man called to him: 'When will the Hour be? The Prophet reprimanded him and said 'Be quiet!' After a while he raised his eyes to the sky and said, 'Glorified be the One Who raised it and is taking care of it.' Then he lowered his gaze to the earth and said, 'Glory be to the One Who has outspread it and has created it.' Then the Prophet said, 'Where is the one who asked me about the Hour?' The man knelt down and said, 'I asked you.' The Prophet said, 'The Hour will come when leaders are oppressors, when people believe in the stars and reject al-Qadar (the Divine Decree of destiny) when a trust becomes a way of making a profit, when people give to charity (Sadaqah) reluctantly, when adultery becomes widespread - when this happens, then your people will perish.'"
'Imran Ibn Husayn said, "The Prophet
said,
'Some people of
this Ummah will be swallowed up by the earth, some will be
transformed into animals, and some will be bombarded with
stones.' One of the Muslims asked,
'When will that be, O Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'When singers and musical instruments will become popular,
and much wine will be drunk.'" (Narrated by at-Tirmidhi)
(Note: "The main body of the Muslims
(al-Jama'ah) means the people of the Qu'ran, Hadith, Fiqh and
other sciences, who have agreed to follow the Traditions of
the Prophet
It
was reported from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Prophet said,
"Thunderbolts will increase so much as the Hour
approaches that when a man comes to a people, he will ask,
'Who amongst you was struck by a thunderbolt this morning?'
and they will say, 'So-and-so and so-and-so was struck.' " (Ahmad)
Heavy rain before the Day of Resurrection
It
was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said,
"The hour will not come until there has been rain
which will destroy all dwellings except tents."
We have already mentioned many hadith about the signs of the Hour. Now we will turn our attention to some hadith which could indicate that the Hour is close at hand.
It
was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said: "The Hour will not come until the following events have
come to pass: people will compete with one another in
constructing high buildings; two big groups will fight one
another, and there will be many casualties - they will both be
following the same religious teaching; earthquakes will
increase; time will pass quickly; afflictions and killing will
increase; nearly thirty dajjals will appear, each of them
claiming to be a messenger from Allah; a man will pass by a
grave and say, 'Would that I were in your place'; the sun will
rise from the West; when it rises and the people see it, they
will all believe, but that will be the time when
'It is He Who hath
sent His Apostle with guidance and the Religion of Truth, to
proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may
detest (it).'
; and a wealthy man will worry
lest no-one accept his Zakat."
(al-Bukhari, Muslim)
It
was reported from Anas that the Prophet said: "Among the signs of the Hour are the following: knowledge
will decrease and ignorance will prevail; fornication and the
drinking of wine will be common; the number of men will
decrease and the number of women will increase, until one man
will look after fifty women."
(al-Bukhari) 'Aisha
said, "I heard the Prophet say,
'Day and night will not pass away until people begin to
worship Lat and 'Uzza' (two goddesses
of pre-Islamic Arabic). I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, I thought that when Allah revealed the Ayah 33 of Surah
9.At-Tawba
(Repentance) "It is He Who hath
sent His Apostle with guidance and the Religion of Truth, to
proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may
detest (it)." , it
implied that (this promise) would be fulfilled'. The Prophet said, 'It will happen as Allah wishes. Then Allah will send a
pleasant breeze, which will take everyone who has as much
faith as a grain of mustard-seed in his heart. Only those with
no goodness in them will be left, and they will revert to the
religion of their forefathers'." (Muslim)
It
was from Abu Hurayrah that one day, while the Prophet was sitting with the
people, a Bedouin came to him and asked him about Iman and
Islam, then he asked, "O Messenger of Allah, when will the Hour be?" He said, "The one who is asked about it does not know more than the
one who asks, but I tell you about its signs. When a slave
gives birth to her mistress, and when the bare-footed and
naked become the chiefs of the people - these are among the
signs of the Hour. There are five things which no-one knows
except Allah."
Then he recited Surah 31.Luqman (Luqman), verse 34 :
"Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). It is He Who sends down rain, and He Who knows what is in the wombs. Nor does any one know what it is that he will earn on the morrow: Nor does any one know in what land he is to die. Verily with Allah is full knowledge and He is acquainted (with all things)."
Then the man went away, and the Prophet said, "Call him back to me," but when the people went to call
him, they could not see anything. The
Prophet said, "That was Gabriel, who came to teach the people their
religion." (al-Bukhari,
Muslim).
This is as in the Hadith we shall see
later: "The Hour will not come until the happiest
people in the world will be the depraved sons of the
depraved." It was reported from Abu
Sa'id that the Prophet said:
"The Hour will not come until the time when a man
will leave his home, and his shoes or whip or stick will tell
what is happening to his family." (Ahmad)
It
was reported from Abu Sa'id that the Prophet said:
"By Him in Whose hand is my soul, the Hour will not
come until wild animals talk to men, and a man speaks to his
whip or his shoe, and his thigh will tell him about what
happened to his family after he left." Anas said, "We were discussing the fact that the
Hour would not come until there is no rain, the earth does not
produce crops, and fifty women will be cared for by one man;
and if a woman passes by a man, he will look at her and say,
'This woman once had a husband'." (Ahmad)
Abu
Hurayrah said: "The Prophet said: 'The Hour will not come until time passes so quickly that a
year will be like a month, a month like a week, a week like a
day, a day like an hour, and an hour like the time it takes
for a palm-leaf to burn'." (Ahmad)
Abu
Hurayrah said, "The Prophet said:
'The world will not pass away until the one who
enjoys it the most is the depraved son of the depraved'."
(Ahmad)
Abu
Hurayrah said, "The Prophet said, 'Before the Hour comes, there will be years of deceit, in
which a truthful person will be disbelieved and a liar will be
believed; and the insignificant will have a say'." (Ahmad)
Abu
Hurayrah said: "I heard the Prophet say:
'The Hour will not come until the sheep with horns
no longer fights the sheep without horns'." (Ahmad)
It
was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said, "The Hour will not come until wealth increases so much that
a wealthy man will be worried lest no-one accept his Sadaqah:
tribulations will appear; and there will be much Harj." The people asked, "What is Harj", O
Messenger of Allah?" He said,
"Killing, killing"
(Ahmad)
It
was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said, "By Him Who sent me with the Truth, this earth will not
pass away until people are afflicted with landslides, are
pelted with stones, and are transformed into animals."
The people asked, "When will that be,
O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "When you see women riding
in the saddle, when singers are common, when bearing false
witness becomes widespread, and when men lie with men and
women with women".
Tariq
ibn Shihab said, "We were sitting with 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud,
when a man came and told us that the time for prayer had come.
So we got up and went to the mosque. After the prayer, a man
came to 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and said, 'As-salam 'alekoum
(Peace be upon you), O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman'. 'Abdullah
answered, 'Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth'. When
we went back, we asked one another, 'Did you hear the answer
he gave? Who is going to ask him about it? I said, 'I will ask
him'; so I asked him when he came out.
He
narrated from the Prophet: 'Before
the Hour comes, there will be a special greeting for the
people of distinction; trade will become so widespread that a
woman will help her husband in business; family ties will be
cut; the giving of false witness will be common, while
truthful witness will be rare; and writing will be
widespread.' (Ahmad)
Description end of times
It
was reported from 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr that the Prophet said,
'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud said, "I heard the Prophet say:
Eloquence can be bewitching; the worst of the people
are those upon whom the Hour will come while they are still
alive, and those who turn graves into mosques'." (Ahmad)
It
was reported from Anas that the Prophet said, "The Hour will not come until no-one on earth says 'La
ilaha illa Allah'." (Ahmad) It was
also reported from Anas that the Prophet said:
"The Hour will not come until no-one on earth says,
'Allah, Allah'."
(Ahmad) There are two
suggestions as to the meaning of the phrase, "until
no-one on earth says 'Allah, Allah'":
1. It could mean that no-one will forbid evil, or try to correct another if he sees him doing something wrong. We have already come across this in the Hadith of 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr: "Only the worst people will be left; they will not know any good or forbid any evil."
2. It
could mean that Allah will no longer be mentioned, and His Name will
not be known; this will be part of the prevalent corruption
and Kufr, as in the previous Hadith,
"Until no-one
on earth says 'La ilaha illa Allah'."
'Aisha said. "The Prophet came in, saying 'O
'Aisha, your people will be the first of my Ummah to join
me. When he sat down, I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, may I be sacrificed for you! When you came in,
you were saying something which scared me. He asked, 'What was that?'
I said, 'You said
that my people would be the first of your Ummah to join you.'
He said, 'Yes' I asked, 'Why is that? He said, 'Death will be widespread among them, and their relatives
will be jealous of them.' I said, 'How
will people be after that?' He said, 'Like locusts:
the strong will devour the weak, until the Hour comes.'
" (Ahmad)
'Alba'al-Salami said, "I heard the Prophet say: 'The Hour will only come upon the worst of the
people'." (Ahmad)
About the final hours
Allah said:
Surah 79.An-Naziat (Those Who Drag Forth), verse 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46
They ask thee about the Hour,-‘When will be its appointed time? Wherein art thou (concerned) with the declaration there of? With thy Lord in the Limit fixed there for. Though art but a Warner for such as fear it. The Day they see it, (It will be) as if they had tarried but a single evening, or (at most till) the following morn! When they repented, and saw that they had erred, they said: "If our Lord have not mercy upon us and forgive us, we shall indeed be of those who perish."
There are many Ayats and Hadiths concerning this subject: Allah said:
Surah 54.Al-Qamar (The Moon), verse 1
The Hour (of Judgment) is nigh, and the moon is cleft asunder.
The Prophet said, whilst pointing with his index and
middle fingers,
In another report he said, “The Hour almost came before me.” This indicates how close we are, relatively speaking, to the Hour.
Allah said:
Surah 21.Al-Anbiya (The Prophets), verse 1
Closer and closer to mankind comes their Reckoning: yet they heed not and they turn away.
Surah 16.An-Nahl (The Bee), verse 1
(Inevitable) cometh (to pass) the Command of Allah: seek ye not then to hasten it: Glory to Him, and far is He above having the partners they ascribe unto Him!
Surah 48.Al-Fath (Victory), verse 18
Allah’s Good Pleasure was on the Believers when they swore Fealty to thee under the Tree: He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down Tranquillity to them; and He rewarded them with a speedy Victory;
In Sahih al-Bukhari, there is a Hadith which
states that a Bedouin asked the Prophet about the Hour. He said,
said,
“You will be with those you
love.” The Muslims had never rejoiced
as much they did when they heard this
Hadith.
Some Hadith report that the Prophet was asked about the Hour. He looked towards a
young boy and said, “If he lives, he will not grow
very old before he sees your Last Hour coming to you.”
By this he meant their death and entering
the Hereafter, because everyone who dies enters the Hereafter;
some people say that when a person has died, his Judgement has
begun. This Hadith with this meaning is "correct" (Sahih).
Some heretics comment on this Hadith and give it an incorrect
meaning.
The exact timing of the
Great Hour is something which Allah alone knows and which He
has not revealed to anyone, as is clear from the Hadith in
which the Prophet said:
“There are five things which nobody knows except Allah;”
then he recited,
Surah 31.Luqman, verse 34
“Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). It is He Who sends down rain, and He Who knows what is in the wombs. Nor does anyone know what it is that he will earn on the morrow: Nor does anyone know in what land he is to die. Verily with Allah is full knowledge and He is acquainted (with all things).”
When Jibril came to the Prophet in the guise of a Bedouin, he asked him about
Islam, Imam and Ishan and the Prophet answered his questions. But when he asked him
about the Hour, he said,
described
them, as we shall see later when we quote this Hadith and
others in full.
Hudhayfah said: “The Prophet stood up one day to speak to us,
and told us everything that was going to happen until the
Hour, and left nothing unsaid. Some of the listeners learnt it
by heart, and some forgot it; these friends of mine learnt it.
I do not remember it completely, but sometimes it springs to
mind, just as one might remember and recognise the face of a
man whom one had forgotten, when one sees him.”
(Abu Dawud, Muslim)
Imam Ahmad reported via Abu Nudrah that Abu Said
said: “One day the Prophet led us in
praying the afternoon prayer (Salat-’Asr). Then he stood and
addressed us until sunset. He mentioned everything that was to
happen until the Day of Resurrection, and left nothing unsaid.
Some of us remembered it, and some of us forgot it.
One of the things he said was: ‘O
people, this world is full of attractive temptations. Allah
has appointed you as vicegerents (Khalifa) in this world, and
He will see how you will act. So guard yourselves against the
temptations of this world and of women.’
Towards the end of this speech, he said,
‘The sun is about to set, and what remains of this
world, compared to what has passed, is like what remains of
this day compared to what has passed.’ ”
'Ali Ibn Zayd Ibn Jad’an al-Timi narrated some Gharib and Munkar Hadith which could bring into question the validity of this Hadith. But there are some reports which are similar to this Hadith, and which were transmitted with different isnads. Part of this Hadith is in Sahih Muslim, through Abu Nudrah on the authority of Abu Said. This Hadith refers to something which is beyond any doubt: what remains of this world, compared to what has passed, is very little. In spite of that, no one can know exactly how much time is left except Allah, and no one can know exactly how much time has passed, except Allah.
