Signs of the Hour
Since 2012-11-11
Belief in the Last Day and the reward and punishment it will bring is one of the basic pillars of faith in Islam.
All praise is due to Allah, who endues with honor those who obey and fear Him and humiliates those who disobey His Ordinances. I praise Him for His Ever-Generosity and for all the Blessings and Graces He has bestowed on us. I bear witness that there is no God except Allah, to Whom there is no partner. We have no deity but Him, and we worship none but Him. And I witness that our Prophet, Muhammad, is His slave and Messenger, whom He chose to be the ever best slave and Messenger. O Allah! Confer Your Peace and Blessings upon him, upon his family and Companions, and upon followers of his guidance.
Belief in the Last Day and the reward and punishment it will bring is one of the basic pillars of faith in Islam. Allah, Exalted be He, has made certain signs that precede and signal the approach of the Hour. Your Prophet emphatically expressed the graveness of the Hour; when he mentioned it, his face would go red out of awe, his voice would rise, and his speech would be full of passion. He always described it and reminded people of it. Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) were preoccupied with the events of the Hour. Hudhaifa reported, “Once the Prophet came out to us when we were discussing. He asked: ‘What are you discussing?’ We said, ‘We are talking about the Hour.’” [Reported by Muslim]
«اطلع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم علينا ونحن نتذاكر. فقال:ما تذاكرون؟ قالوا: نذكر الساعة» رواه مسلم
With the Prophet keeping on reminding them of it and with successive Qur’anic verses telling about its imminence, Companions were afraid it would befall them.
Many of the signs of the Hour have already been noticed, exactly as told by the Prophet. Muslims now believe more and more in him and in the truthfulness of his prophecies; with every evidence or sign showing that the Hour is coming, his Prophethood is more corroborated and Muslims find more motivation to stick to the teachings of such perfect religion in preparation to meet the Hour. Allah says, {The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder (This was the miracle that Prophet Muhammad showed the people of Mecca when they asked him to give them some evidence on his Prophethood).} [Surat Al-Qamar: 1]
{اقتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ القَمَرُ} القمر: 1
Transliteration: Iqtarabati as-saatu wa inshaqqa al-qamar
Once the major signs of the Hour have started to emerge, they follow in succession, like beads falling one after another from a necklace once the thread is cut. The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, said: “Whatever of them (i.e., the signs of the Hour) occurs first, it will be soon followed by the other.” [Reported by Muslim]
«وأيهما كانت قبل صاحبتها فالأخرى على إثرها قريبًا» رواه مسلم
Another hadith documented in Al-Musnad reads: “Signs (of the Hour) are like beads fastened together by a thread. Once the thread is cut, they fall one after another.” [Deemed authentic by Al-Albani]
«الآيات خرزات منظومات في سلك فإن يقطع السلك يتبع بعضها بعضًا» رواه أحمد وصححه الألباني
O Muslims!
Among the signs of the Hour is the mission of Prophet Muhammad. He prayers and peace of Allah be upon him said: “I and the Hour have been sent together. It could have even preceded me.” [Reported by Ibn Hajar with a good chain of narrators]
«بعثت أنا والساعة جميعاً وإن كادت لتسبقني» رواه ابن حجر بإسناد حسن
They also include the Prophet’s death: When he died, Companions felt so much grief that they thought as if it were the end of the world. A third sign is the occurrence of huge turmoil, when the truth will be confused with falsehood, when faith will be put to a grueling test, and when a person will pass by a grave and lie over it saying, “Would that I were in the place of the occupant of this grave (i.e., dead)!” He will say so only because of widespread mischief and severe trials of this world.
Ibn Masud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “There will come unto you a time when if one of you finds death offered for sale, he will buy it.” The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, said: “Just prior to the Hour, tribulations will come like patches of dark night, when a man will wake up as a believer and by evening he will be a disbeliever, or in the evening he will be a disbeliever and by morning he will be a believer.” [Reported by Ibn Majah, Deemed authentic by Al-Albani]
«إن بين يدي الساعة فتنا كقطع الليل المظلم يصبح الرجل فيها مؤمنا ويمسي كافرا ويمسي مؤمنا ويصبح كافرا» رواه ابن ماجه وصححه الألباني
Calamity will afflict the final generations of this Ummah. The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, said: “Indeed, the best of your Ummah is the earliest of it, and the last generations of it will be afflicted by calamity and things that you censure. A tribulation will come and then vanish by itself. A tribulation will come and a believer will say, ‘This is my doom’. Then, it will clear away. A tribulation will come and a believer will say, ‘It is this (that will destroy me)’. So, who likes to be driven away from Hell (fire) and enter Paradise should try to die while believing in Allah and the Last Day.” [Reported by Muslim]
«وإن أمتكم هذه جعل عافيتها في أولها، وسيصيب آخرها بلاء وأمور تنكرونها، وتجيء فتنة فيرقق بعضها بعضها، وتجيء الفتنة فيقول المؤمن: هذه مهلكتي، ثم تنكشف. وتجيء الفتنة فيقول المؤمن: هذه هذه. فمن أحب أن يزحزح عن النار ويدخل الجنة، فلتأته منيته وهو يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر» رواه مسلم
O Muslims!
Signs of the Hour include increase of earthquakes and occurrence of three landslides: one in the east, one in the west, and one in the Arab Peninsula. Wild animals will speak to people, and man will speak to the hand of his whip and the sole of his shoes, and his thigh will tell him what his wife will do after his death. Time will pass so quickly that a year will be like a month, a month will be like a week, a week will be like a day, a day will be like an hour, and an hour will be like the burning of a braid of palm leaves. Men will decrease, that for every 50 women there will be just one custodian.
There will appear Gog and Magog. In the Two Authentic Books of Hadith, Zainab Bint Jahsh narrated that the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, once entered upon her in an agitated state and said: “There is no God except Allah! Woe to the Arabs from an evil that has approached! Today a hole like this has been opened in the barrier of Gog and Magog”, and he made a circle with his thumb and forefinger. [Agreed upon]
«لا إله إلا الله ويل للعرب من شر قد اقترب، فتح اليوم من ردم يأجوج ومأجوج مثل هذه وحلق بأصبعيه الإبهام والتي تليها» متفق عليه
In addition, knowledge will decrease and ignorance proliferate to the degree that people will not know the obligatory rituals of Islam. The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, said: “Islam will wear like the embroideries of a garment wear, that it will not be known what is Salah, fasting, sacrifice, or charity. The Book of Allah will be raised in one night, that there will not remain of it on earth a single verse. Then, the elderly will say, ‘We saw our predecessors saying this word. They said, There is no God except Allah, and we say it as they said it’.” [Authenticated by Al-Albani]
«يدرس الإسلام كما يدرس وشي الثوب، حتى لا يدرى ما صيام ولا صلاة ولا نسك ولا صدقة، ويُسرى على كتاب الله في ليلة فلا يبقى في الأرض منه آية، وتبقى طوائف من الناس الشيخ الكبير والعجوز يقولون: أدركنا آباءنا على هذه الكلمة يقولون لا إله إلا الله فنحن نقولها» صححه الألباني
Furthermore, sanctities will be disrespected, and religious prohibitions will be unobserved. People will drink alcohol and practice adultery. Stinginess will be implanted in people’s hearts, and killing will be so widespread that the killer will not know why he kills and the victim will not know why he is killed. The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, was asked: “How can this be, O Allah’s Messenger?” The Prophet replied, “Both the killer and the killed will be put into Hell (fire).” [Reported by Muslim]
«لا تذهب الدنيا حتى يأتي على الناس يوم، لا يدري القاتل فيما قتل. ولا المقتول فيم قتل. فقيل: كيف يكون ذلك ؟ قال: الهرج. القاتل والمقتول في النار» رواه مسلم
People will be so attached to this world, erect huge buildings, and reject Allah’s religion. Polytheism will appear in this Ummah, and communities from it will join the polytheists. The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, said: “The Hour will not come until tribes of my Ummah join the polytheists and tribes of my Ummah worship idols.” [Reported by Abu Dawood and authenticated by Al-Albani]
«لا تقوم الساعة حتى تلحق قبائل من أمتي بالمشركين وحتى تعبد قبائل من أمتي الأوثان» رواه أبو داود وصححه الألباني
Once it becomes unattached to its religion and renounces its Shari’ah, the Ummah will go astray and seek guidance away from the heavenly revelation. The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, said: “The Hour will not come until my Ummah adopts what predecessors of last centuries adopted, span to span and cubit to cubit (i.e., precisely and blindly)” [Reported by Al-Bukhari].
«لا تقوم الساعة حتى تأخذ أمتي بأخذ القرون قبلها شبراً بشبر وذراعاً بذراع» رواه البخاري
Charlatanry and deceit will prevail, and there will appear nearly 30 allegers of Prophethood. Good traits will disappear among people, and trusts will so hardly be fulfilled that it will be said: “In the people of so-and-so, there is a trustable person.” A man will be described, “What a wise, nice, rational and patient man”, while his heart is free from any slightest trace of faith” [Reported by Al-Bukhari].
«إن في بني فلان رجلاً أميناً، ويقال للرجل: ما أعقله وما أظرفه وما أجلده وما في قلبه مثقال حبة خردل من إيمان» رواه البخاري
Another aspect of breach of trust is that responsibilities will be assigned to those who are not qualified to undertake them. The Hour will not come until Madina will expel filth, just as a bellows expels rust from iron, and Madina will be deserted in spite of its being in a better condition, except for wild beasts and birds. The last unto whom the Hour will come are two shepherds from the tribe of Muzainah, who will reach Madina driving their sheep, but they will find it full of wild beasts (but no people) and will then depart until they arrive at Thaniyyat Al-Wada’ (a hill on the outskirts of Madina), where they will fall on their faces (i.e., die).
O Muslims!
All through the time since the creation of Adam till the occurrence of the Hour, there is nothing graver than the mischief of the Antichrist, and there is not a Prophet who did not warn his nation against him. The Prophet prayers and peace of Allah be upon him sought Allah’s refuge against him in every Salah and kept mentioning him to his Companions. An-Nawwas Ibn Sam’an (May Allah be pleased with him) reported, “We thought he was on the palm trees (i.e., so nearby). When we went to him (i.e., the Prophet), he perceived fear on our faces. He said, ‘What is the matter with you?’ We said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! You talked about the Antichrist this morning, raising and lowering your voice that we thought he was hiding in the palm-tree grove.’ He said: ‘Something other than the Antichrist makes me worry about you. If he appears while I am with you, I will defend you against him. But if he appears after I die, then every one of you is the defender of himself. Allah is the One Who remains after me to guide every Muslim.’” [Reported by Muslim]
«حتى ظنناه في طائفة النخل فلما رحنا إليه عرف ذلك فينا فقال: ما شأنكم، قلنا: يا رسول الله ذكرت الدجال الغداة فخفضت فيه ورفعت حتى ظنناه في طائفة النخل، فقال: غير الدجال أخوفني عليكم، إن يخرج وأنا فيكم فأنا حجيجة دونكم، وإن يخرج ولست فيكم فامروء حجيج نفسه، والله خليفتي على كل مسلم» رواه مسلم
In the absence of religion and knowledge, the misguiding Antichrist will come from the east, and people will run away from him seeking shelter in the mountains. He will move all over the earth, and there will be no land that he will not trample except Makka and Madina, as Allah has forbidden him from entering them; every time he will try to enter them, he will be met by an angel holding an unsheathed sword in his hand and keeping him out, and at every passage of the passages into them there will be angels defending them. Madina will be shaken three times, and from it will be expelled every disbeliever and hypocrite, who will go to the pond in the cliff. Most of those who will go out will be women, that a man will bind his wife, mother, daughter, sister, and aunt lest they may go out to the Antichrist.
O Muslims!
The Antichrist will bring with him a drastic turmoil, and with him will be two running rivers, one of which will appear to the eye as clear water and the other as burning fire. The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, said: “He from amongst you who happens to face him should go to that which he sees as fire, close his eyes, lower his head, and drink from it, for that will be nice and sweet water.” [Reported by Muslim]
«فإما أدركن أحد فليأت النهر الذي يراه ناراً وليغمص ثم ليطأطئ رأسه فيشرب منه فإنه ماء بارد» رواه مسلم
That which people will consider to be water will in fact be a burning fire. This will be a test from Allah to His servants, by brining with the Antichrist supernatural matters and enabling him to do things that are in the Capacity of Allah only, such as giving life to the man that he would kill and bringing wealth, fertility, garden and fire, the two above-mentioned rivers. He will take out treasures of the earth and make them follow him. He will give command to the sky and it will send its rain upon the earth, and he will send his command to the earth and it will grow vegetation. Those who will not respond to him will suffer from loss of wealth, sterility of land, drought, and death of people and cattle. All that will happen only by Allah’s Power and Will, then Allah will disable the Antichrist, who will be unable to give life to the man that he would kill or to do anything else.
The Antichrist will be a trial from Allah to the people of last generations, by whom Allah will guide many and mislead many. Those doubtful will disbelieve in Allah, and believers will be more certain in their faith. He will stay on the earth for 40 days. One day will be like a year, one day like a month, one day like a week, and the rest of his days will be like your days. His walk upon the earth will be as quick as a cloud driven by the wind.
The Prophet described the Antichrist as a ruddy-complexioned, well-built young man with a wide forehead, broad upper-chest, hunchback, and thick and curly hair. He will be one-eyed, with his eye looking like a floating grape, and sterile. Tamim Ad-Dari described the Antichrist as “the most enormous man we had ever seen, fettered with the most chains we had ever seen.” [Muslim]
«أعظم إنسان رأيناه قط خلقا. وأشده وثاقا» رواه مسلم
Imam As-Safarini (may Allah confer mercy upon him) wrote, “Every scholars should disseminate the hadiths talking about the Antichrist among boys, girls, and men, especially disseminate in our time when temptations and tribulations have become widespread”.
Protection against the Antichrist comes by adherence to Islam and faith and assimilation of Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes, in light of the teachings of Allah’s Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger. The Antichrist is a human being who eats and drinks, and Allah is highly Exalted from this. The Antichrist is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed. The Antichrist is seen by all people, believers and disbelievers, while Allah cannot be seen by anyone in this world.
O Muslims!
Keep asking for Allah’s refuge against the mischief of the Antichrist, and he amongst you who survives to see him should recite over him the opening verses of Surah Al-Kahf (i.e., The Cave). In a hadith narrated by Muslim, the Prophet said, “Whoever memorizes ten verses from the beginning of Surah Al-Kahf will be protected from the Antichrist.”
«من حفظ عشر آيات من أول سورة الكهف عُصم من الدجال»رواه مسلم
If you hear that the Antichrist has appeared, keep away from him and do not go to him. A man will come to him thinking he is a believer then follows him under the influence of the many falsehoods of which he will convince him.
O Muslims!
When the Antichrist appears to the end of the world, many will follow him, and his mischief will prevail, and only a few of believers will manage to escape him. After that, Jesus, the Son of Mary, will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damascus, and around him will congregate the believing servants of Allah. Under his lead, they will head for the Antichrist, who would be on his way to Jerusalem. Jesus will catch him at the gate of Ludd (a village near Jerusalem), Palestine, and once the Antichrist will see him, he will dissolve just as salt dissolves in water. Then, Jesus will say to him, “I had on you a blow that I will never miss”. The Antichrist will be killed with Jesus’s bayonet, and his followers will be defeated, and believers will track and kill them. With the killing of the Antichrist, his grave mischief will come to an end. And Allah’s is the Command ever and forever.
O Servants of Allah!
The time of Jesus (peace be upon him) following the killing of the Antichrist will be a time of security, prosperity, and ease of living. Allah will send down rain, which will spare no house in the city or in the countryside. The earth will be told to bring forth its fruit and restore its blessings; and as a result of this, there will grow such a big pomegranate that a group of people will eat from it and seek shelter under its skin. Milk will be so blessed that the milk of one she-camel will suffice for a large company. The cow will give so much milk that it will suffice for a whole tribe. The sheep will give so much milk that the whole clan will be able to drink of it.
Security will dominate the earth that lions will wander peacefully with camels, tigers with cows, and wolfs with sheep. Children will play with snakes without any danger. After Jesus stays on the earth for seven years, Allah will send a cool breeze from the side of Ash-Sham (i.e., the Levant). None will remain upon the surface of the earth who has in his heart the smallest particle of good or faith but will then die. The Hour will occur when there is no one on the surface of the earth who says, “Allah! Allah!” The sun will rise from the west, and once it rises and people will see it, they will all believe. That is the time when believing will be of no avail to any human being who would not believe before, or who, while believing, did no good deeds. Every heart will be sealed on what is within it, and people will no longer be allowed to do anything.
The last of the major signs of the Hour and the first of its events is a huge fire that will come out from Yemen and will drive people to their place of gathering. It will accompany them all day and night.
To conclude!
O Muslims! Allah’s Promise always comes true, and there is no doubt about the coming of the Hour. The worldly life is about to say goodbye, and the Hour, which is so near, is drawing even nearer. He who is forgetful of himself will lose his lifetime and will find nothing but regret and sorrow. Hopes fade away, life elapses, and who indulges in hope will be inattentive to his deeds and the coming of death.
Every morning, daylight mourns you. He wins who gets prepared for departure.
Some wise people say, “I wonder at someone who feels sad for spending money and not for spending his lifetime. So, do your best in worship, cry for your sins, and work hard to avoid punishment. The successful is he who attaches all his hope to what lasts forever, not to what goes with the wind.
When Muhammad Ibn Sirin was on his deathbed, he cried. They asked him why he was crying, and he answered, “I am crying for my negligence in my past days and my little work to gain the elevated Paradise.”
Abdel-Muhsin Ibn Muhammad Al-Qassem
Dar Al-Qassem: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, P.O. box 6373, Riyadh 11442
Tel. 4092000
Fax 4033150
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