Have you ever wondered about the end of times? When is the word destined to finish? What are the signs of the hour? We all have these questions arise every now and then. Islam has already provided us with the answers to these questions.
Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran warning us about the Day of Resurrection:
ٱقۡتَرَبَتِ ٱلسَّاعَةُ وَٱنشَقَّ ٱلۡقَمَرُ
The Hour has drawn near and the moon was split in two.
(القمر: 1)
یَسۡـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلسَّاعَةِ أَیَّانَ مُرۡسَىٰهَاۖ قُلۡ إِنَّمَا عِلۡمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّیۖ لَا یُجَلِّیهَا لِوَقۡتِهَاۤ إِلَّا هُوَۚ ثَقُلَتۡ فِی ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ لَا تَأۡتِیكُمۡ إِلَّا بَغۡتَةࣰۗ یَسۡـَٔلُونَكَ كَأَنَّكَ حَفِیٌّ عَنۡهَاۖ قُلۡ إِنَّمَا عِلۡمُهَا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكۡثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا یَعۡلَمُونَ
They ask you ˹O Prophet˺ regarding the Hour, “When will it be?” Say, “That knowledge is only with my Lord. He alone will reveal it when the time comes. It is too tremendous for the heavens and the earth and will only take you by surprise.” They ask you as if you had full knowledge of it. Say, “That knowledge is only with Allah, but most people do not know.”
(الأعراف: 187)
وَلِلَّهِ غَیۡبُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ وَمَاۤ أَمۡرُ ٱلسَّاعَةِ إِلَّا كَلَمۡحِ ٱلۡبَصَرِ أَوۡ هُوَ أَقۡرَبُۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَیۡءࣲ قَدِیرࣱ
To Allah ˹alone˺ belongs ˹the knowledge of˺ the unseen in the heavens and the earth. Bringing about the Hour would only take the blink of an eye, or even less. Surely Allah is Most Capable of everything.
(النحل: 77)
By these verses, we know that the knowledge about the hour belongs to the only Allah. None of us knows when it would occur. So, regarding these verses, what are our responsibilities to face the Day of Resurrection? There is only one thing which we have to do, and that is its preparation. We have also been warned of this time through the signs of the hour which will indicate when the time is near.
At the end of time, within an hour the whole earth will be destroyed and the sky will not remain as it is. This resurrection will be universal.
Another type of resurrection is related to every living thing. This is called death. The person who dies is as if his resurrection has taken place. That is why the Prophet (PBUH) said when a countryman asked him “When will the Hour be?” He (PBUH) asked him in reply:
وماذا أعْدَدْتَ لَها
“What have you prepared for it?”
(صحيح البخاري: 3688)
Therefore, it is necessary for all human beings to believe in the resurrection, but at the same time, it is very important for them to prepare for it.
Now the question is, if we die before the hour comes, why should we prepare for it and why do we need to know the signs of the hour?
The answer is that as Muslims we are obliged to believe in the unseen, and we must tell Allah about our worldly life before all creatures when the Day of Resurrection comes. Therefore, we must prepare for it. At the same time, we are required to do good deeds before the hour comes, because when the sun would rise from the west instead of the east, the door to repentance would be closed. All the minor signs of the hour are the prelude to the big signs or their complements. And every major sign has many purposes behind it. Through some signs, the difference between faith and hypocrisy and disbelief and polytheism will become clear and the difference between right and wrong will also become apparent.
These signs also include the miracles of the prophecy of Muhammad (PBUH) as well. There is no religion in the world that foretells things about the future thousands of years before. We have already seen that many of the signs have come true! And that each foretelling is nothing but the truth.
Does researching about the signs of the hour and learning about them offer us any benefit in our lives? Or is it mere information, which a person adds to his cultural credit without it having any real impact on his life?
Since the mention of the signs of the hour is found in the Quran and Sunnah, it, therefore, brings many benefits to one’s life, including the following: Fulfilling the obligation of believing in the unseen, which is one of the six pillars of faith. Allah says:
ٱلَّذِینَ یُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱلۡغَیۡبِ وَیُقِیمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقۡنَـٰهُمۡ یُنفِقُونَ
“Who believe in the Ghayb and perform As-Salaah (Iqamat-as-Salat)”
(البقرة: 3)
Abu Hurayrah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
أُمِرْتُ أنْ أُقاتِلَ النّاسَ حتّى يقولوا: لا إلَهَ إلّا اللَّهُ، فمَن قالَ: لا إلَهَ إلّا اللَّهُ، فقَدْ عَصَمَ مِنِّي مالَهُ ونَفْسَهُ إلّا بحَقِّهِ، وحِسابُهُ على اللَّهِ
“I have been commanded to fight the people until they say la ilaha ill-Allah. Whoever says la ilaha ill-Allah, his wealth and his life are protected from me except in cases dictated by Islamic law, and his reckoning will be with Allah.”
(صحيح البخاري: 6924)
Belief in the unseen means believing in everything that Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, has related to us or what His Messenger (PBUH) has told us and which has been confirmed to have been authentically narrated from him; whether we witness these events or not, we know them to be true.
The book “The End of the World” by Dr. Muhammad Abdul Rahman Al-Arifi is the perfect book to learn about the end of time and includes all the major and minor signs of the hour. These include the appearance of the Dajjal, the descent of ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (AS), the emergence of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj, the emergence of the Beast, the rising of the sun from the west, and other events mentioned in saheeh (authentic) reports.
Knowledge of the signs of the hour encourages one to obey Allah and prepare for the Day of Resurrection. It is an admonition for the heedless and encouragement for the repentant to not be content with this world. This is what the Prophet (PBUH) did with those who were around him when he realised that one of the signs of the hour was close at hand. It is recorded in the collections of Bukhari and Muslim that:
اسْتَيْقَظَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنَ النَّوْمِ مُحْمَرًّا وَجْهُهُ يَقُولُ ” لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، وَيْلٌ لِلْعَرَبِ مِنْ شَرٍّ قَدِ اقْتَرَبَ، فُتِحَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ رَدْمِ يَاجُوجَ وَمَاجُوجَ مِثْلُ هَذِهِ ”. وَعَقَدَ سُفْيَانُ تِسْعِينَ أَوْ مِائَةً. قِيلَ أَنَهْلِكُ وَفِينَا الصَّالِحُونَ قَالَ ” نَعَمْ، إِذَا كَثُرَ الْخَبَثُ
The Prophet (PBUH) got up from his sleep with a flushed red face and said, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. Woe to the Arabs, from the Great evil that is nearly approaching them. Today a gap has been made in the wall of Gog and Magog like this.” (Sufyan illustrated this by forming the number 90 or 100 with his fingers.) It was asked, “Shall we be destroyed though there are righteous people among us?” The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Yes, if evil increased.”
(صحيح البخاري: 7059)
It may offer an explanation of shar‘i (Islamic legislation) rulings and fiqhi (Islamic jurisprudence) issues.
The companions once asked the Prophet concerning the length of days – where one day will be like a year and another day will be like a month – during the time of the Dajjal, “Will it be sufficient to offer only a day’s worth of prayers during those days?” The Prophet replied:
“No, rather estimate the timing.”
From this we can also derive the ruling for the prayer of those Muslims who live in areas where day or night may last for several months.
The fact that the Prophet (PBUH) was aware of the signs of the hour which are matters of the unseen and whose knowledge cannot be acquired by mere speculation is evidence for the truthfulness of his message, and that he is truly a Messenger from Allah, Glorified and Exalted. Allah is the Knower of the unseen and the seen.
Our knowledge of the signs of the hour allows us to deal with them in the prescribed manner, eliminating any confusion concerning them. For example, we are told about the Dajjal in detail: the description of his eye, his forehead, and the things that he will have with him so that we do not fall prey to his fitnah (trial); rather [through these signs] we will come to know that he is truly a dajjal (liar).
The discussion of the signs of the hour is essential because so that we are mentally prepared for what may take place so that we are not taken by surprise [when the events do occur]
It is also necessary because of offering hope because one of the signs of the Hour is the victory of Islam and its spread throughout the earth and the diminishing of Christianity and Judaism. This is based on the prophecies which mention Islam prevailing over and being superior to all other religions, even though the mushrikoon (polytheists, disbelievers) hate (it).
Islam blocks the way for deceivers, such as astrologers, fortune tellers, soothsayers and their like, who claim to have knowledge of future events. Islam relates to us, through revelation, a great about these future events which are signs of the hour.
Belief in the signs of the hour strengthens and increases faith as it would solidify our faith when we see the signs appear before us.
Hence there is a need to educate people regarding the end of times. There are many books written on the world ending however the book, End of the World, by Darussalam is one of a kind. It’s available in both English as well as Urdu. This book is the English translation of the book نهاية العالم by Dr. Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-‘Areefi, who is a Professor of ‘Aqeedah (beliefs) and Contemporary Madh-habs and Religions at King Sa‘ood University, Riyadh, and also one of the Members of the Senior Council for Islamic Media.
The author has provided us with authentic content in the light of the Quarn, sunnah and salaf and has explained points with the help of pictures and maps. So, the book is very comprehensive on its topic. We can recognize its value by the table of content mentioned below:
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Why discuss the signs of the Hour?
- Guidelines on dealing with and understanding the Signs of the Hour
- Guidelines on applying the texts on the Signs of the Hour to real-life events
- Meanings of the Signs of the Hour
- Categories of the signs of the Hour
- List of the Minor Signs
- The sending of our Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)
- The Death of our Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)
- The Splitting of the Moon
*Complete table of contents is mentioned at the end of the blog.
This book alone is enough to learn everything there is about the end of times. Let’s take a look at some extracts to get a glimpse into the book.
Extract 01: Read about the sign of the interest in books other than Islam.
Spread of books other than the Qur’an
One of the signs of the Hour is that people will become more interested in books; these books will be bought, printed, and marketed in bookstores more than the Book of Allah.
This Hadeeth is supported by the previous one, in which the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Among [the signs of] the approach of the Hour…and the bad thing will become widespread among the people.”
I said,
“What is the bad thing?”
He said,
“Whatever is written other than the book of Allah.”
Extract 02: Read about the incident of the wild animals speaking
As for wild animals speaking,
This occurred during the time of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)
Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri said, “While a Bedouin was tending his sheep in the vicinity of Madeenah, a wolf attacked and took one of his sheep. The Bedouin caught up with the wolf, saved the sheep from it and tried to scare it off, but the wolf refused to leave. Then it sat down, wagging its tail and talking to him. The wolf said, ‘You have taken the provision that Allah granted to me.’ The shepherd said, ‘I am amazed that a wolf is wagging its tail and speaking to me!’ The wolf said, ‘By Allah, you are forgetting something more amazing than that.’ The shepherd asked, ‘What is more amazing than that?’ The wolf answered, ‘The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) is in Al-Nakhlatayn, between the two lava fields, telling the people news of what happened in the past and what will happen in the future.’ The Bedouin drove his sheep to a safe place in Madeenah, then went to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and knocked on his door. When the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) had finished praying, he asked, ‘Where is the Bedouin with the sheep?’ The Bedouin stood up and the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Tell the people what you heard and saw.’ The Bedouin related to the people what he had seen and heard from the wolf. The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘He has told the truth – [these are] signs which will come before the Hour. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, the Hour will not begin until one of you leaves his family and his shoe, his whip, or his stick tell him news of his family after he left.’”
The speech of cattle has also occurred Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “While a man was driving a cow, he placed a load on its back. The cow turned to him and said, ‘I was not created for this; rather I was created for tilling.’” The people said, “Subhaan Allah!” We were amazed that a cow could talk. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I believe it, and so do Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.”
As seen from the extracts and the table of contents, the book is not only very comprehensive in its subject matter but a very easy and interesting read. Give the book a read for yourself and let us know what you think.
Interested in similar books? Take a look at the suggestions below.
*Complete table of contents
- Disappearance of the Noble Companions (May Allah be pleased with them)
- Conquest of Jerusalem
- Widespread Death like Murrain of Sheep
- Prevalence of Turmoil (fitnah) of all kinds
- Prevalence of satellite channels
- The Prophet’s foretelling of the battle of Siffeen
- The emergence of the Khawaarij
- Claims of Prophethood by charlatans and liars
- Spread of Security and Prosperity
- Appearance of Fire in the Hijaz
- Fighting the Turks
- Appearance of Unjust men who Beat the People with Whips
- A Great Deal of Killing
- Loss of Honesty and its Disappearance from people’s Hearts
- Following the Ways of Nations who came before
- The Slave Woman Giving Birth to her Master
- Appearance of women who are clothed yet naked
- Barefoot, naked shepherds competing in the construction of lofty buildings
- Greeting only those whom one knows
- Widespread trade — women taking part in business with their husbands — domination by some traders of the market
- False testimony
- Withholding true testimony
- Prevalence of ignorance
- Widespread stinginess and miserliness severing ties of Kinship being a bad neighbour
- Honest people being regarded as treacherous and Treacherous people being trusted
- Death of prominent and noble people and the prevalence of ignoble people
- Not caring about the source of wealth and whether it is Halaal or Haraam
- Fay’ will become limited to some people to the exclusion of others
- When the entrusted item is regarded like booty
- Obedience to wives and disobedience to mothers
- Knowledge will be sought for a reason other than for the sake of Allah
- Bringing friends close and keeping fathers away
- Raising voices in the mosque
- Evildoers becoming leaders of their tribes
- The leader of the people will be the vilest of them
- Showing respect to a man for fear of his evil
- Adultery, silk, alcohol and musical instruments will be regarded as permissible
- Wishing for death
- The coming of a time when a man will be a believer In the morning and a disbeliever in the evening
- Adornment of mosques and competition therein
- Adornment of houses
- Frequency of storms as the Hour draws nigh
- Prevalence of literacy
- Earning money by means of speaking and boasting about ones eloquence
- Spread of books other than the Qur’an
- A time in which there will be many readers but few Fuqaha’ and scholars
- Seeking knowledge from people who are insignificant
- Sudden death
- Rulership of the foolish
- Time passing more quickly
- The foolish will speak
- The most fortunate of the people in worldly matters Will be Luka‘ibn Luka‘ (an evil person)
- Taking the mosques as thoroughfares
- Dowries will become expensive and then cheap – Horses will become expensive and then cheap
- Markets becoming closer together
- Nations calling one another to get together against the Muslim Ummah
- People not wanting to lead the prayer
- Fulfilment of the believer’s dreams
- Prevalence of lying
- A lot of earthquakes
- Discord among the people
- There will be a lot of women and few men
- Prevalence and open flaunting of immorality
- Taking money for reading Qur’an
- Obesity will become widespread among the people
- Appearance of people who will give testimony when they are not asked to do so; Appearance of people who will make vows and not fulfil them
- The strong devouring the weak
- Not ruling in accordance with that which Allah revealed
- Large numbers of Romans and small numbers of Arabs
- Great abundance of wealth among the people
- The earth giving up its treasure
- Transformation – Landslides pelting (with stones)
- Rain against which houses of brick cannot offer any protection
- Tribulation which will utterly destroy the Arabs
- Trees speaking Rocks speaking and supporting the Muslims Muslims Fighting the Jews
- The Euphrates will uncover a mountain of gold
- The coming of a time when a man will be given the choice of being labeled incompetent or committing immorality
- Arabia becoming meadows and rivers once more
- A time when one prostration will be equivalent to this world and everything in it
- The new moon looking bigger than usual
- A time when there will be no one left but he will go and live in Al-Shaam (the Levant)
- A great battle between the Muslims and the Romans The conquest of Constantinople
- No inheritance will be divided the people will not rejoice over booty
- People will go back to ancient weapons and mounts
- Jerusalem will flourish Madeenah will be in ruins, Devoid of inhabitants and visitors
- Madeenah will be cleansed of its evil people as the Bellows eliminates the dross of iron
- The appearance of a man from Qahtaan who will be obeyed by the people
- Appearance of a man called Al-Jahjaah
- Wild animals and inanimate objects will speak – The end of a whip will speak A shoelace will speak -A man’s thigh will give news of his family
- As for wild animals speaking,
- The Hour will not begin until Islam diminishes – The Qur’an will Disappear from the Mus-hafs and from people’s hearts
- An army that will seek to attack the Ka‘bah and will be swallowed up by the earth, from the first to the last of them
- Hajj to the sacred House of Allah will be abandoned
- Some Arab tribes will go back to worshipping idols
- The tribe of Quraysh will die out
- Destruction of the Ka‘bah at the hands of a man from Abyssinia
- The sending of a pleasant wind that will take the souls of the believers
- The buildings of Makkah becoming high
- The last of this Ummah cursing the first of it
- New means of transportation … cars
- The appearance of the Mahdi
- From where will he appear?
- When will he appear?
- Commentary on the Hadeeth:
- Hadeeths narrated concerning the Mahdi 1
- A brief look at some of those who claimed to be the Mahdi
- The circumstances in which he will appear:
- A brief discussion of the issue of dreams
- Some of the scholars denied the idea of the Mahdi, including the following:
- Major Signs of the Hour
- Major Sign (1)
- Who is the Dajjaal?
- Why is he called Al-Maseeh Al-Dajjaal?
- What claims will the Dajjaal make?
- The story of Ibn Sayyaad
- The reason why the Dajjaal is not mentioned in the Qur’an
- Hadeeths which indicate that the emergence of the Dajjaal is one of the signs of the Hour
- The Dajjaal is the greatest Fitnah that will ever appear on the face of the earth
- Events before the appearance of the Dajjaal
- Something that will precede his appearance
- Physical description of the Dajjaal
- The place where he will emerge
- The story of Al-Jassasah and the Dajjaal
- The facts about the Bermuda Triangle and its connection to the Dajjaal
- Geographical location
- Disappearances in the Bermuda
- The beginning of disappearances in the Bermuda
- Disappearance of aircraft
- Explanation for the mystery of this triangle
- Indications that the appearance of the Dajjaal is imminent
- How will the Dajjaal emerge?
- The cause of his appearance
- He will travel rapidly around the world
- Places to which the Dajjaal will go
- The turmoil (Fitnah) of the Dajjaal
- Incorrect beliefs about the Dajjaal
- The followers of the Dajjaal
- The disbelievers and hypocrites
- The ignorance of the Bedouin
- People with faces like hammered shields
- How long the Dajjaal will stay
- How to be safe from the turmoil of the Dajjaal
- Seeking the help of Allah
- Knowing the names and attributes of Allah
- Reciting the opening Verses of Soorat Al-Kahf, which are the first ten Verses
- The reason for this:
- Reciting Soorat Al-Kahf in its entirety
- Fleeing to one of the two holy sanctuaries and seeking refuge there
- Seeking refuge with Allah from the turmoil of the Dajjaal at the end of the prayer
- Further explanation about the Dajjaal so that people may protect themselves from him
- Arming oneself with Islamic knowledge
- Preparing for war against him, as the believers will do at that time
- What the Muslim should do if he meets the Dajjaal
- The death of the Dajjaal
- The toughest people against the Dajjaal
- Those who deny that the Dajjaal will emerge
- Major Sigh (2)
- The Descent of Eesa
- The story of Maryam’s bearing of ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him)
- The birth of ‘Eesa
- Eesa speaks in the cradle
- The ascension of ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) to heaven
- Where does his title of “Messiah” come from?
- Evidence for the descent of ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him)
- Evidence from the Qur’an
- Evidence from the Sunnah
- Explanation of the meaning of the Hadeeth
- Mutawaatir evidence for the descent of ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him)
- The circumstances in which ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) will descend
- Physical attributes of ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him)
- The deeds of ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) and what will happen during his time
- The status of those who will be with ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (May Allah be pleased with her)
- The reason why ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) and no one else will descend
- How long will ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) stay on earth after he descends?
- The Hajj of ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him)
- Major sign (3)
- The emergence of Ya’Jooj and Ma’Jooj
- The story of the building of the barrier restraining Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj
- Who was Dhu’l-Qarnayn?
- Who are Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj?
- What is the religion of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj? Did the message of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) reach them?
- Their huge number
- Their physical description
- How will they break through the barrier?
- Dha‘eef (weak) Hadeeths that have been narrated concerning them (Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj)
- Their destruction
- There will be no killing after Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj
- Hajj will continue after Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj
- Has anyone seen the barrier that Dhu’l-Qarnayn built to block Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj? Can anyone see it?
- Does the barrier of Dhu’l-Qarnayn have any connection to the Great Wall of China?
- Why haven’t satellites discovered the barrier of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj?
- Are the Muslims obliged to fight them?
- Major Sign 4,5 and 6
- Three land slides
- Meaning of landslide
- Hadeeths about the landslides
- Hadeeths which speak of a particular landslide
- Hadeeths about other landslides that occurred as punishment for sin
- Major Sign (7)
- The smoke
- Differences of scholarly opinion on what is meant by the smoke referred to in the Qur’an
- Hadeeths about the smoke
- Major sigh (8)
- The Beast
- Verses which speak of the Beast
- Where will it emerge?
- What is the real nature of the Beast?
- What will the Beast do?
- It will brand the people
- Major Sign (9)
- The rising of the sun from its place of setting
- Verses about the sun rising from its place of setting
- Hadeeths about the sun rising from its place of setting
- The command to hasten to do good deeds
- Major Sign (10)
- Fire which will drive the people to their place of gathering
- Hadeeths about this fire
- How it will gather the people
- Conclusion
