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Ibn Kathir’s The Signs Before the Day of Judgment Part 2
11-27-2024
Trials and tribulations
Zaynab bint Jahsh said, The Prophet (sallallah alayhe wa sallam) got up from his sleep; his face was flushed and he said, There is no god but Allah. Woe to the Arabs, for a great evil which 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 of 90 or 100 with his fingers). Someone asked, Shall we be destroyed even though there are righteous people among us? The Prophet said, Yes, if evil increases. (Bukhari).
Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet said, One night the Prophet got up and said, Subhan Allah! How many tribulations have come down tonight, and how many treasures have been disclosed! Go and wake the dwellers of these apartments (i e his wives) for prayer. A well-dressed soul in this world may be naked in the Hereafter. (Bukhari.)
Usamah ibn Zayd said, Once the Prophet stood over one of the battlements of al-Madinah and asked the people, Do you see what I see? They said, No. He said, I see afflictions falling upon your houses as raindrops fall. (Bukhari, Muslim.)
Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu) said, The Prophet said, Time will pass rapidly, knowledge will decrease, miserliness will become widespread in peoples hearts, afflictions will appear, and there will be much Harj. The people asked, O Messenger of Allah, what is Harj? He said, Killing, killing! (Bukhari)
Al-Zubayr ibn Adi narrated, We went to Anas ibn Malik and complained about the wrong we were suffering at the hands of al-Hajjaj. Anas ibn Malik said, Be patient, For no time will come but that the time following it will be worse, until you meet your Lord. I heard the Prophet say that. (Bukhari.)
Abu Hurairah said, The Prophet said, There will come a time of afflictions when one who sits will be better than one who stands; one who stands will be better than one who walks; and one who walks will be better than one who runs. Whoever exposes himself to these afflictions, they will destroy him. So whoever can find a place of protection or refuge from them, should take shelter in it. (Bukhari and Muslim.)
Hudhayfah said, The Prophet told us two Hadith, one of which I have seen fulfilled, and I am waiting for the fulfilment of the other. The Prophet told us that honesty came down into mens hearts (from Allah); then they learnt it from the Quran, and then from the Sunnah. The Prophet told us that honesty would be taken away. He said, Man will be overtaken by sleep, during which honesty will be taken away from his heart, and only its trace will remain, like traces of a dark spot. Then man will be overtaken by slumber again, during which honesty will decrease still further, until its trace will resemble a blister such as is caused when an ember is dropped onto ones foot: it swells, but there is nothing inside. People will be carrying on with their trade, but there will hardly be any trustworthy persons. People will say, There is an honest man in such-and-such a tribe. Later they will say about some man, What a wise, polite and strong man he is! – although he will not have faith even the size of a mustard-seed in his heart. Indeed, there came a time when I did not mind dealing with any one of you, for if he were a Muslim his Islam would compel him to pay whatever he owed me, and if he were a Christian, the Muslim official would compel him to pay it. But now I do not deal with anyone except so-and-so and so-and-so. (Bukhari.)
Ibn Umar said, The Prophet stood beside the pulpit, facing the east, and said, Afflictions will verily emerge from here, where the top of Satans head will appear. (Bukhari.)
Abu Hurairah said that he had heard the Prophet say, The Hour will not come until a man passes by someones grave and says, Would that I were in his place! (Bukhari.)
Abu Hurairah said, I heard the Prophet say, The Hour will not come until the buttocks of the women of Daws* move whist going around Dhu l-Khalasah. Dhu l-Khalasah was an idol worshipped by the tribe of Daws during the Jahiliyyah. (Hadith from Bukhari.)
Abu Hurairah also said, The Prophet said, The Euphrates will disclose a golden treasure. Whoever is present at that time should not take anything of it.
Abu Hurairah said, The Prophet said, The Hour will not come before the Euphrates uncovers a mountain of gold, for which people will fight. Ninety-nine out of every hundred will die, but every one among them will say that perhaps he will be the one who will survive (and thus possess the gold). (Muslim.)
Abu Hurairah said, The Prophet said, The Hour will not come until the following events have come to pass: two large groups will fight the another, and there will be many casualties; they will both be following the same religious teaching. Nearly thirty Dajjals will appear, each of them falsely claiming to be a Messenger from Allah. Knowledge will disappear, earthquakes will increase, time will pass quickly, afflictions will appear, and Harj (ie killing) will increase. Wealth will increase, so that a wealthy man will worry lest no-one accept his Zakat, and when he offers it to anyone, that person will say, I am not in need of it. People will compete in constructing high buildings. When a man passes by someones grave, he will say, Would that I were in his place! The sun will rise from the west; when it rises and the people see it, they will believe, but,
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-Anam 6:158)
The Hour will come suddenly: when a man has milked his she-camel and taken away the milk, but he will not have time to drink it; before a man repairing a tank for his livestock will be able to put water in it for his animals; and before a man who has raised a morsel of food to his mouth will be able to eat it. (Bukhari.)
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman said, Of all the people, I know most about every tribulation which is going to happen between now and the Hour. This is not because the Prophet told me something in confidence which he did not tell anyone else; it is because I was present among a group of people to whom he spoke about the tribulations (al-Fitan). The Prophet mentioned three tribulations which would hardly spare anybody, and some which would be like storms in summer; some would be great and some would be small. Everyone who was present at that gathering has passed away, except me. (Muslim.)
Abu Hurairah said, I heard the Prophet say, If you live for a while, you will see people go out under the wrath of Allah and come back under His curse, and they will have in their hands whips like the tail of an ox. (Ahmad, Muslim.)
Abu Hurairah said, The Prophet said, There are two types among the people of Hell whom I have not yet seen. The first are people who have whips like the tails of oxen, with which they beat people, and the second are women who are naked in spite of being dressed; they will be led astray and will lead others astray, and their heads will look like camels humps. These women will not enter Paradise; they will not even experience the faintest scent of it, even though the fragrance of Paradise can be perceived from such a great distance.
Anas ibn Malik said, The Prophet was asked, O Messenger of Allah, (what will happen) when we stop enjoining good and forbidding evil? He said, When what happened to the Israelites happens among you: when fornication becomes widespread among your leaders, knowledge is in the hands of the lowest of you, and power passes into the hands of the least of you. (Ibn Majah.)
Abu Hurairah said, The Prophet said, Woe to the Arabs from the great evil which is nearly approaching them: it will be like patches of dark night. A man will wake up as a believer, and be a kafir (unbeliever) by nightfall. People will sell their religion for a small amount of worldly goods. The one who clings to his religion on that day will be as one who is grasping an ember – or thorns. (Ahmad.)
Abu Hurairah said, I heard the Prophet saying to Thawban, O Thawban, what will you do when the nations call one another to invade you as people call one another to come and eat from one bowl? Thawban said, May my father and my mother be sacrificed for you. O Messenger of Allah! Is it because we are so few The Prophet said, No, on that day you (Muslims) will be many, but Allah will put weakness (wahn) in your hearts. The people asked, What is that weakness, O Messenger of Allah? He said, It is love for this world and dislike of fighting. (Ahmad.)
The Prophet said, There will be a tribulation in which one who is sleeping will be better than one who is lying down, one who is lying will be better than one who is sitting, one who is sitting will be better than on who is standing, one who is standing will be better than one who is walking, one who is walking will be better than one who is riding, and one who is riding will be better than one who is running; all of their dead will be in Hell. The Companion of the Prophet who narrated this Hadith said, O Messenger of Allah, when will that be? He said, That will be the days of Harj. He asked, When will the days of Harj be?
The Prophet said, When a man will not trust the person to whom he is speaking. The Companion asked, What do you advise me to do if I live to see that? He said, Restrain yourself, and go back to your place of residence. The Companion then asked, O Messenger of Allah, what should I do if someone enters my neighbourhood to attack me? He said, Go into your house. The Companion asked, What if he enters my house? He said, Go into the place where you pray and do this – and he folded his arms, – and say My Lord is Allah, until you die.
Abu Bakrah said, The Prophet said, There will be a tribulation during which one who is lying down will be better than one who is sitting, one who is sitting will be better than one who is standing, one who is standing will be better than one who is walking, and one who is walking will be better than one who is running. Someone asked, O Messenger of Allah, what do you advise me to do? He said, Whoever has camels, let him stay with them, and whoever has land, let him stay in his land. Someone asked, What about someone who does not have anything like that? He said, Then let him take his sword and strike its edge against a stone, then go as far away as possible. (Abu Dawud; similar Hadith in Muslim.)
At the time of the Fitnah of Uthman ibn Affans Khilafah (Caliphate), Sad ibn Abi Waqqas said, I bear witness that the Prophet said, There will come a tribulation during which one who sits will be better than one who stands, one who stands will be better than one who walks, and one who walks will be better than one who runs. Someone asked, What do you advise if someone enters my house to kill me? He said, Be like the son of Adam (ie resign yourself). (Muslim, Tirmidhi.)
Abu Musa al-Ashari said, The Prophet said, Before the Hour comes, there will be a tribulation like patches of dark night. A man will get up a believer and go to sleep a kafir, or will go to sleep a believer and get up a kafir. The one who sits will be better than one who stands, and one who walks will be better than one who runs. Break your bows, cut their strings, and strike your swords against stones. If someone comes to kill any of you, then be like the better of the two sons of Adam. (Abu Dawud.)
Abu Dharr said, The Prophet was riding a donkey and sat me behind him. He said, O Abu Dharr, if the people were suffering from such severe hunger that you could not even get up from your bed to go to the mosque, what would you do? I said, Allah and His Messenger know best. He said, Be decent and restrain yourself. Then he said, O Abu Dharr, if the people were suffering from severe death (i e if a man were worth no more than a grave), what would you do? If the people were killing one another, until Hajarat al-Zayt (an area of Madinah) were submerged in blood, what would you do? I said, Allah and His Messenger know best. He said, Stay in your house and lock the door. I asked, What if I am not left alone? He said, Then be one of them. I said, Should I take up my sword? He said, If you did that, you would be joining them in their activities. No – if you fear that the brightness of the shining sword will disturb you, then cover your face with part of your clothing, and let him carry his own sin and your sin. (Ahmad.)
Abd Allah ibn Amr said, We were on a journey with the Prophet … When the Prophets caller called for prayer, I went there. The Prophet was addressing the people, saying: O people, it has been the duty of every Prophet before me to guide his people to whatever he knew was good for them, and to warn them against whatever he knew was bad for them, but this Ummah has its time of peace and security at the beginning; at the end of its existence it will suffer trials and tribulations, one after the other. Tribulation will come, and the believer will say, This will finish me, but it will pass. Another tribulation will come, and he will say, This is it, but it will pass, and a third will come and go likewise. Whoever wishes to be rescued from Hell, and enter Paradise, let him die believing in Allah and the Last Day, and treat the people as he himself wishes to be treated. If anyone gives allegiance to an Imam, then let him obey him if he can (or on one occasion he said: as much as you can).
Abd al-Rahman (one of the narrators of this Hadith) said, When I heard that, I put my head between my knees and said, But your cousin Muawiyah is ordering us to squander our wealth among ourselves in vanity, and to kill each other, although Allah has said, O ye who believe! Squander not your wealth among yourselves in vanity … (Al-Nisa 4:29)
Abd Allah (another narrator) put his head in his hands and paused awhile, then he raised his head and said, Obey him in that which is obedience to Allah and disobey that which is disobedience to Allah. I asked him, Did you hear that from the Prophet? He said, Yes, I heard it with my ears and understood it in my heart. (Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Nasai, Ibn Majah.)
Abd Allah ibn Amr said, I heard the Prophet say, If you see my Ummah fearing a tyrant so much that they dare not tell him that he is a tyrant, then there will be no hope for them. The Prophet said, Among my Ummah, some will be swallowed up by the earth, some bombarded with stones, and some transformed into animals. (Ahmad).
FOOTNOTE:
*Daws: a tribe in Yemen, Dhul-Khalasah: a house full of idols – it is so called because they believed that whoever worshipped it or went around it would be purified (khallasa).
This Hadith means that the tribe of Daws will become apostates from Islam and will go back to idol worshipping; even their women will exert themselves in worshipping the idol and running around it, so that their flesh will quiver.
Signs and portents
“ABD Allah ibn ‘Amr said, “I went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) one day whilst he was performing Wudu’ (ablution) 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 widesprea. 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 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.” (Ahmad, Muslim.)
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.)
THE BATTLE WITH THE ROMANS: After the battle with the Romans, which ended with the conquest of Constantinople, the Dajjal will appear, and Jesus son of Mary will descend from Heaven to the earth, to the white minaret in the east of Damascus, at the time of Salat al-Fajr (the morning prayer), as we shall see in the Sahih Traditions.
Dhu Mukhammar said, “The Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘You will make a peace-treaty with the Romans, and together you will invade an enemy beyond Rome. You will be victorious and take much booty. Then you will camp in a hilly pasture; one of the Roman men will come and raise a cross and say “Victory to the Cross”, so one of the Muslims will come and kill him. Then the Romans will break the treaty, and there will be a battle. They will gather an army against you and come against you with eighty banners, each banner followed by 10,000 men.’ ” (Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah.)
Yusayr ibn Jabir said, “Once there was a red storm in Kufah. A man came who had nothing to say except, ‘O ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud, has the Hour come?” ‘Abd Allah was sitting reclining against something, and said, ‘The Hour will not come until people will not divide inheritance, nor rejoice over booty.’ Pointing towards Syria, he said. ‘An enemy will gather forces against the Muslims and the Muslims will gather forces against them.’ I asked, ‘Do you mean the Romans?’ He said, ‘Yes. At that time there will be very heavy fighting. The Muslims will prepare a detachment to fight to the death; they will not return unless they are victorious. They will fight until night intervenes. Both sides will return without being victorious; then many will be killed on both sides. On the fourth day, the Muslims who are left will return to the fight, and Allah will cause the enemy to be routed. There will be a battle the like of which has never been seen, so that even if a bird were to pass their ranks, it would fall down dead before it reached the end of them. Out of a family of one hundred, only one man will survive, so how could he enjoy the booty or divide any inheritance? While they are in this state, they will hear of an even worse calamity. A cry will reach them: “The Dajjal has taken your place among your offspring.” So they will throw away whatever is in their hands and go forward, sending 10 horsemen as a scouting party. The Prophet said, ‘I know their names, and the names of their fathers, and the colours of their horses. They will be the best horsemen on the face of the earth on that day.’ ” (Ahmad, Muslim).
Abu Hurayrah said, “The Prophet said, ‘The Hour will not come until the Romans camp at al-A’mash or Dabiq. An army, composed of the best people on earth at that time, will come out from
Madinah to meet them. When they have arranged themselves in ranks, the Romans will say, ‘Do not stand between us and those who took prisoners from amongst us. Let us fight with them.’ One-third will run away, and Allah will never forgive them. One-third will be killed, and they will be the best of martyrs in Allah’s sight. One-third, who will never be subjected to trials or tribulations, will win, and will conquer Constantinople.
Whilst they are sharing out the booty, after hanging their swords on the olive-trees, Satan will shout to them that the Dajjal has taken their place among their families. When they come to Syria, the Dajjal will appear, while they are preparing for battle and drawing up the ranks. When the time for prayer comes, Jesus the son of Mary will descend and lead them in prayer. When the enemy of Allah (i.e. the Dajjal) sees him, he will start to dissolve like salt in water, but Allah will kill him.’ ” (Muslim.)
The Prophet said, “The Hour will not come until the furthest border of the Muslims will be in Bula.” Then he said, “O ‘Ali!” ‘Ali said, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you!” The Prophet said, “You will fight the Romans, and those who come after you will fight them, until the best people among the Muslims, the people of al-Hijaz, will go out to fight them, fearing nothing but Allah. They will conquer Constantinople with Tasbih and Takbir (saying “Subhan Allah” and “Allahu Akbar”), and they will obtain booty the like of which has never been seen – they will share it out by scooping it up with their sheilds. Someone will come and say, ‘The Dajjal has appeared in your land’, but he will be lying. Anyone who takes notice of him will regret it, and anyone who ignores him will regret it.” (Ibn Majah.)
Nafi’ ibn ‘Utbah said, “The Prophet said, ‘You will attack Arabia, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. Then you will attack Persia, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. Then you will attack Rome, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. Then you will attack the Dajjal, and Allah will enable you to conquer him.’ ” (Muslim)
When Mustawrid al-Qurashi was sitting with ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, he said, “I heard the Prophet say, ‘The Hour will come when the Romans will be in the majority.’ ‘Amr asked him, “What are you saying?” He said, “I am repeating that which I heard from the Prophet.” ‘Amr said, “If you say this, it is true, because they have four good characteristics: they are the most able to cope with tribulation, the quickest to recover after disaster and to return to the fight after disaster, and are the best as far as treating the poor, weak and orphans is concerned. They have a fifth characteristic which is very good; they do not allow themselves to be oppressed by their kings.”
The Prophet said, “You will fight the Romans, and Believers from the Hijaz will fight them after you, until Allah enables them to conquer Constantinople and Rome with Tasbih and Takbir (“Subhan Allah” and “Allahu Akbar”). Its fortifications will collapse, and they will obtain booty the like of which has never been seen, so that they will share it out by scooping it up with their shields. Then someone will cry, ‘O Muslims! the Dajjal is in your country, with your families’, and the people will leave the wealth. Anyone who takes notice will regret it and anyone who ignores it will regret it. They will ask, ‘Who shouted?’ but they will not know who he is. They will say, you will hear about his deeds.’ So they will go and see, and if they see that everything is normal, they will say, ‘No-one would give a shout like that for no reason, so let us go together to Ilya’.’ If we find the Dajjal there we will fight him together, until Allah decides between us and him. If we do not find the Dajjal, we will go back to our country and our families.’ ”
Mu’adh ibn Jabal said, “The Prophet said, ‘The building of Bayt al-Maqdis (in Jerusalem) will be followed by the destruction of Yathrib (Madinah), which will be followed by the conquest of Constantinople, which will be followed by the appearance of the Dajjal.’ Then he put his hand on the thigh or the shoulder of the one with whom he was speaking (i.e. Mu’adh), and said, ‘This is as true as the fact that you are here (or as true as you are sitting here).’ ”
This does not mean that Madinah will be destroyed completely before the appearance ofthe Daj, but that will happen at the end of time, as we shall see in some authentic Ahadith. But the building of Bayt al-Maqdis will be the cause of the destruction of Madinah, as it was proven in the Hadith that the Dajjal will not be able to enter Madinah. He will be prevented from doing so because it is surrounded by angles bearing unsheathed swords.
Abu Hurayrah said, “The Prophet said about Madinah: ‘Neither plague nor the Dajjal can enter it.’ ” (Bukhari.)
Footnotes: Footnotes: First published on : http://www.islamworld.net/hour/
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