Giving
Up Hope About the Coming of the Mahdi
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| Allah
Almighty will send the Mahdi after despair
has reached the point that people will say,
"There is no Mahdi." (Agreed Upon) |
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This hadith informs us that one sign of the Golden
Age is the people's despair of the Mahdi's coming.
People who struggle with war, starvation, injustice,
epidemics, and all forms of depravity in the End Times lose
their hope that such disasters will ever end. Many Muslims,
on the other hand, start to despair that Islamic morality
will ever prevail and believe that evil will spread even further.
Indeed in our day, we frequently see the examples
of this spirit. Despite the existence of countless hadiths
about the Mahdi's coming and the Golden Age marked with great
blessings, many people believe that such a period will never
come.
This assumption is also a sign of the End Times.
In a time of despair, people will enjoy the benefits of the
Golden Age, thanks to Allah's mercy on people.
In the hadith disorders that
take place one after the other are mentioned. Just as
the hadith described, the 20th century was one that
ceaseless wars, fights and massacres were spread all
over the world. |
Poverty
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| The
poor will grow in number.
(Amal Al-Din Al-Qazwini, Mufid Al-'ulum
Wa-mubid Al-humum)
Gains will be shared out only among the
rich, with no benefit to the poor.
(Tirmidhi) |
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It is well known that poverty is the lack of food,
shelter, clothing, health services, and the other basic needs,
due to a low level of income. Despite the possibilities afforded
by advanced technology, poverty is today one of the most serious
problems the world faces. In Africa, Asia, South America and
Eastern Europe, many people live with hunger every day. Imperialism
and unrestrained capitalism has prevented the distribution
of income throughout the world and the advancement of under-developed
and developing countries. While there is a happy minority
that has more than it needs, there are a considerable number
of people struggling with the problems of poverty and destitution.
In the world today, poverty has reached grave proportions.
The last report by UNICEF stated that one in four people of
the world’s population lives in “unimaginable
suffering and want.” (UNICEF, 'Children and Poverty:
Key Facts', 2000; http://www.unicef.org/copenhagen5/ factsheets.htm)
1.3 billion of the world’s people survive on less than
$1 a day. 3 billion people in the world today struggle to
survive on $2 a day. (Manufacturing Dissent, 'World Statistics
– The Rich and the Poor', 1999; http://www.reagan.com/HotTopics.main/HotMike/document-8.13.1999.6.html)
Despite the possibilities afforded by advanced technology,
poverty is still one of the major problems in the world.
According to the report of the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization for the year 2000, 826 million
people are undernourished. |
Approximately 1.3 billion people lack safe water.
2.6 billion people are without access to adequate sanitation.
(UNICEF, "Children and Poverty: Key Facts", 2000,
http://www.unicef.org/copenhagen5/ factsheets.htm)
According to the report by the United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for the year 2000, 826
million people around the world do not get enough to eat.
In other words, one in six people are hungry. (FAO, “The
state of food insecurity in the world”, 2000, http:www.fao.org/FOCUS/E/
SOFI00/sofi001-e.htm)
Over the last ten years, the injustice of income
distribution has increased more than one can imagine. United
Nations reports show that, in 1960, the 20% of the people
of the world who live in the richest countries had 30 times
the income of the poorest 20; by 1995 it was 82 times. (Human
Development Report 1998, United Nations Development Programme,
New York, September 1998, www.oneworld.org/ni/issue310/facts.htm)
As an example of the collapse of social justice, the wealth
of the world’s 225 richest individuals is equal to the
annual income of the poorest 47%. (“World Statistics—Rich
and Poor”, Manufacturing Dissent, 1999, http://www.reagan.com/
HotTopics.main/HotMike/document-8.13.1999.6.html)
Obviously, that period indicated by the Prophet
(saas) describes conditions in our day. If we look at past
centuries, we see that the difficulties and anxiety brought
about by drought, war and other calamities were temporary
and limited to a particular region. However, today, the poverty
and difficulty of earning a living are permanent and endemic.
Certainly, our Lord has endless compassion and
mercy; He does not wrong people. But, because of the ungratefulness
of humanity, and the evil it has committed, poverty and anxiety
have been institutionalized. Indeed, this sorry state of affairs
shows clearly that the world is stratified on a basis of selfishness
and greed rather than on religion, moral values and conscience.
The Killings of the Kings
of Sham and Egypt
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The inhabitants of Egypt and Sham will kill
their ruler and his commands... (Ibn Hajar
al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi' 'Alamat
al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 49) |
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When we examine Egypt's recent history, we see that a ruler
was killed: Anwar Sadat, who ruled Egypt from 1970-81, was
killed by his opponents during a military review in 1981.
Other Egyptian leaders who have been killed include Prime
Ministers Boutros Ghali (1910), and Mahmoud Nukrashy Pasha
(1948).
The word “Sham” is not only used for Damascus,
for it also means “left” and has long been used
to refer to those countries to the left of the Hijaz (where
the cities of Makka and Madina stand). Many leaders have been
killed in the region, among them former Syrian prime ministers
Salah al-Deen Beetar (1920), Droubi Pasha (1921), and Muhsin
al-Barazi (1949), King Abdullah of Jordan (1951), and Lebanese
Phalange leader Bashir Gemayel (1982).
The Captivity of Egypt
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The people of Sham will take prisoner the
tribes of Egypt. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl
al-Mukhtasar fi' 'Alamat
al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 49) |
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Today, the states in the region in question include Israel.
That is why the hadith could be pointing to the war between
the State of Israel and Egypt, and the invasion of Egyptian
territory.
On October 26, 1956, Israel attacked Egypt and began to occupy
the Sinai Peninsula. The fighting ended shortly afterwards
following intervention by the United Nations, and a UN peacekeeping
force was stationed on the Israeli border.
The 1967 Six-Day War was another war between Israel and Egypt.
By the end of the war, Israel had captured all of the Gaza
Strip and the Sinai peninsula, the West Bank of the River
Jordan, the city of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
Deterioration of economic conditions
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| People
will prosper until the ninety-fifth year,
that is, their business will prosper. In
the ninety-seventh and the ninety-ninth
year, their possessions will go to waste...
(Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar
fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 54) |
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It is highly probable that this refers to the year
1995, a period when people had a relatively better life and
its conditions have not become so difficult. Indeed, as described
in the hadith, in this year, people will have enough income
to earn a living and have some possessions. However, 1997
and 1999 was a period during which the economy detoriated
and poverty spread. In this time, possessions lost their value.
Such an event can happen very quickly, as exemplified by Argentinia's
continuing economic crisis.
Attention is drawn by the following hadiths to
the worsening economic conditions at the end of time:
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| Everybody
complaining about less and less income…
Respecting the rich for their money…
(Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul Barzanji
, Al-Isha‘ah li-ashrat al-sa‘ah,
p. 146)
Stagnant
markets, diminishing income… (Muhammad
ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul Barzanji , Al-Isha‘ah
li-ashrat al-sa‘ah, p. 148)
Business
worsening. Everybody will be complaining
saying, "I can't sell or buy or earn
anything!" (Muhammad ibn ‘Abd
al-Rasul Barzanji , Al-Isha‘ah li-ashrat
al-sa‘ah, p. 152) |
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Wars and Anarchy
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| Allah’s
Messenger (saas) said: “The Harj (will
increase)." They asked, “What
is the Harj?" He replied, "(It
is) killing (murdering), (it is) murdering
(killing).” (Bukhari)
The
Hour will come when violence, bloodshed,
and anarchy become common. (Al-Muttaqi Al-Hindi,
Muntakhab Kanzul Ummaal))
The world
will not come to an end until a day would
come to the people on which there will be
general massacre and bloodshed. (Muslim) |
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If we look at the last fourteen centuries, we see
that wars were regional before the twentieth century. However,
wars that affected everyone in the world, political systems,
entire economies and social structures, have happened only
comparatively recently, in the two world wars. In World War
I, more than 20 million died; in World War II, the toll was
more than 50 million. At the same time, World War II is acknowledged
to have been the bloodiest, the greatest and the most destructive
war in history.
Modern military technology, including nuclear,
biological and chemical weapons, have increased the effects
of war to an extent never before seen in history. Because
of the weapons of mass destruction that have been developed,
it is commonly accepted that the world will not enter into
a third world war.
 
The fact that the signs for
our day contained in the hadiths of our Prophet are
coming true, and the fact that our world is full of
scenes like these is a warning for people to return
immediately to the moral teaching of the Qur'an. |
The conflicts that occurred after World War II—the
Cold War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Arab-Israeli
conflict, and the Gulf War—are among the most critical
events of our time. Likewise, regional wars, conflicts and
civil wars, have caused destruction in many parts of the world.
In places such as Bosnia, Palestine, Chechnya, Afghanistan,
Kashmir and many others, problems continue to afflict humanity.
Another instance of a type of “chaos”
that concerns human beings as much as war is organized international
terror. As authorities on the subject also agree, acts of
terror have multiplied in the latter half of the twentieth
century. (M. Encarta Encyclopedia 2000, “Terrorism”)
Indeed, it is even possible to say that terror is a phenomenon
particular to the twentieth century. Organizations devoted
to racism, communism and similar ideologies, or with nationalistic
aims, have engaged in acts of brutality with the help of the
developing technology.
Within the world’s
recent history, acts of terror have, time and again, fomented
chaos. Much blood has been shed and countless innocent people
have been maimed or killed. But still, humanity has not learned
its lesson from these tragic events.
In many places in the world, terror continues to be the roots
of acts of murderous anarchy.
There are a number of verses of the Qur’an
relevant to this subject. In Surat ar-Rum, it is stated that
confusion has come upon the earth because of what human beings
have wrought:
Corruption has appeared in both land and
sea because of what people's own hands have brought about
so that they may taste something of what they have done
so that hopefully they will turn back. (Surah Rum: 41)
We must add that this verse is to remind us of
a very important truth. The pain and misery that arises from
the mistakes human beings make are a kind of opportunity to
assist them in turning away from these errors.
In short, we are now living in that age of confusion
and disorder in which yet another sign of the End Times is
manifested. This sign is a stern warning that people should
begin immediately to live their lives according to the moral
teachings of the Qur’an.
In the hadiths, the Prophet
(saas) described the wars and terror that now engulf
the world, and related that these things are signs of
the Last Day. Today, in every part of the world, conflicts,
regional as well as civil wars are pervasive. |
The Destruction of Great Cities: Wars and
disasters
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cities will be ruined and it will be as
if they had not existed the day before.
(Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat
al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman) |
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(2001 CAME WITH DISASTERS)
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The
20th century is most frequently characterized as the
century of disasters. Many deaths were caused by natural
disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods;
many others were caused by civil war and conflicts and
by accidents on the sea and in the air. The destruction
of cities and the eradication of peoples appear in the
hadiths as signs of the Judgment. |
The ruin of great cities spoken of in this hadith
brings to mind the destruction that now arises from war and
various natural disasters. Recently developed nuclear weapons,
aircraft, bombs, missiles, and other modern weapons, have
caused untold destruction. These terrible weapons have brought
about a degree of destruction never before seen. Indeed, the
great cities targeted are most affected by this destruction.
The incomparable destruction of the Second World War is an
example of this. With the use of the atom bomb in world’s
greatest war, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were completely destroyed.
As a result of heavy bombing, European capitals and other
important cities suffered a great amount of damage. The Encyclopedia
Britannica describes the damage caused to European cities
by World War II:
In the hadiths, it is revealed
that, in the End Times, large cities will be destroyed
as if they had never existed. In the past century, many
cities were destroyed. Only two examples are Hiroshima
after the atom bomb (above) and cities of Chechnya.
(right) |
The resulting devastation had turned much of Europe
into a moonscape: cities laid waste or consumed by fire storms,
the countryside charred and blackened, roads pitted with shell
holes or bomb craters, railways out of action, bridges destroyed
or truncated, harbors filled with sunken, listing ships. “Berlin,”
said General Lucius D. Clay, the deputy military governor
in the U.S. zone of postwar Germany, “was like a city
of the dead.” (Britannica Encyclopedia 2000,
“The blast of World War II”)
In short, the unprecedented destruction caused
by the Second World War conforms entirely to that described
in the hadith of the Prophet (saas).
Another cause of the destruction of major cities
is natural disasters. It is a statistical fact that the age
in which we live has seen an increase in both the number and
the seriousness of natural disasters. In the last ten years,
disasters caused by climactic changes are a novel phenomenon.
A dangerous and unwanted by-product of industry is global
warming. Industry is gradually disturbing the balance in the
world’s atmosphere, giving rise to climactic changes.
The year of 1998 was the hottest on earth since records have
been kept. (BBC News Online, "The first horseman: Environmental
disaster", December 1999, http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/scie/tech/newsid_563000/563127.stm)
According to the information of the American National Climate
Data Center, the greatest number of weather-related disasters
occurred in 1998. (National Climatic Data Center, "Billion
Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters", October 2000, http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/billionz.html)
For example, Hurricane Mitch has been referred to by a number
of observers as the world’s worst natural disaster ever
to strike Central America. (Encarta Encyclopedia 2000, "Central
America")
In the last few years, hurricanes, storms, typhoons
and other such disasters have had a destructive effect on
the American continent as well as in several other places
in the world. In addition, floods have caused mudslides, which
have engulfed certain centers of population. Furthermore,
earthquakes, volcanoes and tidal waves have also caused great
devastation. Therefore, all this destruction brought upon
the great cities by these calamities is an important sign
in each case.
Reconstruction of demolished places and
devastation of reconstructed places
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of demolished places and devastation of
reconstructed facilities on Earth are the
signs of the end of time.
(Signs of the Judgment
Day, p. 138)
When perfect
facilities are destructed, when one grabs
what is trusted, this means that there is
as little space as the distance between
these two fingers between you and the end
of time.
(Signs of the Judgment
Day, p.143) |
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Skyscrapers have become an important part of architecture
in the 20th and 21st centuries and today have become a symbol
of prestige. What the hadith says has come true.
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The earthquake that
took place in 1906 in San Francisco caused the lives
of 3000 people and burning of the majority of the city.
(right). The view of San Francisco today. (left) |
Today most of the modern cities
consist of skyscrapers. The event that is told in the
hadith has come true exactly. |
Earthquakes
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Hour (Last Day) will not be established
until ... earthquakes will be very frequent.
(Bukhari)
There are
two great incidents before the day of Judgment...
and then years of earthquakes. (Narrated
by Umm Salama (r.a.)) |
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 There
is no doubt that there have been no other natural events in
history that have affected people to the extent that earthquakes
have. They can happen anywhere and at any moment. Throughout
the centuries, they have caused many deaths and great material
loss. For this reason, they have been greatly feared. Even
the technology of the twentieth and twentyfirst centuries
has been able to prevent earthquake damage only to a certain
extent.
The 1995 earthquake in Kobe serves as an example
to those who like to think that technology will make it possible
to harness nature. It will be remembered that this earthquake
came unexpectedly upon Japan’s largest industrial and
transportation center. In spite of the fact that it only lasted
20 seconds, as Time magazine reported, it caused about 100
billion dollars in damage. (Time, February 6, 1995, "Economic
Aftershock")
In the last few years, major earthquakes have occurred
repeatedly and are among the foremost fears of people around
the world. If we look at the data collected by the American
National Earthquake Information Center for 1999, we find that
20,832 earthquakes happened somewhere in the world. As a result,
an estimated 22,711 persons lost their lives. (US Geological
Survey National Earthquake Information Center, "Earthquake
Facts and Statistics", 2000, http://www.neic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html)
In the Qur’an, there are certain verses that
point out the relation between earthquakes and the End Times.
The 99th Surah is called Surat az-Zalzala; zalzala means great
shaking, or earthquake. This Surah, composed of eight verses,
describes the violent shaking of the earth and states that,
following it, the Judgment Day will arrive, people will be
raised from the dead, will give account of themselves to Allah,
and receive their just rewards, even for the slightest thing
that they have done:
When the earth is convulsed with its quaking
and the earth then disgorges its charges
and man asks, "What is wrong with it?",
on that Day it will impart all its news
because your Lord has inspired it.
That Day people will emerge segregated to see the results
of their actions.
Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it.
Whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it.
(Surat az-Zalzala: 1-8)
Increasing murders
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| "The
Hour (Last Day) will not be established
until murders will increase"
(Bukhari) |
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The noticeable increase in murder
is a sign announced in the hadiths.
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Fratricide / Brother's or Sister's murder
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The Judgment Day will not come unless one
murders his / her brother / sister. (Muhammad
ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul Barzanji , Al-Isha‘ah
li-ashrat al-sa‘ah, p. 141) |
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The Collapse of Moral Values
In our day, there is a great danger that threatens
the world’s social fabric. In the same way as a virus
kills the human body, this danger brings about subtle social
collapse. This danger is the degradation of those moral values
that help to maintain a healthy society. Homosexuality, prostitution,
pre-marital and extra-marital sex, sexual misdemeanors, pornography,
sexual harassment and the increase of sex-related illnesses,
are a number of important indications of the collapse of moral
values.
These remain continual matters of public concern.
A great number of people are not aware of the danger that
is increasing around them, and mistakenly consider it as normal.
But, statistics show that, with every passing day, the extent
of the danger is growing unperceived.
The proportion of sex-related illnesses is an important criterion
to help indicate the extent of the problems facing humanity.
According to the records of the World Health Organization
(WHO), sex-related diseases forms one of the largest segments
of illnesses. These reports show that of an estimated 333
million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases occur in
the world every year. (WHO, “Young People and Sexually
Transmitted Diseases”, Fact sheet no:186, December 1997,
http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact186.html) In addition, AIDS
continues to be the most serious problem. Statistics of WHO
indicate that the total number of AIDS deaths since the beginning
of the epidemic have been 18.8 million persons. (WHO, “Report
on the Global HIV/ AIDS Epidemic”, June 2000, http://www.unaids.org/
epidemic_update/report/Epi_report.htm#aids) The report of
the World Health Organization for the year 2000 sums up the
situation succinctly: “AIDS is unique in its devastating
impact on the social, economic and demographic underpinnings
of development.” (WHO, “Report on the Global HIV/
AIDS Epidemic”, June 2000, http://www.unaids.org/ epidemic_update/report/Epi_report.htm#aids)
Among the most frightening developments is the
spread of homosexuality. In some countries, homosexuals can
be legally married, enjoy the social benefits of marriage,
and form associations and organizations. Around the world
their activities show their opposition to religious faith
and their antagonism to religious values. This is a characteristic
of our age; such things have never happened before since the
time of the Prophet (saas).
The audacity of today’s homosexuals makes
one think of the end of the people of Lut who were noted for
their homosexuality. As it says in the Qur’an, when
they flamboyantly rejected Lut (as)’s invitation to
the right path, Allah destroyed the city and its people by
a great disaster. As a reminder, the remains of this perverse
society still lie beneath the water of Lut’s Lake (the
Dead Sea).
It is clear that the hadiths describing the End
Times and its moral degeneration are coming true today.
 
For societies without religious
and moral values AIDS has become a quickly spreading
and insurmountable problem. |
- One hadith indicates that the absence of the
shame of prostitution is a sign of the Last Day.
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will be prevalence of open illegal sexual
intercourse.
(Bukhari) |
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- The Prophet (saas) says that the spread of extra-marital
sexual relationships in society is a sign:
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Hour will come when adultery becomes widespread.
(Al-Haythami, Kitab al-Fitan) |
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- The weakening of moral values and a sense of
shame is described in these words:
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Last Hour will not be established until
they (wicked people) commit adultery on
the roads (public ways). (Ibn Hibban and
al-Bazzar) |
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It is interesting to note that, recently, scenes
of prostitution captured by hidden cameras have been broadcast
on television channels. Prostitutes have sexual intercourse
with their customers in open view in the middle of the street.
This is another sign of the Last Day revealed in a hadith;
millions of people have witnessed this sign. These hadiths
show that tolerating homosexuality as a normal way of life
is an important sign of the period before the Last Day.
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Men will imitate
women; and Women will imitate men. (Allama
Jalaluddin Suyuti, Durre-Mansoor)
People will
indulge in homosexuality and lesbianism
(Al-Muttaqi Al-Hindi, Muntakhab Kanzul Ummaal) |
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The growing prevalence of homosexuality over the past
few years is a frightening development. This phenomenon
was mentioned in the hadiths of our Prophet (saas)
fourteen centuries ago.
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The
Rejection of the True Religion and the Moral Values of the
Qur’an
The hadiths that deal with the signs of the Last
Day provide us with a detailed description of the period in
which these signs will appear. We can understand from the
hadiths of the Prophet (saas) that the first stage of the
End Times is a period that seems to be religious, but one
that almost completely rejects Allah’s religion and
the moral values of the Qur’an. It is a period in which
that which has been clearly indicated in the verses of the
Qur’an are overlooked, non-Islamic judgments are given
by using the name of Allah, religion falls into discord, worship
is performed for show, and religion is used as a means for
profit and gain. It is a characteristic of this time that
faith does not depend on knowledge and study but on imitation.
In this time, so-called Muslims are in the majority, while
real scholars and sincere Muslims are in the minority.
The following are the signs reveled by the Prophet
(saas) 14 centuries ago, and which are coming true in the
age in which we live:
- According to the Qur’an, on the Last Day
the Prophet (saas) will say that his own people will have
abandoned the Qur’an: “My Lord, my people
treat this Qur’an as something to be ignored…”
(Surat al-Furqan: 30) It is also revealed in the hadiths that,
during the End Times, the Qur’an’s guidance will
be disregarded and people will stray from it.
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the establishment of the Hour there will
be days during which (religious) knowledge
will be taken away (vanish) and general
ignorance will spread... (Bukhari) |
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- A comparison is made in Surah Jumuah, verse
5: “The metaphor of those who were charged with the
Torah but then have not upheld it, is that of a donkey carrying
books…” There is no doubt that this verse applies
as a warning to Muslims, reminding them that they must be
careful not to fall into the same grave error. The Qur’an
was sent down as a book of guidance for people to observe.
The Prophet (saas) said that, despite the fact
that the Qur’an will be read, the knowledge and wisdom
it contains will not be considered. This is another sign of
the time of the End Times.
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will come a time upon the Ummat when people
will recite the Qur’an, but it will
not go further than their throats, (into
their hearts). (Bukhari)
Allah's Messenger
(saas) spoke of something and said: “It
will happen when knowledge will be no more.
“ (Ziyad) said: “Allah's Messenger,
how will knowledge vanish despite the fact
that we will be reciting the Qur'an and
teaching its recitation to our children
and our children will teach its recitation
to their children up to the Day of Resurrection?"
Thereupon he (the Prophet (saas)) said:
“Ziyad, do these Jews and Christians
not recite the Torah and the Bible but not
act according to what is contained in them?”
(Ahmad, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi) |
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- It is a sign of the End Times that some Muslims
will follow the example of heretical Jews and Christians and
imitate them blindly.
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Prophet (saas) said, “Surely you will
follow the ways, of those nations who were
before you, span by span and cubit by cubit
(i.e. inch by inch) so much so that even
if they entered a hole of a lizard, you
too would follow them," We said, “O
Allah's Messenger! Do you mean the Jews
and the Christians?" He replied, “Whom
else?" (Bukhari) |
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- Surat al-An’am, verse 26 speaks of those
who keep others away from the Qur’an. We can understand
from the hadiths that there will be corrupt manners of thought
prevalent before the Doomsday comes, and that systems will
come into being that are far from truth and justice, that
only cause great discord and draw people away from the ways
of Allah.
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Apostle of Allah (saas) said:
Before the Last Hour there will be commotions
like pieces of a dark night. (Abu Dawud)
Before the
Last Hour there will be commotions like
pieces of a dark night in which a man will
be a believer in the morning and an infidel
in the evening, or a believer in the evening
and infidel in the morning. (Abu Dawud)
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- It will be a sign of the Last Day that after
Allah has completely revealed in the Qur’an what is
lawful and what is forbidden, laws and commands will be given
that are not essential to religion:
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| A
time will come when a man will not care
about how he gets things, whether lawful
or unlawful. (Bukhari)
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- Allah’s Messenger (saas), revealed to us
that, in the End Times, some people acknowledged as scholars
will actually be two-faced impostors:
|
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| Wolves
will give readings in the End Times. Let
those who come to see those times seek shelter
from their evil in Allah. They will be very
corrupt people. Hypocrisy will prevail,
and nobody will be ashamed of it and its
manifestations. (Tirmidhi)
Allah's Messenger
(saas) said, “In the End Times men
will come forth who will fraudulently use
religion for worldly ends and wear sheepskins
in public to display meekness. Their tongues
will be sweeter than sugar, but their hearts
will be the hearts of wolves.” (Tirmidhi)
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- Those people are described who show no respect
for the laws of Islam and who do not hesitate to use religion
as a means for their own profit:
|
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| In
the End Times of the community of the faithful,
people, those who adorn the mosques but
leave their own hearts in ruins, who fail
to look after their religion as much as
they do their clothes, who forsake their
religious obligations for the sake of their
activities in this world, will increase
in number. (Agreed upon) |
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- It is a sign that the Doomsday is approaching
when people know that Allah has commanded them to prefer goodness
and shun evil, but do not observe it:
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The Last Hour will not be established
until there will remain those people who
will neither be aware of the virtures
and never prevent the vices. (Ahmad)
Near the establishment of the Hour,
good deeds will decrease. (Bukhari)
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- In one hadith it is revealed as a sign of the
Last Day that faithful Muslims will become weakened under
pressure from sinners:
|
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| The
Hour will come when voices are raised in
the mosques. (Tirmidhi)
The Hour
will come when leaders are oppressors. (Al-Haythami,
Kitab al-Fitan)
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- The Prophet (saas) says that, in the End Times,
there will be very few people who can be called true believers:
|
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| There
will come a time for my people when…
the mosques will be full of people but they
will be empty of right guidance. (Agreed
upon) |
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- One hadith says that sincere Muslims will have
to hide their faith and perform their worship in secret:
|
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| A
time will come when the hypocrites will
live secretly among you, and the faithful
will try to live their religion in secret
among others. (Agreed upon) |
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- In the hadith quoted below, it is revealed as
a sign of the End that mosques and Islamic schools will be
made into places used only as social gatherings:
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| A
time will come upon people in which they
will use the Masjid as a pavilion (a meeting
place). (Narrated by Hasan (r.a.)) |
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- In the End Times, people will appear who read
the Qur’an for profit rather than to gain Allah’s
approval:
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| Let
him who reads the Qur’an ask (his
reward) from Allah. Because in the final
times there will be many people who read
the Qur’an and seek their reward from
other people. (Tirmidhi) |
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- It is also a sign that the Qur’an will
be read only for pleasure, just like a song:
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| When
the Qur’an is read as if singing a
song, and when a person is esteemed for
reading in that way, even though he is not
knowledged… (Al-Tabarani) |
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- Some people who will be recognized as Muslims
will have a warped understanding of fate, while some will
believe that the stars can grant knowledge of the future.
This is another indication of the End Times: Despite the fact
that Allah has forbidden the taking of interest, it is done
openly. In one hadith, this is revealed as a sign:
|
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| 'The
Hour will come, when people believe in the
stars and reject al-Qadar (the Divine Decree
of destiny). (Al-Haythami, Kitab al-Fitan) |
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- Despite the fact that Allah has forbidden the
taking of interest, it is practiced openly. In one hadith,
this is revealed as one of the signs:
|
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| Undoubtedly,
a period will come upon people wherein not
a single person will be saved from indulging
in interest. If anyone avoids direct indulgence
in interest, yet he will not escape from
the smoke (effects) thereof.. Its effects
will somehow reach him. (Narrated by Abu
Hurairah) |
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- Another among the signs of the End Times is
that the pilgrimage will be made for the sake of travel, business,
ostentation or begging.
|
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| Such
a time will come when the rich go on pilgrimage
for purposes of travel, the comfortably
off for business, the wise for boasting
and outward show, and the poor to beg. (Narrated
by Anas (r.a.)) |
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Social
Deterioration
A serious problem that people face today
is the disintegration of the social fabric of societies. This
collapse is discernable in various ways. Broken families, the
increase in divorce and illegitimate births naturally lead to
the destruction of the institution of the family. Stress, anxiety,
unhappiness, worry and chaos turn the lives of many people into
a real nightmare. People living in a spiritual void, looking
for a way out of their depression, fall into a bleak mire of
alcohol or drugs. Some, who think that there is no solution
to be found, consider suicide as a way out. One
of the striking marks of social decline is the huge increase
in illicit activities. The level of crime has reached proportions
that astound even experts. The report, “Universal Crime
and Justice,” prepared by the United Nations’International
Crime Prevention Center, contains a general appraisal of crime
throughout the world:
The period referred to as the End Times will be a
time of extreme social disintegration. The structures
that form the basis of society will be seriously undermined.
In the hadiths of the Prophet (saas), there is much
to bring to light the collapse of the fabric of today’s
societies.
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Basically, as in the 1980’s, the crime rate
continued to rise in the 1990’s.
Everywhere in the world, in a five-year period,
two-thirds of the people living in large cities have been
the target at least once of a criminal action.
All over the world, the odds of being the target
of a serious crime (robbery, sexual crimes, assault) are one
in five. Regardless of the area, crimes against property,
and crimes of violence committed by youth, have both had economic
ramifications.
The number of types
of illicit drugs has increased and their nature diversified
in recent years. (United Nations Office for
Drug Control and Crime Prevention, Global Report on Crime
and Justice, 1999, http://www.uncjin.org/Special/GlobalReport.html)
Actually, all this is not surprising. The causes
of such a societal phenomenon are clearly related in the Qur’an,
in the accounts of past societies. Social deterioration, and
all the various problems associated with it, are the inevitable
result of human beings’forgetting Allah and the purposes
of their creation, and their abandoning religion and its spiritual
values.
The aspects of this social deterioration we see
happening so prevalently today were predicted by the Prophet
(saas) fourteen centuries ago. Allah's Messenger (saas) described
the End Times as “When people suffer strife and social
upheaval” (Ahmad Diya’al-Din al-Kamushkhanawi,
Ramuz al-Ahadith). The following are the hadiths relevant
to its first phase:
- It can be understood from the hadiths that the
increase in the amount of evil people, the fact those people
regarded as trustworthy are liars, and the fact that some
who are regarded as liars are actually trustworthy, are characteristics
of the End Times.
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| There
will be years of deceit, in which a truthful
person will be disbelieved and a liar will
be believed. (Ibn Kathir)
The time
will be years of confusion. People will
believe a liar, and disbelieve one who tells
the truth. People will distrust one who
is trustworthy, and trust one who is treacherous.
(Ahmad)
The day of
Judgment will not come until the very lowest
people are the happiest. (Tirmidhi) |
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- One hadith reveals that there will be few trustworthy
people and little money earned according to the rules and
laws of our religion:
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| In
the End Times, people will be carrying out
their trade but hardly will there be a trustworthy
person. (Bukhari and Muslim) |
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- Truthful testimony will be neglected while false
testimony and slander will be widespread. This is yet another
sign:
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| Verily
in the presence of the Last Hour, there
would be… false testimony and concealing
evidence. (Ahmad and al-Hakim)
There will
be false accusation of unchastity and slander.
(Tirmidhi) |
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- The only measure by which people will be judged
will be wealth, respect being dependent on how rich a person
is:
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| Before
the Hour comes, there will be special greeting
for the people of distinction. (Ahmad)
There will
be no Judgment until greetings are given
not to the people but to particular individuals.
(Mukhtasar Tazkirah Qurtubi ) |
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- It is said in the hadiths that another sign it
the destruction of social relations between people:
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| Only
people one knows will be greeted with the
salaam... (Ahmad Diya’al-Din al-Kamushkhanawi,
Ramuz al-Ahadith) |
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- In the hadith quoted below, it is stressed that
positions of responsibility will be given to those who are
not competent:
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| When
the power or authority comes in the hands
of unfit persons, then wait for the Hour
(Doomsday).(Bukhari) |
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- Another characteristic of the period will be
the disintegration of relationships among families, between
friends and neighbors, and the loss of community and spiritual
values:
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| A
man is unfilial towards his mother, and
drives his father far off... (Tirmidhi)
There would
(first) be turmoil for a person in regard
to his family, his property, his own self,
his children, his neighbors. (Bukhari and
Muslim) |
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One of the most important
features of the End Times will be the cessation of love
and respect among people. A sick person lying in the street,
with no one offering him assistance, will be a common
sight. |
- Young people will be rebellious and the love
and respect between young people and adults will deteriorate:
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| When
the old have no compassion for the young,
when the young show no respect to the old
… when children grow angry …
Judgment is at hand. (Reported by Omar (r.a.)) |
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- The hadiths show that another characteristic
of the End Times will be that divorce and the number of children
born outside marriage will increase:
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| Divorces
will be a daily occurrence.(Narrated by
Anas ibn Malik)
There will
be an abundance of illegitimate children.
(Al-Muttaqi Al-Hindi, Muntakhab Kanzul Ummaal) |
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"THE WESTERN MAN RUNS TO LONELINESS"
The disintegration of the family, failure of communication
among people, relationships formed not out love and
respect and increasing loneliness are all characteristics
of the End Times. This disintegration announced in the
hadiths is an opportunity for people to understand that
the Day of Judgment is approaching and to turn to Allah.
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- Influenced by materialism and their worldview,
people will be excessively attached to this world, and will
forget about the afterlife. This is another characteristic
of the End Times:
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| Meanness
and greed will multiply. (Muslim, Ibn Majah)
At that time,
people will sell their religion for a small
amount of worldly goods. (Ahmad) |
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|
- A hadith reveals that people will curse and swear
at each other:
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| In
the Last Days, there will be such people,
who, when they meet, curse and abuse each
other instead of greeting (with salaam).
(Allama Jalaluddin Suyuti, Durre-Mansoor) |
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- Another characteristic of the period will be
gossip and mockery of other people:
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| There
will be an abundance of critics, tale-carriers,
backbiters and taunters in society. (Al-Muttaqi
Al-Hindi, Muntakhab Kanzul Ummaal) |
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| 
Some gossip magazines.
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-Insincere flatterers will be respected:
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| As
Judgment draws near ... the most respected
people of the age will be lickspittles and
sycophants. (Agreed upon)
The Last Hour
will not arrive till people come forth who
make a living with their tongues as cows
eat with their tongues. (Tirmidhi) |
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|
- Another sign of the End Times to be frequently
encountered will be dishonesty in business and bribery:
|
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| Deceit
and cheating will be common, (‘Allamah
Safarini, Ahwal Yaum al-Qiyamah)
Bribes will
be called gifts, and will be considered
lawful. (Amal al-Din al-Qazwini, Mufid al-'ulum
wa-mubid al-humum) |
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- The Prophet (saas) describes the increase of murder in the
End Times in these words:
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| The
Hour (Last Day) will not be established
until murder will increase. (Bukhari ) |
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The Emergence of False Prophets
It is known that, throughout history, there have
been many false prophets. For the purpose of their own gain,
this kind of impostors have resorted to deceit, exploiting
people’s naiveté. Also in the hadiths, it is
revealed that false prophets will appear before Judgment Day.
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| The
Last Hour will not come before there come
forth thirty Dajjals (imposters), each presenting
himself as an apostle of Allah. (Abu Dawud) |
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|
The above hadith reminds us of developments in
our own day. By taking advantage of the hopes of Muslims and
Christians about the second coming of 'Isa (as), a number
of deceivers have claimed prophethood and at times caused
great suffering.
Experts have noted that there has been a proliferation
of so-called messiahs that began to appear in the 1970’s
and which has since increased substantially. According to
these experts, there are two basic reasons for this increase.
First is the collapse of communism, and the other is the possibilities
afforded by Internet technology. (Time, April 7, 1997, "The
lure of the cult")
The following excerpts have been selected as examples
to help us better understand this phenomenon:
"The fiery demise of the Branch Davidian compound
in Waco, Texas, that claimed the lives of David Koresh and
at least 74 of his followers…" (Britannica
CD 2000, "From Year in Review 1993: Chronology)
Last week at two sites in Switzerland and one in
Canada where 53 of Jouret’s followers and their children
died. Police in two countries are trying to find out whether
the deaths were mass suicide, mass murder or some bizarre
combination of the two. (Time, October 17, 1994, "In
The Reign Of Fire")
Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church,
says he is the Messiah of the Second Coming and that his family
is the first true family in all history! …The Unification
Church was officially founded in 1954 by Moon, who claims
that in 1936, when he was 16, ‘Isa (as) appeared to
him on a mountainside in Northwestern Korea and told him that
God had chosen him for the mission of establishing the Kingdom
of Heaven on Earth. (http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/moon/general.htm)
Grim evidence of the worst cult slaughter…Up
to1000 followers feared dead as more graves found in Uganda…
(The Guardian, March 29, 2000, "Grim evidence of worst
cult slaughter")
David Koresh, a false messiah,
and his burning house. (right)
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It was an event that sent shock waves worldwide—the
worst mass suicide in modern history. More than 900 people,
members of a cult, were found clustered together in a South
American forest. The dead were followers of Rev. Jim Jones,
the leader of the Peoples’Temple in San Francisco. (CNN,
"Jonestown, 1978", http://cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/century/
episodes/08/timelines/
headlines/infoboxes/jonestown.html)
The Qur’an also points to the advent of false
prophets. One verse pertaining to this topic is the following:
Who could do greater wrong than someone
who invents lies against Allah or denies His Signs, or who
says, “It has been revealed to me,” when nothing
has been revealed to him, or someone who says, “I
will send down the same as Allah has sent down”? If
you could only see the wrongdoers in the throes of death
when the angels are stretching out their hands, saying,
“Disgorge your own selves! Today you will be repaid
with the punishment of humiliation for saying something
other than the truth about Allah, and being arrogant about
His Signs.” (Surat al-Anam: 93)
As it is stated in that which follows this verse, these people
will surely receive their recompense for the lies they have
fabricated.
There is no doubt that there will be a time when all the lies
of all these false prophets will be eradicated. The Prophet
(saas) announced that, after the liars have gone, ‘Isa
(as) would return.
Science and Technology
- Construction Technology:
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| There
will be no Judgment—until very tall
buildings are constructed. (Reported by
Abu Hurairah)
The Hour will
not be established—till the people
compete with one another in constructing
high buildings. (Bukhari) |
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If we look at the history of architecture and engineering,
we see that multi-storied buildings began to be constructed
only towards the end of the nineteenth century. Technological
developments, the growing use of steel and the use of elevators
accelerated the construction of structures called skyscrapers.
Skyscrapers have become an important part of the architecture
of the twentieth and twentyfirst centuries, and have today
become a symbol of prestige. What the hadith says has come
true: people do compete in the construction of tall buildings,
and nations compete with one another in building the tallest
skyscrapers.
- Medical Technology:
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| At
that time... life spans will grow longer.
(Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al Qawl al-Mukhtasar
fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar) |
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|
Fourteen centuries have passed since the Prophet
(saas) said these words. Records kept over the past few years
have clearly shown that the average life expectancy in our
time is greater than that in every preceding age. Even, there
was already a great difference between the beginning and the
end of the twentieth century. For example, a person born in
1995 can expect to live more than 35 years longer than a person
born in 1900. (M. Encarta Encyclopedia 2000, "Aging")
Another striking example of this is that, in the past, people
rarely lived to a 100 years; today many people survive to
that age.
- Transportation Technology:
|
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| The
Last Day will not be established until …time
will pass quickly. (Bukhari)
Great distances
will be traversed in short spans of time.
(Ahmad, Musnad)
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The message at the above hadith is quite clear.
During the End Times, great distances will be traveled in
a short time by means of new vehicles. In our time, supersonic
aircraft, trains and other advanced vehicles can, in a few
hours, travel the distance it used to take months to, and
do it more easily, comfortably and safely. In this sense,
the sign related in the hadith has come true.
The Qur’an mentions vehicles that are the
product of modern advanced technology:
And horses, mules and donkeys both to ride and for adornment.
And He creates other things you do not know. (Surat an-Nahl:
8)
Here we may consider the meaning of the expression “time
will pass quickly” in the first hadith, in the light
of what we have related. Clearly, as the Prophet (saas) said,
during the End Times, tasks would be completed in a much shorter
time compared to other periods. Indeed, the advancements in
science have allowed the possibility for most things to be
finished in a much shorter time and with much better results.
A similar hadith confirms this view:
|
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| The
Last Hour will not come before time contracts,
a year being like a month, a month like
a week, a week like a day, a day like an
hour, and an hour like the kindling of a
fire. (Tirmidhi)
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For example, ages ago, international communication,
that would span a period of weeks, can now be completed in
a matter of seconds by the Internet and other modern communications
technology. In the past, goods that reached their destinations
after trips that took months by caravan can today be transported
instantly. Today, millions of books can be published in the
time it took to write merely a single book a few centuries
ago. Daily things we now take for granted, such as hygiene,
methods of food preparation, and child-care, no longer require
as much time with the help of modern technological wonders.
We could easily provide numerous such examples.
However, what we must stop to consider here is that the signs
revealed by the Prophet (saas) in the seventh century are
now coming true.
- Communications
Technology:
|
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| There
will be no Judgment ... until a person’s
own voice speaks to him.
(Mukhtasar Tazkirah Qurtubi)
|
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|
|
The message in this hadith is quite clear: it states
that a person’s hearing his own voice is a characteristic
of the End Times. Surely, for a person to hear his own voice,
first it has to be recorded and then listened to. Voice recording
and reproduction technology are products of the twentieth
century. This development was a turning point in the advancement
of science, one that has allowed the birth of the communications
and media industries. Voice recording has now reached its
apogee, with the latest developments in computer and laser
technology.
In short, today’s electronic devices, like
microphones and speakers, have made it possible to record
and listen to a person’s voice, showing that what the
above hadith has told us has come true.
Technology which can carry sound
and images thousands of kilometers by the touch of a
key show a striking parallel to things mentioned in
the Hadiths. |
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The sign of that day: A hand will be extended
from the sky, and people will look and see
it. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al Qawl a-Mukhtasar
fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar)
The sign
of that day is a hand extended in the sky
and people stopping to look at it. (Al-Muttaqi
al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir
al-Zaman)
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It is clear that the word “hand” in
the above hadith is intended figuratively. In earlier times,
“a hand’s being extended from the sky and people’s
looking and seeing it” as stated in the hadith might
not have meant much for them. But when today’s technology
is considered, this statement may be interpreted in a number
of ways. For instance, television, which has become an indispensable
part of the world today, and it, together with cameras and
computers, may explain very well what the hadith described.
The “hand” mentioned in the hadith might have
been used in the sense of power. It may be referring to the
images coming from the sky in the form of waves, that is,
television.
 
1400 years ago, sound recording
was described in the Hadiths as "a person's own voice
speaks to him." and the technology that makes it possible
to listen to sound recordings was predicted. Above we
see a music system which is the product of modern technology.
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