Class 3 – Minor Signs of the Last Day

Class 3

‘Minor Signs of the Last Day’

The Benefits of Studying the Signs of the Hour and the Unseen Events to Appear in the Future

It may be said, you have exhausted yourselves in studying matters which are of little benefit. It would be better if you concerned yourselves with the affairs and problems of the Muslims instead of wasting so much time in investigating things which will happen in the future. You should concern yourselves with the reality in which you are living, instead of some other world in which you hope to live or that you fear may come upon you. You are running away from facing real difficulties. We may sum up the benefits that we gain from studying the reports which speak of the portents of the Hour as follows:

• The fact that some of these prophecies have come to pass as they were described in the reports reaffirms and strengthens faith. Muslims in all ages have witnessed events happening as they were foretold in the sound texts. The Sahabah witnessed the victory of the Byzantines over the Persians, then the victory of the Muslims over both the Persians and the Byzantines, and the prevalence of Islam over all other religions. They saw the ummah split in the year when the Messenger ﷺ said it would happen, and they saw many events unfold as foretold in the texts. Similar things have happened in every era, the Muslims have witnessed events as foretold in the texts. Undoubtedly this has a great impact on strengthening the believer’s faith, and this is a means of calling others to the truth which our Lord has given us.
• Strengthening belief in the Day of Resurrection. The resurrection and its terrors are matters of the Unseen which Allah and His Messenger have informed us about. Belief in them is one of the fundamentals of faith. The fact that events in this world unfold as described in the texts is a clear indication of the truthfulness of all of the reports, including the reports about the Hour. And all of that comes from Allah.
• Other benefits are, knowing how to react in situations based on Shariah, being steadfast in times of trials because we are already warned about them, being away from soothsayers,

The Signs of the Hour

Many ahadeeth have been narrated in which the Messenger ﷺ listed a number of Signs of the Hour. The scholars divided them into two categories, the minor signs and the major signs. The minor signs, for the most part, will occur a long time before the Resurrection begins. Some of them have happened and ended – although they may be repeated – and some of them have appeared and are ongoing, and some have not yet happened, but they will happen as the truthful one (the Prophet ﷺ) has told us.

The major signs are serious matters, the appearance of which will indicate that the Day of Resurrection is at hand and that there is only a short time until that great Day comes.

MINOR SIGNS OF THE LAST DAY

The Sending of the Messenger ﷺ and his Death. One of the Signs of the Hour is the sending of the Messenger ﷺ and his death. According to the hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, Sahl ibn Sa’d said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gesturing with his fingers like this, the middle finger and the finger which is next to the thumb (i.e., the index finger), and he said, ‘I and the Hour have been sent like these two.”

The appearance of fire in the Hijaaz, which appeared in the middle of the 7th century AH, in 654 AH. This was a great fire, which the scholars who were alive at the time of its appearance and those who came after them described in great detail. Al-Nawawi said: There appeared in our time a fire in Madeenah, in the year six hundred and fifty-four. It was a very great fire on the eastern side of Madeenah, beyond the Harrah, and knowledge of it was widespread throughout Syria and all lands. Those of the people of Madeenah who were present told me about it.

The emergence of claimants to Prophethood, such as the liar Musaylimah and al-Aswad al-‘Anasi. (Some say that this is ongoing as we have some of the

The appearance of fitan (tribulations). Among the tribulations that occurred in the early years of Islam were:

• (i) The appearance of troubles in the east
• (ii) The killing of Uthmaan (ra)
• (iii) The battle of al-Jamaal
• (iv) The battle of Siffeen
• (v) The appearanc of the Khawaarij
• (vi) The happening of al-Harrah
• (vii) The appearance of the saying that the Quran is created
• (viii) The following of the ways of the previous nations
  
  

How to save oneself from tribulation

The Messenger ﷺ taught his ummah how they should deal with tribulations which arise among Muslims where matters are confused and it is not clear who is in the right. The Messenger ﷺ advocated avoiding conflict and fighting in such situations, and retreating to a remote place where a man could tend sheep on the mountain tops, or strive against the enemy on the borders of the Islamic state.

This applies to the online wars and all the other places where people jump to conclusions even though the matter is not clear, stay away from Fitan and let the events unfold. We do not need to engage in everything and end up gossiping about them.

The conquest of Constantinople, Constantinople was conquered in 1453 by Muhammad al Fatih

Widespread wealth and lack of need for charity. Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet ﷺ said, “The Hour (Day of Judgment) will not be established till your wealth increases so much so that one will be worried, for no one will accept his Zakat and the person to whom he will give it will reply, ‘I am not in need of it.’ “ Sahih Al-Bukhari

It seems that this has happened more than once. It was reported in Fath al Bari that this had happened at the time of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez (may Allah be pleased with him).

The Appointment of Unqualified People to Positions of Authority. The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘When unqualified people are appointed (to the positions of authority and leadeship ), watch for the Hour. “‘ (Bukhari)

We may note that the Messenger ﷺ did not grant permission to rebel against sinful rulers, because of the tribulation and bloodshed that may result from such a rebellion. This is the case if they (the sinful rulers) are applying the shari’ah of Allah in general.

Increase in the number of police and helpers of the oppressors, Oppression and injustice will increase at the end of time. Men appointed to maintain security and deter wrongdoing will themselves be spreading corruption. They themselves will become oppressors, whipping the backs of the people. This is very common in the world today.

At-Tabaraani narrated with a sahih isnad from Abu Umaamah that, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘At the end of time there will be men with whips like the tails of cattle. They will go out in the morning subject to the wrath of Allah, and they will come back in the evening subject to His wrath.”

Zina will become rife. Allah’s Messenger said, “From among the portents of the Hour are (the following): 1. Religious knowledge will be taken away (by the death of Religious learned men). 2. (Religious) ignorance will prevail. 3. Drinking of Alcoholic drinks (will be very common). 4. There will be prevalence of open illegal sexual intercourse. [Al-Bukhari (80) and Muslim (2671)]

The social media and WhatsApp and other modern day technology facilitates zina, limit its use and keep an eye on your children using it.

Riba will become rife. The Prophet ﷺ said: A time is certainly coming to mankind when only the receiver of usury will remain, and if he does not receive it, some of its vapour will reach him. Ibn Isa said: Some of its dust will reach him. (Abu Dawud, Book 22, Number 3325)

Again something we see so common, mortgage, riba based loans, working in purely riba based companies, people make excuses to get into, they say we dont have any other choice when clearly it is only their worldly desires that is being fulfilled by them continuing that job.

Drinking Alcohol and Spread of musical instruments and their being thought to be allowed. The Prophet ﷺ said, “From among my followers there will be some people who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the wearing of silk, the drinking of alcoholic drinks and the use of musical instruments, as lawful [Sahih Bukhari]

Killing will be rife The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Just before the Hour, there will be days when knowledge will disappear, ignorance will become widespread and there will be much Harj. And Harj means killing.” [Sunan Ibn Majah Vol. 1, Book 36, Hadith 4050 Sahih]

Many Earthquakes will occur. The Prophet ﷺ said:

• “The Hour (Last Day) will not be established until (religious) knowledge will be taken away (by the death of religious learned men), earthquakes will be very frequent, time will pass quickly, afflictions will appear, murders will increase and money will overflow amongst you.” [Sahih al-Bukhari 1036]
• In this Ummah there will be punishments of earthquakes, showers of stones and deformity; that will be when the people drink khamr, listen to female singers and play musical instruments. (Tirmidhi 2219)

Trust will disappear He ﷺ said:

• ‘So there will come a day when people will deal in business with each other, but there will hardly be any trustworthy persons among them, such that it would be said that in such and such a tribe, there is such and such person, who is honest, and until a man will be admired for his strength, intelligence, and good manners, although indeed he will not have faith equal to a mustard seed in his heart.“‘ [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2179 Sahih]
• In the End Times, people will be carrying out their trade but hardly will there be a trustworthy person. (Bukhari and Muslim)

Building tall buildings & The slave girls giving birth to her mistress Jibril asked the Prophet ﷺ about the signs of the hours, He ﷺ replied, “That the slave girl shall give birth to her mistress/master, and that you see barefoot, naked, poor shepherds building tall buildings.” [Muslim Book 1 Chapter 2 Hadith 6]

There are many interpretations of this hadeeth one of them is where Ibn Rajah said in his commentary on this hadith: “What is implied by the signs of the Hour mentioned in this hadith is that control of affairs will be given to those who are not qualified for that, as the Prophet ﷺ said to the one who asked him about the Hour: ‘When control of affairs is entrusted to those who are not qualified for that, then look for the Hour.’ When the barefoot, naked shepherds, who are ignorant and rough people, become the leaders of people and so wealthy that they compete with one another in building lofty structures, this leads to corruption in both religious and worldly systems…”

Exclusive Greetings, Widespread Trade and Severance of Family Ties The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Just before the Hour there will be exclusive greetings and widespread trade, such that a woman will help her husband in his business, severance of family ties, false testimony, concealment of truthful testimony, and the emergence of the pen. “‘ (Ahmad)

What is meant by “exclusive greetings” is that a Muslim will only give salaams to those whom he knows. This has happened before, and is very widespread in our own times and is ever increasing. And Allah is the One Whose help we seek.

Severing Family ties is another thing which is very common amongst the ummah now. And with the ecommerce industry trading has become so common.

Religious Ignorance will prevail, The Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: From among the portents of the Hour are (the following): Religious knowledge will decrease (by the death of religious learned men) and Religious ignorance will prevail. [Sahih al-Bukhari Book 3, Hadith 23]

Inanimate objects will speak The Prophet ﷺ said,

• “The Last Hour will not come before the end of a man’s whip speak to him”. (Tirmidhi)
• “The Hour will not come until the time when a man will leave his home, and his shoes or whip or stick will tell what is happening to his family.” (Musnad Ahmad).

Smart Phones, TVs, Radio?

The Standards by Which People are Measured Will Become Distorted

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘There will come to the people years of treachery, in which the liar will be believed, the honest will be disbelieved, traitors will be entrusted with things and trustworthy people will be regarded as traitors, and the ruwaybiqah will speak. It was asked, ‘What is the ruwaybiqah?’ He said, ‘The insignificant man, who will speak about matters of general interest.'” (Ahmed, Ibn Majah)

Whoever thinks about the state of the world today will see that we are living in the time ﷺ spoke about. The lies media sells us, glorifying the the evil and degrading the ones who are honest. The leaders of today are also examples of talking about matters and causing destruction.

The Nations Will Call One Another to Attack the Muslim Ummah

Among the signs of the Hour will be the savage attack of the nations against this ummah. According to the hadith narrated from Thawbaan, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Soon the nations will call one another to attack you, as diners call one another to the platter.”
Someone asked the Prophet, “Will that be because we will be few in number those days?”
He replied, “No, those days you will be many, but you will be foam, like the foam of the sea. Allah will remove fear and respect from the hearts of your enemies, and He will fill your hearts with wahn (weakness).”
Someone inquired, “0′ Messenger of Allah, what is that wahn (weakness)?”
He said, “Love of this world and hatred of death. “

This happened more than once in the history, when the crusader nations called one another to attack this ummah, and again when the Tartars conquered the Islamic world. But this prophecy has been fulfilled in the last century in a clearer way, they agreed to destroy the Islamic khilaafah (caliphate), then they carved up the Muslim lands.

Up until the present day, the forces of evil are co-operating with one another to destroy this ummah, taking its resources and stealing its wealth and humiliating its men. The Muslim ummah is humbled and made submissive, and its large numbers are of no help to it. They are foam like the foam of the sea, and the reason, as the Messenger ﷺ said, is the wahn – love of this world and hatred of death.

The adherence of this ummah to its religion and unity is a barrier which prevents its enemies from achieving their aims. No matter what the plots and strength of the enemy, they can never prevail over this ummah if it is united. The Messenger ﷺ said: “I asked my Lord not to let overwhelming famine destroy the entire ummah, and not to allow any enemy from outside to wipe it out. My Lord said, ‘0’ Muhammad, if I have decreed something, it can never be changed. But I have granted you that overwhelming famine should never destroy your entire ummah, and that they should never be wiped out by an enemy from outside. Even if all the surrounding nations were to come together to destroy them, they will not be able to do so. But some of this ummah will destroy one another and take one another prisoner. ” (Muslim)

Some other signs reported and that can easily be seen in the present times are: –

• The conquest of Jerusalem.
• The plague of Amwaas (Emmaus), which is a city in Palestine.
• Appearance of women in clothes which do not cover them, can be seen in today’s clothing, transparent, tight, some part of the skin coming under the Awrah is showing and all of these are done by sisters who are supposedly wearing the Hijab
• Spread and increase in writing, Social media has given everyone the power to write and say anything about anyone, we see random people having a go at scholars.
• Time passing quickly
• Sudden death being common
• Adorning the mosques and rivalling therein
• Increase in falsehood and having no concern to check reports
• Increase in false testimony and witholding true witness
• Large number of women and small number of men
• Hatred amongst peoples hearts
• Wishing for death because of the severity of trials

SubhaanAllah all of these have more or less already occurred, May Allah give us all the Hidayah to take this as a reminder and set our affairs right, become better Muslims, make us amongst those who stick to the right path and are amongst those who He is pleased with.