

Prophecy is the history of possible futures, passing like movie previews through the minds of seers who may feel either blessed or cursed by their visions. Westerners have been saturated for two millenia with Judaeo-Christian visions of apocalypse, to the exclusion of any consideration for other opinions such as those of the Muslims.

Islam has produced many prophecies concerning the end of this cycle of civilization. Some of them obviously derive from Biblical sources, while others are quite original and intriguing warnings of Fitnah (Tribulation) and Qiyamah (Judgment Day).

Signs of Qiyamah ~

The Holy Prophet Mohammed (peace be on him: pboh) made this general prophecy about the present state of affairs, recorded in the Mudkhal by Ibn-al-Hajj: "The Holy Prophet (pboh) said, "Prayers will be neglected, carnal desires will be pursued, transgressors will become leaders, it will not be possible to distinguish the faithful from the false, telling lies will become desirable, payment of Zakah will be taken as a burden, the believer will be deemed the most disgraceful and he will be pained at seeing evils all around and his heart will melt as salt in water but he will not be able to say anything. Rain will do no good; it will fall out of season. Males will commit adultery with males, and females with females. Women will dominate. The offspring will disobey their parents, friend will treat his friend badly, sins will be taken lightly. Mosques will have external decorations and beauty and there will be worshippers too but there will be hypocrisy and mutual enmity in their hearts. Then will appear a people from the West who will dominate the weak among my people. People will produce copies of the Holy Quran in letters of gold but will not act upon it. The Quran will be recited in a melodious way. Usury will become rampant. Human blood will have no value, religion will have no helpers. Singing women will be on the increase. The rich will perform the Hajjas as a pastime, the people of the middle class will do so to conduct business and the poor to beg for charity."

In the Shama'il of Timirdi, the Prophet Mohammed (pboh) again predicted the wealth and decadence of the modern world: "The best of the generations is my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them, then after them will come a people who will praise themselves in abundance of wealth and love and plumpness..."

"When the booty is taken in turn, property given in trust is treated as spoil, Zakah is looked on as a fine, learning is acquired for other than a religious purpose, a man obeys his wife and is unfilial toward his mother, brings his friend near and drives his father far off, voices are raised in the mosques, the most wicked member of a people becomes its leader, a man is honored through fear of the evil he may do, singing girls and stringed instruments make their appearance, wines are drunk, and the last members of this people curse the first ones, look at that time for a violent wind, an earthquake, metamorphosis, pelting rain, and signs following one another like bits of a necklace falling one after the other when its string is cut."

Timirdi also recorded this narration by 'Imran ibn Husayn: "The Prophet (pboh) said: 'Some people of this Ummah will be swallowed up by the earth, some will be transformed into animals, and some will be bombarded with stones.' One of the Muslims asked, 'When will that be, O Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'When singers and musical instruments will become popular, and much wine will be drunk.'"

Similarly, according to Ahmad, 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."

Huzafa narrates that Mohammed (pboh) said: "Qiyamah will not come till you see ten signs, which are: Smoke which spreads throughout the East and West for forty days; Dajjal; Da'aba, a four-legged beast of the length of 60 yards. He will have the stick of Musa [Moses] and ring of Sulaiman [Solomon]. In running he will have no equal. He will strike Mu'min with Musa's stick and will mark the word Mu'min on his face and similarly put the stamp of Kafr [Star of David] on the face of the Kafr; Rising of the sun from the West; Descent of Isa ibn Maryam [Jesus]; Juj and Majuj [Gog and Magog]; Sinking of the earth at three places, East, West, and Arabian Gulf; Fire which will emanate from one side of Aden and drive the people to Hasr.

"These events also are said to be inevitable: The Kaaba will be burned down, after which Dajjal will abide on earth. Then Allah (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam: saws) will send Isa, who will look upon the Dajjal and kill him. Then the people will live for seven years with no rancor at all. Then Allah (subhanahu wa taala: swt) will send a cold wind from the side of Syria that will remove all the believers from the earth, leaving only the wicked. Then Satan will come to them in human form and ask them, 'Why don't you respond?' And they will ask him what orders he has for them, and he will command them to worship idols, and they will have an abundance of wealth. Finally, the trumpet will be blown. Then Allah (swt) will send rain like dew, and bodies of people will grow from it, then the trumpet will be blown again and they will stand up and begin to look around. Then it will be said, 'O people, go to your Lord, and make them stand there'. Then we will be questioned. Then it will be said, 'Bring out a group for the 999 out of 1000 for the Hell-Fire'. This will be the day that will make the children old because of its terror."

The sinking of the earth in three places also has been interpreted as the defeat of armies.

Abdullah ibn Amr reiterates Huzafa: "Allah's Messenger (pboh) said: The Dajjal will appear in my Ummah and he will stay for forty --- I cannot say whether he meant forty days, forty months or forty years. Allah will then send Isa ibn Maryam, who will resemble Urwah ibn Mas'ud. He will chase Dajjal and kill him. Then people will live for seven years, during which time there will be no rancour between any two persons. After that Allah will send a cold wind from the direction of Syria. None will survive on Earth, having a speck of good in him or faith in him: he will die. Even if some among you were to enter the innermost part of the mountain, this wind would reach that place also and cause your death. I heard Allah's Apostle (pboh) as saying: Only the wicked people will survive and they will be as careless as birds with the characteristics of beasts. They will never appreciate good nor condemn evil. Then Satan will come to them, in human form, and would say: Don't you respond? They will say: What do you order us to do? He will command them to worship the idols but, in spite of this, they will have an abundance of sustenance and lead comfortable lives. Then the trumpet will be blown and he who hears it will bend his neck to one side and raise it from the other side. The first one to hear that trumpet will be the person who is busy in setting right the cistern meant for supplying water to the camels. He will faint and the other people will also faint. Then Allah will send or He will cause to be sent rain which will be like dew and there will grow out of it the bodies of people. Then the second trumpet will be blown and they will stand up and begin to look around. Then it will be said: O people, go to your Lord. They will be made to stand there and they will be questioned. Then it will be said: Bring out a group for the Hell-Fire. It will be asked: How much? It will be said: Nine hundred and ninety-nine out of one thousand for the Hell-Fire. That will be the day that will make the children old because of its terror and that will be the day about which it has been said: "On the day when the shank will be uncovered". (Hadith 7023)

Hudhayfah ibn Usayd Ghifari says likewise: "Allah's Apostle (pboh) came to us all of a sudden as we were in a discussion. He said: What do you discuss about? The Companions said: We are discussing about the Last Hour. Thereupon he said: It will not come until you see ten signs before, and he made a mention of the smoke, Dajjal, the rising of the sun from the West, the descent of Jesus ibn Maryam (Allah be pleased with him), Juj and Majuj, and landslides in three places, one in the east, one in the west, and one in Arabia at the end of which fire would burn forth from Yemen, and would drive people to the place of their assembly [judgment]." (Hadith 6931)

Similarly, a narration by Abu Hurayrah states: "Allah's Apostle (pboh) said: Hasten to do good deeds before six things happen: the rising of the sun from the west, the smoke, the Dajjal, the beast, and the death of one of you, or the general turmoil." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 7039)

According to Hadhrat Abu Musa Ash’ari, the sage Rasulallah made these comments about life today: "Qiyamah will come when: it will be regarded as a shame to act on Quranic injunctions; untrustworthy people will be regarded as trustworthy and the trustworthy will be regarded as untrustworthy; it will be hot in winter and cold in summer; the length of days will be stretched; a journey of a few days will be covered in a few hours; orators and lecturers will lie openly; people will dispute over petty issues; women with children will be displeased on account of them bearing offspring, and barren women remain happy on account of having no responsibility of offspring; oppression, jealousy, and greed will become the order of the day; people will blatantly follow their passions and whims; lies will prevail over truth; violence, bloodshed and anarchy will become common; shameless immorality is perpetrated publicly; the offspring will become a cause of grief and anger for their parents; legislation of matters pertaining to the Deen will be handed over to the worst elements of the Ummat, and if people accept them and are satisfied with their findings, then such persons will not smell the fragrance of Jannat."

When Hadhrat Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood asked Rasulallah about the Signs of Qiyamah, he was told: "Music and musical instruments will be found in every home. People will indulge in homosexuality. There will be an abundance of illegitimate children. There will be an abundance of critics, tale-carriers, back-biters and taunters in society. People will establish ties with strangers and sever relations with their near and dear ones. Hypocrites will be in control of the affairs of the community and evil, immoral people will be at the helm of businesses. The Masjid will be decorated, but the hearts of people will be devoid of guidance. The courtyards of Masjids will be built beautifully and high pulpits will be erected. Various wines will be consumed in excess."

Auf bin Malik also consulted about Qiyamah with Rasulullah, who said: "Count six things before the advent of Qiyamah: (1) my death; (2) the conquest of Jerusalem; (3) mass deaths among you people, just as when sheep die in large numbers during an epidemic; (4) abundance of wealth to such an extent that if a person were to be given a hundred dinars he will still not be satisfied; (5) general anarchy and bloodshed, that no Arab household will be spared from it; (6) then a life of peace as a result of a peace agreement between you and the Banil Asfaar [Romans, Christians] which they will break and attack you with a force consisting of eighty flags and under each flag will be an army of 12,000 men."

The Muslims have several specific prophecies that pit them against Jews and Christians till the bitter, exhausted end. The return of the Jews to Israel, the current situation in the Mideast, and the probable future was predicted quite explicitly in the Quran:

"And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, dwell securely in the land, But when the second of the warnings come to pass We shall bring you a crowd, gathered out of various nations." (Quran 17:104)

"And they shall incur the wrath of Allah, and humiliation will be made to cling to them. This is because they disbelieved in the message of Allah, and killed the Prophets of Allah. This is because they disobeyed and exceeded the limits." (Quran 3:111)

"And with those who say: We are Christians, We made a covenant, but they neglected a portion of that whereof they were reminded. So we allowed to stir up enmity and hatred among them to the Day of resurrection. And Allah will soon let them know the consequences of what they do." (Quran 5:14)

"There is not a town but We will destroy it before the Day of Resurrection or chastise it with a severe chastisement." (Quran 17: 58)

"On that day We shall let some of them surge against the others, and the trumpet will be blown. Then We shall gather them all together. And We shall bring forth hell, exposed to view, on that day before the misbelievers." (Quran 18: 99, 100)

In Chapter "Fitnah" of Mishkah al Masabih, the Prophet Mohammed (pboh) says: "The last hour will not come before the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, so that Jews will hide behind stones and trees and the stone and the tree will say, "O Muslim, O servant of God! There is a Jew behind me; come and kill him." The only exception will be the box thorn; for it is one of the trees of the Jews."

One of the many signs of Qiyamah, the Muslim tribulation, includes a prophecy transmitted by Abu Nadhrah about Iraq and Syria that was fulfilled by America’s mercenary Gulf War I and the occupation of Iraq by US carpetbaggers in 2003:

"We were sitting in the company of Jabir bin Abdullah when he said: Soon the people of Iraq will neither receive any food nor any money. We asked: Why would such a thing happen? He replied: Because of the non-Arabs. Soon the people of Shaam (Syria) will neither receive any money nor grain. We asked as to why this would happen. He replied: Because of the Romans [Europeans/Christians]."

Dajjal ~

Muslims also have expectations of an antichrist; they call him al-Masih al-Dajjal ("Messiah-Liar"). He will deify Christ and pervert the words of the true Messiah. He will appear towards the end of this civilization. The location is variously given as the Jewish quarter of Isfahan, or in Khurasan, in al-Kufah, or between Shaam and Iraq.

Mohammed (pboh) warned of him in Chapter "Fitnah" of Mishkah-al-Masabih: "Abdullah, son of Umar, says that the Messenger of Allah stood up among the people, and when he had extolled Allah in a fitting manner he mentioned the Dajjal and said: I warn you of him, and there is no Prophet who has not warned his people. Noah warned his people. You must know that he is one-eyed, whereas Allah is not one-eyed and behold that Dajjal is blind of the right eye and his eye would be like a floating grape."

Mughirah ibn Shu'bah said: "None else had asked more questions from Allah's Messenger (pboh) about the Dajjal than I, but he simply said: My son, why are you worried because of him? He will not harm you. I said: The people think that he would have with him rivers of water and mountains of bread, whereupon he siad: He would be more insignificant in the sight of Allah than all these things." (Hadith 5352)

An-Nawwas ibn Sam'an, one of the disciples of Mohammed, gave this account of Dajjal given by the Prophet: "Allah's Apostle (saws) mentioned the Dajjal one day in the morning. He sometimes described him as insignificant and sometimes described him as very significant, as if he were nearby in the date-palm trees. When we went to him in the evening and he read our faces, he said: What is the matter with you? We said: Allah's Apostle (saws), you mentioned the Dajjal this morning as insignificant and sometimes very important, until we began to think he was present in the date-palm trees.

"So he said: I harbor fear in regard to you in so many other things besides the Dajjal. If he comes forth while I am among you, I shall contend with him on your behalf, but if he comes forth while I am not among you, a man must contend on his own behalf and Allah will take care of every Muslim on my behalf (and safeguard him against his evil). He will be a young man with twisted, cropped hair, and a blind eye. I compare him with Abdul Uzza ibn Qatan. He who among you will survive to see him should recite over him the opening verses of Surah al-Kahf (xviii). He will appear on the way between Syria and Iraq and will spread mischief right and left...

"We said: Allah's Apostle (saws), how long will he stay on Earth?

"He said: For forty days, one day like a year, one day like a month, one day like a week, and the rest of the days will be like your days.

"We said: Allah's Apostle (saws) will one day's prayer suffice for the prayers of the day equal to one year?

"Thereupon he said: No, but you must make an estimate of the time (and then observe prayer).

"We said: Allah's apostle (saws) how quickly will he walk upon the earth?

"Thereupon he said: Like cloud driven by the wind. He will come to the people and invite them (to a wrong religion); they will affirm their faith in him and respond to him. He will then give a command to the sky: there will be rainfall upon the Earth and it will grow crops. Then in the evening, their pasturing animals will come to them with their humps very high, their udders full of milk and their flanks distended. He will then come to another people and invite them. But they will reject him so he will go away from them; they will have a drought and nothing will be left with them in the form of wealth.

"He will then walk through the desert and say to it: Bring forth your treasures. The treasures will come out and gather before him like a swarm of bees. He will then call someone in the flush of youth, strike him with the sword, cut him into two pieces. He will then call and the young man will come forward laughing with his face gleaming."

According to Abu Huraira, Mohammed (pboh) once said: "May I not inform you about the Dajjal what no Apostle of Allah narrated to his people? He would be blind and he would bring along with him an image of Paradise and Hell-fire and I warn you as Nuh [Noah] warned his people."

Hudhaifa bin Yaman reported that Mohammed (saws) said: "Dajjal is blind of the left eye, with thick hair and there would be a garden and fire with him and his fire would be a garden and his garden would be fire."

Uqba bin Amr Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari went to Hudhaifa bin Yaman and said to him: "Narrate what you have heard from the Prophet (saws) pertaining to the Dajjal.

"He said that the Dijal would appear and there would be along with him water and fire and what the people would see as water that would be fire and that would burn and what would appear as fire that would be water and any one of you who would see that should plunge in that which he sees as fire for it would be sweet, pure water."

Ubadah bin Saamit said this of Dajjal: "Maseeh Dajjal will be short, and his legs will be crooked. The hair on his head will be extremely twisted. He will have one eye with which he can see, while his other eye will be totally flat. It will neither be deep in its socket nor protruding."

Al-Bukhari adds this detail: "When Dajjal appears, his complexion will be white and his right eye will be blind, while the left eye will shine like a bright star." (Book 77:68-92)

In Muslim symbology, a man's right side is heaven and the left side is hell. Accordingly, Dajjal will be a Caucasian who is spiritually blind, yet illuminated with hell-fire. He will possess all things that would appear pleasant to him and his followers, but which will be repulsive to Believers.

Ahmad mentions another sign of Dajjal's appearance: "On his forehead will be written "Kafr" [the letters "Kaa", "Faa", and "Raa", Disbeliever]. Every Muslim will be able to read this whether literate or illiterate." Anas bin Malik reported the same detail, spoken by the Prophet (pboh). (Musnad 2: 223)

Muslim prophecy lists many signs of the times that are repeated in different contexts in Islamic literature, which makes them difficult to compile in chronological order. Before Dajjal appears, there will be three years of drought. In the first year, the sky will withhold one-third of its water; in the second year, two-thirds, and in the third year, there will be no rain. All animals will die. When Dajjal appears, he will be followed by 70,000 Yahudis (Jews) from Isfahan (present-day Iran) wearing silk clothing, or wearing Persian shawls (according to Hadith 7034), and carrying double-edged swords.

At that time the earth will collapse into sinkholes in various places: one in the east, one in the west, and one in Hejaz, Saudi Arabia. A fog will cover the earth for 40 days, during which time the non-believers will lay unconscious, while Muslims will suffer from a cold-like illness. The fog will be followed by three days of darkness. This will occur during the month of Zil-Hajj after Eidul-Adha. Then the sun will rise in the west. After this event, it will be too late to repent. A cold wind will kill all Muslim believers, leaving only the infidels alive to witness the Last Hour. When the angel Israfil blows his trumpet, the resurrection will begin.

Dajjal is described in detail in Kanz al-Ummal (7:1998-2104). His "white ass" with 30-yard long ears may well be a description of an airplane. The comment that "His voice will be so loud that the whole world will hear him" probably refers to his use of radio and tv broadcasts:

"And he will cure the blind and the lepers and will revive the dead... The sea will be ankle-deep for him. Underneath him will be a white ass. The length of each one of its ears will be 30 yards, and his one step will be the distance of a day's journey. The enemy of Allah will make his appearance and with him will be an army of Jews and various kinds of men and women...

"The Holy Prophet Mohammed (pboh) said: There is no trial or tribulation greater than that of Dajjal since the creation of man up to coming of the Day of Resurrection...

"The last to follow him will be the women and illegitimate children...

"When Dajjal appears, the women will assume the appearance of men, and the men will assume the appearance of women. When Dajjal appears, there will be no part of the world left which he will not dominate, except the cities of Mecca and Medina.

"Whoever hears about Dajjal should keep way from him. By Allah! One will come to come to him and will think that he is a believer, but he will follow him on account of the doubts that he will raise in his mind.

"There will be some people accompanying Dajjal, who will say: We keep him company. Although we know that he is an unbeliever, we still keep his company so that we may eat his food.

"His voice will be so loud that the whole world will hear him when he speaks.

"Dajjal will travel the entire world and request the Earth to surrender its treasures, which it will willingly do.

"He will claim himself to be Allah, and whoever has a weak faith and accepts him, Dajjal will put him into his heaven; but whoever has a strong faith in Allah and rejects Dajjal will be put into his hell fire. However, those who go into his heaven will find that Allah has turned it into hell, and those who go into his hell will find that Allah has turned it into heaven.

"All these things Dajjal will do and dominate the entire world in 40 days, from the largest country to the smallest island; and his first day will be the length of one year, but the days will gradually decline into a normal day."

Mishkah al-Masabih contains a similar prophecy of distorted time: "Asma, daughter of Yazid, son of al-Sakan reported the Prophet as saying: Dajjal will remain in the earth for 40 years, a year being like a month, a month like a week, a week being like a day, a day like the time it takes to burn a palm branch."

These prophecies closely resemble the Tiburtine Sibyll’s oracle (ca. 500 AD) of time compression that will occur at the end this age: "The years will be shortened like months, the months like weeks, the weeks like days, the days like hours, and an hour like a moment."

This effect could be caused by the passage of a wandering black hole-star near or through our solar system. Elsewhere, it is stated that Dajjal will remain on Earth for 40 days, during which time the first day will be one year, the second day will equal one month, the third day will last one week, and the fourth day on will be "normal". This equals 14 months.

Chapter "Fitnah" in Mishkah al-Masabih includes the following prophecy about Dajjal: "We said, O Messenger of Allah, how swift will he travel on the Earth? He said: As the cloud is carried in the wind, He, Dajjal, will be jumping about between the Heavens and the Earth. He will then give command to the sky and it will give rain to the Earth, and it will produce crops. So the world's treasures will follow him as the bees follow their queen. Allah will give Dajjal the natural power of material knowledge, and the liberty to exercise that power in any way he wills, even to resurrect the dead.

"Dajjal will come riding on an ass which will cross great distances very quickly. [Airplanes]. Dajjal will be blind in his right eye, and the left eye will shine like a star. His skin will be white. Dajjal will have so much power that he will be able to carry Heaven and Hell upon his shoulders. Dajjal will be accompanied by beautiful women and spirits and bastard children and other kinds of people --- including an army of Jews. He will have music and singing unlike any ever heard before, and whoever hears it will follow it.

"When Dajjal appears and he cannot bring the whole world under his power and machinations and false beliefs, the Christian nations will stand up with 80 banners or flags in an effort to make peace in the world. But they will, in fact, betray the world and bring ultimate destruction to the entire human race."

Rasulullah said: "Dajjal will come but it will be prohibited and impossible for him to enter Medina. He will set up camp in a barren land outside Medina. There will be three tremors. At that time, all the disbelievers and hypocrites will flee. In this way Medina will be purified of all evil hypocrites. One person who will be the best of persons will confront him by saying: I bear witness that you are the very Dajjal about whom Raulullah has informed us. Dajjal will say to his followers: If I kill this person and then revive him will you people still doubt me? They will answer: No. He will then kill this person and revive him. This person will say: I am totally convinced more than ever that you definitely are Dajjal. He will attempt to kill this person again but his efforts will now be in vain."

Abu Hurayrah quotes Mohammed (pboh) concerning Dajjal, thus: "Allah's Messenger (pboh) said: Dajjal will come from the eastern side with the intention of attacking Medina until he will get down behind Uhud. Then the angels will turn his face towards Syria and there hewill perish." (Hadith 3187)

Sahih al-Bukhariquotes this narration by Anas bin Malik: "The Prophet said: As-Dajjal will come and encamp at a place close to Medina and then Medina will shake thrice, whereupon every Kafr [unbeliever] and hypocrite will go out towards him."

al-Bukharioffers a Hadith, narrated by Abdullah bin Umar, wherein Mohammed (pboh) says: "While I was sleeping, I saw myself in a dream performing Tawaf around the Ka'aba. Behold, I saw a reddish-white man with lank hair, and water was dropping from his dead. I asked, 'Who is this?' They replied: 'The son of Mary'. Then I turned my face to see another man with a huge body, red complexion and curly hair and blind in one eye. His other eye look like a grape protruding out. They said: 'He is Ad-Dajjal'. The man he resembled most is Ibn Qatan, a man from the tribe of Khuza'a."

Sahih Muslim states: "Allah's Apostle (pboh) said: You have heard of the city, one side of which is inclined and the other is on the coast [Constantinople]. They said, Yes, Allah's Apostle (pboh). Thereupon he said: The Last Hour will not come until 70,000 people from Banu Isra'il attack it. When they land there, they will neither fight with weapons nor shower arrows but will only say: 'There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest',and one side of it will fall. Thawr [one of the narrators] said: I think that he said: The area on the coast. Then they will say for the second time ''There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest', and the other side will fall. They will say: 'There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest', and the gates will be opened for them and they will enter. They will be collecting spoils of war and distributing them among themselves when a noise will be heard and it will be said: Verily, the Dajjal has come. Thus they will leave everything there and turn to fight him." ( Hadith 6979)

Sahih Muslim also gives this account by Abu Hurayrah: "Allah's Apostle (pboh) said: The Last Hour will not come until the Romans land at al-Amiq or in Dabiq. An army consisting of the best soldiers of the people on Earth at that time will come from Medina to oppose them. When they arrange themselves in ranks, the Romans will say: Do not stand between us and those Muslims who took prisoners from among us. Let us fight them. The Muslims will say: Nay, by Allah, we shall never turn aside from you and from our brethren so that you may fight them. They will then fight and a third of the army, whom Allah will never forgive, will run away. A third, which will be constituted of excellent martyrs in Allah's eyes, would be killed. The third who will never be put on trial will win and they will be the conquerors of Constantinople. As they are busy in distributing the spoils of war after hanging their swords by the olive trees, Satan will cry: The Dajjal has taken your place among your families. They will then come out, but it will be of no avail. When they reach Syria, he will come out while they are still preparing themselves for battle, drawing up the ranks. Certainly, the time of prayer will come and then Isa ibn Maryam (pboh) will descend and lead them in prayer. When the enemy of Allah sees him, it will disappear just as salt dissolves in water, and if Isa were not to confront them at all, even then it would dissolve completely. Allah would kill them by his hand and he would show them their blood on Isa's lance." (Hadith 6924)

Imam Mahdi ~

Muslims also expect the advent of Imam Mahdi ("The Guided One"). The Shia sect claims that he will appear out of a tunnel (which he entered at the age of 5) in Samarra; allegedly his name is Muhammed ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Askari.

A Hadith from Abu Allah ibn Masud says: "The Prophet (pboh) said, If there were only one day left for the world, that day would be lengthened until a man from among my descnedants or from among the people of my Household [Ahl al-Bayt, a descendant of Fatimah through Hasan], was sent; his name will be the same as my name, and his father's name will be the same as my father's name. He will fill the earth with justice and fairness, just as it will have been filled with injustice and oppression. The world will not end until a man of my housefold, whose name is the same as mine, holds sway."

According to Sa'id [Master] ibn-I Jabir, the prophet Mohammed (pboh) told Ibn-I Abbas this similar prophecy of Imam Mahdi: "Even if the entire duration of the world’s existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before Qiyamah, Allah will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person from my Ahlul-Bayt who will be called by my name. He will fill the earth with peace and justice as it will have been full of injustice and tyranny by then.

"We (I and my family) are members of a household that Allah has chosen for them the life of the Hereafter over the life of this world; and the members of my household (Ahlul-Bayt) shall suffer a great affliction and they shall be forcefully expelled from their homes after my death; then there will come people from the East carrying black flags, and they will ask for some good to be given to them, but they shall be refused service; as such, they will wage war and emerge victorious, and will be offered that which they desired in the first place, but they will refuse to accept it till they pass it to a man from my family who appears to fill the Earth with justice as it has been filled with corruption. So whoever reaches that time ought to come to them even if crawling in the snow since among them is the Khalifatullah al-Mahdi."

In a similar prophecy, Abd Allah said: "Whilst we were with the Prophet (pboh), some young men from Banu Hashim approached us. When the Prophet (pboh) saw him, his eyes filled with tears and the color of his face changed. I said, We can see something has changed in your face, and it upsets us. The Prophet (pboh) said, We are the people of a Household for whom Allah has chosen the Hereafter rather than this world. The peolpe of my Household will suffer a great deal after my death, and will be persecuted until a people carrying black banners [the Abbasids] will come out of the east. They will instruct the people to do good, but the people will refuse; they will fight until they are victorious, and the people do as they asked, but they will not accept it from them until they hand over power to a man from my hosuehold. Then the earth will be filled with fairness, just as it had been filled with injustice. If any of you live to see this, you should go to him even if you have to crawl across ice."

Thwaban transmitted another version of this prophecy: "The Prophet (pboh) said, Three men will be killed at the place where your treasure is [the Ka'aba]. Each of them will be the son of a Khalifah, and none of them will get hold of the treasure. Then the black banners will come out of the East, and they will slaughter you in a way which has never been seen before. Then he said something which I do not remember; then, If you see him, go and give him your allegiance, even if you have to crawl over ice, because he is the Khalifah of Allah, the Mahdi."

Likewise, Abd Allah said: "The Prophet said (pboh), A man from my household, whose name is like mine, will take power".

Rasulullah makes similar claims for Imam Mahdi: "This world will not come to an end until one person from my progeny rules over the Arabs, and his name will be the same as my name.

"Al Mahdi will be from my progeny. His forehead will be broad and his nose will be high [or, hooked]. He will fill the world with justice and fairness at a time when the world will be filled with oppression. He will rule for seven years.

"There will be four peace agreements between you and the Romans. The fourth agreement will be mediated through a person who will be from the progeny of Hadhrat Haroon and will be upheld for seven years. He will be from my progeny and will be 40 years of age. His face will shine like a star and he will have a black spot on his left cheek. He will don two Qutwaani cloaks and will appear exactly as a person from Bani Israel.

"After the death of a Ruler there will be some dispute between the people. At that time a citizen of Medina will flee and go to Mecca. While in Mecca, certain people will approach him between Hajrul Sawad and Maqaame Ibraheem, and forcefully pledge their allegiance to him. Thereafter a huge army will proceed from Syria to attack him but when they will be at Baida, which is between Mecca and Medina, they will be swallowed into the ground. On seeing this, the Abdaals of Shaam as well as large numbers of people from Iraq will come to him and pledge their allegiance to him. Then a person from Quraish, whose uncle will be from the Bani Kalb tribe will send an army to attack him, only to be overpowered, by the will of Allah. This defeated army will be that of the Bani Kalb. Unfortunate indeed is he who does not receive a share from the booty of the Kalb. This person will distribute the spoils of war after the battle. He will lead the people according to the Sunnat and during his reign Islam will spread throughout the world. He will remain seven years. He will pass away and the Muslims will perform his Janazah salaat."

Other prophecies made by Mohammed (pboh), and transmitted by Ibn Majah and Ahmad, give these details about Imam Mahdi: "There will be a Caliph in the last period of my Ummah who will freely give handsful of wealth to the people without counting it. Al-Mahdi is from our Ahlul-Bayt; no doubt Allah will enforce his appearance within a night...

"The Mahdi is one of us, from among the people of my housefold. In one night Allah will inspire him and prepare him to carry out his task successfully."

According to Ahmad, Abu Said said: "By Allah, every ruler we have had has been worse than the previous one, adn every year has been worse than the year before, but I heard the Prophet (pboh) say, Among your rulers will be one who will give out wealth freely, without counting it. A man will come and ask him for money, and he will say, Take; the man will spread his cloak out and the ruler will pour money into it. The Prophet (pboh) spread out a thick cloak he had been wearing, to demonstrate the man's actions; then he gathered it up by the corners and said, Then the man will take it and leave."

This prophecy is found in Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib's Nahj'ul Balagha [The Path of Eloquence], Khutba 141, 187: "The Imam who will create a world state will make the ruling nations pay for their crimes against society. He will bring succor to humanity. He will take out the hidden wealth from the breast of the earth and will distribute it equitably amongst the needy deserving. He will teach you simple living and high thinking. He will make you understand that virtue is a state of character which is always a mean between the two extremes, and which is based on equity and justice. He will revive the teaching of the Holy Qur'an and the traditions of the Holy Prophet after the world has ignored them as dead letters. He will protect and defend himself with resources of science and supreme knowledge. His control over these resources will be complete. He will know how supreme they are and how carefully they will have to be used. His mind will be free from desires of bringing harm and injury to humanity. Such a knowledge to him will belike the property which was wrongly possessed by others and for which he was waiting for the permission to repossess and use. He, in the beginning, will be a poor stranger unknown and uncared for, and Islam then will be in the helpless and hopeless plight of an exhausted camel who has laid down its head and is wagging its tail. With such a start he will establish an empire of God in this world. He will be the final demonstration and proof of God's merciful wish to acquaint man with the right ways of life.

"Moreover, he said: Verily, a time will come upon you wherein nothing will be more concealed than the truth, nothing more manifest than falsehood, and nothing more manifest than falsehood, and nothing more than lies about God and his Apostle. The people of that time will possess no commodity more difficult to sell than the Book when it is correctly recited, or one more in demand when its passages are misinterpreted. There will be throughout all lands nothing more detested than good deeds, or more renowned than evil ones. The reciters of the Qura'an will have cast it away, and those who memorize it will have deliberately erased it from their minds. The book and its disciples will, on that day, be ostracized and outcast, two friends together on the road, to whom no one will offer shelter. The Book and its disciples will be, in that age, among the people and yet neither among them nor with them. For error is incompatible with guidance.

"Even though the Book and its disciples might come together, the people would agree to keep separate. They would divert from the community, as if they were the leaders of the Qura'an rather than it being their leader. Nothing will remain of it among them save the name; they will know nothing of it save its calligraphy and script. Before, they had not made an example of the righteous by maiming them, or called their sincerity towards God a lie, or punished good deeds with the penalties for crimes. They who preceded you perished because they went on hoping for too long and their allotted terms expired. Then the Promised One descended, by whom excuses are rejected and upon whom repentance has no effect, and with whom are the calamity and the affliction."

According to Abu Dawud, who devoted a chapter of his Sunan to Imam Mahdi, "Ali said, whilst looking at his sone al-Hasan, This son of mine is a Sayyid [master], as the Prophet (pboh) named him. Among his descendants there will be a man named after your Prophet (pboh). He will resemble him in behavior but not in looks..."

Abu Dawud also quotes the Hadith of Jabir ibn Samrah, in which the Prophet (pboh) says: "This religion will remain strong until twelve Caliphs have ruled over you... All of them will be from Quraysh... Then there will be Fitnah and killing."

According to Abu Dawud, Umm Salamah reported that the Prophet (pboh) said: "People will begin to differ after the death of a Khalifah [Caliph]. A man from the people of Madinah [Medina] will flee to Makkah [Mecca]. Some of the people of Makkah will come to him and drag him out against his will; they will swear allegiance to him between al-Rikn and al-Maqam. An army will be sent against him from Syria; it will be swallowed up in the desert between Makkah and Madinah. When the people see this, groups of people from Syria and Iraq will come and swear allegiance to him. Then a man from Quraysh whose mother is from Kalb will appear and send an army against them, and will defeat them; this will be known as the Battle of Kalb. Whoever does not witness the spoils of this battle will muss much! The Mahdi will distribute the wealth, and will rule the peole according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (pboh). Then he will die, and the Muslims will pray for him."

Other details given elsewhere describe him thus: his father’s name will be Abdullah; his mother’s name will be Aamina. He will stutter, and on occasion this will frustrate him so much that he will slap his thigh. He is short and has a ruddy face. His hair sticks up. He will be 40 years of age when he makes his appearance. An eclipse of the sun and moon will occur in the Ramadan observance just before he emerges. When the people pledge their allegiance to him, a voice will speak from the sky, saying, "This is the representative of Allah, the Mahdi; listen to him and obey him". His army will march under a black flag; it will come from Khurasaan.

Isa / Jesus ~

Jesus Christ (whom the Muslims call Hadhrat Isa or Isa ibn Maryam, the Messiah of Guidance) also figures prominently in Muslim prophecy. Christians deny the validity of the prophet Mohammed (pboh), but his followers acknowledge Jesus Christ as a great prophet, albeit not as the demigod that Christians have made of him. In the opinion of Muslims, Jesus (alayhe sallam: as) was sent only to the Children of Israel. He had no responsibility whatsoever to other nations or people. The Muslims justifiably resent the putative "Christians" who foist their disfunctional pretensions on other, older cultures (not that the Muslims are much better in that regard, in some respects).

The Surah an-Nisaaa (4:156-159) condemns the Jews for their killing of Jesus (as), and states that Allah (swt) declares their claims to be false. According to Muslim doctrine, a disciple who resembled Jesus sacrificed himself voluntarily: "And because of their saying, 'We killed Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah' --- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it was made to appear to them so.

"But Allah raised him up (with his body and soul) unto Himself; and Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise.

"And there is none of the people of the Scripture [Jews and Christians] but must believe in him before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection, he will be a witness against them."

Isa will appear during the lifetime of Imam Mahdi. He will descend from heaven on a cloud (or supported by two angels). He will land among a righteous group of 800 men and 400 women. He will be of medium build, red-faced, with hair that appears wet. Isa will carry two flexible swords and a shield, with which he will destroy Dajjal at the Gate of Hudd in the valley of Ifiq; otherwise, at Baad Lud (Lydda). Then the final war with the Jews will begin; the Believers will be the victors. Isa will "break the cross" and "kill the swine". Thereafter, all wars will end, including Jihad, and people will return to their own countries. Peace will be on the Earth, and there will be an abundance of crops. People will worship one God. Isa will marry, have children, and live thus for another 19 years (40 years total). There will be no illness or death for a period of 40 years. All venom will be removed from poisonous insects and animals, nor will animals harm anyone. The earth shall be so fertile that even if a seed is planted in a rock, it will sprout there. Fruit will grow to huge size. There will be so much milk that a single camel, cow or goat will feed a tribe .

The narration by An-Nawwas ibn Sam'an concerning Mohammed's warning of Dajjal, also mentions the second coming of Jesus: "It will at this very time that Allah will send Isa ibn Maryam (as). He will descend at the white minaret on the eastern side of Damascus [at the time of Salat al-Fajr, the morning prayer] , wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he lowers his head, there will fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he raises it up, beads like pearls will scatter from it. Every non-believer who smells the odor of his body will die and his breath will reach as far as he is able to see. He will then search for Dajjal until he catches hold of him at the gate of Ludd [in Israel] and kills him.

"Then a people whom Allah had protected will come to Isa ibn Maryam, and he will wipe their faces and inform them of their ranks in Paradise. It will be under such conditions that Allah will reveal to Jesus these words: I have brought forth from among My servants such people against whom none will be able to fight; you take these people safely to Tur, and then Allah will send Gog and Magog and they will swarm down from every slope. The first of them will pass the lake of Tiberias and drink out of it. And when the last of them passes, he will say: There was once water there.

"Isa and his companions will then be besieged here (at Tur, and they will be so hard pressed) that the head of the ox will be dearer to them than one hundred dinars. Allah's Apostle (saws), Jesus (as), and his companions will supplicate Allah, Who will send to them insects (which will attack their necks) and in the morning they would perish as one single person. Allah's Apostle (saas), Jesus, and his companions, then come down to Earth and they will not find on Earth as much space as a single span that is not filled with putrefaction and stench. Allah's Apostle (saas), Jesus (as), and his companions will then beseech Allah who will send birds whose necks would be like those of Bactrian camels and they will carry them away and throw them where Allah wills.

"Then Allah will send rain which no house of mud-bricks or tent of camel-hair will keep out and it will wash the Earth until it resembles a mirror. Then the Earth will be told to bring forth its fruit and restore its blessing and, as a result thereof, there will grow such a big pomegranate that a group of people will be able to eat it and seek shelter under its skin, a dairy cow will give so much milk that a whole party will be able to drink it. The milking camel will give such milk that the whole tribe will be able to drink from it, and the milking-sheep will give so much milk that the whole family will be able to drink from it. At that time Allah will send a pleasant wind which will soothe people even under their armpits. He will take the life of every Muslim and only the wicked will survive who will commit adultery like asses and the Last Hour would come to them."

Quran 27 states: "The holy cities of Mecca and Medina will be the only two places not dominated by Dajjal, and even these he will attempt to dominate: but, when he goes to these two cities, he will find angels guarding them with swords in their hands.

"Then Allah will send Isa from Heaven and he will be brought by two angels to the roof of the Ka'bah [or: on Amasjid in Dasmascus, Syria]. He will descend during the Fajr prayer. When the people see Isa on top of the Ka'bah they will bring ladders to help him down. After which Isa with other Muslims will declare war on Dajjal and ultimately slay him and break the cross. Isa will convert the whole world to Islam and rule by the principles of Qur'anic Law for 40 years. Then he will pass away and be buried next to the grave of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (pboh)."

Yajuj & Majuj ~

As in the Bible, Muslim prophecy also foretells the invasion of the Mideast by Gog and Magog (usually thought to be Russia and allies, or perhaps the Chinese), whom they call Yajuj and Majug. Long ago they were imprisoned behind a magical wall built between two huge mountains by Zul Qarnain. Yajuj and Majug cannot climb over the barrier until Allah wills it, nor does it occur to them to go around. Instead, they attempt to tunnel under it, stopping every evening just short of success, rather than persisting round the clock. Allah fills the tunnel again every night. They will not break through until Allah allows them to think the words "If Allah wills it".

"And when Yajuj and Majuj are set loose, they shall rush forth from every hill." (Quran 21:96)

Yajuj and Majuj will be released in two groups. At that time, believers should go to Mt. Sinai. When Yajuj and Majuj reach Mt. Khamrim in Israel, they will claim victory. The prayers of believers will be answered; Yajuj and Majuj will be covered with infectious boils that will kill them. Other sources state that Allah will send a worm that will kill them. Chapter "Fitnah" has more to say about the matter:

"Yajuj and Majuj are still behind a barrier somewhere on this Earth, continuously trying to break down the barrier or wall, in order to be free. But Allah does not allow them to break it, until the time when He is ready for them to do so. The first sign of the breaking of the barrier will be the fire which will rise in Sham [Syria].

"Their population will be vast in numbers... Their death rate is much lower than that of the rest of the world. Their physical body is so strong that their two ears are like those of an elephant, one of which they sleep on, while the other ear covers their entire body.

"Before the time comes for their release from behind the barrier, Allah will send Isa from Heaven to slay Dajjal, and Jesus will still be on this Earth when the time comes for Yajuj and Majuj to be set free. Then Allah will tell Isa to take the believing servants of Allah with him and shelter them in the mountains. Allah will then break the barrier and let Yajuj and Majuj free, and they will surge forth and devour everything upon the earth. All vegetation, animals, the waters of the whole world and even human beings will be devoured by them, and not a single drop of water will be left in the Gulf of Tiberius. Their voice will be so loud that the whole world will shake and tremble at the power of it. After they have devoured everything they will still not be satisfied, and they will rush through the sky and begin to shoot arrows into the heavens in order to try and kill Allah. And Allah in turn will fulfill their wish and command the angels to put blood on the arrows and return them to earth.

"When they see the arrows return to earth covered in blood, they will believe that they have killed Allah. Then they will say: "We have killed God, now let us try to dominate the moon and sky."

"At that time Allah will send down some kind of disease upon them which will eat all the flesh from their bones... The smell from their bodies when they die from this disease will spread all over the world. Then it is that Isa, with all other Muslims who have hidden in the mountains, will pray to Allah to save them from the disease and death. Then a great cloud will cover the sky and Allah will send down rain for 40 days. At first the rain will be red, the color of blood. It will then turn green and will wash away the smell and the bodies. The rain will finally become clear and purify everything."

Dabbah al-Ard ~

Quran 27:82, etc., also describes Dabbah al-Ard, "A Creature from the Earth.". His appearance will be heralded by the forementioned three days of darkness and a shift of the Earth's axis of rotation:

"And when the word comes to pass against them, We shall bring forth a Creature from the Earth, Dabbah al-Ard, that will speak to them, because people did not believe in our messages...

"After Dajjal and Yajuj and Majuj have passed away, the entire world will believe in Islam and praise Allah. Much later, Islam will decline again, to a lower extent than during the time of Dajjal. Suddenly, Allah will darken the whole world with smoke; the night will last 72 hours or longer. The sun will rise in the west, instead of the east, and it will travel only one-third of its course before setting again. On the next day, the sun and moon will resume their normal course.

"This will be the last opportunity to repent to Allah, for then he will close the door of mercy. The Earth will quake and Mt. Safaa near Mecca will split open. Dabbah al-Ard will come forth from the crack. His face will be human, but with horns on his head; his body as a horse, his legs like a camel's while his rump is of a deer, and his tail is of a cow. He will be 60 cubits tall. In one of his monkey hands he will hold the staff of Moses, and on the other hand he will wear the ring of Solomon. He will stride the Earth at great speed, and as he travels he will mark the forehead of believers with the staff of Moses [Mu'mim]. Their faces will then shine bright as the moon. But the unbelievers will be stamped with Solomon's ring, and their faces will become black and horrible. Thus will the believers and unbelievers be distinguished. Then Dabbah al-Ard will disappear as suddenly as he manifested. Then Allah will hold the Day of Judgment."

Other descriptions of Dabbah al-Ard state that he will be about 120 long. He will visit every person on earth and speak to each in their own language.

Allah (swt) says in Surah Al-Naml 82: "When the Word is fulfilled against them, We shall bring out from the earth a beast to them, which will speak to them because mankind believed not with certainty in Our Ayât".

Minor Signs ~

Numerous minor prophecies offer details about the latter days:

"A breeze from the south" will cause sores to appear in the armpits of Muslims, and they will die from it. This seems to indicate a new form of biological warfare attacking the lymph nodes.

Abu Hurairah quotes the Prophet (pboh) thus: "The Euphrates will disclose a golden treasure. Whoever is present at that time should not take anything of it."

In another quotation, Abu Hurairah repeats the above with elaboration: "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."

Timirdi recounts this Hadith from Ali ibn Abi Talib: "The Prophet said: 'If my Ummah bears fifteen traits, tribulation will befall it.' Someone asked, 'What are they, O Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'When any gain is shared out only among the rich, with no benefit to the poor; when a trust becomes a means of making a profit; when paying Zakat becomes a burden; when a man obeys his wife and disobeys his mother; and treats his friend kindly whilst shunning his father; when voices are raised in the mosques; when the leader of a people is the worst of them; when people treat a man with respect because they fear some evil he may do; when much wine is drunk; when men wear silk; when female singers and musical instruments become popular; when the last ones of this Ummah curse the first ones --- then let them expect a red wind, or the earth to swallow them, or to be transformed into animals.'"

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (saws) said: "By Him Who sent me with the Truth, this earth will not pass away until people are afflicted with landslides, are pelted with stones, and are transformed into animals." The people asked, "When will that be, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "When you see women riding in the saddle, when singers are common, when bearing false witness becomes widespread, and when men lie with men and women with women".

Ibn Majah transmitted this warning of apostasy in the latter days: "Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman said, 'The Prophet said: Islam will become worn out like clothes are, until there will be no-one who knows what fasting, prayer, charity and rituals are. The Qur'an will disappear in one night, and no Ayah will be left on earth. Some groups of old people will be left who will say: We heard our fathers saying La ilaha illa Allah, so we repeated it.'

"Silah asked Hudhayfah: 'What will saying La ilaha illa Allah do for them when they do not know what prayer, fasting, ritual and charity are?' Hudhayfah ignored him; then Silah repeated his question three times, and each time Hudayfah ignored him. Finally he answered: 'O Silah, it will save them from Hell', and said it three times."

According to a Hadith from Bukhari, narrated by Abu Hurairah, the Prophet (pboh) said: "The Hour will not come until the buttocks of the women of Daws move whist going around Dhu l-Khalasah."

The idol Dhu l-Khalasah was worshipped by the Daws (a tribe in Yemen) before Islam.

Similarly, 'A'ishah said: "I heard the Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) say, 'Day and night will not pass away until people begin to worship Lat and 'Uzza' [pre-Islamic Arabic goddesses].

Abu Hurairah quotes The Prophet (pboh) thus concerning women and an unidentified people with a predilection for whips (perhaps a reference to sado-masochism): "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."

Elsewhere, Abu Hurairah again 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."

Abu Sa'id said that the Prophet (saws) said: "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."

According to another version of this report, the Prophet (saws) said: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul, the Hour will not come until wild animals talk to men, and a man speaks to his whip or his shoe, and his thigh will tell him about what happened to his family after he left."

This is a clear prophecy about the modern invention of cellphones. The mention by Abu Hurairah of "whips like the tail of an ox" may be an attempt to describe the antennas on cellphones, radios, cars, and televisions.

Ibn Majah relates that Abd Allah ibn 'Umar said: "The Prophet (saws) came to us and said, 'O Muhajirun, [pilgrims] you may be afflicted by five things; God forbid that you should live to see them. If fornication should become widespread, you should realise that this has never happened without new diseases befalling the people which their forebears never suffered. If people should begin to cheat in weighing out goods, you should realise that this has never happened without drought and famine befalling the people, and their rulers oppressing them. If people should withhold Zakat, you should realise that this has never happened without the rain being stopped from falling; and were it not for the animals' sake, it would never rain again. If people should break their covenant with Allah and His Messenger, you should realise that his has never happened without Allah sending an enemy against them to take some of their possessions by force. If the leaders do not govern according to the Book of Allah, you should realise that this has never happened without Allah making them into groups and making them fight one another."

Ahmad recorded a Hadith by Allah ibn 'Amr, who said: "I went to the Prophet (pboh) 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 [dinars], 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 widespread. 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 says that Abu Hurairah said that the Prophet (pboh) 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."

Mohammed (pboh) also mentioned these minor signs, which are evident today: Knowledge will disappear and ignorance will appear, even though books will be widesread... Adultery and fornication will be prevalent, performed in public, and there will be new sexual diseases and many bastard children... Fornication will be widespread among leaders, when people stop forbidding evil... Leaders will be oppressors, and the worst of people... When the Muslims are large in number, the nations of earth will gather against them "like hungry people going to sit at a table full of food"... The people of Iraq will have no food or money due to oppression by the "Romans" (the US invasion of Iraq, 2003)... There will be much food, but much of it will have no blessing... People will refuse when they are offered food... Profit will be shared only with the rich; the poor will not benefit... People will become uncharitable misers, and good deeds will decrease... Men will walk in the marketplace with their thighs exposed (shorts)... Men will begin to look like women and women like men... People will dance till late at night... Women will enter the business world, and will refuse to have children... Children will be foul and full of rage...

Rain will be acidic...Smoke will appear over cities (smog/haze pollution)... Earthquakes will increase... Men will try to make the desert green (the Israeli kibbutz program)... A fire near Aden in Yemen will spread to Syria, where it will stop. A few years after the fire, Qiyamah will begin... Muslims will conquer India a few years before the return of Isa... Wild animals will be able to talk with people.

The Great Hour & Day of Doom ~

The exact time of (al-Sa'at al'Uzma (the Great Hour), or Day of Doom, is known only to God.

Anas ibn Malik told this Hadith (reported by Ibn Majh and Bukhari) spoken by the Prophet: "I shall tell you a Hadith which I heard from the Messenger of Allah, and which no one will tell you after me. I heard him say, 'Among the signs of the Hour will be the disappearance of knowledge and the appearance of ignorance. Adultery will be prevalent and the drinking of wine will be common. The number of men will decrease and the number of women will increase until there will be fifty women to be looked after by one man.'"

Ali ibn Abi Talib quotes the Prophet (pboh) thus: "The Hour will come when leaders are oppressors, when people believe in the stars and reject al-Qadar [Divine Decree, prophecy] when a trust becomes a way of making a profit, when people give to charity reluctantly, when adultery becomes widespread --- when this happens, then your people will perish.'"

As recorded by Bukhari, Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (saws) said: "The Hour will not come until the following events have come to pass: people will compete with one another in constructing high buildings; two big groups will fight one another, and there will be many casualties --- they will both be following the same religious teaching; earthquakes will increase; time will pass quickly; afflictions and killing will increase; nearly thirty dajjals will appear, each of them claiming to be a messenger from Allah; a man will pass by a grave and say, 'Would that I were in your place'; the Sun will rise from the West; when it rises and the people see it, they will all believe, but that will be the time when 'No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before'; and a wealthy man will worry lest no one accept his Zakat [charity]."

Some exegetes claim that the rising of the Sun in the West refers to the rise of Islam in Europe, but it more likely indicates a shift of the Earth's axis, which is predicted by several prophets of other cultures.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri states that the Prophet (saws) said: "Thunderbolts will increase so much as the Hour approaches that when a man comes to a people, he will ask, 'Who amongst you was struck by a thunderbolt this morning?' and they will say, 'So-and-so and so-and-so was struck'."

Abu Hurairah recorded that the Prophet (saws) said: "The Hour will not come until there has been rain which will destroy all dwellings except tents."

Ibn Majah narrated this Hadith: "The Prophet said: Just before the Hour, there will be days in which knowledge will disappear and ignorance will appear, and there will be much Harj" [killing in the Ethiopian language; also quoted by Bukhari in Volume 9, Book 88, Numbers 183, 185 &186, narrated Abu Musa)

In like wise, according to Bukhari, 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!"

Ahmad recorded a report by Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, that the Prophet (saws) said: "The Hour will not come until Allah takes away the best people on earth; only the worst people will be left; they will not know any good or forbid any evil."

Ahmad also quotes Mohammed (pboh) via Alba'al-Salami, thus: "I heard the Prophet (saws) say: 'The Hour will only come upon the worst of the people'."

The Sahih of Al-Bukhari transmits this warning from Mohammed (pboh): "The least of the signs of the Last Hour will be a fire which will gather mankind together from the East and West... Finally, a cold wind will come and kill all believers, leaving only unbelievers on the earth who will then witness the Last Hour. The angel Israfil will blow a trumpet, and the resurrection of all human beings will begin...

"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."

Mohammed (pboh) speaks of the Day of Doom, thus in Quran 56: "Say: The ancients, and the later folk shall be gathered at the appointed time of a known day. Then you erring ones, you that cried lies, you shall eat of a tree called Zakkoum, and you shall fill therewith your bellies and drink on top of that boiling water, lapping it down like thirsty camels. This shall be their hospitality on the Day of Doom."

"So, when the Trumpet is blown with a single blast and the earth and the mountains are lifted up and crushed with a single blow, then, on that day, the Terror shall come to pass, and heaven shall be split, for upon that day it shall be very frail, and the angels shall stand upon its borders, and upon that day eight shall carry above them the throne of the Lord. On that day you shall be exposed, not one secret of yours concealed..." (Quran 69)

Another version of the Trumpet prophecy states that, at the first sounding everyone will be struck with terror, at the second blast, all will be struck down, and all will be resurrected at the third. The Qur'an emphatically describes two trumpet blasts, which have been interpreted to represent two Resurrections:

"And there shall be a blast on the Trumpet, and all who are in the Heaven and all who are on the earth shall expire, save those whom God shall vouchsafe to live. Then there shall be another blast on it, and lo! Arising they shall gaze around them: and the earth shall shine with the light of her Lord." (Qur'an 39: 68-69)

"One day, the disturbing trumpet blast shall disturb it which the second blast shall follow. Verily, it will be but a single blast." (Qur'an 79: 6, 7, 13)

Amen.

References ~

1. Ali Akbar: Israel and Prophecies of the Holy Quran; 1963/1971, Serag Publishing, UK.

2. Mufti Afzal Hoosen Elias: Major Signs of Qiyamat.

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