There are many narrations that put importance on the ‘day of judgement’ and how having faith in the event is essential for maintaining faith. Day of Judgement or Qayamah is the time where Allah will order the destruction of Earth. The term ‘the day’ means the age and the signs are the symbols that pave a path for the final resurrection day. There are many signs of the day of judgement in Islam; major and minor but all these signs show how and when the time will come. Though the exact date of the time is known only to Allah, the Quranic references and numerous hadiths create knowledge and guide Muslims beforehand so that when the time comes, they are prepared to differentiate between the right and wrong. Salam Planet’s spirituality section deals with the topics that are crucial for flourishing our soul and faith, the lesser and greater signs of Qayamah predict the arrival of real events

What Are The 10 Major Signs Of The Day Of Judgement In Islam?

From an early age, we are taught about the doomsday that it will occur one day and when asked when will it happen? We are presented with Quranic verses and sayings of Prophet (Saww) to prove its authenticity. Narrated by Hudhayfah bin Usayd: Allah’s Apostle came to us all of a sudden when we busy in a discussion. He asked: ‘What do you discuss about?’ The companions replied: ‘We are discussing the Last Hour. Thereupon he said: ‘It will not come until you see ten signs before and he made a mention of the smoke, the Anti-Christ, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus, the Gog and Magog, 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’. (Muslim) There are main ten stages of the day of judgement in Islam which describes the event in a categorical manner:

1) The Arrival of Imam Mehdi

About the arrival of Imam Mehdi, the Prophet (Saww) said the following lines ‘One of my descendants created by Allah will come prior to the end of the world. His name will be the same as mine and his father’s name will be the same as my father’s name’. The world will be full of oppression and tyranny before his visit, but in his time will be fairness. The angel from the cloud from the above his head will say ‘This is Mehdi, listen to what he says’. He will fight against different enemies of Islam and develop the system of Justice around the world. Before his arrival, there will be so much injustice, bad-doings, killings of Muslims and overall the system of good actions will be destroyed by the evil-doers.

2) Dajjal Will Come

The most obvious and common signs that most people are told is the arrival of Dajjal. When he will arrive, he will proclaim himself as God. Anyone who trusts him will be an infidel. The question arises why would people trust him when they are being guided about him? Here the Fitnah of Dajjal works where the mindsets of the population are set in a way that would automatically accept the fact that he is God (God forbid). Dajjal will have powers that he could order the clouds to rain and the earth to grow vegetation, these powers will make people believe he is God, which in reality would be false signals.

3) The Descent Of Jesus

When Dajjal has arrived and he is claiming to be God, the descent of Prophet Jesus will happen. He would then fight with Dajjal and kill him. Also, he will destroy the cross, rescue Muslims from the Yajooj and Majooj and take them to the Mountain of Tur. According to Jews, the Prophet was killed but it did not happen as Allah saved him and raised him to the heavens. His arrival will be shocking for all those who had been believing lies and wrong perceptions.

4) The Emergence Of Yajooj And Majooj

There are many references to the emergence of Yajooj and Majooj. They are locked inside a wall. There is a story related to their existence that at the time of Hazrat Ibrahim (a.s), there was a just king named Zulqarnain. He would travel around the globe and conquer many countries, on his visit to the North, people told him about two hostile tribes Gog and Magog and requested him to protect them from these tribes. So, Zulqarnain built up an iron wall that they couldn’t penetrate until the doomsday.

So, on doomsday, they will be able to break the wall and come after the people. Hazrat Issa will appear on the Earth and save people from their wrath and danger.

5) The Smoke Will Appear

The Quran says ‘Wait for the day when smoke appears from the sky’. According to Hadith ‘The smoke will come from the Sky and will cover all the world for the 40 days’ It is said that smoke will be like a chill for the believers but will give a hard time to non-believers. Now, there are a lot of perceptions about what actually smoke will be like. The most common assumption is environmental pollution or an atomic explosion. Whatever the case may be, the result will be one of the signs of the day of judgement in Islam.

6) The Emergence Of Beast

The emergence of the beast is confirmed as the Allah says in Quran ‘And when the word of torment is fulfilled against them, we shall bring out from the Earth, a beast for them, to speak to them because mankind believed not with certainty in Our signs’ (An-Naml: 82) The beast is said to hold the handstick of Mousa for believers, and if they really are believers, their faces will shine and illuminate with light. For the non-believers, he will hold the seal of Suleman and when it will touch the non-believer, their face will darken indicating their state of faith.

7) The Sun Will Rise From The West

One of the major signs of Qayamah is the rising of the Sun from the West, which is its setting place. Narrated by Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet (saww) said: ‘The Hour will not come until the Sun has risen from the West, and when it rises and people see it, they will all believe, but that will be when it will do a person no good to believe, if he believed not before, nor earned good (by performing deeds of righteousness) through his faith’. (Reported by Al-Bukhari, 11/352, and Muslim, 2/194) There are different interpretations of the hadith and the sign of the time. Some believe how a can something happen which Allah has already mentioned cannot be changed. While others, the rising of the Sun from the West represents the upside-down order of the World.

8) Landslides

Three major landslides will happen; one in the East, one in the West and one in Arabia. The Prophet (saw) is heard saying that when these regions will reach the peak levels of immorality and evil behaviours, only then the signs will appear. Some believe they will be earthquakes and not landslides. The most common belief that a natural disaster will cause these regions to sink, resulting in killing people.

9) The Fire Will Begin

Another major sign of the day of judgement is the eruption of fire from the direction of Yemen, from the bottom of ‘Aden, from the Sea of Hadramawt’. According to Hudhayfah ibn Usayd, the Prophet (Saww) was heard saying ‘The last of them will be a fire which will emerge from Yemen, and will drive the people to the place of their gathering’. (Reported by Muslim, 18/27)

10) The Kaabah Will Be Destroyed

Also Read: Why is Kaaba important for Muslims around the globe

Narrated by Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr, the Prophet (Saww) said: ‘Dhu’l-Suwayqatayn from Abyssinia will destroy the Ka’ba and steal its treasure and kiswah. It is as if I could see him now; he is bald-headed and has a distortion in his wrists. He will strike the Ka’ba with his spade and pich-axe’. Allah will take away the Quran from the Earth as well as the good people to protect them from the last Hour. Though, the frequent prayers and supplications hold great importance and can protect one from the deeds that could at the end prove to be disastrous for them. There are a lot of lesser or minor signs of the day of judgement in Islam which along with these major signs are an indication of the Last Age and many theories based on those signs are made to cross-check their authenticity.