Summary of Aqida - 3. The importance of knowing the signs of the Hour

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3. The importance of knowing the signs of the Hour

By His mercy, Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, has informed His slaves of what will happen ahead of the Hour of events, conditions and terrors which are like signs to indicate that the onset of the Hour is close. In that there is a warning from Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, to His slaves so that they do not become heedless and absorbed in trivial matters, and encouragement to hasten to repent and do righteous deeds. These signs are also glad tidings to help the believers who are persisting in doing acts of worship and obedience to remain steadfast.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) paid a great deal of attention to this matter, out of his compassion, kindness and mercy towards his ummah.

There are great turmoils and storms of tribulation that will reach everywhere. This type of knowledge is like a light in the darkness and a rope to cling to when crises occur.

The scholars of the past and in modern times paid attention to this knowledge and discussed it a great deal, when commenting on the verses of the Book of Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, , when commenting on the hadiths of our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), or in chapters on this topic in the books which discuss the Muslim creed. Some of them wrote entire books specifically on the portents of the Hour.

Al-Barzanji said, “Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, said, "The Day of Reckoning for humankind has drawn near, and yet they turn away in heedlessness." (al-Anbiya’ 21:1) "How could you know? The Hour may well be near at hand." (al-Ahzab 33:63) "What are they waiting for, but for the Hour to come upon them suddenly when they least expect it?" (al-Zukhruf 43:66) "What are they waiting for, but for the Hour to come upon them suddenly? Its portents have already appeared, so what good will it do them to pay heed when it has actually come upon them?" (Muhammad 47:18)

And there are other similar verses. As for the hadiths which speak of this matter, they are almost innumerable…
As this world was not created to last forever and it is not an eternal abode – rather it is one of the stages before the hereafter, which was made as a place to collect provisions for the hereafter and prepare to stand before Allah and meet Him, and it is already about to end and be left behind – it is the duty of every scholar to make publicly known the portents of the Hour, and to make the hadiths and reports which speak of it widely known among the people. They should tell the people about that repeatedly, time after time, in the hope that the people will give up their sins, some hearts will be softened and people will wake up from their negligence and make the most of the remaining time before it is too late.”

Al-Safarini said, “As the issue of the Hour is of such great concern, its terrors will be ever increasing and it will last for a long time, more attention was paid to it than any other issue, for the harm it will cause is much greater than the good it will do. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) often mentioned and repeatedly explained the portents and signs of the Hour, and he spoke of what would precede it of trials and tribulations. He alerted his ummah to that so that they would be able to prepare themselves to overcome the difficult obstacles that they will face. Therefore every smart person of mature thinking should use his time to do righteous deeds, and not be absorbed in worldly pursuits.”