4.1. The sending of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
It was narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, 'I and the Hour have been sent like these two.' And he held his forefinger and middle finger up together." (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi said, “This hadith tells us how close the Hour, which is the Day of Resurrection, is and how soon it will come. This is like what Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), 'Its portents have already appeared.' (Muhammad 47:18) Al-Hasan said: The first of its portents is Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).”

Al-Bayhaqi said, “The sending of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and the spread of his teachings is one of the portents of the Hour, meaning that there will be no other prophet between him and the Hour. However, no one knows when the Hour will begin except Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted.”

Ibn Rajab said, "The hadith 'I and the Hour have been sent like these two' and he held his forefinger and middle finger up together’ was explained as indicating how close his time is to the Hour, for it is as close as the forefinger is to the middle finger. This indicates that the time of his mission would be followed by the Hour without any other prophet appearing between him and the Hour."

4.2. The death of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
It was narrated that ‘Awf ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, 'Count six ahead of the Hour: my death…'" (Al-Bukhari)

Ibn al-Malik said, “‘Count six’ means: six signs; ‘ahead of the Hour’ means before the Day of Resurrection.”

Al-Barzanji said, “The very early signs which have appeared and are finished are many, including the death of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), which is one of the greatest calamities that befell the faith, if not the greatest of them.”

4.3. The splitting of the moon
Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "The Hour has drawn nigh and the moon has split. But whenever they see a sign, they turn away and say: Incessant magic!" (al-Qamar 54:1-2)

Ibn Jarir said, “What Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, meant when He said: The Hour has drawn nigh is that the Hour at which the Resurrection will begin is close. This is a warning from Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, to His slaves of the imminence of the resurrection and how soon this world will end. And it is a command to them to prepare for the horrors of the resurrection, lest it come upon them suddenly when they are completely unaware of it.

Then He Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, says: and the moon has split. According to the reports, that happened at the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) when he was in Makkah, before he migrated to Madinah. The disbelievers among the people of Makkah asked him for a sign, so he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) showed them the splitting of the moon as a sign and proof of the truthfulness of what he said and that he was indeed a prophet.”

It was narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The people of Makkah asked him to show them a sign, so he showed them the splitting of the moon.

It was narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whilst we were with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in Mina, the moon split in two, so that one half was behind the mountain and the other was in front of it. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to us, “Bear witness.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim) According to another report: The mountain concealed one half and the other half was above the mountain. (Muslim)

‘Iyad said, “The sign of the splitting of the moon was one of the major signs and miracles of our Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). A number of the Sahabah narrated it. The apparent meaning and context of the verse, in addition to what followed it of verses that speak of Quraysh persisting in rejecting the message, also testifies to the truth of this event, because Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "The Hour has drawn nigh and the moon has split.
But whenever they see a sign, they turn away and say: Incessant magic!" (al-Qamar 54:1-2)

Al-Qastallani said, “The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Bear witness.’ He only said that because it was such a great miracle that was almost unmatched by any of the miracles of the prophets (peace be upon them).”

The scholars unanimously agreed that the moon did indeed split at the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and that its splitting was a clear miracle

Al-Qastallani said, “The splitting of the moon is one of the greatest miracles. The mufassirin and Ahl al-Sunnah unanimously agreed on that, and it was narrated from many of the Sahabah.”

Ibn Kathir said, “Allah says and the moon has split. This happened at the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as is proven in the mutawatir hadiths which were narrated with sound chains of narration… This is a matter on which the scholars agreed, namely that the splitting of the moon happened at the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and that it was one of the dazzling miracles.”

4.4. The plague of ‘Amwas
It was narrated from ‘Awf ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Count six ahead of the Hour” among which he mentioned “then a pestilence that will afflict you like the murrain that afflicts sheep.” (Al-Bukhari)

Al-Qurtubi said, “`Awf ibn Malik al-Ashja‘i (may Allah be pleased with him) witnessed the death of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and was present at the conquest of Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) with Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, which was conquered through a peace deal on 25 Dhu’l-Qa‘dah 10 AH. Then he was present when the treasure of Khusrau was divided by Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Umar; then he witnessed the fighting in the battles of the Camel and Siffin. ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) also witnessed the plague which broke out in Syria before that, which is known as the plague of ‘Amwas, during which twenty-six thousand people died; al-Madini said that twenty-five thousand died… ‘Amwas (Emmaus) is a town between al-Ramlah and Bayt al-Maqdis. In that plague, the trustee of this ummah, Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, and the leading scholar of jurisprudence, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, both died. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said in his Tarikh: The plague of ‘Amwas occurred in 18 AH. This was narrated from Ahmad by Abu Zur‘ah al-Razi. … The words ‘like the murrain that afflicts sheep’ refer to a disease that kills sheep quickly. This was stated by Abu ‘Ubaydah, because murrain leads to a quick death; it is a disease that affects the chest, as if it breaks the neck.”

4.5. A fire in the Hijaz which illuminated the necks of the camels in Busra
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until there emerges a fire from the land of the Hijaz which will illuminate the necks of the camels in Busra.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Al-Nawawi said, “During our time there emerged a fire in Madinah, in 654 AH. It was an immense fire on the eastern side of Madinah, beyond the harrah (lava field). Everyone learned about it, in all of Syria and other countries. Those of the people of Madinah who were present told me about it.”

Al-Qurtubi mentioned the emergence of this fire and described it at length. He stated that it was visible from Makkah and from the mountains of Busra.

Ibn Kathir narrated that more than one of the Bedouin who were in the city of Busra saw the necks of the camels in the light of this fire which emerged from the land of Hijaz.

4.6. The emergence of charlatans claiming to be prophets
It was narrated that Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, 'The Hour will not begin until some tribes of my ummah join the polytheists and worship idols. There will be among my ummah thirty liars, each of whom will claim to be a prophet, but I am the last of the prophets, there will be no prophet after me.'" (Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ahmad; sahih)

Ibn Qasim said regarding the hadith “There will be among my ummah thirty liars, each of whom will claim to be a prophet, but I am the last of the prophets, there will be no prophet after me”: “In another report it says ‘charlatans,’ and the word dajjal (charlatan) comes from a root meaning deceit. What is meant is those who will gain strength and influence, and will present misleading arguments. The number of all of these liars including those who do not gain power and influence is unlimited… Confirmation of that appeared at the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and afterwards, including those who had followers who believed them and followed their path, such as Musaylimah in al-Yamamah, al-Aswad in Yemen, Tulayhah among Banu Asad, Sajah among Tamim, al-Mukhtar ibn Abi ‘Ubayd at the time of Ibn al-Zubayr, and al-Harith at the time of ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. During the ‘Abbasid era there were a number of them, each of whom gained strength and power. As for the total number of those who claimed to be prophets, there have been many, but in most cases that claim stemmed from insanity and delusion. Allah destroyed those who made such claims and it became clear that they were lying. The last of them will be the greatest charlatan, the Dajjal – we seek refuge with Allah from his turmoil.”

4.7. The emergence of tribulations
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, 'The Hour will not begin until knowledge is taken away, earthquakes become frequent, time passes quickly, tribulations appear, there is a great deal of harj – which is killing, killing – and wealth will become abundant among you.'" (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Ibn Hajar said, “With regard to the words ‘tribulations will appear,’ what is meant is that they will become many and widespread, and people will not keep quiet about them. And it is Allah Whose help we seek.”

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Hasten to do good deeds before there emerges tribulation like a piece of black night, when a man will be a believer in the morning and a disbeliever in the evening, or he will be a believer in the evening and a disbeliever in the morning, and he will sell his faith for worldly gain.” (Muslim)

Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi said, “The purpose of this hadith is to urge us to make the most of available opportunities and strive to do good and righteous deeds whilst we are able to, before one is prevented from doing so by tribulations.”

Ibn Ruslan said, “The hadith refers to every dark and black tribulation. Tribulations are likened to the dark night in order to highlight how serious and dangerous they are. ‘A man will be a believer in the morning and in the evening’ he will have become ‘a disbeliever.’ Or a man ‘will be a believer in the evening and in the morning’ he will have become ‘a disbeliever.’ In this hadith, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is telling us how quickly people’s conditions may change at times of turmoil, because they see so much of great horrors.”

4.8. People will venerate a book other than the Book of Allah
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with him), narrating from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said, "Among the signs of the approach of the Hour is that evildoers will be held in high esteem and good people will be looked down upon; people will have a lot to say but not do anything; al-Mathnat will be read to the people and no one will object to it.” It was said, "What is al-Mathnat?" He said, "What is written other than the Book of Allah." (Al-Tabarani, al-Hakim; sahih)

Abu ‘Ubay al-Qasim ibn Salam said, “I asked a scholar who had knowledge of the earlier books and had read them about al-Mathnat, and he said, ‘The rabbis and monks of the Children of Israel after Musa got together and wrote a book based on their whims and desires that had nothing to do with the Book of Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, and they called it al-Mathnat.’ It is as if he meant that they permitted in it whatever they wished and prohibited whatever they wished, contrary to the Book of Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted.”

Al-Albani said, “This hadith is one of the signs of his prophethood, as everything he foretold came to pass, especially that which has to do with al-Mathnat, which is everything that was written except the Book of Allah and everything that is connected to it of prophetic hadiths and reports narrated from the early generations, as explained by the narrator.”

4.9. The emergence and prevalence of the pen (writing)
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Ahead of the Hour, greetings of salaam will only be given to people whom one knows; commerce will become so widespread that a woman will help her husband in trade; ties of kinship will be severed; there will be false testimony and concealment of true testimony; and there will be widespread use of the pen (i.e., literacy).” (Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah, etc.) According to another report: “use of the pen will become prevalent.” (Ahmad, al-Tahawi, al-Hakim; sahih)

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said, “As for the words in this hadith, ‘use of the pen will become prevalent,’ what is meant is the appearance of writing and many scribes.… al-Hasan said: There was a time when it would be said, ‘The merchant of such and such a tribe, the scribe of such and such a tribe,’ and there would only be one merchant or one scribe in the neighbourhood. Al-Hasan said: By Allah, if a man came to a large neighbourhood, he would hardly find a scribe.”

It was narrated that ‘Amr ibn Taghlib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “One of the portents of the Hour is that wealth will become widespread and abundant, trade will become widespread, knowledge will become widespread; and a man will sell something, then will say: No, not until I consult the merchant of such and such a tribe; people will look for a scribe in a large neighbourhood and there will be no (honest) scribe.”

Al-Barzanji said, “The widespread use of the pen is a metaphor for there being many scribes and few scholars. In other words, people will be content just to learn how to write, so that they can get close to those in authority.”

4.10. The taking away of knowledge and the prevalence of ignorance
It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “One of the portents of the Hour is that knowledge will be taken away and ignorance will become prevalent.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Humud al-Tuwayjri said, “As for the knowledge that was inherited from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), his companions, those who followed them and the leading scholars who came after them, it will be abandoned by the majority of people. Few will show interest in it or care about it, and the majority will focus their attention on reading newspapers and magazines, and the like, most of which are filled with pure ignorance. These things have emerged in our time and spread far and wide among the elite and the common folk alike. Many people are infatuated with such matters, which they call knowledge, culture and advancement, and they regard the one who takes an interest in that as being cultured and educated. Some people are so self-deluded that they call those who take an interest in Islamic knowledge ‘backward,’ and they describe beneficial knowledge as ‘dusty old books,’ by way of scorning such knowledge and trying to put people off it”

Ibn Baz said, “One of the portents of the Hour is widespread stinginess and miserliness among people, as well as lack of knowledge, the spread of ignorance, and the prevalence of sins, which people will commit openly. All of these are widespread signs of the Hour which are not the major signs.”

4.11. Seeking knowledge from juniors
It was narrated from Abu Umayah al-Jumahi (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “One of the portents of the Hour is that knowledge will be sought from juniors.” (Ibn al-Mubarak, al-Tabarani, al-Khatib; sahih)

Nu‘aym said, “It was said to Ibn al-Mubarak: ‘Who are the juniors?’ He said, ‘Those who speak on the basis of their own opinion. If someone is a junior but narrates from a senior, then he is not a junior.’ It was narrated that Ibn al-Mubarak said, ‘Juniors are people of innovation (bid‘ah).’”

Al-Sakhawi said listing the portents of the Hour, “… And the seeking of knowledge from juniors. People will continue to be in a good state so long as they seek knowledge from their seniors. When they start to seek it from their juniors, they will be doomed.”

4.12. Decrease of good deeds
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Time will pass quickly, good deeds will decrease, miserliness will be cast (into people’s hearts), tribulations will appear and there will be a great deal of harj.” They said: O Messenger of Allah, what is that? He said, “Killing, killing.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Al-Khattabi said, “The word ‘good deeds’ … means that there will be little interest in doing righteous deeds, for people will be distracted by worldly matters and striving for worldly gain. Or it may mean that there will be dishonesty in rendering trusts and in what people make, thus detracting from its value, and people will not be honest in such matters.”

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Indeed, one of the portents of the Hour is that evil people will be held in high esteem and good people will be looked down on; people will speak fine words but will not act on what they say.” (Al-Tabarani, al-Hakim; sahih)

Al-Albani said, “This hadith is one of the signs of prophethood, for everything mentioned in it came to pass.”

4.13. Boasting and competing in building mosques
It was narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until people compete in building mosques and boast about that.” (Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Ahmad; sahih)

According to another report, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “One of the portents of the Hour is that the people will compete in building mosques and boast about that.” (Al-Nasa’i, Ibn Khuzaymah, al-Nawawi, et al.; sahih)

Al-Muzhiri said, “Regarding the words ‘One of the portents of the Hour’, what is meant by portents is signs. ‘The people will compete’ means: one of these signs of the Day of Resurrection is that everyone will boast about a mosque and will say, ‘My mosque is taller and more ornately adorned than the mosque of So and so.”

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You will surely adorn them (mosques) like the Jews and Christians.” (Al-Bukhari (mu‘allaq), Abu Dawud; sahih)

Ibn Ruslan said, “This hadith is a clear miracle, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) foretold what would happen after he was gone, and nowadays many kings and rulers are adorning the mosques and competing in that in Cairo, Damascus, Jerusalem and elsewhere. They finance that by taking wealth from the people wrongfully and by force, with which they also build schools of amazing designs. We ask Allah to keep us safe and sound.”

4.14. Islam will become worn out, the Qur’an will be taken away, and good people will die out
It was narrated that Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Islam will wear out as colour on a garment wears out, until no one will know what fasting, prayer, Hajj and charity (zakah) are. The Book of Allah will be taken away at night, and not one verse of it will be left on earth. And there will be some people left, old men and old women, who will say: We remember our fathers saying these words, La ilaha ill-Allah, so we say them too.” Silah said to him: What good will (saying) La ilaha ill-Allah do for them, when they do not know what prayer, fasting, Hajj and charity are? Hudhayfah turned away from him. He repeated his question three times, and Hudhayfah turned away from him each time. Then he turned to him on the third time and said: O Silah, it will save them from Hell, three times. (Ibn Majah, al-Hakim, al-Bayhaqi; sahih)

Ibn Kathir said, “This indicates that knowledge may be erased from people’s hearts at the end of time. Even the Qur’an will be taken at night; it will be taken from the Mushafs and people’s hearts, and the people will be left without knowledge and without Qur’an. Only the old men and old women will tell others that they met people who used to say La ilaha illa Allah, so they say it too, by way of seeking to draw close to Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, so it will benefit them, even if they do not do any righteous deeds or have any other beneficial knowledge besides that. Regarding his words ‘it will save them from Hell,’ it may be that what is meant is that it will protect them from being admitted to the Fire at all, so their obligatory duty at that time will be mere words without action, because they are not required to do actions which they were not commanded to do, and Allah knows best. Or it may be that what is meant is that they will be saved from the Fire after having entered it, and that their saying La ilaha illa Allah will be a means of salvation from eternal punishment for them. Based on this interpretation, it may be that they are the ones referred to in the hadith which tells us that Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, said, “By My might and majesty, I shall surely bring forth from the Fire whoever said La ilaha ill-Allah even once.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim) This will be explained in the discussion about the hadiths which speak of intercession. Or it may be that the people referred to in the hadith are different people. And Allah knows best.

The point is that knowledge will be taken away at the end of time, and ignorance will become widespread, according to one report. According to another report, ignorance will come down, meaning that ignorance will be cast into the hearts of the people of that time, because of Allah’s punishing them and forsaking them – we seek refuge with Allah from that. And they will continue to increase in ignorance and misguidance until the end of time, as is mentioned in the last hadith, “The hour will not come when there is still on earth anyone who says, ‘Allah, Allah.’” (Muslim) and “The Hour will only come upon the most evil of people.” (Muslim)

4.15. Humanity will go back to ignorance and worship of idols
It was narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Then Allah will send a cool wind from the direction of Syria and there will be no one left on the face of the earth in whose heart there is an atom’s weight of goodness or faith but it will take his soul. Even if one of you were to enter the heart of a mountain, it would enter that place and take his soul.” He said: I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “There will be left the most evil of people who will be as swift as birds and be as vicious as wild animals. They will not acknowledge any good or denounce any evil. Then the Shaytan will appear to them and will say: ‘Will you not listen to me?’ They will say: ‘What do you command us to do?’ He will command them to worship idols, but despite that they will have ample provision and a good life. Then the Trumpet will be blown…”

Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi said, “Regarding the words, ‘Even if one were to enter the heart of a mountain,’… This is a likeness which refers to something extraordinary. The heart of a thing is its inside.

The words ‘There will be left the most evil of people who will be as swift as birds and be as vicious as wild animals’ mean: in their haste and rushing to do evil deeds and fulfil their desires, and their being controlled by their whims and desires, they will be like birds who move quickly by flying, and in their mischief and aggression, they will be like vicious wild animals.”

It was narrated from Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until some tribes of my ummah join the polytheists and until some tribes of my ummah worship idols.” (Abu Dawud, Ahmad, Ibn Majah; sahih)

According to another report, “The Hour will not begin until some tribes of my ummah join the polytheists and until they worship idols.” (Al-Tirmidhi, al-Tayalisi, Ibn Abi ‘Asim; sahih)

‘Ali al-Qari said, “‘The Hour will not begin until some tribes of my ummah join the polytheists’ – this includes what happened after his death, during the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). ‘and until some tribes of my ummah worship idols’ – this refers to worshipping idols in a real sense, and perhaps that is yet to come, or it may be metaphorical, as when he said, ‘Wretched is the worshipper of the dinar and the worshipper of the dirham.’ (Al-Bukhari).”

Humud al-Tuwaijri said, “The prophecy in these hadiths came to pass, for people left the religion of Allah in crowds, they became greatly attracted to worship of graves throughout the world, and many graves were taken as idols that are worshipped besides Allah. People were also greatly infatuated with socialism, communism and rule by man-made laws. Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji‘un (To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return).”

At the end of time, the Ka‘bah will be destroyed at the hands of Dhu’l-Suwayqatayn
There is no clear text which states that the destruction of the Ka‘bah is an independent portent of the Hour, but some scholars inferred that it will happen at the end of time from the reports which say that no one on earth will say “Allah, Allah,” and that the Hour will come upon the most evil of people.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Dhu’l-Suwayqatayn from Ethiopia will destroy the Ka‘bah.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Al-Muzhiri said, “The words ‘Dhu’l-Suwayqatayn from Ethiopia will destroy the Ka‘bah’ mean: a disbelieving king from Ethiopia will destroy the Ka‘bah. Suwayqatayn is a dual form, of which the singular is suwayqah; it is a diminutive form referring to the lower leg or calf…. The diminutive form is used to refer to his calves because his calves will be thin and short.”

In the past, the destruction of the Ka‘bah was something that was attempted by the Ethiopians at the time of Abrahah, but they did not succeed. At the end of time, this House will be destroyed at the hands of the Ethiopians themselves, and perhaps – and Allah knows best – they will have motives similar to those of Abrahah, as the time of ignorance will start all over again.

With the destruction of the first House of worship to be established for humanity, there will no longer be any reason for humanity to remain on earth, so what remains of the events which signal the approach of the Hour will start to occur in rapid succession after that. And Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, knows best.

4.16. Jizyah and taxes will no longer be connected
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, "Iraq will withhold its dirhams and qafiz (a measurement of grain), Syria will withhold its mudds and dinars, and Egypt will withhold its irdabb and dinars, and you will return to where you started, you will return to where you started, you will return to where you started.” The flesh and blood of Abu Hurayrah bear witness to that." (Muslim)

Al-Khattabi said, “What this hadith means is that this will happen, and that these lands would be conquered by the Muslims, and some taxes would be imposed on them (by the Muslims) on the basis of weights and measures, and that that will be withheld at the end of time.”

Al-Shawkani said, “This hadith is one of the signs of prophethood, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke of what would happen, that the Muslims would gain control over these regions and impose the jizyah and taxes, then that would cease, either because the disbelievers would gain the upper hand, which is the more sound interpretation, and there is a report in al-Bukhari to support that, and the word ‘withhold’ in the hadith indicates that, or because the people of those lands would become Muslim.”

4.17. Following the ways of previous nations
Nowadays we see that this sign has appeared to a great extent, as the members of this defeated ummah, which has no control over its affairs, are rushing to compete in following the ways of the disbelievers in all aspects of life, both outwardly and inwardly, from imitating their fashions and hairstyles, speaking their languages when there is no need to do so, and completely imitating their way of life, to blindly imitating them in their festivals, laws, educational curricula and ways of thinking.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), that he said, “The Hour will not begin until my ummah imitates the ways of previous nations, following them handspan by hand span, cubit by cubit.” It was said: O Messenger of Allah, it is as if you mean the Persians and the Byzantines? He said, “Who can the people be other than them?” (Al-Bukhari) According to a report narrated from Abu Sa‘id, "We said, 'O Messenger of Allah, do you mean the Jews and the Christians?' He said, 'Who else?'" (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Al-Nawawi said, “What is meant by the handspan, cubit and lizard hole is to highlight how complete their imitation of them will be. What is meant by imitation is committing sins and infractions, not imitating them in disbelief. This hadith is a clear miracle of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), for what he foretold came to pass.”

Ibn ‘Uthaymin said, “If you reflect on the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), you will find that they describe precisely what we see in real life: ‘You will surely follow the ways of those who came before you.’ But now the question is: does this hadith warn against that or approve of it?

The answer is that it is undoubtedly a warning, and does not signal approval. No one should say: ‘I will envy others, consume riba, and transgress against people’s rights because the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said that these things would happen. If anyone were to say that, we would say to him: ‘You are wrong, because the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) undoubtedly constitute a warning. Hence the Sahabah said, “Do you mean the Jews and the Christians?” and he said, “Who else?”’ We would also tell them that the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke of things that will happen, yet at the same time he also told us that they are prohibited according to the text of the Qur’an. For example, he stated that a man would honour his wife and disobey his mother, and that a man would disobey his father and be close to his friend, although these things are not permissible according to the text of the Qur’an. Rather his aim was to warn people against doing these things. Among the previous nations there were those who said that the believers were misguided, and among this ummah there are those who say that the believers are backward. There is a precedent for these sins in all nations, according to what was mentioned above, but the ones whom Allah wants to guide will be guided. The point is that you can hardly find any sin in this ummah but you will find a precedent for it in the previous nations, and you will not find any sin that was committed in the previous nations but you will find some among this ummah who inherited it.

4.18. The slave woman will give birth to her mistress
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Jibril (peace be upon him) asked the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), "When is the Hour?" He said, "The one who is asked about it does not know more than the one who is asking, but I shall tell you of its portents: when the slave woman gives birth to her mistress, and when the herdsmen of black camels compete in the construction of lofty buildings. It is one of the five things that no one knows except Allah." Then the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) recited, 'Verily, Allah alone has knowledge of the Hour; it is He Who sends down rain and He knows what every womb contains. No soul knows what it will do on the morrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.'" (Luqman 31:34)

Al-Nawawi said, “The majority of scholars said that this is saying that there would be a lot of concubines and their children, because the child whom the concubine bears to her master has the same status as her master, for a man’s wealth will be inherited by his child, and he may dispose of that wealth immediately, like the original owner, either on the basis of a clear statement of permission from his father or on the basis of implied permission or according to custom.

And it was said that what is meant is that slave women would give birth to kings, so his mother would become his subject and he would become her master and the master of his other subjects. This is the view of Ibrahim al-Harbi.

And it was said that what it means is that people would become corrupt, so at the end of time they would sell concubines who had borne them children, and thus the mother would be passed from one purchaser to another, until her son purchased her without realising. According to this view, this is not limited to concubines who bear children, because this a man unwittingly purchasing his mother is something that is possible in other situations, so a slave woman could give birth to a child who will be free but he is the child of someone other than her master, for dubious reasons, or she could give birth to a slave child on the basis of a valid marriage, or as a result of zina, then in either of these two cases the slave woman could be sold in a legitimate transaction, and sold from one owner to another until her son buys her. This is more common and more likely to happen to concubines who bore children.

4.19. Barefoot, naked shepherds competing in the construction of lofty buildings
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Jibril (peace be upon him) asked the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), "When is the Hour?" He said, "The one who is asked about it does not know more than the one who is asking, but I shall tell you of its portents: when the slave woman gives birth to her mistress, and when the herdsmen of black camels compete in the construction of lofty buildings. It is one of the five things that no one knows except Allah.” Then the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) recited, "Verily, Allah alone has knowledge of the Hour… (Luqman 31:34)

Al-Nawawi said, “What this means is that the people of the deserts, and other poor and destitute people like them, will become so wealthy that they will begin to compete in the construction of lofty buildings. And Allah knows best.”

4.20. Evil people will predominate and good people will be scorned
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said, “One of the signs that the Hour is at hand is that evil people will be held in high esteem and good people will be looked down on.”

It was narrated that Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until the luckiest of people in worldly terms will be an ignoble man, son of an ignoble man.”

Al-Muzhiri said, “ ‘The luckiest of people in worldly terms’ means the luckiest of people in terms of worldly wealth, the most prosperous and the most powerful. ‘An ignoble man, son of an ignoble man’ means a scoundrel son of a scoundrel.”

Ibn Rajab said, “‘The hour will not begin until the leaders of each tribe will be the hypocrites.’ When the kings and leaders of people are of this type, everything will be the opposite of what it should be. Thus the liar will be believed and the honest man will be disbelieved, the treacherous man will be trusted and the trustworthy man will be mistrusted, the ignorant will speak and the knowledgeable will remain silent or will not be present at all, as it was soundly narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said, ‘One of the portents of the Hour is that knowledge will be taken away and ignorance will prevail.’ And he said, ‘Knowledge will be taken away with the death of the scholars until, when there is no scholar left, the people will follow ignorant leaders, who will be asked questions and will issue fatwas without knowledge. Thus they will go astray and lead others astray.’ Al-Sha‘bi said: The Hour will not begin until knowledge is regarded as ignorance and ignorance is regarded as knowledge. All of this is part of the inversion of things at the end of time, when everything will be back to front.”

Al-Albani said, “‘One of the signs that the Hour is at hand is that evil people will be held in high esteem and good people will be looked down on’ that is, people will elevate the status of evil people and they will lower the status of good people, as we see happening nowadays.”

4.21. Appointment of people to positions for which they are not qualified
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Whilst the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was in a gathering, speaking to the people, a Bedouin came and said: When will the Hour begin? The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) carried on talking, and some of the people said: He heard what he said but he disliked what he said. Others said: Rather he did not hear him. Then when he had finished what he had to say, he said, “Where is the one who asked about the Hour?” The man said: Here I am, O Messenger of Allah. He said, “When trust is lost, then expect the Hour. He said: How will it be lost? He said, “When authority is given to those who are not qualified for it, then expect the Hour.” (Al-Bukhari)

Ibn ‘Uthaymin said, “… He said, ‘When authority is given to those who are not qualified for it, then expect the Hour,’ meaning: when people become corrupt and people are appointed to positions for which they are not qualified, when ignorant people are appointed to issue fatwas, when foolish and ignorant people are appointed to positions of political authority, when one who has no knowledge of administration is appointed to an administrative position, and so on. To sum up, when people become corrupt, then expect the hour, for the Hour will come upon the most evil of people. This is a warning against dishonesty and neglecting trusts, and a reminder that positions of authority should be given to those who are most qualified, because this is what is required of one who is in a position of trust.”

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “There will come to the people treacherous years when the liar will be believed and the truthful man will be disbelieved; the treacherous man will be trusted and the honest man will be accused of treachery; and the fools will speak.” It was said: Who are the fools? He said, “Vile and base men who will speak about public affairs.” (Ibn Majah, Ahmad; sahih)

Humud al-Tuwaijri said, “We may understand from the hadiths, based on what the linguist said, that the word fools (al-ruwaybidah) refers to incompetent, mediocre, vulgar, insignificant and vile evildoers.”

4.22. Increase of wealth
It was narrated from ‘Awf ibn Malik al-Ashja‘i (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Count six ahead of the hour… Then there will be an increase of wealth to such an extent that if a man were to be given one hundred dinars, he would not be satisfied.” (Al-Bukhari)

It was narrated from Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “There will come a time when a man will go around with the zakah of his gold, but he will not find anyone to accept it from him.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until wealth increases among you, and becomes so abundant that a wealthy man will be worried about finding someone to accept zakah from him. A man will be called to it and he will say: ‘I have no need of it.’” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Ibn ‘Uthaymin said, “Here the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) says that the Hour will not begin until wealth increases, and wealth has indeed increased, and it will continue to increase until a man will be worried about finding someone to accept his zakah, and to the extent that a man will offer money to another man as a gift or as charity, and he will say: ‘I have no need of it.’”

4.23. Markets will become very close to one another
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until knowledge is taken away, tribulations appear, there will be much lying, time will pass quickly and markets will be very close to one another.” (Ahmad, Ibn Hibban; sahih)

Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Qasim commented on the issue of time passing quickly by saying: “What appears to be the case – and Allah knows best – is that this refers to what has been invented in our time of vehicles that travel on land and in the air, and electrical devices which bring close what is far away.”

Humud al-Tuwaijri said, “What appears to be the case – and Allah knows best – is that this refers to what is happening in our time, in which the people of the earth have been brought close to one another by means of vehicles that travel on land and in the air, and electrical devices which transmit voices, such as broadcast media and telephones, and those which transmit writing, such as fax and telex machines. And there are other modern devices that have brought the markets of the earth close to one another, to the extent that there is no change of prices in one country but businessmen, or most of them, throughout the world become aware of it and they increase prices if the price goes up or they decrease prices if the price goes down. And businessmen travel in cars to markets in other cities that were previously several days’ travel away from them, then they complete their business there and return home within a day or part of a day. And they travel in planes to markets in cities that were previously a month’s distance away from them, or more, then they complete their business there and return home within a day or part of a day. Thus the markets have become closer together in three ways:
i. Because news of increases and decreases in prices travels quickly.
ii. Because it is possible to travel quickly from one market to another, even if they are far apart.
iii. Because prices have become similar, so people follow one another in increases or decreases in prices.
And Allah knows best.”

Perhaps that also includes – and Allah knows best – the fact that stores are now close to one another, as in malls and shopping centres where many stores are close to one another.

There are also marketplaces and stores on the Internet, and purchasing from these stores has become increasingly popular. So now the consumer has a choice, when he is at home, of whatever type of product he wants, then it is delivered to his doorstep within a short period of time.

4.24. Commerce will become so widespread that a woman will help her husband in trade
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “Ahead of the Hour, greetings of salaam will only be given to people whom one knows; commerce will become so widespread that a woman will help her husband in trade; ties of kinship will be severed; there will be false testimony and concealment of true testimony; and there will be widespread use of the pen (i.e., literacy).” (Ahmad, al-Tahawi, al-Hakim; sahih)

Al-Sa‘ati said, “‘A woman will help her husband in trade’ means: she will sell alongside him in the marketplace.”

4.25. The spread of riba (usury)
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), that he said, “Ahead of the Hour, riba will become widespread.” (Al-Tabarani, al-Shajari, al-Daylami; sahih)

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “There will surely come a time when a man will not care how he acquires wealth, from a halal source or a haram one.” (Al-Bukhari)

Ibn ‘Uthaymin said, “One of the signs of the Hour that has already happened… is the spread of riba, which has become very widespread in the Muslim ummah.”

4.26. The spread of miserliness
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “Time will pass quickly, good deeds will decrease, miserliness will be cast into people’s hearts, tribulations will appear and there will be a great deal of harj.” They said: O Messenger of Allah, what is that? He said, “Killing, killing.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Ibn Battal said, “All of this is the Prophet’s telling of the portents of the Hour, and we have seen these portents ourselves. Knowledge has decreased, ignorance has become prevalent, miserliness has been cast into people’s hearts, tribulations are widespread and there is a great deal of killing.”

4.27. Much lying
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not come until tribulations appear, there will be much lying, markets will be very close to one another, time will pass quickly, and there will be a great deal of harj.” It was said: What is harj? He said, “Killing.” (Ahmad, Ibn Hibban; sahih)

Humud al-Tuwaijri said, “The confirmation of these hadiths has appeared, as is clear to anyone with the slightest knowledge and awareness. There is a great deal of lying among people, as it has become easy for them to tell lies; false reports and stories are widespread, and books written for entertainment are filled with falsehoods. Many businessmen rely on false advertising to sell their wares, as do manufacturers and other business ventures, who rely on false advertising to promote their products and services. Al-Hakim narrated in al-Mustadrak from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “When there are a lot of lies, there will be a lot of killing.”

Lying has now become so widespread that it is now a global industry and a source of entertainment.

It has become something that is acceptable to people throughout the world. For example, the first day of April has become a day when it is acceptable for many peoples of the world to tell lies, in what is known as “April Fools’ Day.”

There are many programs and media pages which are based on telling lies in various ways, such as telling jokes to make viewers laugh, or fabricating news to amaze and shock people. There are newspapers that specialise in fabricating scandals and spreading rumours in order to become more popular and greatly increase their sales.

4.28. The increase of false testimony and concealment of true testimony
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Ahead of the Hour, greetings of salaam will only be given to people whom one knows; commerce will become so widespread that a woman will help her husband in trade; ties of kinship will be severed; there will be false testimony and concealment of true testimony; and there will be widespread use of the pen (i.e., literacy).” (Ahmad, Ibn Hibban; sahih)

Ibn ‘Uthaymin said, “Testimony must be based on knowledge, but unfortunately false testimony has become widespread nowadays, to the extent that it may be bought for a cheap price. A person can find in the marketplace a man who will testify in his favour for ten riyals or less, and sometimes he will ask: ‘What is the value of what you are claiming in your case?’ If he says, ‘I am making a claim of one million riyals,’ the man will say: ‘A million riyals is a lot; I will give testimony for one thousand riyals.’ And if he says that his claim is worth one hundred thousand riyals, the other man will say, ‘A hundred riyals is enough for me.’ His price will be based on the amount of the claim, whether it is large or small. All of this – Allah forbid – is tampering with the system, and it is wrongdoing and transgression.”

4.29. Women will become many and men will become few
It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say, “Some of the portents of the Hour are that knowledge will decrease, ignorance will prevail and zina will become widespread. Women will become many and men will become few, until for every fifty women there will be one man to look after them.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

It was narrated from Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “There will come a time when a man will go around with the zakah of his gold, but he will not find anyone to accept it from him. And a man will be seen being followed by forty women seeking his protection, because there will be so few men and so many women.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Al-Qurtubi said: The words ‘And a man will be seen being followed by forty women’ mean – and Allah knows best – that men will be killed in the wars, and their wives will be left as widows, so they will rely on one man to do errands for them and look after their affairs, as it says in the hadith mentioned before it: ‘until for every fifty women there will be one man to look after them,’ who will take care of them and be in charge of them with regard to buying and selling, taking and giving on their behalf. This is what has happened in our country, or something similar to it, in Andalus.”

4.30. The prevalence of rudeness and foul talk
It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Some of the portents of the Hour are that people will become rude and foulmouthed, ties of kinship will be severed, the treacherous will be trusted – I think he said: and the honest will be mistrusted…” (Al-Bazzar, al-Tabarani, al-Diya’; sahih)

Al-Munawi said, “‘Some of the portents of the Hour are that people will become rude and foulmouthed’ means: this phenomenon will emerge and will become prevalent among the people.”

Al-San‘ani said, “‘Some of the portents of the Hour are that people will become rude’ that is, they will transgress the limits of foul talk; ‘and foulmouthed’ that is, such speech will be deliberate; what is meant is that both will become widespread. ‘Ties of kinship will be severed’ and will not be upheld; ‘the treacherous will be trusted and the honest will be mistrusted’ means that the way people look at things will be the opposite of what it should be.”

What is happening today testifies that this sign is clearly occurring. Rude words and dirty jokes have become a source of entertainment at gatherings, and have become something very common on social media and in some radio and TV program, with no shame, in addition to what people hear in movies and elsewhere of indecent and immoral words and actions that encourage people to commit immoral deeds and to do bad deeds, to the extent that they have become something natural that no longer shocks people or causes disgust. Rudeness and foul talk nowadays have become an art, the practitioners of which have become stars.

4.31. The increase and spread of zina
It was narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Some of the portents of the Hour are … and zina will become widespread.” (Al-Bukhari). According to another report, “Zina will become prevalent.” (Muslim)

Ibn Hajar said, “‘Zina will become prevalent’ means that it will spread and will become a common practice, so that people no longer conceal it, because there will be so many people who do it.”

‘Ali al-Qari said, “‘Zina will increase’ that is, because there will be no shame.”

Ibn al-Qayyim said, “The spread of zina is one of the signs of imminent doom, and it is one of the portents of the Hour… It is usually the case that when zina becomes widespread, Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, becomes angry and His anger grows intense, and it is inevitable that His anger will have an impact on earth in the form of punishment.”

Today falling into zina has become something open and blatant, and it has become easily accessible in most parts of the world. It is Allah Whose help we seek.

In modern times, the media and social media of all types are trying hard to encourage zina, and make prostitution something fair-seeming and acceptable among people, to the extent that it has become normalised and regarded as something natural.

Many so-called Muslim countries – let alone others – have promulgated laws that do not criminalise zina and do not punish those who commit this abhorrent deed. Some countries have even given licences to some companies to engage in prostitution and advertise it with no problem at all!

4.32. Drinking alcohol
It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say, 'Some of the portents of the Hour are… alcohol will be drunk.'" (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Ibn Hajar said, “What is meant is that that will be done a great deal and drinking alcohol will be very common. The author narrated a report in the Book of Marriage via Hisham from Qatadah which says: ‘drinking alcohol will be very common.’”

It was narrated that ‘Ubadah ibn al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Indeed a group of my ummah will surely regard alcohol as permissible, calling it by another name that they will make up for it.” (Ibn Majah, Ahmad; sahih)

Al-San‘ani said, “ ‘Indeed a group of my ummah will surely regard alcohol as permissible’ claiming that it is halal, ‘calling it by another name that they will make up for it’ because they will call it by some other name, changing the name and regarding that drink as permissible, using a trick to make permissible what Allah has forbidden. And that indeed happened.”

In modern times, alcohol is known as spirits.

From the apparent meaning of the hadiths, it is clear that they are not saying that only some people will do that; and Allah knows best. Rather the hadiths are saying that it will become widespread and will become very common in an astounding manner, the like of which has never been seen before. Now we are in a time when there are many huge, international companies throughout the world which manufacture many types of alcohol, in addition to the fact that public consumption of alcohol is widespread in many countries.

4.33. Increased frequency of earthquakes
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until knowledge is taken away, earthquakes become more frequent, time passes quickly, tribulations increase, and there is a great deal of harj – which is killing, killing…” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Al-Muzhiri said, “ ‘until earthquakes become frequent.’ What is meant is that the earth will be shaken a great deal at the end of time.”

4.34. People will turn their backs on one another
It was narrated that Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was asked about the Hour, and he said, “The knowledge thereof is with my Lord alone. None but He can disclose when its time will come." (al-A‘raf 7:187), but I will tell you of its portents and what will precede it. Ahead of it there will be tribulations and harj.” They said: O Messenger of Allah, we know what tribulation is, but what is harj? He said, “It means killing in the language of the Ethiopians. People will turn their backs on one another, and they will hardly recognise one another.” (Ahmad)

When there is a great deal of trouble and tribulations, relationships between people grow weak, to the extent that they will sever ties with one another and turn their backs on one another, so people will hardly recognise one another except when there are worldly interests to be served. This hadith is confirmed by how people are nowadays.

Al-Sakhawi noted that one of the portents of the Hour is that “people will turn their backs on one another, and there will be friction between them because of their disputes and differing views. They will pretend to be brothers, meaning that outwardly they will act as friends but inwardly they will be enemies. The reason for that is that they need one another, yet they also fear one another.”

4.35. Ill-treatment of neighbours
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say, “Verily Allah hates rudeness and foul talk. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the Hour will not begin until the honest man is mistrusted and the dishonest man is trusted, until rudeness, foul talk, severing ties of kinship and ill-treatment of neighbours become widespread.” (Ahmad, al-Tabarani, al-Hakim; sahih)

As Islam has affirmed and enjoined good treatment of neighbours, honouring them and not causing annoyance to them, this means that this good attitude is very important, and we should make sure to always have this attitude and treat neighbours well. Neglecting this teaching means that there is something very wrong in the social structure of this ummah, as is seen nowadays. The compassion which should exist among the Muslims has been replaced with severing of ties, forsaking others, and paying no attention to establishing friendly ties between people, unless it is to achieve some personal interest and when one has some specific need.

4.36. Only greeting people whom one knows
It was narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “One of the portents of the Hour is that a man will only greet a man because he already knows him.” (Ahmad; hasan sahih)

According to another report, it was narrated from him, from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said, “Ahead of the Hour, greetings of salaam will only be given to people whom one knows.” (Ahmad, al-Hakim, al-Tahawi; sahih)

Al-Sakhawi said regarding the portents of the Hour: “Only greeting those whom one knows means only greeting those whom one chooses to greet, either because they are prominent figures or the like, such as if he needs their help or fears them.”

Humud al-Tuwaijri, “This is something that has appeared and we see it happening in our time.”

4.37. Severing of ties of kinship
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “Ahead of the Hour, greetings of salaam will only be given to people whom one knows; commerce will become so widespread that a woman will help her husband in trade; ties of kinship will be severed; there will be false testimony and concealment of true testimony; and there will be widespread use of the pen (i.e., literacy).” (Ahmad)

Al-San‘ani said, “Severing ties of kinship, bad attitudes and ill-treatment of neighbours are causes of trouble in society, lead to doom and shorten lifespans.”

4.38. Believers’ dreams coming true
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “Towards the end of time, hardly any dream of a Muslim will be false. Those of you who have the truest dreams will be those who are truest in speech.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)
             
Al-Nawawi said, “Al-Khattabi and others said: The phrase ‘qaraba al-zaman’ translated above as ‘towards the end of time’ means, when day and night are of equal length. And it was said that what is meant is when the Day of Resurrection is close. And Allah knows best. Regarding the Prophet’s words ‘Those of you who have the truest dreams will be those who are truest in speech,’ it is to be understood according to the apparent meaning. Al-Qadi narrated from some of the scholars that this will happen at the end of time, when knowledge is taken away and the scholars and others like them, to whom people turn and whose words and deeds they watch by way of seeking guidance, die. Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, will make good dreams a compensation for that loss and a warning to alert people. In the case of one who is not truthful in speech, there will be something wrong with his dreams and something wrong with the way in which he tells of them.”

4.39. Time passing quickly
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until knowledge is taken away, earthquakes become frequent, time passes quickly, tribulations increase, there is a great deal of harj – which is killing, killing – and wealth will become abundant among you.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Al-‘Iraqi said, “The phrase yataqarab al-zaman translated here as ‘time passes quickly’ means when the Hour is approaching. This is the view of al-Qadi ‘Iyad and al-Nawawi. It may be that what is meant is that time will become short and pass quickly, and there will be no blessing (barakah) in it, so that what one will achieve in day will be very little, like what one could achieve in one hour. And perhaps this is the most relevant hadith, and the most significant and most useful. It is referred to in the hadith which was narrated by al-Tirmidhi from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until time passes quickly, so that a year will become like a month, a month will become like a week, a week will become like a day, a day will become like an hour, and an hour will become like a briefly flaring fire.” (Al-Tirmidhi, al-Bazzar, al-Tabarani; sahih)

Ibn Baz said, “What appears to be the case is that time passing quickly is something tangible, so it is explained as meaning that people will be so preoccupied that they do not feel the passage of time. It was also explained as referring to vehicles that travel quickly. All of that has tangible and intangible aspects. When people are suffering turmoil, they feel that the passage of time is slow, and at times of joy, they feel that time passes quickly. This phrase was also interpreted as referring to a loss of blessing (barakah) in time.”

He also said, “The best interpretation of the phrase mentioned is what we experience in modern times, because of how cities and regions now feel closer to one another because of the short time required for travel and communication between them, due to the invention of aeroplanes, cars, broadcasting and so on. And Allah knows best.”

Ibn ‘Uthaymin said, “The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said that time would pass quickly, and you find that one day it is the beginning of the week and suddenly it is Friday, or one day it is the beginning of the month and suddenly you see the new moon for the next month, or one day it is the beginning of the year and suddenly you see the new moon for the following Muharram, because time passes so quickly. This is the confirmation of the hadith, ‘Time will pass quickly.’ It does not mean, as some scholars think, that cities will expand so much that their boundaries become close to one another, so that the distance between two cities becomes two days’ travel instead of four. Similarly, it does not refer to rapid communications or transportation. Rather the most important thing is that Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, will make time pass quickly, and this is what is happening.”

In principle, we should understand any statement according to its apparent meaning, unless there is some indication to interpret it otherwise. Based on that, the more correct view about the phrase “time will pass quickly” is that what is meant is that time will become short in a real sense. This may happen because of some geographic change which will cause turmoil and disorder, and will cause night and day to pass quickly. And Allah knows best.

4.42 sic Wild animals and inanimate objects will speak to humans
It was narrated that Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, the Hour will not begin until wild animals speak to humans, and the end of a man’s whip and his sandal strap speak to him, and his thigh tells him what his family did after he left.” (Al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad; sahih)

‘Ali al-Qari said, “‘By the One in Whose hand is my soul, the Hour will not begin until wild animals speak to humans’ means: vicious wild animals such as lions, or birds of prey such as falcons. There is no reason why it cannot mean both. The word humans refers to both believers and disbelievers.”

Ibn al-Malak al-Karmani said, “‘the end of his whip’ refers to the last part that is attached to it. ‘and his sandal strap speak to him, and his thigh tells him what his family did after he left’ that is, in his absence.”

Humud al-Tuwaijri said, “The indubitable truth is that wild animals will speak to humans at the end of time in a real sense, and people’s thighs, the ends of their whips and their sandal straps will all speak to people at the end of time in a real sense… The speaking of wild animals to humans is something extraordinary, and the speaking of thighs, the ends of whips and sandal straps are all extraordinary and very strange. Hence when these things happen, that will be an indication that the Hour is at hand.”

4.43. The Euphrates will uncover a mountain of gold
It was narrated that Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say, “Soon the Euphrates will uncover a mountain of gold, and when the people hear of it, they will hasten towards it, and those who are near it will say: If we let the people, they will take it all away. So they will fight for it, and out of every hundred, ninety-nine will be killed.” (Muslim)

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until the Euphrates uncovers a mountain of gold and the people fight for it. Out of every hundred, ninety-nine will be killed, and each man among them will say: Perhaps I will be the one who will be saved.” (Muslim)

Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “With regard to the words ‘the Euphrates will uncover a mountain of gold,’ that will only happen when the earth will start to cast forth what is inside it.”

Ibn ‘Uthaymin said, “One of the portents of the Hour which will inevitably happen is that the Euphrates – which is the famous river in the eastern part of the furthest region of Mesopotamia – will uncover some gold, a mountain of gold or a treasure of gold, which will be uncovered in the sense that the gold will emerge like a mountain… So long as this world has not yet ended, we are awaiting that of which the most truthful one the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke. It will inevitably happen, and the people will fight for it. This is one of the portents of the Hour that has not yet happened.”

4.44. The earth will bring forth its hidden treasures
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The earth will vomit out pieces of what is hidden in it, like columns of gold and silver. The killer will come and will say: ‘It was for this that I killed.’ The one who severed the ties of kinship will come and say: ‘It was for this that I severed the ties of kinship.’ The thief will come and say: ‘It was for this that my hand was cut off.’ Then they will leave it and will not take anything from it.” (Muslim)

Al-Nawawi said, “The meaning of the hadith is by way of example. What is meant is that the earth will bring forth what is in it of buried pieces and columns of precious metals. A column is a pillar, and the pieces of metal are likened to columns because of their great size and great number.”

4.45. Arabia will go back to being gardens and rivers
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until wealth increases and becomes abundant, and until a man will go out with the zakah of his wealth and will not find anyone to accept it from him, and until the land of the Arabs goes back to being meadows with rivers.”
             
Al-Muzhiri said, “It was said that in ancient times, most of the land of the Arabs was meadows, with plenty of rivers in the deserts and lots of trees and fruits. Then prosperity turned to ruin, the countryside was destroyed and the people who had lived together became scattered. This is the way of Allah in dealing with lands and people… The word translated as meadows may refer to gardens.”

Ibn al-Malik al-Karmani said, “‘until the land of the Arabs goes back to being meadows’ that is, gardens and farms; ‘with rivers’ – it was said that most of its land was originally meadows and deserts with rivers and trees, then it was ruined, but it will become prosperous at the end of time through the efforts of people who will construct buildings in it.’

Ibn Baz said, “What is meant by the lands of the Arabs is the Arabian Peninsula. Meadows are land that is green with vegetation. Rivers refer to running water as a result of abundant rainfall.’

4.46. al-Jahjah will attain power
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “Day and night will not cease until a man who is called al-Jahjah gains power and authority.” (Muslim). According to another report: “a man among the freed slaves.” (Al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad; sahih)

Abu’l-‘Ula al-Mubarakfuri said, “That is, time will not end and the resurrection will not begin ‘until a man among the freed slaves… gains power and authority.’ What is meant is that he will gain power by force, not as a result of consultation (shura) among the decision-makers.”

4.47. The emergence of a man from the tribe of Qahtan who will drive the people with his stick
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “The Hour will not begin until a man emerges from the tribe of Qahtan, who will drive the people with his stick.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi said, “The words ‘until a man emerges from the tribe of Qahtan, who will drive the people with his stick’ mean: he will become their ruler and will deal with them as a shepherd deals with the flock.”

Ibn Hajar said, “This hadith is one of the signs of prophethood; it is one of the things that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke of before it happens, and it has not yet happened.”

4.48. The appearance of the Mahdi
i. It was narrated from ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “If there were only a day left of this world, Allah would send a man who is one of my descendants, who will fill the world with justice as it was filled with injustice.” (Abu Dawud, Ahmad; sahih)

ii. It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “If there were only one night left of this world, a man who is a descendant of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would take charge of this ummah.” (Ibn Hibban, al-Dani, Ibn ‘Asakir; sahih)

iii. It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “A man who is one of my descendants, and whose name is the same as my name, will become a ruler.” (Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad; sahih)

iv. It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said, “This world will not cease or will not end until the Arabs are ruled by a man from among my descendants, whose name is the same as mine.”

What we conclude from these hadiths is that he will appear at the end of time, that he will rule the Arabs and will fill the earth with justice after it was filled with injustice and oppression, and that he will be one of the descendants of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and his name will be the same as the name of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

Abu’l-Hasan al-Abiri said, “There are many mutawatir reports from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) – about the Mahdi – which say that he will be a descendant of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), that he will rule for seven years and will fill the earth with justice, and that he will emerge with ‘Isa ibn Maryam and will help him to fight the Dajjal at the gate of Ludd in Palestine. He will lead this ummah in prayer, and ‘Isa (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) will pray behind him.”

Ibn Kathir said, “Chapter on the Mahdi who will appear at the end of time; he is one of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and righteous leaders. He is not the awaited one claimed by the Rafidis, who they expect to emerge from the tunnel of Samarra’; rather that figure is not real, he does not exist and never existed… What we are going to discuss below is stated in hadiths that are narrated from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and speak of events that will happen at the end of time. I think that his emergence will be before the descent of ‘Isa ibn Maryam; he will fill the earth with justice after it was filled with injustice and oppression, and ‘Isa ibn Maryam will do likewise, as is indicated by these hadiths.”

He also said, after quoting a great deal of evidence: “The point is that the promised Mahdi will appear at the end of time. He will first emerge from the east, then he will come to Makkah and allegiance will be sworn to him at the Sacred House, as is mentioned in the hadith.”

Al-Safarini said, “There are many views regarding the Mahdi, to the extent that it was said that ‘there will be no Mahdi except ‘Isa.’ But the correct view, which is that of those who follow the truth, is that the Mahdi will be someone other than ‘Isa, and that he will emerge before the descent of ‘Isa (peace be upon him). There are so many reports that speak of his emergence that they are regarded as being mutawatir in meaning, although their wording differs. That has become so widely recognised among the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah that it is regarded as one of their beliefs… Then he quoted some hadiths that were narrated about the Mahdi via a number of the Sahabah, then he said: Numerous reports were narrated from the Sahabah mentioned above and others, and from the Tabi‘in who came after them; when taken together, these reports make the matter definitively true, so believing in the emergence of the Mahdi is obligatory, as was affirmed by the scholars and is included as one of the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah.”

Al-Shawkani said in an essay entitled Al-Tawdih fi Tawatur ma ja’a fi’l-Mahdi al-Muntazar wa’l-Dajjal wa’l-Masih (Clarification regarding the tawatur reports about the Awaited Mahdi, the Dajjal and the Messiah): “The hadiths narrated about the Mahdi that I was able to find and examine come to a total of fifty hadiths, including reports that are sahih, hasan and da‘if (weak) but may be strengthened by other reports. They are undoubtedly mutawatir; in fact, some reports could be regarded as true and described as mutawatir. As for the reports narrated from the Sahabah which speak clearly of the Mahdi, there are many of these reports too, and they may be deemed marfu‘ (directly attributable to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), because there is no room for personal opinion in such matters (so the Sahabi must have heard it directly from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)).”

4.49. Conquests and wars
One example of that is fighting the Turks

It was narrated that ‘Amr ibn Taghlib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “One of the portents of the Hour is that you will fight a people whose shoes are made of hair, and one of the portents of the Hour is that you will fight people with broad faces, as if their faces are shields covered with leather.” (Al-Bukhari)

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until you fight the Turks, people with small eyes, red faces and flat noses, as if their faces are shields covered with leather. And the Hour will not begin until you fight people whose shoes are made of hair.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Al-Nawawi said, “All of these reports are miracles of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). This fighting with the Turks, with all the characteristics that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) mentioned, namely small eyes, red faces, flat noses, broad faces, as if their faces were shields covered with leather, and whose shoes were made of hair, came to pass. They were found to have all these characteristics in our own time that is, al-Nawawi’s time; the Muslims have fought them several times and are fighting them now in the 7th century AH, at the Battle of ‘Ain Jalut in 658 AH/1260 CE and other battles. We ask Allah, the Most Generous, for a good outcome for the Muslims in this matter and others, and in all their affairs, and we ask Him to continue to care for them and protect them. May Allah send blessings and peace upon His Messenger who did not speak on the basis of his own whims and desires; rather it was but a revelation revealed.”

One of those conquests will be the conquest of the city part of which is on land and part is in the sea, which will be conquered without fighting
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Have you heard of a city, one part of which is on land and the other is in the sea?” They said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said, “The Hour will not begin until seventy thousand of Banu Ishaq attack it. When they come to it, they will halt and they will not fight with weapons or shoot arrows. Rather they will say: La ilaha illa Allah wa Allahu akbar (There is no god worthy of worship except Allah and Allah is most great), and one of its two parts will fall.” Thawr (one of the narrators of the hadith) said: I do not know but that he said: “The part that is in the sea. Then they will say a second time, La ilaha illa Allah wa Allahu akbar, and the other part will fall. Then they will say a third time: La ilaha illa Allah wa Allahu akbar, and it will be opened for them, and they will enter it and take booty. Then when they are sharing out the booty, a cry will come to them, saying the Dajjal has appeared, and they will leave everything and go back.”

As to which city this is, there is a difference of scholarly opinion. Some of them said that it is the city of Constantinople. Al-Nawawi said, “This city is Constantinople.”

Some of the scholars thought that unlikely
Constantinople was conquered by fighting at the hands of the Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih in 857 AH/1453 CE. As for its conquest without fighting, that has not yet happened.

Ibn Kathir said, “Al-Mustawrid al-Qurashi said, ‘The Hour will begin when the Byzantines are the most prevalent of people.’ News of that reached ‘Amr ibn al-‘As and he said, ‘What are these hadiths that it is said you narrate from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?’ Al-Mustawrid said to him: ‘I say that which I heard from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).’ ‘Amr said, ‘As you say that, indeed they are the most steadfast of people at times of tribulation and the most patient of people at times of calamity, and the kindest of people to their poor and weak.’ (Muslim) This indicates that the Byzantines will become Muslim at the end of time, and perhaps the conquest of Constantinople will be at the hands of a group of them, as mentioned in the hadith that we will quote below, which says that seventy thousand of Banu Ishaq will attack it. The Byzantines are descended from al-‘Is (Esau) ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Khalil (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), so they are cousins of Banu Isra’il, who are descended from Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq. Thus at the end of time the Byzantines will be better than the Children of Israel. The Dajjal will be followed by seventy thousand of the Jews of Isfahan who will be the supporters of the Dajjal, whereas these people – I mean the Byzantines – are praised in this hadith. So perhaps they will become Muslim at the hands of the Messiah son of Maryam. And Allah knows best. But in some reports it says that those who will conquer Constantinople will be from Banu Isma‘il, and this was regarded as qawiy (strong) by ‘Iyad and others. And Allah knows best.”

The fact that the Byzantines will enter Islam at the end of time is also indicated by the hadith of Abu Hurayrah which speaks about fighting the Byzantines, in which it says that the Byzantines will say to the Muslims, “Do not stand between us and those who were taken prisoner from among us and became Muslim; let us fight them.’ The Muslims will say: ‘No by Allah, we will never let you reach our brothers.” (Muslim) So the Byzantines will ask the Muslims to let them fight those among them who were taken prisoner, because they have become Muslim, but the Muslims will refuse to do that and will explain to the Byzantines that whoever among them became Muslim is now one of our brothers, and we will not hand him over to anyone.

An-Nawawi said, “They were taken prisoner by the Muslims first, then they started to capture the disbelievers. This happened in our time i.e., al-Nawawi’s time; in fact most of the Muslim troops in Syria and Egypt were originally taken captive, and now today – praise be to Allah – they are capturing disbelievers. They have captured disbelievers many times in our own time. On a single occasion they would capture thousands of the disbelievers, praise be to Allah for causing Islam to prevail and become strong.”

The fact that this army will be from among the descendants of Ishaq is supported by the fact that the number of the Byzantine army will be one million, then some of them will be killed and others will become Muslim, and those who become Muslim will be with the Muslim army. And Allah knows best.

It was narrated from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said, ‘The conquest of Constantinople will occur shortly before the onset of the Hour.’ (Al-Tirmidhi, al-Dani; sahih)

Constantinople was not conquered during the era of the Sahabah. Mu‘awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) sent his son Yazid to it with an army which included Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, but they did not conquer it. Then Maslamah ibn ‘Abd al-Malik besieged it but he did not conquer it either, although he made a peace deal with its people that allowed for the building of a mosque in the city.”

Moreover, the Muslim conquest of Constantinople was achieved by fighting.

Ahmad Shakir said, “The conquest of Constantinople that is foretold in the hadith will happen in the near or distant future; only Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, knows. This will be the true conquest of the city, when the Muslims go back to their religion from which they have turned away. As for the conquest of the Turks which occurred before our time, it is to pave the way for the greater conquest. Moreover, after that, the city passed out of the hands of the Muslims, since their government announced that it is a non-Islamic and non-religious government which made deals with the disbelievers, the enemies of Islam, and it rules the Turkish nation with a system of law that is based on the idolatrous system of the disbelievers. The Muslims will reconquer it, in sha Allah, as the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) foretold.”

Another sign is the conquest of Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis)
It was narrated from ‘Awf ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Count six ahead of the Hour…” among which he mentioned: “The conquest of Bayt al-Maqdis.” (Al-Bukhari)

Al-‘Ayni said, “The six things mentioned have happened, including the conquest of Bayt al-Maqdis.”

Bayt al-Maqdis was conquered during the caliphate of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) in 15 AH.

There will be a third conquest of Bayt al-Maqdis, in sha Allah

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “You will fight the Jews, until one of them will hide behind a rock, and it will say: ‘O slave of Allah, here is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The Hour will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims will kill them, until a Jew hides behind a rock or a tree, and the rock or tree will say: ‘O Muslim, O slave of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ Except the gharqad (a thorny tree), for it is one of the trees of the Jews.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Ibn Hajar said, “This indicates that the religion of Islam will continue until ‘Isa (peace be upon him) comes down, for he is the one who will fight the Dajjal, and he will eradicate the Jews who are the followers of the Dajjal.”
 
Ibn Baz said regarding the hadith, “The Hour will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, until a Jew will hide behind the rocks and trees…”: “It may be that this will happen after a time when the situation of the Muslims improves and they become united in following the path of truth and guidance, so they will be caused to prevail over them. Or it may be that this will happen at the time of ‘Isa, as is well known, for at the time of ‘Isa he will fight the Jews and Allah will cause ‘Isa and the Muslims to prevail over them, and ‘Isa will kill the Dajjal – there is no doubt about this, and it will happen at the time of ‘Isa. Or it may be that before the time of ‘Isa the situation of the Muslims will improve and their affairs will be rectified as they adhere to the teachings of Islam, and they will be led by a righteous ruler and leader who will lead them to truth and guidance, and they will adhere to the teachings of Islam, then they will go to fight the Jews and they will be caused to prevail over them. All of these things are possible. As for the time of ‘Isa, there is no doubt that he fight kill them and Allah will cause him (peace be upon him) to prevail over them when he, along with the Muslims, fight the Dajjal.”

4.50. The disappearance of Quraysh
It was narrated from ‘Amr ibn al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with him) and ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “The first people to die out will be Quraysh, and the first of Quraysh to die out will be my descendants.” (Ibn Tahman, Abu Ahmad al-Hakim; sahih)

Al-Sa‘ani said, “‘The first people to die out’ before the onset of the Hour ‘will be Quraysh,’ as a result of widespread death among them or being killed and the like. ‘and the first of Quraysh to die out will be my descendants’ to protect them from the portents and horrors of the Hour. Thus the disappearance of the two groups is one of the signs and portents of the closeness of the Hour.”