THE SIGNS OF THE HOUR
All praise is for Alláh Alone, and may peace and prayer be upon the Finality of the Messengers. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Alláh Alone, having no partners. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
O Muslims! The Hour has preludes and signs. Some of the signs are what the Messenger of Alláh mentioned:
“Verily it is from the signs of the Hour that knowledge will be lifted, ignorance will settle, Khamr (intoxicating beverages) will be drunk and Zina (fomication: to have sex out of wedlock) will spread.”
The aforementioned Hadith states four signs of the Hour, which are deemed as sorne of the Hour’ s most important and apparent signs. These signs are the prelude to the ruin of the world, the end of this life and the demise of all living things. The Hour shall not emerge except after the earth is overwhelmed with evil and disbelief There shall be no good left on it. Ignorance, misery, evil and infidelity will again prevail. People will no longer believe in the messages sent by Alláh(swt) to them, so complete aberration shall rule over their life. The Messenger of Allah(pbuh) said:
“The Hour wíll emerge while there is no one on earth saying Alláh, Alláh.”
The Hour has minor signs that have already appeared and other major sígns that have yet to appear. These major signs will begin wíth the appearance of Al-Mahdi, who will fill the land with justice as it had been filled with injustice and oppression before. After that the Dajjal (false messiah) will appear, then follows the descent of Isa. The emergence of Gog and Magog people will come after the descent of Isa, then the rest of the major signs shall follow.
The minor signs that have already appeared are many. You may learn about most of them by observing what the Muslims do and have these days; like; obscenity, lack of modesty and disobeying Alláh in public, refusing to pay the Zakát dues, betraying the trust and competing in committing sins. The minor signs of the Hour also include affluence and materialistic life, such as the life of the barefooted, and naked ones who once before were herdsmen and dwelled in the desolate desert and that are now competing in constructing high and lofty buildings, and bouncing from one luxury to another. Thus they have mansions, luxury vehicles, furniture, furs and feathers.
The four signs mentioned earlier in the Hadith constitute the most obvious signs in this category. The first and the second signs are stated in the part saying: “knowledge will be lifted and ignorance will settle,” so what does that mean? Allah(swt) does not lift knowledge by removing it from the hearts of the scholars or tearing it out of their hearts, but by their death, thereupon, their knowledge dies with them. The Messenger of Allah(swt) said:
“Alláh does not take away the knowledge by taking it from (the hearts of) the scholars, but takes it away by the death of the scholars until when none of them remains, people will rely on ignorant leaders who when consulted will give their verdict without knowledge. So they will go astray and will lead others astray.” (Al-Bukhári)
The scholars are the light of this life, the torches of righteousness and the lanterns of guidance. Thus when they die and leave no one to take their place and fill the void they have left behind, the light will diminish, and life will turn dark, ignorance wiIl prevail and people will go astray in the midst of darkness. The Messenger of Allah(pbuh) said:
“The example of the scholars is like the stars in the sky, by which people are shown their way in the darkness of land and sea. Yet when the stars fade they wiII probably go astray.”
The Messenger of Allah(pbuh) also said:
“Follow the scholars. Verily they are the lights of this life and the lanterns of the Hereafter.”
We watch eminent and noble scholars die, yet there is no one to succeed them in their knowledge and favors. Their lights die down with them, yet no one lights them afterward. If this is to continue that often, we shall not wait long before we go out searching for a scholar or even a seeker of knowledge or a student of a scholar, but to no avail. Thereafter, ignorance in the religion will prevail so much so that we will never understand its truth and guidance.
I see the people of knowledge passing away one after the other, leaving us with a tremendous void, yet no one can truly fill it. Their successors are far less in knowledge than they, though no one can take their place except their students. It is true that we began to suffer from the lack of scholars, because the Muslims had turned away from the religion and the Muslim educated youth had abstained from learning the knowledge of the religion, perceiving it as the cause for humiliation and inferiority. Thus, the Muslim countries are badly lacking the Islamic schools that teach this knowledge (the Shariah knowledge). So what are the consequences of these dangerous developments? Ignorance, ignorance and ignorance are the consequences. Ignorance will settle and prevail and the ignorant people will be the imams and leaders, which must definitely lead to manifest aberration. What is really heartbreaking is that the general population of Muslims has become so ignorant in their religion, that they fail to distinguish between good and bad, righteousness and evil, or the permissible and the impermissible. This, of course, has led them to indulge in sinning. The Messenger of Allah(pbuh) said:
“Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.”
What have the Muslims done regarding this obligation? They have suspended it and become content with being ignorant. Moreover, they yielded to ignorance and turned away from knowledge. They have forsaken learning their religion, surrendered to their lusts and yielded to their whims. For that reason, they have become lost and astray.
O Muslims, the third and fourth signs mentioned in the same Hadith are drinking Khamr (intoxicating beverages), the mother of al1 sins, and fornication, the head of vice, which shall not spread in a nation, except when this nation have reached the utmost of corruption and vice.
The Messenger of Allah(pbuh) said:
“Al-Khamr (intoxicating beverages) is the mother of all sins. The most major sin is that a man drinks Khamr, does not pray, and rapes his (paternal) mother, his aunt, and his mother’s sister. “
The Messenger of Allah(pbuh) said:
“Fornication and usury would never appear in a nation, except that it will be exposed to Alláh’s chastisement.”
“My nation shall still be well and adhering to its command (Islam) up until the illegitimate children become widespread within its people.”
There is no doubt that thc Hour will come, and that Alláh(swt) will resurrect the dwellers of the graves. When the world is coming to an end and the signs of the Hour have started to appear one after the other, we must keep remembering that terrifying day and prepare ourselves for death and whatever comes after it. Moreover, we must strive to depart this life with pure souls that have not been stained with sins and wrongdoings, and with intact hearts that have not been overwhelmed with the love for this world. Allah(swt) says:
“What do you know? It may be that the Hour is near!” (33 :63)
O Alláh! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire! O Alláh! Better our conclusions in all matters, and save us from the torment of Fire and disgrace on judgement Day! O Alláh! Fill us with patience and make us die as Muslims! AH praise is for Alláh the Lord of all worlds.
I seek refuge with Alláh from Satan the outcast. Alláh(swt) says:
“Do they then await (anything) other than the Hour that it should come upon them suddenly? But some of its portents (indications and signs) have already come; and when it (actually) is on them, how can they benefit then by their reminder?” (47: 18)
May Allah(swt) bless us all with His Book and benefit us with its Ayat and wisdom. By this, I conclude my speech and ask Allah(swt) to forgive all of our wrongdoings. Seek His forgiveness, as He is the All Forgiving, Most Merciful.
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