The Hour will not come until ...


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

Heavy rain before the Day of Resurrection

It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said, "The hour will not come until there has been rain which will destroy all dwellings except tents."

We have already mentioned many hadith about the signs of the Hour. Now we will turn our attention to some hadith which could indicate that the Hour is close at hand.

It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said: "The Hour will not come until the following events have come to pass: people will compete with one another in constructing high buildings; two big groups will fight one another, and there will be many casualties - they will both be following the same religious teaching; earthquakes will increase; time will pass quickly; afflictions and killing will increase; nearly thirty dajjals will appear, each of them claiming to be a messenger from Allah; a man will pass by a grave and say, 'Would that I were in your place'; the sun will rise from the West; when it rises and the people see it, they will all believe, but that will be the time when 'It is He Who hath sent His Apostle with guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it).' ; and a wealthy man will worry lest no-one accept his Zakat." (al-Bukhari, Muslim)

It was reported from Anas that the Prophet said: "Among the signs of the Hour are the following: knowledge will decrease and ignorance will prevail; fornication and the drinking of wine will be common; the number of men will decrease and the number of women will increase, until one man will look after fifty women." (al-Bukhari) 'Aisha said, "I heard the Prophet say, 'Day and night will not pass away until people begin to worship Lat and 'Uzza' (two goddesses of pre-Islamic Arabic). I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, I thought that when Allah revealed the Ayah 33 of Surah 9.At-Tawba (Repentance) "It is He Who hath sent His Apostle with guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it)." , it implied that (this promise) would be fulfilled'. The Prophet said, 'It will happen as Allah wishes. Then Allah will send a pleasant breeze, which will take everyone who has as much faith as a grain of mustard-seed in his heart. Only those with no goodness in them will be left, and they will revert to the religion of their forefathers'." (Muslim)

It was from Abu Hurayrah that one day, while the Prophet was sitting with the people, a Bedouin came to him and asked him about Iman and Islam, then he asked, "O Messenger of Allah, when will the Hour be?" He said, "The one who is asked about it does not know more than the one who asks, but I tell you about its signs. When a slave gives birth to her mistress, and when the bare-footed and naked become the chiefs of the people - these are among the signs of the Hour. There are five things which no-one knows except Allah."

Then he recited Surah 31.Luqman (Luqman), verse 34 : "Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). It is He Who sends down rain, and He Who knows what is in the wombs. Nor does any one know what it is that he will earn on the morrow: Nor does any one know in what land he is to die. Verily with Allah is full knowledge and He is acquainted (with all things)."  

Then the man went away, and the Prophet said, "Call him back to me," but when the people went to call him, they could not see anything. The Prophet said, "That was Gabriel, who came to teach the people their religion." (al-Bukhari, Muslim).

"The bare-footed and naked paupers will compete with one another in constructing high buildings" means that they will become the chiefs of people. They will become rich, and their only concern will be to compete in constructing high buildings.

This is as in the hadith we shall see later: "The Hour will not come until the happiest people in the world will be the depraved sons of the depraved." It was reported from Abu Sa'id that the Prophet said: "The Hour will not come until the time when a man will leave his home, and his shoes or whip or stick will tell what is happening to his family." (Ahmad)

It was reported from Abu Sa'id that the Prophet said: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul, the Hour will not come until wild animals talk to men, and a man speaks to his whip or his shoe, and his thigh will tell him about what happened to his family after he left." Anas said, "We were discussing the fact that the Hour would not come until there is no rain, the earth does not produce crops, and fifty women will be cared for by one man; and if a woman passes by a man, he will look at her and say, 'This woman once had a husband'." (Ahmad)

Abu Hurayrah said: "The Prophet said: 'The Hour will not come until time passes so quickly that a year will be like a month, a month like a week, a week like a day, a day like an hour, and an hour like the time it takes for a palm-leaf to burn'." (Ahmad)

Abu Hurayrah said, "The Prophet - said: 'The world will not pass away until the one who enjoys it the most is the depraved son of the depraved'." (Ahmad)

Abu Hurayrah said, "The Prophet said, 'Before the Hour comes, there will be years of deceit, in which a truthful person will be disbelieved and a liar will be believed; and the insignificant will have a say'." (Ahmad)

Abu Hurayrah said: "I heard the Prophet say: 'The Hour will not come until the sheep with horns no longer fights the sheep without horns'." (Ahmad)

It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said, "The Hour will not come until wealth increases so much that a wealthy man will be worried lest no-one accept his Sadaqah: tribulations will appear; and there will be much Harj." The people asked, "What is Harj", O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "Killing, killing" (Ahmad)

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

Tariq ibn Shihab said, "We were sitting with 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, when a man came and told us that the time for prayer had come. So we got up and went to the mosque. After the prayer, a man came to 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and said, 'As-salam 'alekoum (Peace be upon you), O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman'. 'Abdullah answered, 'Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth'. When we went back, we asked one another, 'Did you hear the answer he gave? Who is going to ask him about it? I said, 'I will ask him'; so I asked him when he came out.

He narrated from the Prophet: 'Before the Hour comes, there will be a special greeting for the people of distinction; trade will become so widespread that a woman will help her husband in business; family ties will be cut; the giving of false witness will be common, while truthful witness will be rare; and writing will be widespread.' (Ahmad)