The Signs At The End Of Time

Imâm Ibn Kathîr

The Emergence Of The Beast.

Among the signs of the Hour will be the emergence of a beast from the earth. It will be very strange in appearance, and extremely huge; one cannot even imagine what it will look like. It will emerge from the earth and shake the dust from its head. It will have with it the ring of Solomon and the rod of Moses. People will be terrified of it and will try to run away, but they will not be able to escape, because such will be the decree of Allah. It will destroy the nose of every unbeliever with the rod, and write the word "Kafir" on his forehead; it will adorn the face of every believer and write the word "Mu'min" (true believer) on his forehead, and it will speak to people.

Allah SWT said:

"And when the Word is fulfilled against them (the unjust), We shall produce from the earth a Beast to (face) them: it will speak to them,'" (Al-Naml, 27.82)

Ibn 'Abbas, al-Hasan and Qutadah said that "It will speak to them" (tukallimuhum) means that it will address them. Ibn Jarir suggested that it means that the Beast will address them with the words"'for that mankind did not believe with assurance in Our Sings" (Al-Naml, 27:82 - latter part of the Ayah). Ibn Jarir reported this from 'Ali and 'Ata' It was reported from Ibn 'Abbas that tukallimuhum means that the Beast will cut them, i.e. it will write the word "Kafir" on the forehead of the unbeliever. It was also reported from Ibn 'Abbas that he will both address them and cut them; this suggestion incorporates both of the previous suggestions; and Allah knows best.

We have already mentioned the Hadith of Hudzaifah ibn Usayd, in which the Prophet s.a.w is reported to have said,

"The Hour will not come until you see ten signs: the smoke; the Dajjal; the Beast; the sun rising from the West; the descent of Jesus son of Mary; Gog and Magog; and three landslides - one in the East, one in the West, and one in Arabia, at the end of which fire will burst forth from the direction of Aden (Yemen) and drive people to the place of their final assembly."

Abu Hurairah said: "The Prophet s.a.w said, 'Hasten to do good deeds before six things happen: the rising of the sun from the West, the smoke, the Dajjal, the Beast, the (death) of one of you or general tribulation." (Muslim.)

Baridah said: "The Prophet s.a.w took me to a place in the desert, near Makkah. It was a dry piece of land surrounded by sand. The Prophet s.a.w said, 'The Beast will emerge from this place. It was a very small area.’" (Ibn Majah.)

It was reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet s.a.w said, "The Beast of the Earth will emerge, and will have with it the rod of Moses and the ring of Solomon." It was also reported that he said, "(The Beast) will destroy the noses of the unbelievers with the ring, - so that people seated around one table will begin to address one another with the words "O Believer!" or "O Unbeliever!" (i.e. everyone's status will become clear). (Ibn Majah.)

'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr said, "I memorised a Hadith from the Prophet s.a.w which I have not forgotten since. I heard the Prophet s.a.w say, 'The first of the signs (of the Hour) to appear will be the rising of the sun from the West and the appearance of the Beast before the people in the forenoon. Whichever of these two events happens first, the other will follow immediately.'" (Muslim).

That is to say, these will be the first extraordinary signs. The Dajjal, the descent of Jesus a.s, the emergence of Gog and Magog, are less unusual in that they are all human beings. But the emergence of the Beast, whose form will be very strange, its addressing the people and classifying them according to their faith or unbelief, is something truly extraordinary. This is the first of the earthly signs, as the rising of the sun from the West is the first of the heavenly signs.

The Rising Of The Sun From The West.

Allah s.w.t says:

"Are they waiting to see if the angels come to them, or thy Lord (Himself), or certain of the Signs of thy Lord? The day that certain of the signs of thy Lord do come, no good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its faith. Say: 'Wait ye: we too are waiting'" (Al-An'am 6:158.)

It was reported from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Prophet s.a.w explained, "The day that certain of the Signs of thy Lord do come, no good will it do to a soul to believe in them then", referring to the rising of the sun from the West. (Ahmad.)

Abu Hurairah said, "The Prophet s.a.w said, 'The Hour will not come until the sun rises from the West. When the people see it, whoever is living on earth will believe, but that will be the time when - No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before'" (Bukhari.)

It was also reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet s.a.w said, "The Hour will not come until the sun rises from the West. When it rises and the people see it, they will all believe. But that will be the time when 'No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then'" (Bukhari.)

It was reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet s.a.w said, "There are three things which, if they appear, 'No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its faith' They are: the rising of the sun from the West, the Dajjal, and the Beast of the Earth." (Ahmad, Muslim, Tirmizhi.)

Abu Dharr said, "The Prophet s.a.w asked me, 'Do you know where the sun goes when it sets? I said, 'I do not know' He said, 'It travels until it prostrates itself beneath the Throne, and asks for permission to rise again. But a time will come when it will be told, 'Go back whence you came.' That will be the time when 'No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its faith'" (Bukhari.)

'Amr ibn Jarir said, "Three Muslims were sitting with Marwan in Madinah, and heard him say, whilst talking about the Signs of the Hour, that the first of them would be the appearance of the Dajjal. The three went to 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, and told him what they had heard Marwan say concerning the Signs. 'Abd Allah said, 'Marwan has not said much. I memorised a Hadith like that from the Prophet which I have not forgotten since. I heard the Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) say: The first of the signs will be the rising of the sun from the West, and the emergence of the Beast in the forenoon. Whichever of the two comes first, the other will follow immediately'"

Then 'Abdallah, who was widely-read, said, 'I think that the first to happen will be the rising of the sun from the West. Every time it sets, it goes beneath the Throne, prostrates itself, and seeks permission to rise again. A time will come when three times it will seek permission and will receive no reply, until, when part of the night has passed and it realises that even if it were given permission, it would not be able to rise on time, it will say: "O my Lord, how far the rising-point is from me! What can I do for the people now?" Then it will seek permission to go back, and it will be told: 'Rise from where you are now' - and it will rise from the West'" Then 'Abdallah recited the Ayat:

"No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its faith." (Ahmad.)

Some scholars interpret "the rising of the sun from the West" as meaning that Islam will appear in the West, as strong as it was in the beginning, and that the people of the West will carry the flag of Islam.

The Smoke Which Will Appear At The End Of Time.

Masruq said:

"While a man was giving a speech among the people of Kindah, he said, 'There will be smoke on the Day of Resurrection which will deprive the hypocrites of their hearing and sight, but the believers will only suffer something like a cold' We were terrified, so we went to Ibn Masud, who was reclining. When he heard about this, he became angry and sat up, and said: 'O people, whoever knows a thing, let him say it; but whoever does not know, let him say, "Allah knows best." It is a part of knowledge, when one does not know something, to say "Allah knows best." Allah SWT said to His Prophet Mohammad (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam): "Say: 'No reward do I ask of you for this (Qur'an), nor am I a pretender'" (Sad, 38:86.)

"Quraysh were being slow in embracing Islam, so the Prophet s.a.w prayed against them, saying, 'O Allah, help me against them by sending seven years of famine like those of Joseph.' They were afflicted by a year of famine in which they were destroyed, and ate dead animals and bones. They began to see something like smoke between the sky and the earth. Abu Sufyan came and said, 'O Mohammad! You came to command us to keep good relations with our relatives, and your people have perished, so pray that Allah may relieve them'"

Then Ibn Mas'ud recited:

"Then watch thou for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke (or mist) plainly visible,Enveloping the people: this will be a Penalty Grievous.(They will say:) 'Our Lord! Remove the Penalty from us, for we do truly believe!How shall the Message be (effectual) for them, seeing that an Apostle explaining things clearly has (already) come to them?Yet they return away from him and say: 'Tutored (by others), a man possessed!We shall indeed remove the Penalty for a while, (but) truly ye will revert (to your ways)." (Ad-Dukhan, 44:10-15)

Ibn Masud asked: "Will their punishment in the Hereafter be removed so they can go back to their Kufr?"

Allah SWT said:

"One day We shall seize you with a mighty onslaught: We will indeed (then) exact Retribution!" (Ad-Dukhan, 44:16)

"...and soon will come the inevitable (punishment)!" (Al-Furqan, 25:77)

These Ayat refer to the Day (Battle) of Badar.

Allah SWT said:

"Alif-Lam-Mim. The Romans (Byzantines) have been defeated - in a land close by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious - within a few years'" (Ar-Rum, 30: 1-3) (Bukhari.)

This speaker's suggestion - that the idea that the smoke would be on the Day or Resurrection was not a good one - made Ibn Masud react angrily. But the smoke will appear before the Day of Resurrection; it will be one of the signs, which are: the Beast, the Dajjal, the Smoke, and Gog and Magog, as the Ahadith narrated from Abu Sarihah, Abu Hurairah and other Sahabah indicate.

As mentioned in the Sahih Ahadith, the fire which will appear before the Day of Resurrection will burst forth from the direction of Aden, and drive the people to the place of their final assembly. It will move with them and halt with them, and will devour any who lag behind.

The Hour Will Not Come Until...

It was reported from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Prophet s.a.w 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 Hurairah that the Prophet s.a.w said, "The hour will not come until there has been rain which will destroy all dwellings except tents."

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

It was reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet s.a.w 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'No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before' (Al-An'am 6:158); and a wealthy man will worry lest no-one accept his Zakat." (Bukhari, Muslim).

It was reported from Anas that the Prophet s.a.w 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." (Bukhari.)

'Aishah 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 Ayat"It is He Who has sent His Apostle with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it)" (al-Tawbah 9:33), it implied that (this promise) would be fulfilled'. The Prophet s.a.w 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 narrated from Abu Hurairah 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:

"Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with God (alone). It is He Who sends down rain, and He Who knows what is in the wombs. Nor does anyone know what it is that he will earn on the morrow: nor does anyone know in what land he is to die. Verily God is All-Knowing, All Aware." (Luqman, 31:34).

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." (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 s.a.wsaid: "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 (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) 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 Hurairah said: "The Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) 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 Hurairah 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 Hurairah 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 Hurairah said: "I heard the Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) say: 'The Hour will not come until the sheep with horns no longer fights the sheep without horns'." (Ahmad.)

It was reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) 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 Haraj", O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "Killing, killing" (Ahmad.)

It was reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet s.a.w 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 'Abd Allah 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 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud and said, 'As-salam 'alayka (Peace be upon you), O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman'. 'Abd Allah 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 (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam): '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.)

Description Of The People Who Will Be Alive At The End Of Time.

It was reported from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr that the Prophet said, "The Hour will not come until Allah takes away the best people on earth; only the worst people will be left; they will not know any good or forbid any evil." (Ahmad.)

'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud said, "I heard the Prophet say: Eloquence can be bewitching; the worst of the people are those upon whom the Hour will come while they are still alive, and those who turn graves into mosques'." (Ahmad.)

It was reported from Anas that the Prophet s.a.w said, "The Hour will not come until no-one on earth says 'La ilaha illa Allah'." (Ahmad.)

It was also reported from Anas that the Prophet s.a.w said: "The Hour will not come until no-one on earth says, 'Allah, Allah'." (Ahmad)

There are two suggestions as to the meaning of the phrase, "until no-one on earth says 'Allah, Allah'":

It could mean that no-one will forbid evil, or try to correct another if he sees him doing something wrong. We have already come across this in the Hadith of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr: "Only the worst people will be left; they will not know any good or forbid any evil."

It could mean that Allah will no longer be mentioned, and His Name will not be known; this will be part of the prevalent corruption and Kufur, as in the previous Hadith, "Until no-one on earth says 'La ilaha illa Allah'."

'Aishah said. "The Prophet came in, saying 'O 'Aishah, your people will be the first of my Ummah to join me. When he sat down, I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, may I be sacrificed for you! When you came in, you were saying something which scared me. He asked, 'What was that?' I said, 'You said that my people would be the first of your Ummah to join you.' He said, 'Yes' I asked, 'Why is that?’ He said, 'Death will be widespread among them, and their relatives will be jealous of them.' I said, 'How will people be after that?' He said, 'Like locusts: the strong will devour the weak, until the Hour comes.'" (Ahmad.)

'Alba'al-Salami said, "I heard the Prophet s.a.w say: 'The Hour will only come upon the worst of the people'." (Ahmad.)