Comprehensive Hadeeth about the Major
Signs of the Day of Judgment
The major signs are those signs that will occur
relatively close to the Day of Judgment and involve matters that can be
considered, in general, “out of the ordinary” or which are sensational.
There are a number of hadeeth in which the Prophet, may
the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, mentioned the greater signs of the
Day of Judgment together. These hadeeth include the following:
Imam Muslim records in his Saheeh:
Hudhaifa b. Usaid Ghifari
narrated, “God’s Messenger came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy in a
discussion). He said, ‘What are you discussing?’ They (the Companions) said, ‘We
are discussing the Last Hour.’ Thereupon he said, ‘It will not come until you
see ten signs before it.’ And (in this connection) he made a mention of the
smoke, Dajjaal, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of
Jesus son of Mary (may God praise them), Gog and Magog, and landslides in three
places, one in the east, one in the west and one in Arabia, at the end of which
a fire would burn forth from the Yemen and drive people to the place of their
assembly.’”
Muslim also writes in his Saheeh:
The Messenger of God said, “The
Last Hour would not come until the ten signs appear: a landslide in the east,
and a landslide in the west, and a landslide in the peninsula of Arabia, the
smoke, the Dajjaal, the beast of the earth, Gog and Magog, the rising of the
sun from the west and the fire which would emit from the lower part of Aden.” Shu’ba
said that ‘Abd al− ‘Aziz b. Rufai’ reported on the authority of Abu
Tufail who reported on the authority of Abu Sariha a hadeeth like this that God’s
Apostle did not make a mention of (the tenth sign) but he said that out of the
ten one was the descent of Jesus Christ, son of Mary (peace be upon him), and
in another version it is the blowing of the violent gale which would drive the
people to the ocean.
There are a couple of other hadeeth in which the Prophet
mentioned some of the same events as above. In these hadeeth, he did not
mention them as explicitly being signs of the Hour. Instead, the Prophet gave
a very strong admonition and warning that people must perform their good deeds
before these events occur, as these events directly herald the ending of the
time for deeds and the beginning of the time of reckoning. Abu Hurairah
narrated that the Messenger of God said:
“Hasten to do good deeds
before six things happen: the rising of the sun from the west, the smoke, the
Dajjaal, the beast and (the death) of one of you or the general turmoil.” (Muslim)
Note that in this hadeeth the Prophet mentioned, “the
death of one of you.” This is also a type of “hour.” Although it is
interesting and important to learn and know the major signs of the Hour, for
those who will not witness the events of the Last Days, it is their hour—their
death—that they must prepare for and concerning which many are negligent. Thus,
when a Bedouin came to the Prophet and asked him, “When is the Hour?” the
Prophet pointed to a young boy and said, “If this boy lives, by the time he is
old and decrepit, your hour would have already taken place.” (Saheeh
Al-Bukhari)
The Order of Appearance and the
Nature of the Major Signs
Yoosuf al-Waabil notes that he has found no explicit texts
that mention the order of appearance of the major signs of the Day of Judgment.
The hadeeth which mention the signs in a group, like those just quoted above,
either use the conjunction “and” or “or.” In neither case do these
conjunctions give any positive indication as to the time ordering of the events.
In fact, as al-Waabil notes, some of the same hadeeth mention the events in
different orderings.
Ibn Hajar, however, has divided the major signs into two
main categories, one definitely occurring before the other.
The first set of signs is those that occur on this earth, without the nature
of this earth changing completely. These are signs that should clearly awaken
the people and drive them to repent to God. During those signs, there is no
ultimate distinguishing between the believer and the disbeliever nor is there
any unquestionable occurrence in this creation that makes it clear that the
Resurrection is at hand. The signs of this category include the coming of the
Dajjaal, the return of Jesus, Gog and Magog and the landslides.
The second category of these major signs leaves no doubt
as to the actual occurring of the Resurrection and the end of this Creation as
humans know it now. In addition, there will be a distinguishing of the
believer from the disbeliever. Hence, during and after these signs, there will
be no question of repentance or returning to God. At that time, it would be
too late for any repentance to be accepted by God. The signs in this category
would include the appearance of the beast, the smoke and the rising of the sun
from the West.
It also seems to be true that when these signs begin to
occur, one will be following up the other at a relatively fast pace.
The Prophet said:
“The signs shall appear one
after the other like the beads on a string follow one another.”
Ahmad recorded in his Musnad that the Prophet
said:
“The signs are like beads
strung on a string. If the string breaks, they [quickly] follow one after the
other.”
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