The Hour has preludes and signs. Some of the signs are what the Messenger of Allah (SAW) 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 (fornication: to have sex out of wedlock) will spread.”
The aforementioned Hadith states four signs of the Hour, which are deemed as some 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 disbelieve. There shall be no good left on it. Ignorance misery, evil, and infidelity will again prevail. People will no longer believe in the message sent by Allah (SWT) to them, so complete aberration shall rule over their life. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “The Hour will emerge while there is no one on earth saying Allah, Allah.”
The Hour has minor signs that have already appeared and other major signs that have yet to appear. These major signs will begin with the appearance of Mahdi, who will fill the land with justice as it had been filled with injustice and oppressive before. After that Dajjal (false messiah) will appear, then follows the descent of Isa (AS). The emergence of Gog and Magod people will come after the descent of Isa (AS), 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 Allah in public, refusing to pay the zakat 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 from the hearts or the scholars or tearing it out of their hearts, but by their death, thereupon, their knowledge dies with them. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Allah 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 went consulted will give their verdict without knowledge. So they will go astray and will lead others astray.” (Bukhari)
The scholars are the light of his 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 will prevail and people will go astray in the midst of darkness. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) 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 will probably go astray.” And he (SAW) 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 scholars or even a seeker of knowledge or a student of a scholar, but no one avail. Thereafter, ignorance in the religion will prevail so much so that we will never understand its truth and guidance.
The third and fourth signs mentioned in the same Hadith are drinking khamr (intoxicating beverages), the mother of all 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 (SAW) 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.”
There is no doubt that the hour will come, and that Allah (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 another, 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 the world. Allah (SWT) said: “What do you know? It may be that the Hour is near!” (Qur’an 33: 63)
by Darussalam