Indeed, this earth and the skies, jinns, humans, Angels and [the whole universe] will be annihilated some day. Only Allāh táālā is Eternal, He exists perpetually and unceasingly. Before this world comes to an end, some signs will appear [indicating the approaching of the Hour]. s1.
The earth will collapse [khasf] in three places and people will be buried in sinkholes: One in the east, another in the west and the third in the Arabian peninsula. s2. Knowledge will deplete – as scholars will pass away and there will be no replacements. This doesn’t mean that knowledge will be erased from the hearts. s3. Ignorance and barbarism [jahl] will be rampant. s4.
Adultery and fornication will become common – people will commit fornication without any shame, like the mating of donkeys, without any regard or respect for anyone. s5. Men will decrease in number and women will increase; the gender ratio will be 1:50; one male to fifty females. s6.
Apart from the major Dajjāl, there will be thirty minor Dajjāls, who will claim to be prophets, even though prophethood has ended [with our Prophet Muĥammad ﷺ].
Some have already appeared such as Musaylamah al-Kadh’dhāb, Ţulayĥah ibn Khuwaylid, Aswad Ansī, Sajāĥ – a woman who claimed to be a prophetess herself, but later converted to Islām and [recently] Ghulām Aĥmad Qādiyānī. There will be many more such claimants in the future. s7.
There will be plenty of wealth – the Euphrates river will open up its treasures, and there will be mountains of gold therein. s8. There will be verdure, gardens, greenery and streams [of water] in the Arabian desert. s9.
It will be difficult to be a practising Muslim; being a religious person will be similar to clutching a glowing ember. Things will become so bleak that a man will visit a graveyard and wish that he were already dead and buried in a grave. s10.
There will be no blessing in time – a year will pass as quickly as a month, a month as a week, a week as if it were a day, and the day like something that caught fire, flashed and died down [in an instant]. In other words, time will pass quickly. s11. People will not pay zakāt and equate it to an [unfair] tax. s12. People will acquire religious knowledge, but not for religious reasons.
s13. A man will obey his wife... s14....and will disobey his parents. s15. He will maintain cordial relations with friends, and stay away from his own father. s16. People will be loud and noisy in mosques. s17. There will be plenty of music and singing [and it will be widespread]. s18. People will curse their elders s19.
Wild animals will communicate with humans; the cracker of a whip and the shoelaces will ‘speak’ [i.e. communicate] and give information to a man of what happened in the house in his absence. A man’s own thigh will give him information. s20.
People from the lowest strata of society, those without clothes or shoes will [become extremely rich and] take pride in [living in ornate] palaces. s21. Dajjāl – the Antichrist - will appear beforethe Apocalypse.
He will roam the earth and visit every place in merely forty days, except Makkah and Madīnah. In those forty days, the first day will be as long as a year, the second day will be as long as a month, the third day will be as long as a week – the rest of the days will be 24 hours long. He will travel very fast, like a swift cloud in the sky carried by the wind.
His mischief will be severe – he will have a garden and fire with him, which he will name as paradise and hell, and will go with him wherever he goes.
But they are opposite in reality; that which he shows as a garden and appears as a garden from outside, will actually be fire; the ‘hell’ that he will show, will actually be a place of comfort. He will claim to be a god. He will put those who believe his claim to be a god into his ‘paradise,’ and those who reject will be sent to his ‘hell’.
He will bring back the dead to life. He will make the grass grow on the earth upon his command. He will cause rain to fall. Animals in that period will become fat and stout.
The dead in that area will rise like a swarm of bees and these zombies will join his army. He will display a number of such illusions. These will either be some sort of tricks or a kind of magic abetted by the evil jinn [shayāţīn] – yet, these things will not be real and will disappear as soon as Dajjāl leaves the place. When he tries to enter Makkah or Madīnah, Angels will stop him from entering the two sanctuaries.
Prior to this, there will have occurred three earthquakes in Madīnah, and all those without faith in their hearts, but were Muslims only in external appearance will have abandoned Madīnah.
They will then encounter the mischief of Dajjāl, who will be accompanied by various groups of Jews. The [Arabic] letters kāf- fā-rā, i.e. kāfir, will be etched upon his forehead, which only Muslims will be able to read; disbelievers will not be able to see it.
After touring the world, when he finally comes to the Levant [shām], Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام will descend on the eastern minaret of the grand mosque in Damascus [jāmiý masjid]. It will be prior to the dawn prayer, and the iqāmah for the dawn prayer would have been said, and Imām Mahdi will be present in that congregation. Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام will order Imām Mahdi to lead the prayer, which he will.
The accursed Dajjāl will disintegrate due to the fragrance of Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام like salt melts in water and the fragrance of Prophet Ýīsā عليه السلام will spread as far as one can see.
Dajjāl will run, and Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام will pursue him and eventually throw a spear striking at his back and dispatch him to Hell. s22. Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام will descend from the heavens: A brief description was given above on how he will descend to the earth.
[After slaying Dajjāl] and during his rule, there will be plenty – and people will be so rich that if they try to give charity, they will not find anyone to accept it. In those times, there will be no enmity among people, nor hatred nor jealousy. Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام will break the cross and kill the pig. All the People of the Book who remain [after the great war] will become Muslims and follow Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام.
There will be only one religion and madh’hab in the world at that time – the religion of Islām and the madh’hab of Ahl al-Sunnah. Children will play with snakes; sheep will graze fearlessly in front of lions. Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام will remain on earth for forty years.
He will marry, have children, and after his passing, he will be buried in the radiant mausoleum of RasūlAllāh ﷺ. s23. The appearance of Imām Mahdi: In brief, a time will come when disbelievers will gain control of and rule over the entire world, and when abdāl from various parts of the world will all emigrate to Makkah and Madīnah; the whole world will be ruled and controlled by disbelievers, except the Ĥaramayn.
In such a time, during the month of Ramađān, the abdāl will be circumambulating the Kábah, and Imām Mahdi will also be present among them. The friends of Allāh will recognise him and will ask him to accept their allegiance (bayáh). A voice will be heard:
This is the vice-regent of Allāh, the Mahdī (the Guide) – Hear him and obey! Everyone will pledge allegiance to him. Imām Mahdi will take the people along with him and proceed to the Levant. After the slaying of Dajjāl, Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام will be commanded to take Muslims atop Mount Sinai, as hordes of ferocious wild men will overrun the earth and no one will be able to stop them.
s24. The Rise of Gog and Magog [Ya’jūj-Ma’jūj]: After Muslims take refuge on Mount Sinai, the hordes of Gog and Magog will appear on earth.
They will be so many in number, that when one of their factions passes by the Lake Tiberias, which is [about] ten miles long, they will drink its water entirely before moving on. When another group arrives thereafter, only traces of water will be left and they will say: ‘It seems there used to be water in this lake once upon a time’.
They will kill and plunder humans on earth and when they tire of this, they will say: ‘Come let us kill the people in the heavens’ and will fire into the sky – their arrows will be returned with blood upon them (miraculously, by the Command of Allāh). They will be busy in such antics, and Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام will be with his companions on the mountain, besieged by Gog-Magog from below.
They will be short of food and the head of a cow will be worth more than 100 gold coins. Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام and his companions will pray to Allāh táālā to deliver them from this menace. Allāh táālā will cause an infection in their necks [i.e.
Gog and Magog] and all of them will die at the same time. Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام will come down from the mountain and will see that the world is strewn with their carcasses and the stench has filled the earth. Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام, along with his companions, will pray to Allāh táālā to cleanse this earth.
Allāh táālā will send birds that will pick these carcasses and throw them far from habitation (wherever Allāh táālā Wills it to be). Their bows, arrows and quivers will be so many that Muslims will use them as firewood for seven long years. There will be torrential rains thereafter which will cause the earth to be a smooth plain.
The lands will become fertile – and the earth will be commanded to bring forth fruits and vegetation in plenty and the skies will be commanded to pour its blessings. The size and quality of the produce will be so good that a single pomegranate will be so big that it can satiate a group of people and its peel will give shade to ten people.
Milk from a single she-camel will satiate a group of people, a cow’s milk will suffice for a tribe, and the milk of a goat will be sufficient for an entire family. s25. Appearance of Smoke [dukhān] that will fill the atmosphere and plunge the earth in darkness. s26.
Coming of the Beast of the Earth [dābbatu’l arđ]: This is a beast which will carry the staff of Sayyidunā Mūsā عليه السلام in one hand and the signet ring of Sayyidunā Sulaymān عليه السلام in another. It will use the staff to make a radiant mark on the foreheads of Muslims, and use the ring to make a dark one on the foreheads of disbelievers [kāfirs]. Every Muslim and kāfir will be known openly at that time.
This mark will not change and whoever is a disbeliever will remain thus and the believer will remain steadfast on faith.
s27. Rising of the sun from the east: The door of repentance will be closed after this major sign – accepting Islām after the appearance of this sign will be of no use. s28. A few years after the passing of Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام and merely forty years before the end of the world, a fragrant breeze will blow, passing under the armpits of Muslims who will all die.
Thereafter, for forty years, no child will be born – in other words, the youngest person on earth when the Final Hour comes will be forty years old. The entire world will be inhabited by disbelievers – there will not remain a single person who will even utter the name of Allāh.
A man would be plastering his wall, another would be eating his food and people would be busy in their occupations when suddenly, the angel Isrāfīl will be commanded to blow the Horn. The sound will begin faintly and then become a deafening blast – people will hear this sound and faint at first and then fall down dead. The heavens, the earth, the mountains and everything that exists – including Angels, and also the Angel who blows the Trumpet, will be annihilated. No one will exist except Allāh, who will ask:
لِّمَنِ ٱلْمُلْكُ ٱلْيَوْمَWhose Dominion is it on this day?
Where will the oppressors, the tyrants, powerful kings and the haughty ones be on this day? Who will be left to answer? Then, Allāh táālā will Himself answer and say:
لِلَّهِ ٱلْوَٰحِدِ ٱلْقَهَّارِIt belongs to Allāh, the Only God, the [absolute] Subduer
Thereafter, whenever Allāh táālā Wills, He will resurrect Isrāfīl عليه السلام and command him to blow the Horn again; at the sound of the second blowing, everyone from the first to the last: Angels, humans, jinn, animals, everyone will come back into existence.
The radiant tomb of our master, Prophet Muĥammad ﷺ, will be opened first, and he will rise clutching Abū Bakr al-Şiddīq رضي الله عنه in his right hand and Úmar al-Fārūq رضي الله عنه in his left hand. Those buried in Makkah and Madīnah will [be the first to] rise and join the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions enroute to the Great Field of Assembly.
The Day of Judgement [the Day of Resurrection, Qiyāmah, the Apocalypse] will certainly come to pass. Anyone who denies or rejects it is a kāfir. The Assembly or the Gathering [ĥashr] is not only for the souls; but for bodies as well; i.e. both the bodies and souls will be gathered and resurrected. Whoever says that only souls will be raised and bodies will not be resurrected is a kāfir.
In this world, a soul lives in a body and they are associated with each other. It will be the same body in which the soul resided before death that will be resurrected; not that a new body will be created and the soul linked to a newly created body. Usually, bodies decompose after death and are dispersed in the elements – whether in the earth, water or the air [as ashes], or eaten up by animals.
On the Day of Judgement, Allāh táālā will gather all these parts and resurrect them as the same body [at the time of his/her death]. People will rise from their graves naked, barefeet and without circumcision [just as they had come into this world the first time; i.e. at the time of their birth in this world]. [They will be given clothes and they will walk towards the Great Assembly].
Some will be barefeet, some will be mounted – and those mounted will ride alone, or will be mounted with others, from two to ten people on a single steed. The disbeliever will go to the Assembly, crawling upon his face, and some disbelievers will be dragged to the Assembly by the Angels and some others will be impelled by fire. This Field of Assembly will be located in and around the Levant in today’s world. The world will be levelled on that day such that a grain falling on one corner can be seen from the opposite corner.
The earth will be made of silver and the sun will be at a distance of one mile [from the earth]. The narrator of this ĥadīth said: ‘I do not know if mīl was mentioned as a kohl-applicator, or as a unit of distance’. Even if it were a unit of distance – i.e. one mile – would the heat be any bearable?
Today, the sun is at a distance of 4000 years away from the earth and it is the cooler side that faces the earth; yet, when it is overhead at noon, one finds it extremely discomforting to go outside. On that day, it will be at a distance of one mile, its hotter face turned towards the earth – what can one say about the heat on that day!
The earth is made of clay and sand – yet one cannot walk barefoot during the noon in summer; but on that day, the ‘earth’ will be turned into copper – and the sun will draw closer...how can one describe such scorching heat? We ask Allāh táālā to grant us refuge (from His Wrath).
The brains of men will be boiling inside their skulls, and most of them will be sweating profusely, so much that one individual’s sweat will be absorbed by an area of 70 square yards and the sweat that remains unabsorbed will collect and rise and come up to their ankles; for some until their knees, for some until their waists, for some until their chests, and for some until their necks.
The disbelievers will be wading in their sweat that would have reached their mouths – as if it were a bridle restraining them and will be tumbling, dipping and diving in that sweat. The thirst one would feel in that state of intense heat is indescribable. The tongues of some folk will become dry and prickly as thorns; the tongue of some others would have fallen out.
The hearts of men will be flushed [with anxiety and fear] and come to their mouths. Every person who will be afflicted on that day, will suffer according to the degree of his sins. A person who does not give the poor-due (zakāt) will be branded on his flanks, his forehead and his back by the very gold and silver (the zakāt of which was not paid).
A person who does not give the zakāt of animals will be made to lie down and the animals (whose zakāt was not given) will be brought to gore him and trample him; they will keep going back and forth thus, until the accounting of all other people will be completed. There will be none to sympathise and help in such a time – a man’s own brother will flee from him; his own father, mother, children and his wife will avoid him. Every person will be preoccupied with his own troubles – who will help others at that time?
Sayyidunā Ādam عليه السلام will be commanded to set aside the group of those who will go to Hell. He will ask, how many?
He will be told 999 from every thousand. This will be a time when children will become old men due to agony, pregnant women will miscarry, and people will appear as if they are in a state of intoxication, even though they are not intoxicated. Rather, the punishment of Allāh is severe. The distress and difficulties of that day could be described if they were only a few hundred or a thousand; how can one describe the terrors of the day, when there will be thousands of hardships including those which are hitherto unknown?
We seek the refuge of the Protector. Moreover, this torment will not be over in a few hours or a few days or few months; rather, the Day of Judgement will last for 50,000 years, half of which will be spent in this misery. The people thus assembled will discuss and agree that they should find someone who can intercede on their behalf and relieve them from this agony.
At first, all of them will decide to go to Sayyidunā Ādam عليه السلام, because he is the father of all men and because Allāh táālā has created him with a special favour, and bestowed prophethood upon him – hence, they should go to him and request him to save them from this agony.
They will reach him with much difficulty and say: “O Ādam عليه السلام! You are the father of all men; Allāh táālā has created you with a special favour and invested in you a distinguished spirit and commanded the Angels to prostrate to you, and allowed you to live in Paradise, and taught you the names of all things, and made you His chosen slave [şafī]; do you not see our condition?
Please intercede on our behalf and ask Allāh táālā to relieve us from this torment.” He will reply: “I do not have that rank. On this day, I am apprehensive about my own self. On this day, the Divine Anger of Allāh táālā is manifest like never before, nor [will be] ever after. Go to someone else.” People will say: “Who can we go to?” He will reply: “Go to Nūĥ عليه السلام.
He is the first Messenger [rasūl] who was sent to guide the people.” People will go to Sayyidunā Nūĥ عليه السلام and speak of his greatness and tell him: “Please intercede on our behalf and ask your Lord-Almighty to render our judgement”. They will get the same answer as before: “I am not worthy of this station. I am worried about my own self. Go to someone else”.
People will ask: “Whom do you suggest that we should go to?” He will say: “Go to Ibrāhīm عليه السلام, the Friend of Allāh [khalīlullāh]. Allāh táālā bestowed upon him the rank of Friendship.” People will go to him and will get the same reply: “I am not worthy of this station. I am afraid for my own self”. They will be sent to Sayyidunā Mūsā عليه السلام, and will receive the same answer.
Then Sayyidunā Mūsā عليه السلام will send them to Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام and he will also say the same thing: “I cannot do this. The Anger of my Lord-Almighty has manifested like never before and I fear for my own life – go to someone else.” People will ask: “Who will you send us to?”
of Power” or “Powerful Hand” because it sounds worse than ‘Hand.’ Therefore, I have translated the phrase as explained in the commentary of the Qur’ānic verse, also cited in the ĥadīth. ‘Hand’ does not refer to a limb, as Allāh táālā is transcendent from being a body or having limbs. The idiom “both hands” is used to highlight the prominence of Sayyidunā Ādam عليه السلام.
Because when one considers a thing with love and importance, one handles it with both hands; the metaphor is retained here.
He will reply: “Go towards him who has no fear on this day and victory is entrusted to him. He is the leader of all the children of Ādam.
Go to Sayyidunā Muĥammad ﷺ, who is the Seal of Prophets, he will intercede for you, and he is present here”. After wandering for a long time without any success [in finding an intercessor], they will finally come to our master ﷺ, stumbling, falling, weeping, wailing, and implore: “O Muĥammad ﷺ! O Prophet of Allāh! Allāh táālā has granted you the privilege to open the doors [of intercession and paradise].
Our master! You are fearless and unperturbed on this day.” They will praise him and beseech him to intercede and relieve them from their agony. He will answer: “I am here for this purpose” [ana lahā] and will say: “I am your Master, your leader [ana şāĥibukum].” [That is,] ‘I am the one you have been searching for’. He will then prostrate to Allāh táālā [seeking mercy and relief].
He will be commanded: “O Muĥammad! Raise your head. Speak and you shall be heard. Ask and you will be given.
Intercede and your intercession will be accepted!” In another narration: “Speak, and your command shall be obeyed”. And thus intercession [shafāáh] will begin and he will intercede for all kinds of people; even a person with as little faith in his heart as a mustard seed, will be interceded for and removed from Hell [eventually]. Those who were true Muslims, even though they may not have a single good deed, will be removed from hellfire. After this, other Prophets will be allowed to intercede for their own followers; then, the Friends of Allāh [Awliyā’a-Allah], martyrs, scholars, memorisers of the Qur’ān [ĥuffāż], those who performed the Ĥajj, and every person with any religious standing and distinction will be able to intercede for their relatives, friends and acquaintances. Children who died before reaching the age of puberty will intercede for their parents. Some people will go to a [religious] scholar and remind him: “We had given you water for ablution” and another will say: “We gave you a lump of earth to clean yourself” and scholars will intercede for them. The Reckoning – or the Accounting [ĥisāb] – is real and true.
People will be accounted for their deeds. Whoever denies that people will be held to account on Judgement Day is a disbeliever [kāfir]. The account of some people will be taken in private. A believer will be asked:
“Have you done this, and this?” The person will accept all his crimes and expect to be sent to hell any moment.
But Allāh táālā will say: “We had concealed your flaws and sins in the world, and now, We have forgiven you”. Some of them will be interrogated sternly for every little thing – and whosoever is subject to this kind of questioning will perish (i.e. they will be punished). One man will be asked: “Had I not given you honour? Did I not make you a chief?
Did I not give you horses and camels?” and will be reminded of many other favours. That person will accept that such favours were indeed bestowed upon him.
He will be asked: “Did you expect to meet Me?” The man will say: “No.” He will be told: “Just as you did not remember Us, you will be cast in torment and you too will be forgotten.” Some disbelievers will lie when they will be asked about the favours upon them, and they will say: “We bore faith in You, we believed in Your Book and Messengers; we prayed, we fasted and we gave charity...” and they will mention many good deeds which they never did.
They will be told: “Wait! Witnesses will now be called to verify your claims.” Those disbelievers will wonder who will testify against them. At this moment, their mouths will be sealed and their limbs will be commanded to speak.
The thighs, hands, legs, bones etc. will bear witness against the person and he will be cast into Hell. The Prophet ﷺ has said: “Seventy thousand from my followers will enter Paradise without being held to account, and by their intercession, an additional seventy thousand with every single person among them will enter without being examined.
Furthermore, there will be three more groups and the numbers in these groups are not known to anyone except Allāh.” Those who pray in the night [tahajjud] will also enter Paradise without being held to account. A person will come with 99 [deed] books full of sins. The length of every register will stretch as far as one can see. All of these will be kept open and Allāh will ask: “Do you deny any of these deeds?
Have my angels Kirāman-Kātibīn, the scribes of your deeds, committed any excess?” The man will reply: “Certainly not.” He will be asked: “Do you have any excuse?” The man will reply: “None.” Allāh táālā will tell him: “There is one good deed that you have done and you will not be oppressed.
A fragment will be brought out on which will be written: “I bear witness that there is no God except Allāh and I bear witness that Muĥammad ﷺ is His slave and His Messenger.” The man will say: “My Lord!
Of what consequence is this small fragment in the face of these volumes?” He will be told: “You will not be oppressed.” The man’s records of sins will be placed on one side of the scale and the fragment on the other; but that fragment will outweigh the records of sins. The mercy of Allāh is boundless, and if He has Mercy upon someone and if He so Wishes, even a small thing will suffice.
Every person will be given his or her record of deeds. The righteous will be given their records in their right hand; sinners will be given their records in their left hand, and the disbelievers will be given [their record] in their left hand twisted behind their backs. The Pool of Kawthar is certainly true and exists in reality. This pool has been given to our Prophet ﷺ.
The length of this pool is as much as the distance one can travel in a month. There will be domes of pearls on either banks. The pool will be square, i.e., of equal length and breadth. The floor [or the sediment at the bottom] of this pool will be ambrosial musk; its water will be whiter than milk, sweeter than honey and more fragrant than musk. The cups and glasses placed on its banks for people to drink will be greater in number than the stars in the sky. One who drinks from this pool will never be thirsty again. There will be two waterspouts from which water will be flowing in it from the streams of Paradise; the first will be made of gold and the other made of silver. The Scales [mīzān] are real and certainly true. The deeds of men – good and bad deeds – will be weighed on the Scales [of Justice]. If good deeds are heavier, the plate on which they are placed will rise, unlike the scale in this world where the heavier plate goes down. RasūlAllāh ﷺ will be granted the exalted and the Praised Station [maqām maĥmūd]:
everyone who has ever lived, from the first to the last, will praise RasūlAllāh ﷺ. The Standard of Praise [liwā’a al-ĥamd] will be given to RasūlAllāh ﷺ. All the believers, from Sayyidunā Ādam عليه السلام until the very last one, will assemble below this standard. The Bridge [şirāţ] is real and true.
This is a bridge hoisted upon Hell. It is thinner than the strand of a hair and sharper than the blade of a sword. This is the only path to Paradise [and every one will have to cross this bridge]. Our Prophet ﷺ will be the first to cross the Bridge.
After him, other Prophets and Messengers, and then our nation [ummah], and after us, other nations will cross the Bridge. The manner and ease of crossing the Bridge will be according to each person’s deeds. Some will cross it similar to lightning that flashes and disappears the very next moment.
Others will cross as a swift breeze; some will fly across it like birds; some will cross as riders galloping on fast horses; some will cross it sprinting and so on, until some will cross dragging themselves and some will crawl like ants. Huge sharp hooks will be hanging on either side and will pluck out those who are condemned to be taken out. Some will cross the Bridge after being bruised and battered.
Those who fall from the Bridge will fall in Hellfire. When people are crossing the Bridge, the sinless Prophet ﷺ, the helper of sinners, will be standing at the other end and beseeching and entreating Allāh for the safe passage of his sinful followers and will be praying: “O Lord-Almighty! Keep these sinners safe! Give them safety and deliverance!
[rabbi sallim, sallim]”. The blessed Prophet ﷺ will help his followers in various places; apart from being present near the Bridge, he will also be near the Scales, and will intercede for people whose deeds are few and save them from perdition.
After which he will be present at the Pool, giving drink to the thirsty ones and then arrive at the bridge to save those who would fall from it. Everyone will implore him, call him for help and seek his intercession, at every juncture... after all, who else can help?
Every man will be worried about his own self, anxious about being questioned, except RasūlAllāh ﷺ, who will be concerned about others and will not be bothered about his own self.
May the blessings of Allāh the Exalted, be upon him and his descendants, and his Companions and bestow upon them bounties and greet them. O Allāh, grant us salvation, protect us from the horrors of that day for the sake of this honourable Prophet, upon whom be Your choicest blessings, and upon his progeny and companions; and give them greetings of peace. Amen.
This is the Day of Judgement, and that one day will be as long as 50,000 earthly years. The terror, the trepidation, the distress and the woes on that day will be numerous and varied, but for some chosen slaves of Allāh, this will be made easy, so the day will pass very quickly as if it were the time one would spend in an obligatory prayer, and for some it will be even less, and will pass in the blink of an eye:
وَمَا أَمْرُ ٱلسَّاعَةِ إِلَّا كَلَمْحٍۢ بِٱلْبَصَرِ أَوْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُThe passing of the hour is not except [as soon as]
the blinking of an eye, or even closer.
The greatest and most sublime reward that a Muslim will receive on that day will be the Divine Vision of Allāh táālā. No other reward or bounty is comparable to this great blessing. Whoever beholds Allāh táālā will be drowned in His love and yearn for more – and he will never ever forget [what he has seen or felt].
RasūlAllāh ﷺ will be the first person to see Allāh táālā on that day. The events and horrors of Judgement day were described until here.
After this, people will be sent to their permanent homes where they will live forever. ▪ Some people will enter an everlasting home of joy and comfort, where there will be no end for the bliss, pleasure and luxury; this abode is known as Paradise or Jannah. ▪ Others will be sent to a habitat of never-ending punishment and an unceasing torment.
This dwelling is known as Hell or Jahannam. Paradise and Hell are real and true. Whoever denies or rejects in their (material)
existence is a disbeliever. Paradise and Hell have been created thousands of years ago – they exist at this point in time; it is incorrect to assume that they do not exist now and will be created in the future, after Judgement day.
The meanings of the following terms should be affirmed as Muslims have understood, and according to their well-known descriptions: a) Judgement Day (qiyāmah) b) Resurrection (baáth) c) Assembly (ĥashr) d) Accounting (ĥisāb) e) Reward (thawāb) f) Punishment (ádhāb) g) Paradise (jannah) h) Hell (jahannam, dozakh, nār) Those who say that they believe in the above, but craft novel or atypical meanings for these concepts, merely upon their whims, are disbelievers. For example, if one says: ▪ Reward [thawāb] means the joy and happiness one feels upon doing a good deed. ▪ Punishment [ádhāb] means the sadness and guilt felt upon committing a bad deed.
▪ The Assembly [ĥashr] will only be for souls, not bodies. This is as good as rejecting these tenets of belief; a person who does not believe in the standard definitions of the above terms is a kāfir.
Footnotes
The signs in this section are numbered as s1, s2... until s28. These are not in the series of áqīdah points.
These are known as ashrāţ al-sā’áh: or Portents of the Final Hour. Signs which indicate that Judgement Day approaches near. These are foretold in the ĥadīth.
Muslim §2901.
Bukhārī §100.
Jahl: ignorance. A state of being uncultivated, uncivilised and living like savages.
Bukhārī §5321.
Bukhārī §5321; Muslim §2937. Extra marital relations were against social mores even in western societies; but this has changed rapidly since the 1970s as adultery is no longer seen as morally repungnant or a taboo. This malady has also spread to conservative societies in the east as marriage is increasingly seen as a mere ritual, and sexual relations out of wedlock an ordinary thing. We seek Allāh’s refuge from such profligacy.
Bukhārī §81.
Abū Dāwūd, §4252; Tirmidhī §2219; Ibn Mājah §3952. Dajjāl: a very big liar. The major Dajjāl, also known as al-Masīĥ al-Dajjāl – the false messiah or the antichrist, will appear at the end of time, and some time before the rise of Imām Mahdi and the return of Sayyidunā Ýīsā عليه السلام. 54
Musaylamah belonged to the Banu Ĥanīfah clan and claimed prophethood even before RasūlAllāh ﷺ had left this world. He was killed in the wars against apostates waged by Abū Bakr al-Şiddīq soon after the passing of RasūlAllāh ﷺ [Al-Bidāyah wa’l Nihāyah, 9/465].
Ţulayĥah ibn Khuwaylid ibn Nawfal al-Asadī was a brave warrior and was a companion of RasūlAllāh ﷺ. He became a Muslim in the 9th year of Hijrah but he became an apostate; he declared himself to be a prophet in Najd. Thereafter, he fought against Muslim armies and was defeated; after which, he repented and reverted to Islām. He participated in the expeditions of Qādisiyyah and Nahāwand in the army of Sayyidunā Saád ibn Abī Waqqāş. He was martyred in the year 21 AH. [Siyar Aálam al-Nubalā, 1/316].
His name was Ábhalah ibn Kaáb ibn Ghawth from the city known as Kahfu Khubbān. He rose in the 10th year of Hijrah and harassed Muslims; he was killed in the last days of Rabīý al-Awwal, 11 AH shortly after the passing of RasūlAllāh ﷺ. [Al-Bidāyah wa’l Nihāyah, 9/425]
Sajāĥ bint al-Ĥārith ibn Suwayd al-Taghlibiyyah from Najd. She claimed to be a female prophet, and joined forces with Musaylamah (of the Banu Ĥanīfah clan) during the rebellion of apostates and fought the Muslim army led by Khālid ibn Walid in the time of Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Şiddīq. Musaylamah was defeated and slain in the battle after which she reverted to Islām and remained a good Muslim. It is said that she passed away in the caliphate of Muáāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān. [Al-Bidāyah wa’l Nihāyah, 9/457].
Ghulām Aĥmad Qādiyānī [1835-1908]. More details about his beliefs and sayings can be found in the section about heresies.
A few claimants have appeared in recent years in Pakistan and in some African countries.
Muslim §157 and §2894.
Fresh and potable water was not easily available in the Gulf countries until 40-50 years ago as this is a desert. In the 21st century however, there is plenty of water by desalination of sea-water, in addition to natural sources such as fresh water springs and lakes.
Mustadrak §8519.
Tirmidhī §2267.
Muslim §53-54. 55
Tirmidhī §2339. It may mean that people will become so busy, and activities will increase that there will never be an enough time; as it is happening in our age.
Mishkāt §5450 vide ĥadīth of Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه.
Men will become subservient to women and will unjustly oppose parents and side with their wives.
Points s12-s18 are mentioned in a ĥadīth of Tirmidhī §2218.
The tip of the whip, a twisted string tied at the end of the whip known as the cracker or the popper.
Tirmidhī §2188. This may not sound suprising in the age of IoT and smart devices, but the miracle is in the fact that it was foretold 1400 years ago, which no one could have imagined at that time.
Muslim §2956.
Sayyiduna Ýīsā عليه السلام, is also known as masīĥ in Arabic, anglicised as Messiah; he is also known as Christ – from Christos (Χριστός) in Greek, meaning ‘the Annointed One’, which is the same as: ‘Messiah’. Dajjāl is actually known as Masīĥ al-Dajjāl – The False Messiah; hence the term ‘Antichrist’. Allāh táālā knows best.
Muslim §2942.
This can also be explained as traveling by airplanes. Şaĥīĥ Muslim §2937. 56
Ibn Mājah §4077.
Muslim §2934.
Musnad Imām Aĥmad §14959.
Musnad Imām Aĥmad §20171.
Tirmidhī §2247.
Such apparently mind-bending appearances may be mere illusions.
Perhaps it is similar to make-believe tricks used in movies or virtual reality (VR); or what is trending nowadays as virtual and augmented ‘metaverse’. Allāh knows best.
Muslim §2943.
Ibn Mājah §4077.
Muslim §2933.
Muslim §2937. 57
Ibn Mājah §4077.
Bukhārī §3448.
Muslim §243.
An idiom to mean that cross-worship and eating of pork will end. Bukhārī §3448.
Abū Dāwūd §4334.
Ibn Mājah §4077.
Mishkāt §5508.
There will come a time when the whole world will be ruled by disbelievers.
See Endnote 17 for information about abdāl from the ĥadīth. 58
Mount Sinai is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. It is not known whether the currently identified spot is indeed the location mentioned in the Qur’ān and the mount upon which Sayyidunā Mūsā received the tablets [alwāĥ].
The Sea of Galilee, or Lake Tiberias; Buĥayrah Ţabariyā in Arabic. It is a fresh water lake in the Levant; in the land of Palestine, which is currently under a brutal and inhuman occupation of the Zionist Jews, who forcibly carved out a country in 1947 with the help of Britain and the West, and named it ‘Israel’. The Sea of Galilee is situated in northeast of Occupied Palestine (which occupiers call Israel), between the Golan Heights and the Galilee region, in the Jordan Rift Valley, the valley caused by the separation of the African and Arabian Plates. The length of this lake at present is known to be 13 miles (or 21 km).
They will exhaust the water in that lake.
Şaĥīĥ Muslim §2936.
In the original, keeday: ‘will create some ‘insects’ or ‘small organisms’ in their necks’. In our time, we know that micro-organisms like bacteria or [non-living] viruses can be deadly, highly contagious and can eliminate an entire population in a pandemic.
This might have sounded incredible a hundred years ago, though epidemics such as smallpox and bubonic plague had similar characterstics. [In the year 2020-21, the disease COVID-19 was a global pandemic and claimed millions of lives worldwide]. 59
Şaĥīĥ Muslim §2936.
A metaphor to say that there will be plenty of rain.
Tirmidhī §2247.
Sūrah Dukhān, 44:10-11.
Şūr: the Trumpet or the Horn whose blowing will signal the end of the world. 60
Muslim §2940. The Trumpet is mentioned in the Qur’ān Al-Anáām 6: 73, Al-Naml 27:87, Al-Zumar 39:68, Al-Kahf 18:99, Ţā-Hā 20:102, Yā-Sīn 36:51, Qāf 50:20, Al-Ĥāqqah 69:13, An-Naba 78:18.
Al-Durr al-Manthūr, under Sūrah Zumar 39:68, citing Ibn Marduwayh and Bayhaqī from Al-Baáth.
Sūrah al-Ghāfir, 40:16.
Sūrah al-Ghafir, 40:16.
The interval between the two trumpets is said to be “forty” as mentioned in the ĥadīth of Bukhārī §4935.
Sūrah al-Ĥajj, 22:7. “And the Hour is coming, there is no doubt in it”. 61
Sūrah al-Rūm 30:27; Sūrah Yā-Sīn 36:51 and 36:79.
He does not have to make any effort to get anything done. He merely has to Will and the thing comes into existence. One command is enough for all the decayed bodies to gather, come together and become one body.
Bukhārī §3349, §4625, §4740; Muslim §2859; Sūrah Al-Kahf 18:48; Al-Anáām 6:94.
Tirmidhī §3153.
Bukhārī §6522, Muslim §2861; Nasā’īy §2081, §2083.
Bukhārī §6523; Muslim §2806.
Sunan Nasā’īy §2082.
The Levant: Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Sūrah Ibrāhīm, 14:48: “The day when the earth will be changed to a different earth...” How will this ‘changed’ earth be? In the şaĥīĥ ĥadīth it is said it will be like a white disc of flat bread, without any markers. [Bukhārī §6521]. In tafsīr of this verse, it is reported by Ibn Ábbās and Mawlā Álī رضي الله عنهم that the earth will be made of silver – white and clean, as if no blood was spilt upon this earth. Other reports say it will become like fire.[Tafsīr ibn Kathir]. In the Urdu original, the author has said: “like copper,” based on the word áfrā’a, mentioned in the ĥadīth of Bukhārī which can mean dull white, intensely white or reddish-white [Fat’ĥ al- Bārī]. In Urdu, “tānbā sā” is an idiom for “reddish colour”.
Muslim §2864. 62
Muslim §2864.
According to present day science, the earth is at a distance of 150 million km from the sun. The average speed of a healthy human walking is about 4.5–5.5 km per hour. For the sake of measuring distances, 4.5 km x 24 hours x 365 days = 39,420 km is the distance travelled in a year using the lower limit. 150,000,000 ÷ 35,040 = 3,805 years. This is approximately the distance mentioned here; a rather accurate figure from a religious text in early 1900s.
Musnad Imām Aĥmad, §22822; narrated by Abū Umāmah al-Bāhili رضي الله عنه.
Bukhārī §6532; Muslim §2863.
Muslim §2864; Aĥmad §23813; Ibn Ĥibbān §7329 vide Targhīb §5257. 63
Muslim §978; Bukhārī §6958.
Sūrah Ábasa, 80:34-37. “The day when a man will flee from his brother, and his mother and his father; his wife and his children. Every man on that day will be consumed in concern for himself”
Bukhārī §3348. In this ĥadīth, when the Companions showed concern about this, RasūlAllāh ﷺ assured them that 999 will be from the Gog and Magog and that the followers of Sayyidunā Muĥammad ﷺ will be the majority in Paradise – as many as half of the inhabitants in Paradise will be our ummah.
Sūrah Ĥajj, 22:2 and Sūrah Muzammil 73:17.
Al-amān al-ĥafīż: Lit. Grant us safety, O Divine Protector!
Sūrah al-Máārij, 70:4. On that Day, the measure whereof is the span of fifty thousand years. In a şaĥīĥ ĥadīth, such a painful and lengthy day will be shortened for believers, for whom it will be like the time one finishes his obligatory prayer [Ibn Ĥibbān §7334]. In another narration, for a believer, it will be as short as the duration between the time the sun casts long shadows [late evening] to sundown [Ibn Ĥibbān §7333].
In ko apne dast e qudrat se banāyā: ‘He created him with His Own Hand.’ Dast e qudrat is an idiom in Urdu, referring to Divine Power to avoid an anthropomorphic rendering; but we cannot translate it as “Hand 64
Bukhārī §4712.
Al-Khaşā’is al-Kubrā 2/383 from Ibn Abī Shaybah and Ibn Áāşim in Kitāb al-Sunnah.
Bukhari §7510; the word ‘ana şāĥibukum’ is in Ţabarānī in Mújam al-Kabīr §6117.
This is an excerpt from the lengthy ĥadīth of intercession in Bukhārī §3340, §3361, §4712; Muslim, §194 and many others. This is a mutawātir ĥadīth, reported by 12 companions: Anas ibn Mālik, Abū Hurayrah, Ábdullāh ibn Úmar, Ĥudhayfah ibn Yamān, Jābir ibn Ábdullāh, Abū Bakr al-Şiddīq, Ábdullāh ibn Ábbās, Ubayy ibn Kaáb, Abū Saýīd al-Khudri, Salmān, Úqbah ibn Áāmir, Úbādah ibn Şāmit. [Zabīdī, Laqt al-La’ālī].
Qul tuțā’a عاطت لق this word is mentioned by Ţabarānī as noted by al-Haythami in Majmaá al-Zawā’id §18512 narrated by Úbādah ibn Şāmit رضي الله عنه. Also, in Musnad al-Shāshi §1192. Mustadrak Ĥākim §82 and Tārīkh Dimashq of Ibn Ásākir cited in It’ĥāf Sādah al-Muttaqin by Murtađā Zabīdī, 14/509.
Bukhārī §22; Abū Dāwūd §4091, Tirmidhī §1998; Also “as little as a speck or the size of a grain..” in Şaĥīĥ Ibn Ĥibbān §7378.
Bukhārī §7510.
Ibn Mājah §4313, Shuáb §265.
Shuáb al-Īymān §1717. 66
Ibn Mājah §216.
Musnad Bazzār §3196; Muşannaf Ábdu’l Razzāq §8808.
Tirmidhī §2440.
Al-Budūr al-Sāfirah §1162-63, vide Abū Nuáym reporting via Abū Umāmah رضي الله عنه.
Mishkātu’l Maşābīĥ §5604.
Ibn Mājah, §3685. In the past, people would use a lump or a clod of earth, or a piece of brick, to clean after relieving themselves, where water was not easily available. In our time people use toilet paper for this purpose.
Even the most trivial service or help given to a religious scholar will be rewarded on that day. We should strive to serve religious scholars and pious folk, in the hope of receiving a reward on the Day of Judgement.
Sūrah al-Anbiyā’a 21:47. And [a deed weighing] even as much as a mustard seed, We shall bring forth and We are a sufficient Reckoner. Also Sūrah Inshiqāq, 84:8.
“Know that anyone who denies or rejects belief in the following is a kāfir: Judgement Day, Paradise, Hell, the Scales, the Bridge, the Accounting and the inscribed books of deeds [of each individual] – because these are proven by the Qur’ān, ĥadīth and consensus of Muslims” [Sharĥ Fiqh al-Akbar, p.520].
Bukhārī §2441, §4685, §6070, §7514; Muslim §2768.
Bukhārī §103, §4939, §6536, §6537; Muslim §2876; Abū Dāwūd §3093; Tirmidhī §2426, §3337; Musnad Imām Aĥmad §24200, §24215. 67
Muslim, §2968. Portion of a lengthy ĥadīth. Also in Sūrah Yā-Sīn 36:65. On this day, We have sealed their mouths; [and] their hands will speak and their feet will bear witness on what they have earned. This will be the fate of disbelievers and hypocrites on the day of Judgement when they deny their crimes and will swear that they never disbelieved; their mouths will be sealed and their limbs will speak [Ibn Kathīr].
Tirmidhī, §2445. See the footnote for A59 for the translation of the ĥadīth.
Shuáb al-Īymān §3244.
Tirmidhī §2639; Musnad Aĥmad §6994; Ibn Mājah §4300. 68
Sūrah Banu Isrāyīl, 17:71. On that day, We will call people toward their book [of deeds]. And they who are given their record in their right hand will read from it... Sūrah Jāthiyah, 45:28. Every nation will be called to its record [of deeds].
Sūrah al-Ĥāqqah, 69:19. And he who is given his record in his right hand will say: Here, read my book of deeds! Sūrah Inshiqāq 84:7-9. And he, who is given his record in his right hand; very soon his account will be taken in an easy manner, and soon he will return to his folk blissful, rejoicing.
Sūrah al-Ĥāqqah, 69:25. And he, who is given his record [book of deeds] in his left hand, will say: “Woe unto me! Were it, that I was not given my book of deeds!”
Sūrah Inshiqāq 84:10-12. And he, who is given his record in his left hand twisted behind his back, very soon he will cry out for destruction [i.e. death]; and he will enter a blazing fire.
Sūrah al-Kawthar, 108:1. Indeed, We have given you the Kawthar. Bukhārī §4965-66; Musnad Imām Aĥmad §26403 and §12542; Abū Dāwūd §4748; Tirmidhī §3359.
Bukhārī §6579. In the medieval times, a person could travel up to 20 km per day, i.e., 600 km. On horseback, one could cover 40-60 km per day; at this rate one would travel a distance of 1200-1800 km in a month. This means that the pool is actually a river. For perspective, the English channel is about 560 km; the river Euphrates is about 3600 km, and the longest river in the world is the Nile (~6600 km). [A peer-reviewed article, published in 2009, states a length of 7,088 km for the Nile and 6,575 km for the Amazon, measured by using a combination of satellite image analysis and field investigations to the source regions. Therefore, as of 2018 the length of both rivers remains open to interpretation and continued debate]. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_by_length]
Bukhārī §4964, §6581; Tirmidhī §3359.
Muslim, 2292.
Tirmidhī §3360.
Bukhārī §4964, §6581; Muslim §2300, §2303.
Bukhārī §6579; Muslim §400, §2292; Musnad Aĥmad §13578.; Abū Dāwūd §4747.
Musnad Aĥmad §15121, §23317-23318, Bukhārī §6579, §7050, §7051; Muslim §2292. 69
Muslim §2301, Musnad Aĥmad §22426
Sūrah Al-Aárāf 7:8-9. And the weighing [of deeds] on that day is real and true. So they, whose scales weigh heavier, then they are the successful. And they, whose scales are light, they are the ones who have caused a loss to their own selves by being unjust [rejected] our Signs [i.e., Verses]. Sūrah Al-Anbiyā’a 21:47. And We will place the Scales of Justice on the Day of Judgement; no soul shall be wronged; and even if [good or evil] weighs as much as a mustard seed, We will bring it forth – and We suffice as a Reckoner.
Muslim §2300, §2301.
In Sūrah Faţir, 35:10. The pure speech ascends towards Him and the good deeds will raise it. This is indicative of good deeds being raised, and by extrapolation, the scales of good deeds will go up. [Fatāwā Riđawiyyah, 29/626]. The scales in the Hereafter will be contrary to the scales in this world; the heavy ones will rise up and the lighter will go down. [Takmīl al-Īymān, p.78]
Sūrah Al-Isrā’a, 17:79. Soon, your Lord Almighty will send you forth upon the Praised Station. That is, your Lord Almighty will raise you to a station where everyone will praise you. See Endnote 18.
This could be a real flag, or a metaphor for the prominence of Muşţafā ﷺ and his glory, as mentioned by ĥadīth commentators such as Turpushti and Ţībī. See Endnote 19 for Munāwī’s explanation.
Tirmidhī §3148, §3610, §3615, §3616; Dārimī §48, §53, §55; Aĥmad §2546, §2692, §2693, §12469, §12470; Ibn Mājah §4308. Under his flag does not literally mean ‘under’; rather, it means they will all be followers and Muşţafā ﷺ will be the leader. [Nasīm al-Riyāđ, 3/162].
Bukhārī §6573, §6574.
Musnad Imām Aĥmad §24793 reporting from Sayyidah Áayishah رضي الله عنها; Muslim §183 reporting from Abū Saýīd al-Khudri رضي الله عنه.
Bukhārī §282. 70
Bukhārī §7437, §7438; Muslim §182.
Bukhārī §7439, §7440; Muslim §183; Al-Targhīb wa’t Tarhīb 5310 vide Ţabarānī.
Muslim §195.
Tirmidhī §2433; Musnad Aĥmad §12825. 71
Sūrah al-Máārij, 70:4; mentioned earlier.
Mishkāt §5563 vide Bayhaqī’s Al-Baáth wa’n Nushūr §5493.
Mishkāt §5564 vide Bayhaqī’s Al-Baáth §5493. Also in Shuáb al-Īymān 1/324.
Sūrah al-Naĥl, 16:77
Muslim §181; Tirmidhī §2552, §3105; Ibn Mājah §187; Musnad Aĥmad §18936. Divine Vision, i.e. Seeing Allāh táālā. Muslims will see Allāh táālā with waking eyes. Mútazilah do not believe that it is possible to see Allāh, in spite of explicit ĥadīth that say so. See Endnote 20 for the Qur’ānic verse and commentary.
Subul al-Hudā wa’l Rashād, 10/384.
And hasten towards the forgiveness of your Lord Almighty and a Paradise, whose breadth is like (the distance between) the heavens and the earth; prepared for the righteous. Sūrah Aāl Ímrān, 3:133.
So fear the Fire, whose fuel shall be humans and stones; prepared for the disbelievers. Al-Baqarah, 2:24. Indeed, whoever comes to his Lord Almighty as a criminal, so certainly for him is Hell [Gehenna, Jahannam] – he shall neither die therein nor live. Sūrah Ţā-hā, 20:74. 72
These are necessary tenets of belief mentioned in numerous verses of the Qur’ān and the ĥadīth.
As indicated in the verses above “prepared for the righteous” and “prepared for the disbelievers.” This is indicative in numerous ĥadīth, such as the Prophet’s ﷺ mention of entering Paradise during the Ascension [miýrāj]: I was admitted into Paradise and I was shown the Fire [Hell].
This was the belief of some ancient philosophers and also professed by the Neychari sect in recent times, followers of Sayyid Aĥmad Khān of Aligarh, India.
Denying physical reward after death (or recompense in this world). Qāđī Íyāđ has said: “Similarly, one who denies or rejects in the existence of Paradise or Hell, or Resurrection, or Accounting, or Judgement Day – is a disbeliever [kāfir] by unanimous agreement [ijmāá], because they are explicitly mentioned in the Scripture and it is unanimously agreed upon [ijmāá] that it is accurately reported [siĥĥatu naqlihi] and has been reported by a multitude across successive generations [mutawātir]. So also, a person who acknowledges the above – but says: “The meaning of Paradise and Hell, Assembly and Resurrection, Reward and Punishment are not literal; rather, these are spiritual pleasures and figurative expressions [máānin bāţin],” as professed by the Christians, the philosophers, the Bāţīnī and charlatans among şūfīs [mutaşawwifah], who claim that the meaning of ‘Judgement Day’ is death or [permanent] annihilation, and that the skies will collapse or the world will unravel and dissipate, as said by some philosophers [Kitāb al-Shifā, Vol.2: Part 4, Chapter 2. Page 391]. 73
As described in this and other books of Sunni creed, held by Muslims since the time of RasūlAllāh ﷺ. 74