The final sign of the Hour

20-7-2011 | IslamWeb

Question:

What will be the final sign of the Hour?

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

 

The final sign which will appear shortly before the advent of the Hour will be a fire that will come from the lower part of Aden and drive people to the place of Gathering. Huthayfah ibn Aseed Al-Ghifaari  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him said,

 

The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came to us while we were busy in a discussion. He asked: "What are you talking about?" They (the Companions) said, "We are taking about the Last Hour." Thereupon, he said: "It will not come until you see ten signs before it”, and (in this connection) he mentioned the smoke, the antichrist, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of ‘Eesa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary)  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj (Gog and Magog), and subsidence in three places; one in the east, one in the west and one in the Arabian Peninsula, and the final sign will be a fire that will break out from Yemen and expel people to the place of their Gathering. [Muslim]

 

In another narration, he  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him said, "…And a fire that will come from the lower part of Aden and push people forth." [Muslim]

 

And in another narration, he  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him said that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also mentioned that, "The last of these signs will be a fire coming from Yemen, from the lower part of Aden which will drive people to the place of Gathering." [Abu Daawood]

 

In his commentary on Saheeh Muslim, Imaam An-Nawawi  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him mentioned the saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, which reads: "People will be gathered (by this fire) in three categories: the first one are those hoping (for Paradise) and fearing (Hell), the second are those who will be gathered while they are riding camels:  two persons riding a camel, three upon a camel, four upon a camel, ten upon a camel; and the rest will be gathered by the fire which will accompany them at night, at midday, in the morning, and in the evening," [Muslim] and then added,

 

“Scholars said that this gathering will happen in this life shortly before the Day of Resurrection and the blowing of the Trumpet. This is supported by the saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, that the fire will remain with them during the night, at midday, in the morning and in the evening. This will be the final sign of the Hour, as Muslim narrated after the signs of the Hour the Prophet's, saying: ‘…And a fire that will come from the lower part of Aden and will push people forth.’"

 

In Al-Fat’h, Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him quoted the narration of Muslim mentioned in the beginning of this Fatwa and said,

 

This apparently contradicts the Hadeeth mentioned in the beginning of this chapter on the authority of Anas  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him which reads: “The first sign of the Hour is a fire that will drive them (people) from the East to the West,”  while this Hadeeth (i.e. the narration of Muslim) states that the fire will be the last sign. The two narrations could be reconciled by saying that the fire is the last sign with regard to the other signs mentioned with it and the first sign in the sense that it is the first sign after which none of the affairs of this worldly life will follow. Rather, the occurrence of this sign will be followed by the blowing of the Trumpet. This is not the case with the other signs after each of which other things of the affairs of this life will happen.

 

Allaah Knows best.

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