This talk is about the
conditions and signs of the end of this worldly life. The purpose of talking
about the end of life is to be taken as a lesson and a preachment. And to
avoid doing what would generate Allah’s anger. Today the talk will include
some of the signs of the hour of the end of life known as the smaller or minor
signs.
One of the sign
mentioned is: the abundance of wealth and the lack of need for charity.
Abo-Hurairah reported that the prophet (May peace be upon him) said {The hour
of resurrection shall not occur until there will be so much wealth amongst you
to the point that a man with the wealth seeking who would accept his charity.
With who ever he approaches saying: “I have no desire nor need for it”}
Ibn Auday (ÅÈä ÚÏí)
said: while I was with the prophet, may peace and prayers be upon him, a man
came up and complained to him about poverty. Then another man came to him and
complained about the robbers robbing travelers. The prophet said {Adday (ÚÏí),
have you seen the land of Heerah? Auday said: Never been to it but I have
heard of it. He said: If you were given a long life you shall see a violence
free Heerah, to the point that one would leave Heerah all the way to Kaaba (in
Mekkah) fearing nothing but Allah.}. Auday said “I said to my self where are
all the gangsters of Taie (ØíÁ) who made the land unbearable. The prophet
said: “and if your life gets even longer you shall win the treasures of Kisra”
meaning the king of Persia. I said “You mean Kisra the sun of Hormuz?” He
said ” Kisra the sun of Hormuz. And if your life would still be longer you
shall see a man takes out as donation; a handful of gold or silver seeking
some one to accept it, and he shall find not someone to take it off him”.
Later on in his life Auday said:”Well, I lived and saw a violence free Heerah,
where people travel from Heerah to Mekka with no fear except from Allah. And I
was amongst the Muslim army who won the treasures of Kisra son of Hurmuz. And
if your life will extend you shall see the rest of what the prophet had said.”
Well, much of the
prophet had told us has indeed materialized. There was an abundance of wealth
after the prophet and during the life time of his companions; due to treasures
taken after winning wars against the Persian and the Roman empires. There was
so much abundance of wealth in the life of the Khalifa Omar ben Abdul-Azeez.
Then, a man offering a charity could find no takers. Also towards the end of
this worldly life; there will be an abundance of wealth that one shall not
find takers to offered money.
Another sign or
condition of the end of this life is the spread of temptations. And a
temptation meaning testing and the term was used to describe everything bad or
the consequence of anything bad like sin, disbelieve in God, murder and other
undesirable things.
The prophet peace be
upon him told us about the great temptations of the end of life. In them truth
is covered by falsehood. Temptations that shake belief such; a man be a
believer in the morning and becomes an unbeliever by the evening. Every time a
temptation appears, a believer says is this going to be my demise? But it gets
cleared and another will come and he says: is it this one, or this one. And so
on, temptation shall continue appearing amongst people until the final hours.
The prophet peace be
upon him said: ”At the end of life there will be temptations like the chunks
of the dark night, a man can be a believer in the morning and becomes a
unbeliever at night, selling his belief with some of what this worldly life
offers”
He was also reported
saying: “It was only right for each prophet before me to guide his nation to
what he knew; and warns them from the bad he knew. This nation of yours; it
was made at its best in its early part. Towards the end it shall be infected
with temptations and undesirable situations. Each temptation will belittle
other temptations before it. A temptation strikes and the believer will say:
is it this one or this one. This who wishes to be dislodged off the hell fire
and be entered into paradise let his time of death comes to him/her when
he/she believes in Allah and in the day after.”
The prophet told us to
fortify our selves with Allah from the temptations and the tests; the clear to
see ones and the hidden ones”.
Nowadays, we see the
temptations and calamities occurring to the nation one after the next. And
also, one temptation is worst than the one before.
One of the greatest
temptations the prophet may peace be upon him warned us about was the
imitation of the previous nations like the Jews and the Christians. Some of
us now days have imitated the unbelievers in looks and in behaviour. They are
so impressed by them. The prophet said: {The hour shall not come until my
nation shall take after the older nations before it bit by bit. They said:
“Like the Persians and the Romans?” He said: “And are there others?”} and
another narration : They said: “Like the Jews and the Christians? And he said
“Who else.”
One of the other minor
signs of the ending hour; is the appearance of those who falsely claim to be
prophets. There will be round thirty of them. Some have already made this
false claim at the time of the prophet; and at the time of the companions; and
some are still appearing. The prophet said “The hour will not occur until
nearly thirty false liars shall appear; all claiming to be messengers of
Allah.” In recent times one of those claiming to be a prophet in India his
name was: “Mizra Ahmad Gadiani” He falsely claimed to be the awaited Messiah.
The scholars proved he was a liar and a falsifier. Those liars will continue
to appear one after the other until the very last. The prophet said “The hour
will not occur until nearly thirty false liars shall appear; the last of them
shall have one bad eye or the One-eye liar.”
One of the signs of the
time of the hour is the loss of honesty or trustworthiness. The prophet said:
“If honesty is lost then expect the hour to occur. Some one asked: “and how is
it that honesty gets lost?” the prophet said: “If things to be done are given
to the wrong individuals then expect the hour”
Hodaifa said the prophet
peace be upon him; told us two things. I saw one and I am still waiting for
the other. He told us that honesty was brought down in the root of men’s
hearts. They learned from the Quran and knew from the Sunnah. Then he told us
about how it shall be lifted up again, he said: “The man shall go into some
sleep, the honesty is gripped from his heart. Only a sign of trace will
remain. Then he will go into another sleep and it will be gripped yet again.
and the trace will leave a rough blister, Like the mark left by a burning
stone, which can be seen inflamed. With nothing in the heart, people will
enter into deals; and no one will honor his commitments. It shall be said:
that in such and such people; there is an honest man. And it shall be said
about a man: “How wise he is, and how cool and how wonderful he is, and yet
there is not as much as a tiny grain of belief in his heart. Time came upon me
that I didn’t mind from whom I took a promise or a pledge. If one were a
Muslim; then Islam will hold him at his promise and if he were a Christian
then his interest will keep it. But in such a day (in the future) I would only
take a promise or a pledge from such a person and such a person only.”
This shows that time
shall come that once a man was honest he shall become a traitor. This only
occurs to those who no longer fear Allah. And whose belief has gone weak, and
those who integrate with the traitors so they become so.
Unfortunately, much
cheating and dishonesty has spread amongst some of the Muslims; may Allah
guides them. Cheating and dishonesty in business, industry, agriculture and in
general dealings with people except for the few whom Allah has blessed. We
pray to Allah to fix our ways, and improve our actions.
