بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum.
In Part 1, I covered two prophecies of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) and showed the pictorial proofs that they had occurred (or were in the process of occurring). Here are two more along with the pictorial proof of their occurrence.
I should point out something here: the fact that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) mentioned them is enough proof that that these signs will occur. The pictorial proof is meant to convince non-Muslims about this issue and also to increase the certainty of Muslims.
3. Marketplaces will come near to one other
عَنْ أبي هريرة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: (يوشِكُ أن لا تقومَ السَّاعةُ حتَّى يُقبَضَ العِلمُ وتظهَرَ الفِتَنُ ويكثُرَ الكذِبُ ويتقارَبَ الزَّمانُ وتتقارَبَ الأسواق ويكثُرَ الهَرْجُ) قيل : وما الهَرْجُ ؟ قال : (القتلُ)
Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: “The Hour will not come to pass until knowledge is seized, tribulations become widespread, lying increases, time converges, marketplaces come near to one another, and Al-Haraj increases.”
It was said: “And what is Al-Haraj?” He said: “Killing.””
[Sahih Ibn Hibban, Hadeeth No. 6718. Shaikh Shuaib Al-Arnaut said that its “isnaad” (chain of narrators) was “sahih” (authentic).]
There are multiple minor signs of the Hour that have been mentioned in this hadeeth. We can find proof for all of them around us.
- Many scholars of Islam have died in recent years – and this is how knowledge has been seized.
- Trials and tribulations of all sorts have become widespread. Everyone knows this because each one of us has been affected by some type of tribulation.
- Lying has definitely increased, leading so many people (even those who lie a lot) to moan and groan about the good old days of the past when people were actually honest and noble.
- Time has indeed converged. We see that time just flies and it gets worse with every passing decade.
- Marketplaces have indeed come nearer to one another – or at least they have in the land that I am currently in. There are malls and shops everywhere.
- Sadly, killing has definitely increased, with wars and acts of violence being the main reasons.
Now, let’s look at the fifth sign – marketplaces coming nearer to one another. That can be proven simply by me showing you the malls in the city that I currently live in.
So here’s a look at some of them. Interestingly enough, many of them are not that far away from each other.
Of course, apart from the malls, there are other shopping areas:
And well, it goes on and on.
Of course, the city referred to above, is not the only city with an endless amount of shops and malls. This is something that has become commonplace around the world, with many people wasting their lives on mall hopping and window shopping.
4. Decoration of the Masjids
عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ : لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يَتَبَاهَى النَّاسُ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ
Narrated Anas ibn Malik (radiallahu anhu): The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: The Last Hour will not come until people vie with one another about mosques. [Sunan Abee Dawood, Hadeeth No. 449. Graded “sahih” (authentic) by Shaikh Al-Albani.]
So, people will start vying with one another regarding their masjids (mosques). One of the ways that will happen is by adorning them i.e. by building beautiful masjids.
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم : مَا أُمِرْتُ بِتَشْيِيدِ الْمَسَاجِدِ . قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ لَتُزَخْرِفُنَّهَا كَمَا زَخْرَفَتِ الْيَهُودُ وَالنَّصَارَى .
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas (radiallahu anhuma): The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: I was not commanded to build high mosques.
Ibn Abbas said: You will certainly adorn them as the Jews and Christians adorned (them i.e. churches and synagogues). [Sunan Abee Dawood, Hadeeth No. 448. Graded “sahih” (authentic) by Shaikh Al-Albani.]
The Companions of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) made very modest expansions and renovations to his masjid after he died.
Abdullah bin Umar (radiallahu anhuma) reported: The mosque (of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) during his lifetime was built with bricks, its roof with branches of the palm-tree, and its pillars with palm-wood, as Mujahid said: Abu Bakr did not add anything to it. But Umar added to it; he built as it was built during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam)) with bricks and branches, and he changed its pillars. Mujahid said: Its pillars were made of wood. Uthman changed it altogether with increasing addition. He built its walls with decorated stone and lime. And he built the pillars with decorated stone and its roof with teak. Mujahid said: Its roof was made of teak.
Abu Dawud said: Al-Qassah means lime used as mortar. [Sunan Abee Dawood, Hadeeth No. 451. Graded “sahih” (authentic) by Shaikh Al-Albani.]
In order to understand what masjids looked like in the past, let’s take a look at Al-Bidyah Masjid -one of the oldest masjids in the country that I currently live in.
It was built in the 1400s apparently but the exact date is not known. It is still in use today.
Very simple masjid, isn’t it? This is what the masjids of yesteryear looked like, unlike the grand masjids of today.
Now, what about the masjid mentioned in the aforementioned hadeeth i.e. Masjid An-Nabawi (the Prophet’s (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) masjid)? What did that look like in the past, one may ask?
Here’s a picture of it from 1908 apparently i.e. over a hundred years ago:
This is what it looks like in the current era:
What about Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah? Well, this is what it looked like in 1887:
And this is what it looks like at the present time:
As you can see, it has not been spared either.
The rest of the world also has its fair share of overly decorated masjids:
Obviously, there are far more like these, an entire planetful in fact. However, these should suffice as proof of the Prophet’s (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) truthfulness.
Many Muslims today stare at pictures of beautiful masjids in amazement, without realising that this is a sign of the Last Day and that we are imitating the Jews and Christians with regards to how they decorated their places of worship.
What’s the lesson to be learnt from these signs? Well, that’s going to be discussed in Part 3, in shaa Allah.
[Here’s Part 3.]