Yajooj Majooj and the End of the World

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Sahih Muslim reports from the Prophet (saw) that Qiyamah shall never dawn until ten signs appear. These are:

1.   People are swallowed by the earth in the east (landslides)

2.   People are also swallowed in the west (landslides)

3.   This incident occurs in the Arabian peninsula as well.

4.   Smoke appears – for 40 days and nights

5.   Dajjal makes his appearance.

6.   The “creature of the earth” appears – it will come out from Mount Safa. In its hands, it will hold the stick of Prophet Musa (as) and it will have the ring of Prophet Sulayman (as). It will use the stick to put a mark on the forehead of all the believers, and will use the ring to put a mark on all the non-believers.

His face will be like that of a human, the feet of a camel, the neck of a horse, the tail of an eagle, the back of a deer and the hands of a monkey.

There will be an earthquake on Mount Safa, and from there, this creature will emerge.

7.   The emergence of Yajooj and Majooj

8.   The rising of the sun from the west - "Verily Allah extends his hand at night so that the sinners of the day may repent and verily extends his hand during the day so that the sinners of the night may repent, (He will keep on doing this) as long as the sun does not rise from the West."  ( Sahih Muslim)

9.   A fire will rage from Aden

10. The descent of Prophet Isa (as) from the heavens

Who was Dhul Qarnayn?

And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about Dhul-Qarnayn. Say, "I will recite to you about him a report."

Dhul Qarnain is a king who lived thousands of years ago, near the time of the Prophet Musa (as).

The name Dhul Qarnain means two horns. The commentators say that it is because he ruled most of the inhabited world – two horns describe the east and west. He used to worship Allah, and was a righteous and just king.

 Allah describes him in the Quran (Surah Kahf):

Indeed We established him upon the earth, and We gave him to everything a way.

He used to travel the world, helping the people and using justice.

Allah describes him as just and fair because he used to say:

He said, "As for one who wrongs, we will punish him. Then he will be returned to his Lord, and He will punish him with a terrible punishment.

But as for one who believes and does righteousness, he will have a reward of Paradise, and we will speak to him from our command with ease."

He was very strict on laws, but he was very good to those who did good, and so the people loved him. He was harsh to those who did wrong, and generous to the good – this is justice!

So, he was on one of his journeys that he used to make, and then:

Until, when he reached [a pass] between two mountains, he found beside them a people who could hardly understand [his] speech.

They said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed Gog and Magog are [great] corrupters in the land. So may we assign for you an expenditure that you might make between us and them a barrier?"

Dhul Qarnain reached the furthest land, and he found people there who complained to him about Yajooj and Majooj, and that they were causing so much corruption there. The people wanted him to build a wall or a dam between them and Yajooj Majooj.

Who are Yajooj and Majooj?

Yajooj and Majooj are two tribes of human beings, and they exist on earth.

To give an idea of how many of them there are - Hadith – Allah will tell Prophet Adam (as), O Adam, send out a portion of your children to Hell Fire, and a portion to Paradise. Prophet Adam doesn’t know who should go where so he asks Allah: how many of my children are going to Hell Fire? Allah will say, out of every 1000, 999 will go to Hell Fire. This was a shock for the Sahabah, and the colour of their faces changed, and the Prophet (saw) saw it on their faces.

The Sahabah asked, who from us can guarantee that he will be the one out of the thousand?

The Prophet (saw) said, out of Yajuj Majooj will be 999, and the rest is one. The ratio would always be on the side of them, because they are many in number.

The above hadith shows that they will be from the children of Adam, meaning human.

They are very corrupt – even more than the people of today. They will come out and destroy anything and anyone in their path.

The people wanted to pay Dhul Qarnayn but he refused. He just said that I need your man-power.

So, he built a wall, and it was such a strong wall that nothing could get through it – no weapons and neither people.

Bring me sheets of iron" - until, when he had leveled [them] between the two mountain walls, he said, "Blow [with bellows]," until when he had made it [like] fire, he said, "Bring me, that I may pour over it molten copper."

So Gog and Magog were unable to pass over it, nor were they able [to effect] in it any penetration.

Until this day, Yajooj and Majooj have been trapped behind this wall. Only Allah knows best where they are!

Hadith – everyday Yajooj and Majooj try to get through the wall, and when they are nearly there, the leader says lets come back tomorrow. When they return the next day, they find that the wall has been sealed up again.

The Prophet (saw) once spent the whole day talking about the events of Qiyamah.

The Prophet (saw) entered and was extremely frightened. He said there is no God worthy of worship but Allah, destruction is on the Arabs on account of that evil which has come close to them. Today a hole as big as this has opened in the wall of Yajooj and Majooj. To indicate the size of this, he made a ring with index finger and thumb.

This will keep happening until their appointed time arrives. Then they will dig through the wall, and the next day when they return, the wall will be open.

[Dhul-Qarnayn] said, "This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord comes, He will make it level, and ever is the promise of my Lord true."

Surah Ambiya – Verse 96 – “Until the time arrives when the Yajooj and Majooj will be released and they will scurry down every hill.

Emergence of Yajooj and Majooj

A hadith of Muslim says:

The Prophet (saw) said, After Dajjal is killed by Prophet Isa (as), and he lives amongst the people, Allah will send the following revelation to him: “O Isa! I shall release such servants of Mine against whom none can fight. Therefore, take My servants to Mount Toor for safety”.

Consequently, Allah will release them, and they will scurry down every hill. Their numbers will be so large that when the first part of their army will pass by a large lake, they will finish all the water there, and when the latter part of their army will pass by, they will say, “It seems that there was once water here”.

When they will reach Baitul Muqaddas (Jerusalem), they will say, “We have killed all on earth. Let us now kill those in the heavens.” They will then fire their arrows to the skies, and Allah will cause these to return with blood on them.

In the meantime, the Mumineen with Prophet Isa (as) will be so hard pressed for food on the Mount Toor, that a bull’s head will be more valuable to them than 100 gold coins.

Prophet Isa (as) and the Mumineen will beg Allah to destroy Yajooj and Majooj. Allah will send insects to them which will attach their necks, and kill them all at once – they will die as if they were one person.

When Prophet Isa (as) and the Mumineen will come down from the mountain, they will not find a single place that is free from the bodies and stench of the Yajooj and Majooj.

They will then again supplicate to Allah and Allah will send large birds with necks like camels. These bird will cast all the corpses away to where Allah wills. Then, Allah will send a light rain which will fall on every part on the earth to clean it.

Allah will then command the earth to bring forth its vegetations and provisions. It will then spill forth everything and produce all its fruits. As a result of these blessings, a group of people will be able to eat from a single pomegranate, and they will be able to make umbrellas from the skin of a pomegranate.

There will be so much blessings in milk that a large gathering of people will be able to fill themselves with the milk of a camel. In a like manner, a large tribe will be able to satisfy themselves with the milk of a cow, and a smaller tribe will require the milk of only a goat to fill themselves.

Qiyamah will then be very close and the Mumineen will enjoy extremely comfortable lives. Since Qiyamah can dawn only upon the non-believers, Allah will send a pleasant breeze that will reach the sides of the Mumineen, causing them all to pass away. Thereafter, only the worst of people will live on earth, who will commit adultery in public like donkeys.

Qiyamah will dawn on these people.

May Allah give us all the ability to best prepare ourselves for the Day of Judgement - Ameen!

Wasalaam!

Signs of the Day of Judgement

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

“Are they waiting for anything except the Hour, to come to them suddenly? But its signs have already come”. (Surah Muhammad – Verse 18)

One of the major signs of Qiyamah is the appearance of Imam Mahdi. He will arrive at a time of immense corruption. He will spread peace on earth and rule with justice amongst the Muslims. Many signs have been mentioned in the Ahadith which will take place before Imam Mahdi will come. A few of them are:

·       Hazrat Anas has said: When people will regard these 5 things as permissible they will be destroyed: abuse and curse, men will wear silk garments, singing and dancing, liquor and homosexuality.

Shooting star (comet)

It has been narrated that:

A comet will be appearing in the east, giving out illumination before he arrives. The birth of that star will follow the eclipse of the sun and the moon.

This has already taken place in 1986 – the Halley’s Comet – a bright and shining star which soared across the night sky radiating its light from east to west. This event happened 5 years after the lunar and solar eclipses of 1981 and 1982.

Big phenomena and appalling incidents

Big phenomena (appalling incidents) will happen in his time to come.

As time draws closer to when Imam Mahdi is revealed, these kinds of events will increase. They include huge fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, mass shootings, poisonous gas leaks, chemical attacks etc.

Modern technology

The sign of that day is that a hand will be extended in the sky and people will stop to look at it.

It doesn’t literally mean a hand – in the early days this Hadith may not have been understood. But in today’s day and age, technology is taking us forward in places that our minds cannot even comprehend.

Interpret hand as meaning power – what possible form of power could there be in the sky? It refers to the radio waves being transferred in the sky carrying signals to the TV, radio, mobile phones and internet.

Mobile Phones

“The Last Hour will not come before the end of a man’s whip speaks to him”. (Tirmidhi)

“... and his thigh informs him of what his family have done after him”.

The Prophet (saw) is making a comparison in appearance. Is there a modern device that talks and resembles a whip? The most logical explanation is the mobile phone with its antenna, a walkie talkie or similar communications devices.

The hadith says that the whip will inform him of his family’s actions. We will all agree that the most common and convenient form of communication is a mobile phone. Also the phone is mostly kept in a person’s pocket, side by side to their thigh.

We should now realise that even our day to day necessities are also a sign of the Day of Judgement. There is nothing bad about them but they should be seen as a sign to do good and prepare for that Day.

Time and Travel

“Great distances will be travelled in short spans of time”. (Ahmad)

Near to the end of time, great distances will be travelled in a small amount of time by means of vehicles such as aeroplanes, high speed trains, fast cars etc. Journeys that would have normally taken months now take a few hours in relative comfort.

International communication that would take weeks before is now done in a matter of seconds through the Internet. Everyday jobs have also been made easier for us through modern appliances.

“The Last Hour will not come before time contracts, a year being like a month, a month like a week, a week like a day, a day like an hour, and an hour like the kindling of a fire”. (Tirmidhi)

“The Last Day will not be established until ... time will pass by quickly”. (Bukhari)

These things are not bad at all but they all serve as a reminder that time is slipping through our hands each day. We must prepare ourselves and gather our good deeds for the Final Hour.

Competition and Fame

“There will be no Judgement until very tall buildings are constructed”.

“The Hour will not be established until the people compete with one another in constructing high buildings”. (Bukhari)

If we look at history, we see that multi-storied buildings only began to be built at the end of the 19^th century. Skyscrapers are now part of the 20^th and 21^st century landscape, and have become a symbol of prestige.

The words of the Prophet (saw) have come true. People are always competing to build the tallest building and tower etc. It is sad to see that this is occurring in many Muslim countries too. 

The main objective of a Muslim should be to work towards elevating his rank in the eyes of Allah for the Hereafter.

Decline of Religious Values

According to the Quran, on the Last Day, the Prophet (saw) will say that his own people will have abandoned the Quran:

“My Lord, my people treat this Quran as something to be ignored”. (Surah Furqan – Verse 30)

It is said in the Hadith that during the end times, the Quran’s guidance will be disregarded and people will stray from it.

“There will come a time upon the Ummah when people will recite the Quran, but it will not go further than their throats, (into their hearts).” (Bukhari)

Despite the fact that the Quran is recited in our mosques and homes, the knowledge it contains is not considered. As the words flow from our lips, its greatness is not felt in our hearts.

The Prophet (saw) spoke of something and said, “It will happen when knowledge will be no more.” The companions asked, “Allah’s Messenger (saw), how will knowledge vanish despite the fact that we will be reciting the Quran, and teaching its recitation to our children, and our children will teach its recitation to their children up to the Day of Judgement?” The Prophet (saw) replied, “Do these Jews and Christians not recite the Torah and the Bible but not act according to what is contained in them?” (Tirmidhi)

Muslims today have fallen into the traps of Shaytan, because he has made the lives of the non-Muslims look good to us and made us weak in our religion.

“Near the establishment of the Hour, good deeds will decrease.” (Bukhari)

We should ask ourselves: How often do we pick up the Quran and recite it with value, thinking about the meaning of its verses? Or has it just become an ordinary book left to gather dust on the highest shelf of the bookshelf? Or maybe the Quran has just become a book that is only noticed and recited during Ramadan?

Indecency

“There will be prevalence of open illegal sexual intercourse” (Bukhari)

There are many examples of the morals of society going down – homosexuality, prostitution, pre-marital relationships, adultery etc.

Muslims now think these things are normal because they have become so common in society.

This is all a wake up call for us to realise that the Last Day is closer than ever.

Earthquakes

“The Hour will not be established until .. earthquakes will be very frequent”. (Bukhari)

Major earthquakes have increased, and they are the thing that many countries fear the most.

There is a chapter in the Quran called Surah Zilzaal (the Great Shaking or Earthquake), and it describes the violent shaking of the earth, and says that following it, the Day of Judgment will arrive when we will all be held accountable for our actions, even for the smallest of things:

“Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it”.

We have mentioned only a few of the signs – there are many more, and there have been countless books written about them.

We need to realise how merciful Allah has been by actually giving us all these signs, and giving us the time to repent and do good deeds.

Allah has sent a teacher to this world as a gift. He was the Prophet Muhammad (saw), and we need to embed his teachings into lives in order to be successful. 

May Allah make us all successful in this world, but most importantly, the Next - Ameen!

Wasalaam!