The Minor Signs of Qiyâmah

The minor signs of qiyâmah: The following minor signs of qiyâmah have been mentioned in the Hadîth:

1. People will begin considering Allah's wealth to be their own wealth. They will find it extremely difficult to pay their zakaat. They will consider the wealth which has been entrusted to them as an amânah to be their own wealth.

2. The husband will obey his wife, disobey his mother, consider his father to be an outsider, and consider an outsider to be his relative.

3. Knowledge of the Dîn will be acquired in order to earn a livelihood.

4. Leadership and political power will be given to those who are unqualified. That is, to those who have no self-honour, no manners, and those who are there for their own benefit. Tasks will be handed over to persons who are not suitable for those particular tasks.

5. People will honour and respect oppressors out of fear of being harmed.

6. Alcohol will be consumed openly.

7. The custom of singing and dancing women will become rife. Drums, fiddles, tambourines and other musical instruments will become rife.

8. The later generations will begin criticizing and speaking ill of their pious predecessors.

9. Rasûlullâh sallallâhu 'alayhi wa sallam said that at such a time, expect the following punishments: a red hurricane will come and some people will be drawn into the ground. Stones will rain down from the skies. The appearance of people will be transformed, i.e. they will be turned into pigs and dogs. Many other calamities will follow one after the other in quick succession just as when a string of beads breaks up and the beads begin falling off in quick succession.

10. Knowledge of the Dîn will decrease.

11. Lies and lying will be considered to be an art (to be admired).

12. The importance of amânah will disappear from the heart.

13. Hayâ' and shame will disappear.

14. The kuffâr will have power over everything and false ways will appear.

15. Once all these signs appear, the Christians will have control over all the countries. At that time, a person from the progeny of Abu Sufyân will be born. He will kill many sayyids and exercise his power and rule over Syria and Egypt. In the meantime, the Muslim ruler of Byzantine will wage a war with a group of Christians and make peace with another group. The warring group will invade Istanbul and rule over it. The ruler of Istanbul will flee to Syria, join forces with that group with which he had made peace, and engage in a severe war with the warring group. The Muslim army will gain victory. Within a few days, one of the Christians who had helped the Muslim ruler will come to the latter and tell him that we gained victory through the blessing of our "cross". The Muslim will reply that we gained victory through the blessing of Islam. This conversation will get more serious to the extent that each person (the Muslim and the Christian) will call his followers and a fight will ensue. The Muslim ruler will be martyred and Syria will also fall under the rule of these Christians. This Christian group will make peace with the group that was at war with the Muslims (in the beginning). The few Muslims who are left will go to Madinah. The Christians will exercise their power and rule up to Khaybar (a place outside Madinah). The Muslims will then decide to search for Imam Mahdi so that they may overcome all these difficulties. At that time he will be in Madinah, but out of fear of being made ruler, he will go away to Makkah. All the pious people of that time will search for him. Many imposters will claim to be Imam Mahdi. But the genuine Imam Mahdi will be making tawâf of the Ka'bah and will be between the Hajr-e-Aswad and the Maqâm-e-Ibrâhîm. A few pious people will recognize him and impose upon him to become the ruler and they will give him the bay'ah. While giving him the bay'ah, a voice from the skies will come down and it will be heard by all those who will
be present over there. This voice will say that this person is the khalîfah of Allah (i.e. he has been chosen to be the ruler) and that he is Imam Mahdi.