Signs of the Last Hour - Tall Buildings

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24108392.post-81307394097286969252007-08-16T12:35:00.001+08:002007-08-16T12:52:15.577+08:00Signs of the Last Hour - Tall BuildingsIn the famous Hadith of Jibril which we often hear, what we don't usually know is that in the same hadith the Prophet actually prophesied about the appearance of tall buildings at the end of time. See the full hadith below: <blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>`Umar ibn Khattab (Allah be well pleased with him) said: "As we were sitting one day before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), a man suddenly appeared. He wore pure white clothes and his hair was dark black—yet there were no signs of travel on him, and none of us knew him. He came and sat down in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), placing his knees against his, and his hands on his thighs. He said, "O Muhammad! Tell me about Islam." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, "Islam is to bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and to perform the prayer; pay zakat; fast Ramadan; and to perform Hajj to the House if you are able." The man said, "You have spoken the truth," and we were surprised that he asked and then confirmed the answer. Then, he asked, "Tell me about belief (iman)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, "It is to believe in Allah; His Angels; His Books; His Messengers; the Last Day; and in destiny—its good and bad." The man said, "You have spoken the truth. Now, tell me about spiritual excellence (ihsan)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, "It is to serve Allah as though you behold Him; and if you don't behold him, (know that) He surely sees you." "Now, tell me of the Last Hour," asked the man. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, "The one asked knows no more of it than the one asking." "Then tell me about its signs," said the man. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, "That slave women give birth to their mistresses; and that you see barefoot, unclothed, beginning shepherds competing in the construction of tall buildings." Then the visitor left, and I waited a long time. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me, "Do you know, Umar, who the questioner was?" I replied, "Allah and His Messenger know best."He said (Allah bless him and give him peace), "It was Jibril. He came to you to teach you your religion." [Sahih Muslim] </blockquote>Further to my earlier posting of the article Mecca's Hallowed Skyline Transformed, I thought it was interesting to read some of the prophecies of our Beloved Master, Sayyidina Muhammad, Blessings and Prayers of Allah be upon him and his family. Prophet Muhammad (s) mentioned some interesting things some 1400 years ago. Read on… <blockquote>Among the signs of the Hour mentioned by the Noble Messenger of Allah - Allah bless and greet him and his Family and Companions - in Sahih al-Bukhari is "when the destitute (al-buhm) camelherds compete in building tall structures." Another version in al-Bukhari has: "when the barefoot and the naked are the top leaders (lit. "heads") of the people." In Sahih Muslim: "you shall see the barefoot, naked, indigent (al-`âla) shepherds compete in building tall structures." Another version in Muslim states: "when the naked and barefoot are the top leaders of the people." A third version in Muslim has: "when you see that the barefoot and naked, the deaf and dumb are the kings of the earth." Ibn Hajar said in commenting this passage of the hadith in Fath al-Bari: It was said that "bear-foot and naked," "deaf and dumb" are their attributes by way of hyperbole, showing how coarse they are. That is, they did not use their hearing or sight in anything concerning their Religion even though they are of perfectly sound senses. The Prophet's (saws) words: "The heads of the people" means the kings of the earth. Abu Farwas' narration names the kings explicitly. What is meant by them is the people of the desert country, as was made explicit in Sulayman al-Taymi's and other narrations: "Who are the barefoot and naked?" He answered: "The Bedouin Arabs." Al-Tabarani relates through Abu Hamza, on the authority of Ibn `Abbas from the Prophet Muhammad, sallahu alayhi wa sallam, that "one of the signs of the change of the Religion is the affectation of eloquence by the rabble and their betaking to palaces in big cities." Al-Qurtubi said: "What is meant here is the prediction of a reversal in society whereby the people of the desert country will take over the conduct of affairs and rule every region by force. They will become extremely rich and their primary concern will be to erect tall building and take pride in them. We have witnessed this in our time as well as the import of the hadith: "The hour will not rise until the happiest man will be the depraved son of a depraved father (lukka` ibn lukka`)," and also "if the leadership is entrusted to those unfit for it, then expect the hour," both found in the authentic collections." </blockquote>Maulana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani also discussed this in detail in his book <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=UmVBJiAufusC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=hadith+tall+buildings&source=web&ots=Zrc_0SZHD9&sig=8C0gIf6HEbV8tjoNWAnj2qtqO-o">The Approach of Armageddon</a>. It's just so interesting. Interestingly, scholars say that those are observations and prophecies of the Prophet and not clear and explicit prohibitions for people to erect tall buildings. Also, read another posting <a href="http://www.osamasaeed.org/osama/2005/12/five_towers_to_.html">Five Towers to Overshadow Ka'aba</a>. sufijourneyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802787292686145544noreply@blogger.com