by Shaykh Abdurrazaq Al-Abbad Al-Badr, translated by Abdullah Taha Al-Madani
The smart man is the one who takes stock of himself…
The Question on the final hour (day of Qiyaamah) and the time of its
occurrence and establishment, is a question that may arise in the minds of many people from time to time and in one gathering and another.
And the people asking this question are generally of two types:
One questioning out of intransigence, perseverance and exclusion, and the other questioner asks out of compassion, fear and in desire of preparation.
[Allah says in the Qur’an] “And what will make you perceive? Perhaps the Hour is near. Those who do not believe in it are impatient for it, but those who believe are fearful of it and know that it is the truth. Unquestionably, those who dispute concerning the Hour are in extreme error.” (Quran 42: 17-18)
In the Qur’an and Sunnah, there are many great guidelines in many
places about this question and its answer and it is worthy for every Muslim to contemplate and be aware of.
Allah the exalted says: “They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the
Hour: when is its arrival? Say, ‘Its knowledge is only with my Lord. None will reveal its time except Him'”. (Quran 8:187)
And Allah the most high says: “They ask you, [O Muhammad], about
the Hour: when is its arrival? In what [position] are you that you should mention it? To your Lord is its finality.’
“You are only a warner for those who fear it.’
“It will be, on the Day they see it, as though they had not remained [in
the world] except for an afternoon or a morning thereof.” (Quran 79:42-46)
And Allah the exalted says: “People ask you concerning the Hour.
Say,” Knowledge of it is only with Allah. And what may make you perceive? Perhaps the Hour is near.” (Quran 33:63)
And Allah may He be exalted says: “Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour”. (Quran 31:34).
That is, Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) confined its knowledge to himself, so no one knows the time of its emergence, no angel who is close to
Allaah and no Messenger who was sent by Him has any knowledge of
it, let alone those who are below them (in status).
And it was narrated in Sahih (al-Bukhari) by Abu Hurairah saying:
While the Prophet Mohammed ﷺ was saying something in a gathering, a Bedouin came and asked him, “O’ Messenger of Allah, when would the (final) Hour take place?”
Allah’s Messenger ﷺcontinued his talk, so some people said that Allah’s Messenger ﷺhad heard the question, but did not like what that Bedouin had asked. Some of them said that Allah’s Messenger ﷺhad not heard it.
When the Prophet ﷺfinished his speech, he said, “Where is the
questioner, who inquired about the Hour?”
The Bedouin said, “I am here, O Allah’s Apostle .”
Then the Prophet ﷺ said, “When honesty is lost, then wait for the Hour.”
The Bedouin said, “How will that be lost?”
The Prophet ﷺsaid, “When the power or authority comes in the hands of unfit persons, then wait for the Hour”.
And in the Sahihain, it was reported by Anas bin Maalik that a man asked the prophet: “When would be the Last Hour?”
He said: “What preparation have you made for that?”
He said: “the love Allah and His Messenger”.
Thereupon the prophet ﷺsaid: “You would be along with one whom you love”.
O believers: The final hour is on its way, there is no doubt about its coming, and it will come soon, and its establishment is very close, and it isn’t important – O’ servants of Allah – to ask about the time of its occurrence, for it has to come without doubt, and every comer is close, what matters the most is in this issue, is how well is our preparation? And how ready are we for it? And what is our provision for that great day?
Al-Mughira bin Shubah, may Allah be pleased with him, says:
“O people, you keep on saying the resurrection, the resurrection, for whoever dies of you, his Qiyaamah has established.”
And this statement is supported by the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah exalt his mention, where he said: “The grave is the first stage of the hereafter”. [At-Tirmidhi, graded Hasan by Al-Albani]
O’ believers, the servants of Allah: The time of the day of resurrection is a matter that Allah Almighty has hidden and made its knowledge unknown for his servants.
No angel who is close to Allaah and no messenger who was sent by Him has any knowledge of it.
In the famous hadith of angel Jibreel that ended by the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “This was Jibreel who came to teach you your religion”.
In this Hadith, Jibreel said: “when will the Hour be?’ The prophet ﷺ said: ‘The one who is asked about it does not know more than the one who is asking”.
That is, just as you do not know when the hour is coming, I also do not know, Therefore no one knows it except Allah the exalted.
If the servants of Allah, Jibreel, who was the most knowledgeable of angels, and Muhammad, ﷺwho was the most knowledgeable of the human did not know when the Hour shall come, so how about those below them !!
Therefore a warning is needed here from the deception of the deceivers, the lies of the liars, and the falsehood of those who lie on Allah and his shariah without ilm.
So their speech – O’ servants of Allah – is soothsaying, and their word is fake and fraudulent. And it is upon every Muslim that he remains cautious from the people of such kind.
O’ servants of Allah: The question worth asking in this regard is: “What did you prepare for it?”
As for when the final hour is? It is unknown yet it will certainly come.
As for the final hour of a person, it begins the moment he dies, and nobody knows when or where he dies.
How many examples do we have of those who left their home in cars and were returned back in their shrouds?
And how many of them asked their family to prepare the food, and they died and never ate it.
And how many of them wore their garment and buttoned it, and it was unbuttoned by the one giving the funeral bath.
Yes, O’ servants of Allah; every Muslim in this case, if he lives in a morning he shouldn’t wait for the evening, and if he lived in an evening he shouldn’t wait for the morning. And he must take from his life, what benefits him after death.
Allah the Almighty says: “O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]”. (Quran 3:102)
O’ believers, this life is but a bridge and a crossing to the Hereafter, the worldly life is a work field, and the life of the hereafter is the place of reward and accounting.
Ali Radiallahu anh’ said: “The world is traveling away from us. And the hereafter is moving towards us. And each of the two has sons. So be from the sons of the hereafter and don’t be form the sons of the Dunya.’
“For today you work without any accounting, and tomorrow (in
the hereafter) you will be accounted and there shall be no work.’
“O’ believers, “The smart man is the one who takes stock of himself and strives to do that which will benefit him after death, and the helpless one is the one who follows his own whims and desires and engages in wishful thinking, (assuming that Allaah will forgive him regardless of what he does)”.
