“God is beautiful and He loves beauty”

 Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "God is beautiful and He loves beauty."[1]

Some people who seek to be pious tend to underrate the value of beauty.  They fail to recognize that beauty is an Islamic value.  God intended for His Creation to contain beauty. 

God says: "And He created the cattle for you; you have in them warm clothing and (many) advantages, and of them do you eat.  And you have a sense of pride and beauty in them as you drive them home in the evening, and as you lead them forth to pasture in the morning." (Quran 16:5-6)

He says: "And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and use as an ornament for show; and He has created (other) things of which you have no knowledge." (Quran 16:8)

Elsewhere in the Quran, God speaks about the beauty of the heavens, the stars, of gardens and myriad other things. 

Beauty stands in opposition to ugliness.  God is beautiful in His essence, in His names and attributes, and in His actions.  This is why the greatest of all pleasures in Paradise is to look upon God’s countenance.  God says: "That day will faces be resplendent, looking to their Lord" (Quran 75:22-2)

God refers to His names as being beautiful: "God’s are the most beautiful names." (Quran 7:180)

Likewise, His actions are beautiful.  They are always within the context of His beneficence and grace, or His justice and wisdom.  His actions are never in vain, never unjust, and never superfluous.  "Perfected is the Word of your Lord in truth and justice." (Quran 6:115)

God created everything with proficiency and He created the human being in the best of forms. 

The beauty that exists in Creation – on land and at sea and in the heavens – attests to God’s beauty as well as His power.  He who created beauty is most entitled to beauty.  And indeed Paradise is adorned with beauty beyond imagining. 

God’s beauty is also beyond our imagining.  Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, beseeched God with the following prayer: "I am unable to extol all of Your praises.  You are as You have extolled Yourself."[2]

Prophet Muhammad also said: "His is a veil of light.  If He were to remove it, the glory of His countenance would ignite everything of Creation as He looks upon it."[3]

Our faith in God’s beauty strengthens our connection with our Lord.  It increases our love for Him and our longing to return to Him.  Prophet Muhammad used to offer the following prayer: "I ask of You the joy of looking on Your noble countenance and of my longing to be with You."[4]

Our faith in God’s beauty should also encourage us to concern ourselves with our appearance, dress, and decorum, as well as with the beauty of our words and deeds.  This is something that God wants from us. 

Someone once approached the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, and asked: "What if someone likes that his clothing and his shoes are beautiful?" The Prophet replied: "God loves to see the affects of His grace upon His servant."[5]

The Prophet’s Companions, following the example that the Prophet set for them, took care of their appearance. 

When the Prophet said: "God is beautiful and He loves beauty," this means that God blesses us for the beauty that we bring about through our good efforts.  He loves beauty in us, just as He loves us to be possessed with knowledge, generosity, clemency and purity. 

We have already mentioned that beauty is among the purposes of God’s Creation. 

God says: "Is not He (best) Who created the heavens and the Earth, and sends down for you water from the sky wherewith We cause to spring forth beautiful orchards, which you could not (otherwise) have grown the trees thereof?" (Quran 27:60)

"Surely We have made whatever is on the earth an embellishment for it, so that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in deed." (Quran 18:7)

"Know you (all), that the life of this world is but play, amusement, and embellishment." (Quran 57:20)

God had given His prophet Joseph (peace be upon him) half of all human beauty.[6] Likewise, Prophet Muhammad was blessed with a bright complexion and a handsome face, not to mention the beauty of his character as seen in his politeness, humility, patience, kindness and forbearance even with those who actively opposed him and the religion of Islam.

-islamreligion.com

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Footnotes:

[1]Saheeh Muslim

[2]Saheeh Muslim

[3]Saheeh Muslim

[4]Sunan al-Nasai

[5]Sunan al-Tirmidhi

[6]Saheeh Muslim

Prophet Muhammad’s Last Sermon: A Final Admonition

 

Beloved Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia circa 570 C.E.  He is an example for all of humanity.  He was a remarkable man at all times.  He excelled in all walks of life by being a prophet, ruler, orator, soldier, husband, friend, father, uncle, nephew, and a grandfather.  He was a man of love, patience, courage, wisdom, generosity, intelligence and magnitude who inspired millions of lives throughout the world.

God says in the Quran that he was sent as a mercy for the people of the world.

"We sent thee not save as a mercy for the peoples." (Quran 21:107)

His Prophetic Mission began at the age of forty, circa 610 C.E., and continued until 632 C.E.  From the path of ignorance, mankind was lead to the straight path and was blessed with the guidance of God.

Shortly before his death, Prophet Muhammad delivered a sermon during the Hajj, which came to be known as his "Final Sermon".  This final sermon was not only a reminder to his followers, but also an important admonition.  The final sermon confirms the end of his Prophetic Mission.

Year 10 A.H.  of the Islamic Calendar is considered to be one of the most significant years for three reasons.  Firstly, this was the year when the Prophet delivered his Last Sermon during his farewell pilgrimage to Mecca.  Secondly, this was the year where a number of deputations came to the Prophet to announce their Islam as well as their tribes.  Thirdly, it was the golden period of Islam when multitudes of people embraced the faith by accepting the message of the Prophet.

Prophet Muhammad undertook his farewell pilgrimage in the year 10 A.H.  His farewell pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the most significant historical events in the minds of Muslims, for it was the first and last pilgrimage made by Prophet Muhammad, as well as being the model for performing the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj.

Prophet Muhammad’s final sermon was delivered during the Hajj of the year 632 C.E., the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of the lunar year, at Arafat, the most blessed day of the year.  There were countless Muslims present with the Prophet during his last pilgrimage when he delivered his last Sermon.

The Final Sermon:

After praising, and thanking God, the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said "O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again.  Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust.  Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners.  Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.  Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds.  God has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived.  Your capital, however, is yours to keep.  You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity.  God has Judged that there shall be no interest, and that all the interest due to Al-Abbas ibn Abd’el Muttalib shall henceforth be waived...

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion.  He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you.  Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under a trust from God and with His permission.  If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness.  Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers.  And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

O People, listen to me in earnest, worship God, perform your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and offer Zakat.  Perform Hajj if you have the means.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve.  An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action.  Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.  Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly.  Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear before God and answer for your deeds.  So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born.  Reason well, therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you.  I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and it may be that the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.  Be my witness, O God, that I have conveyed your message to your people."

Thus the beloved Prophet completed his Final Sermon, and upon it, near the summit of Arafat, the revelation came down:

"…This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My Grace upon you, and have chosen Islam for you as your religion…" (Quran 5:3)

Even today the Last Sermon of Prophet Muhammad is passed to every Muslim in every corner of the world through all possible means of communication.  Muslims are reminded about it in mosques and in lectures.  Indeed the meanings found in this sermon are indeed astounding, touching upon some of the most important rights God has over humanity, and humanity has over each other.  Though the Prophet’s soul has left this world, his words are still living in our hearts.

- islamreligion.com

The Nature of Revelation?

 

Revelation is where God imparts whatever knowledge He wills to those whom He chooses to receive it.  God gives this knowledge to them in order for them to convey it to whomever else He wishes.

All the Messengers of God experienced revelation.  God says:

“Verily, We have sent Revelation to you (O Muhammad) as We have sent Revelation to Noah and the prophets who came after him.  We had sent revelation to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the Tribes, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon.  And to David We gave the Psalms.  And Messengers We have told you about before, and Messengers We have not told you about – and to Moses We spoke directly.” (Quran 4:163)

The possibility of divine revelation cannot be denied by anyone who believes in the existence of God and in His omnipotence.  God maintains His creation in any manner that pleases Him.  The connection between the Creator and his Creation is by way of His Messengers, and these Messengers only know what God wants from them by way of revelation, either directly or indirectly.  The rational mind cannot dismiss the possibility of revelation, since nothing is difficult for the all-powerful Creator.

The Nature of Revelation

Revelation is not a personal experience that a Prophet brings forth from within himself.  It is not a spiritual state that a person can attain by doing certain meditations or spiritual exercises.  Quite the contrary, revelation is a communication between two beings: one that speaks, commands, and gives, and another who is addressed, commanded, and receives.  Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him – as with every Prophet – never confused himself with the One who gave the revelation to him.  As a human being, he felt his weakness before God, feared God’s wrath if he should disobey, and hoped for God’s mercy.

He sought help from God, submitted to what he was commanded to do, and was on occasion even sternly reprimanded by God.  The Prophet admitted his absolute inability to alter even one word of God’s Book.  God says:

“And when Our clear signs are recited to them, those who hope not for a meeting with Us say: ‘Bring a Quran other than this or change it.’  Say (O Muhammad): ‘It is not for me to change it of my own accord.  I only follow what is revealed to me.  I fear, if I were to disobey my Lord, the punishment of an awful day.’  Say: ‘If God had willed, I would not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you.  I have lived with you a whole lifetime before it came to me.  Have you no sense?’” (Quran 10:15-16)

This should make perfectly clear the difference between the essence, attributes, and ways of the Creator and those of His Creation.

The Prophet took great care to maintain a distinction between his own speech (the Hadeeth) and the direct speech of God, though both were the result of revelation.  For this reason, in the early period of revelation, he used to prohibit anything that he uttered to be written down except for the Quran.  This preserved for the Quran its distinctiveness as being the very word of God, unmixed with the speech of people.

The Prophet would also make a distinction in his own speech between his own opinions and what came from God as revelation. 

He said: “I am only a human being like yourselves.  Opinions can be right or wrong.  But, when I say to you that God said something, then know that I will never attribute something false to God.”

The Prophet had no hand in the revelation that he received.  Revelation is a force external to the being of the Prophet.  He was not able to manipulate it in any way.  This is supported by the fact that certain crises would befall the Prophet or one of those around him that required an immediate solution, but he found no verse of Quran to recite to the people.  He had to remain silent and wait, sometimes in desperation, until God, in His wisdom, revealed what was needed.

A good example of this is the time when Aishah, the wife of the Prophet was accused of adultery by some of the hypocrites, though she was innocent.  People began to say things that were painful for the Prophet until his heart was about to burst.  He was unable to prohibit this.  All he could say was:

“O Aishah, I have heard this or that.  If you are innocent, then God will show your innocence, and if you fell into sin, then seek God’s forgiveness.”

A whole month passed like this before the revelation came down declaring Aishah’s innocence and exonerating the household of the Prophet.

In brief, revelation has nothing to do with the choices and wishes of the one who receives it.  It is an unusual, external occurrence.  It is a force of knowledge, because it gives knowledge.  It is free from error.  It comes only with the truth and guides only to what is right.

How revelation comes to the angels and to the Messengers

In the Quran it is mentioned that God speaks to the angels.  God says:

“And (remember) when your Lord revealed to the angels: ‘Verily I am with you, so keep firm those who have believed’…” (Quran 8:12)

Revelation to the angels happens by God speaking to them and the angels hearing from Him.

Revelation comes to God’s human Messengers either directly or through an intermediary.  In the case of an intermediary, it is the angel Gabriel who brings the revelation.  There are two ways that this occurs:

1.    The angel would come to him with a voice like the clanging of a bell.  This is the severest way revelation would come to the Messenger.  Such a harsh sound demands the full attention of the one being addressed with it.  When the revelation came in this manner, it was extremely demanding upon all of the Messenger’s faculties.

2.    The angel would come to him in the form of a man.  This was easier than the previous way, since the form of the angelic Messenger was familiar to the human Messenger and easier to relate to.

Both of these ways are mentioned by the Prophet in his answer to al-Haarith b. Hishaam when he asked how the revelation came to him.  God’s Messenger said:

“Sometimes he comes to me like the clanging of a bell, and this is the most difficult for me.  It weighs upon me and I commit to memory what he says.  And sometimes the angel comes to me in the form of a man and speaks to me and I commit to memory what he says.”

Revelation without an intermediary happens in two ways:

1.    A good dream: Aishah relates:

“It began as a good dream during sleep.  He would not have a dream except that it would come as clear as day.”

This was to prepare God’s Messenger to receive revelation while awake.  The whole Quran was revealed while the Prophet was awake.

The story of Abraham when he was commanded to sacrifice his son demonstrates how a dream can be revelation that must be acted upon.  God says:

“So We gave him glad tidings of a forbearing boy.  And when he was old enough to walk with him, he said: ‘My son, I have seen in a dream that I am sacrificing you.  So look, what do you think?’  He said: ‘O my father, do what you are commanded.  By God’s will, you shall find me to be among those who are patient.’  Then, when they had both submitted themselves and he had laid him prone on his forehead, We called out to him: ‘O Abraham, you have fulfilled the dream.’  Thus do We reward the righteous.  That was indeed a manifest trial.  And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.  And We left for him a goodly remembrance for later generations.  Peace be upon Abraham!  Thus indeed do We reward the righteous.  Verily, he was one of Our believing servants.” (Quran 37:101-111)

If that dream had not been revelation that had to be obeyed, Abraham would never have gone forward to sacrifice his son, but in fact he almost did so.  He was only stopped because God commanded him to stop and ordered him to sacrifice something else instead.

The good dream is not only for the Prophets.  It remains for the believers, even though it is not revelation.  God’s Messenger said:

“Nothing remains of prophecy except for glad tidings.”  When he was asked what these glad tidings were, he said: “Dreams.”

2.    God speaking directly from behind a barrier: This happened to Prophet Moses.  God says:

“When Moses came to Our appointed meeting, his Lord spoke to him…” (Quran 7:143)

God also says:

“…And God spoke to Moses directly.” (Quran 4:164)

This also happened to Prophet Muhammad on the night of his Journey and Ascension when he was taken up into the heavens and his Lord spoke to him.

All of these ways of receiving revelation are mentioned in the Quran.  God says:

“It is not for a human being that God should speak to him except as revelation or from behind a barrier, or by sending a Messenger who reveals by His leave whatever He wishes.  Verily, He is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” (Quran 42:51)

- islamreligion.com

Prophecies of the Quran Addressed to Muhammad

 

Entering Mecca’s Grand Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram)

In the sixth year after the Prophet was forced to migrate from Mecca to Medina, he saw himself visiting Mecca and performing pilgrimage in a vision mentioned in the Quran:

"Certainly has God showed to His Messenger the vision (i.e. dream) in truth.  You will surely enter al-Haram mosque, if God wills, in safety, with your heads shaved and [hair] shortened[1], not fearing [anyone].  He knew what you did not know and has arranged before that a conquest near [at hand]." (Quran 48:27)

God made three promises:

(a)  Muhammad would enter into Mecca’s Grand Mosque.

(b)  Muhammad would enter in a state of security.

(c)  Muhammad and his companions would get to perform pilgrimage and fulfill its rituals.

Ignoring the hostility of Meccans, Prophet Muhammad gathered his companions and embarked on a peaceful journey to Mecca.  But the Meccans continued to be hostile and he was forced to return to Medina.  The vision remained unfulfilled; however, an important treaty was signed between the Prophet and the Meccans, which would prove of great significance.  It is due to this treaty that Muhammad performed a peaceful pilgrimage with his companions the very next year.  The vision had found its fulfillment.[2]

The Quranic Prophecy; ‘The Unbelievers Will Lose’

Muslims were subject to severe persecution in Mecca at the hand of pagans.  At one time they were boycotted for three years, and the perpetual shortage of food sometimes bordered on famine.[3]  Any talk of victory was unimaginable.  Despite all odds, God prophesized in Mecca:

"[The pagans’] assembly will be defeated, and they shall turn their backs [in flight]!." (Quran 54:45)

The Arabic verb yuhzamu is preceded by sa (an Arabic prefix denoting the future tense), making it a distinct prophecy awaiting fulfillment in future.  And so it was in the holy month of Ramadan, two years after the Prophet’s migration from Mecca to Medina that the Meccans were defeated in the Battle of Badr and forced to retreat.[4]  Umar, the second caliph of the Muslims after the Prophet, used to say that they did not know how the Quranic prophecy would be fulfilled until they themselves witnessed it coming true at the famous battle of Badr! (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

The Quranic Prophecy; ‘Believers Will Get Political Authority’

Despite severe oppression at the hands of Meccans, Muslims were given good news fromGod:

"God has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me.  But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient." (Quran 24:55)

How such a promise from Almighty God would be fulfilled to the oppressed, brutalized Muslims in Mecca was impossible to imagine at the time it was made.  It was  fulfilled, nevertheless.  Indeed, God made Muslims secure and gave them political sway in a matter of years.

"And Our word [decree] has already preceded for Our slaves, the messengers, [that] indeed, they would be those given victory." (Quran 37:171-172)

At first, the Muslims established their own state, by the invitation of the people of Medina, when God commanded they migrate there from Mecca.  Then, within the lifetime of the Prophet, that state expanded to hold sway over the whole of the Arabian Peninsula, from the Gulf of Aqaba and the Arabian Gulf to the Arabian Sea in the south, including the place from whence the Muslims had been driven out (Mecca itself).  This decree was ongoing, for the expansion of the Muslim political and religious dominion did not stop at the Arabian Peninsula.  History gives a living testimony that the Muslims addressed by these verses ruled the lands of the former Persian and Roman empires, an expansion that amazed and won admiration of world historians.  In the words of Encyclopedia Britannica:

"Within 12 years after Muhammad’s death, the armies of Islam took possession of Syria, Iraq, Persia, Armenia, Egypt, and Cyrenaica (in modern Libya)."[5]

The Quran’s Prophecy Regarding the Hypocrites and the Tribe of Banu Nadhir

God says in the Quran:

"Surely, if they are expelled, never will they (hypocrites) go out with them, and if they are attacked, they will never help them.  And if they do help them, they (hypocrites) will turn their backs, so they will not be victorious." (Quran 59:12)

Pickthall

(For) indeed if they are driven out they go not out with them, and indeed if they are attacked they help them not, and indeed if they had helped them they would have turned and fled, and then they would not have been victorious.

"Have you not observed how those who are hypocrites, tell their brothers (i.e. associates) among the People of the Scripture who disbelieved, ‘If you are expelled, we will surely also leave with you, and we will never anyone against you; and if you are attacked (i.e. by the Muslim militia), we will surely aid you.’  But God bears witness that they are liars.  If they (i.e. the Jews) are expelled, they (i.e. the hypocrites) will not leave with them, and if they are fought, they will not aid them.  And [even] if they were to aid them, they will surely turn their backs; then they will not be aided." (Quran 59:11-12)

The prophecy was fulfilled when the Banu Nadhir were expelled in August 625 CE from Medina; the hypocrites did not accompany them or come to their aid.[6]

The Quranic Prophecies concerning Future Confrontations

"They will not harm you except for [some] annoyance.  And if they fight you, they will show you their backs (i.e., flee); then they will not be aided." (Quran 3:111)

"And if those (Meccans) who disbelieve were to fight you, they would certainly turn their backs (i.e., flee).  Then they would not find a protector or a helper." (Quran 48:22)

Historically, after these verses were revealed, the unbelievers in the Arabian Peninsula were never able to withstand the Muslims again.[7]

We see from the prophecies discussed in these articles that the claim many detractors of Muhammad’s Prophethood are utterly unfounded.  They have based their criticism on the challenge to show that what Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, foretold, if anything, and what came true of his foretelling.[8]  Demonstrably, he did prophesize, with God’s guidance, and demonstrably, what he was directed to tell us did actually occur.  Therefore, by the criterion of the detractors, Muhammad was the Messenger of God, and the last of the prophets to be sent, by both his statements in the Sunnah (narrations from his life) and the word of the Quran.

- islamreligion.com

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Footnotes:

[1]Some of the rites of Hajj.

[2]See ‘Mercy For the Worlds,’ by Qazi Suliman Mansoorpuri, vol.1, p. 212 and ‘Madinan Society At The Time Of The Prophet,’ by Dr. Akram Diya al Umari, vol. 2, p. 139.

[3]‘Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources’ by Martin Lings, p. 89.

[4]‘Mercy For the Worlds,’ by Qazi Suliman Mansoorpuri, vol. 3 p. 299 ‘Madinan Society At The Time Of The Prophet,’ by Dr. Akram Diya al Umari, vol. 2, p. 37.

[5]"arts, Islamic." Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-13813)

[6]‘Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources’ by Martin Lings, p. 204.  ‘Mercy For the Worlds,’ by Qazi Suliman Mansoorpuri, vol. 3 p. 302.

[7]‘Risala Khatim al-Nabiyeen Muhammad,’ by Dr. Thamir Ghisyan.

[8]You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’  When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken.  The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (The Bible, New American Standard Version, Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

The Major Signs of the Day of Judgment : The Last of the Major Signs

 

The Three Landslides

As quoted earlier in a hadeeth (saying of Prophet Muhammad), among the major signs of the Day of Judgment are the three landslides that will occur.  One will occur in the East, one in the West and one in the Arabian Peninsula.  Not much further information has been given concerning these events—and therefore not much can be added.  However, the well-known hadeeth exegete ibn Hajar does note that landslides are a well-known occurrence and have occurred often.  Therefore, he says, it is likely that the nature of these three landslides which will occur shortly before the Day of Judgment will be of a much greater magnitude and severity, setting them apart from what occurs customarily in this world.[1]  And God alone knows best.

The Smoke

Among the major signs mentioned by the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, is that of “the smoke.”  God refers to this event in the Quran, saying:

“Then wait you for the Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke, covering the people, this will be a painful torment” (Quran 44:10-11)

Again, beyond what has been stated explicitly by the Prophet, very little comment can be made concerning this sign.  However, there is a hadeeth in which the Prophet said:

“Verily, your Lord has warned you concerning three [matters]: the smoke that overtakes the believer like a cold and overtakes the disbeliever and makes him swollen until it comes out of his ears.”  

The Rising of the Sun from the West

According to a large number of the Quranic commentators, based on the hadeeth of the Prophet, the italicized portion of the following verse is in reference to the phenomenon of the rising of the sun from the West just prior to the Day of Resurrection:

“Do they then wait for anything other than that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some Signs of your Lord should come!  The day that some of the Signs of your Lord do come, no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor earned good (by performing deeds of righteousness) through his Faith.  Say [to the disbelievers], ‘Wait you!  We (too) are waiting’” (Quran 6:158). 

In an authentic narration, the Prophet recited this verse after mentioning the people see the rising of the sun from the West.  Thus, al-Bukhari records, that the Prophet said:

“The hour will not be established till the sun rises from the West; and when it rises (from the West) and the people see it, they all will believe.  And that is (the time) when no good will it do to a soul to believe then.”  Then he recited the complete verse (6:158).

In numerous narrations, the Prophet has made it abundantly clear that the nature of this sign is such that no one would have any reason to doubt, question or refuse to believe after seeing it.  When an individual experiences a sign of this nature, the reality virtually becomes exposed to him and, therefore, there is no longer any sense of a trial or test.  In fact, at that time, the test is over and the individual is already seeing the results unfolding in front of his/her very eyes.  That is why “conversion” to faith will have no meaning at that time and will not be acceptable by God.[2]

However, before this occurs, the door to repentance to God and His mercy is always open—such is how great the mercy of God is but it is also just and based on wisdom.  Thus, Muslim recorded that the Prophet said:

“He who seeks repentance (from the Lord) before the rising of the sun from the west (before the Day of Resurrection), God turns to him with Mercy.”

The rising of the sun from the West is one of three greatly definitive signs of this nature.  Thus, the Prophet said:

“When three things appear faith will not benefit one who has not previously believed or has derived no good from his faith: the rising of the sun in its place of setting, the Dajjaal, and the beast of the earth.”[3]

Muslim also recorded that the Prophet said:

“The first sign[4]  would be the appearance of the sun from the west, the appearance of the beast before the people in the forenoon and which of the two happens first, the second one would follow immediately after that.”  

This leads directly into the next sign which is the appearance of the Beast of the Earth.

The Beast of the Earth

God says in the Quran,

“And when the Word (of torment) is fulfilled against them, We shall bring out from the earth a beast to them, which will speak to them because mankind believed not with certainty in Our Signs” (al-Naml 27:82). 

This verse referrs to the beast of the earth who will appear shortly before the Day of Judgment.

When the Beast comes, it will distinguish the people and declare who is a believer and who is a disbeliever.  Ahmad recorded that the Prophet said:

“The beast will appear and he will brand the people on their noses.  The people will then go on living with this branding such that a person will buy a camel and when he is asked, ‘From whom did you buy it?’ he will reply, ‘From one of the branded people.’” (Al-Albani)

The Fire that Will Gather the People

This is the last of the great signs.  After this starts the beginning of a new experience and creation.  Muslim records a hadeeth in which the Prophet stated the ten major signs and it concludes with, “at the end of which fire would burn forth from the Yemen, and would drive people to the place of their assembly.”  One can only imagine the intensity of this fire and the shear horror and fear that the individuals alive at that time will experience.  After this, all that will be left is for the masses of humanity to be resurrected and to face the reckoning of their Lord.

Final Words

No one, of course, can say why God has chosen to end this creation in the remarkable and amazing fashion that He has so chosen.  This is truly an amazing and marvelous creation and perhaps it is fitting that it should be brought to an end via amazing and marvelous events.  In any case, a Muslim knows with full certainty that this is what is going to occur, as the Quran and Prophet have described these events.  These events will occur and the Hour will be established.  With the Hour comes judgment and this is what every human should be thinking about and preparing for, especially as he/she is reading about these events that shall occur before that momentous occasion.

- islamreligion.com

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Footnotes:

[1]Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Baari, vol. 13, p. 84.

[2]The classic example of this nature found in the Quran is that of the Pharaoh.  Once it became clear that he was facing his death, he proclaimed his belief.

[3]Recorded by Muslim.

[4]“The first sign” here is understood to mean the first of the extraordinary signs and not of the signs in general, as obviously these will occur after the coming of the Dajjaal and the return of Jesus.