The Major Signs of the Day of Judgement
These signs will come one after the other and will immediately be followed by the Day of Judgement.
The Prophet (pbuh) said:
“It (i.e. the Hour) will not come until you see ten signs before it,” and he mentioned the ten signs:
· The Smoke
· Ad-Dajjaal
· The Beast
· The rising of the Sun in the West
· The Descent of ‘Isaa
· Son of Maryam
· Gog and Magog
· Landslides in three places, one in the East, one in the West, and one in Arabia at the end of which fire will burn forth from Yemen, and will drive people to the place of their assembly. (Saheeh Muslim, No.2901)
a. The coming of Al-Mahdee (the guided one) who will be a man of the Prophet’s own family and whose name will be the same as his. This man will fill the Earth with justice and righteousness after it had been filled with injustice and wrong.
b. The Qur’an says about the Smoke,
“So wait for the day when the heaven brings forth a visible smoke covering the people; this is a painful torment.” (Surat Ad-Dukh-khaan, 44:10-11)
c. The Dajjaal (The Liar) will perform unusual feats and cause many trials and tribulations on earth. He will lay waste all places but will not be able to enter Makkah or Al-Madeenah which will be guarded by the Angels. Eventually, he will be killed by Prophet ‘Isaa (Jesus) after the descent of the latter.
d. When the sun rises in the West, the doors of repentance will be closed and will remain so until the Day of Judgement. The Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Verily, Allah extends His hand at night so that the sinners of the day may repent, and verily He extends His hand during the day so that the sinners of the night may repent. [He will keep doing this] as long as the sun does not rise in the West.” (Reported by Muslim)
e. The Qur’an says about the Beast:
“And when the time of the fulfilment of Our Decree approaches them, We shall bring forth a Beast for them from the Earth, which will speak [about this] that the people did not believe in Our revelations.” (Surat An-naml, 27:82) Only Allah knows the nature of this Beast.
f. Prophet ‘Isaa will come again and will not reign as a Prophet, nor will he bring a new law, as Islam is the final religion and Muhammed (pbuh) was the seal of Prophethood. Rather, he will follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah and rule in accordance with their teachings. The Prophet (pbuh) said,
“By Him in whose hand my life is, surely the son of Maryam (i.e. ‘Isaa) will come down amongst you as a just ruler. He will break the cross, kill the pigs and abolish the jizyah (a tax taken from non-Muslims who are under protection of the Muslim government). Wealth will be in such abundance that none will care about it and a single prostration in a prayer will be better than the entire world and all that is in it.”
(Reported by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim)
Prophet ‘Isaa will live for a period of time on Earth and will finally die and will be buried in Al-Madeenah.
g. The appearance of the mighty tribesof Gog and Magog (Ya’juj and Ma’juj). Allah (swa) says,
“When Ya’juj and Ma’juj are let loose [from their Barrier] and they swiftly swarm from every mound, and at the time of the fulfilment of the True promise will draw near.” (Surat Al-Anbiyaa, 21:96-7)
A short period after killing the Dajjaal, Prophet ‘Isaa will be informed of the release of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. Obeying Allah’s command, He will take the Muslims to Mount Tur for their protection, as nobody will be able to defeat them. Having passed the Tiberius Lake, which the vanguard of their huge army will drink dry, Gog and Magog will go to Jerusalem and cause more destruction and bloodshed. Eventually, Prophet ‘Isaa and his companions will pray for their destruction. Allah will destroy them and will fill the earth with their carcasses.
h. The earthquakes will take place in the east, in the West and in Arabia.
i. The breaking out of the fire which will be the last major sign to appear before the Day of Judgement. This fire, as has been reported by Muslim, will break out in Yemen and will drive people to the place of their assembly, which is the land of Ash-Shaam (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan).
