(Allah surely knows best) The signs described by the Prophet...

(Allah surely knows best) The signs described by the Prophet (saas) are occurring one after the other In the hadiths that have come down to us from the Prophet (saas), news is given concerning the End Times and the Golden Age of Islam. When we compare these signs with the events that are taking place in our time, we can see many indications that we are living through the End Times and which also herald the arrival of the Golden Age of Islam.

The hadiths used in the coming sections of this book contain such information given by the Prophet (saas) in this regard. At this point, there may arise some doubt in the reader in regards to the truth and authenticity of these hadiths about the end. There is a method to distinguish those that are true from those that are false. As we know, hadiths about the Doomsday relate to events that are to take place in the future.

For this reason, when a hadith comes true in the course of time, all doubt as to the source of the words is removed. Several Islamic scholars who conducted research on the subject of the End Times and of the signs of the Last Day have used this criterion.

An expert on the subject, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, said that the fact that the hadiths concerning the End Times correspond to events observed in our day shows the truth of the hadiths.1 Some of the signs related in the hadiths were observable in some part of the world in any period during the 1400 year history of Islam, but that would not have proven that that period was the the End Times.

For a certain period to be called the End Times, all the signs of the Last Day must be observed to be occurrence in that same period. This is expressed in a hadith: Signs following one another like the pieces of a necklace falling one after the other when its string is cut.

(Tirmidhi) In the hadiths, the beginning of the End Times is described as when discord grows, and war and conflict are on the increase, when there is chaos and moral degeneration rears its head and people turn away from the morality of religion. At the time in question, natural disasters will occur all over the world, poverty will reach unseen levels, there will be a large increase in the crime rate, and murder and brutality everywhere. Yet this will be only the first stage.

During the second phase, Allah will rescue mankind from this chaos and replace it with a blessed existence full of plenty, peace and security.