At the kind invitation of the Hashemite government of Jordan, and under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mir’ed bin Ra’ad, Chief Trustee for the Hashemite Scientific Councils, delegate of His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), delivered a lecture on Judgment Day: Its Signs and its Conditions, as part of a series of lectures by the Hashemite Scientific Councils, on Friday 28 Ramadan 1443H corresponding to 29 April 2022G, at the Islamic Cultural Center of the King Abdullah I Mosque in the capital, Amman.

His Excellency began his lecture by expressing his thanks and appreciation to His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, to his trusted Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah, and to all members of the blessed Hashemite family for inviting him to participate in these prestigious scientific councils. He also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, king, government and people for their keenness to organize these prestigious scientific councils during the holy month of Ramadan.

Then His Excellency clarified that reaching a sound and sober understanding of the rulings and secrets that are regulated by the noble hadith of the Prophet, known as the hadith of our master Gabriel, peace be upon him, about the signs of the Judgment Day, requires a methodological definition of the term “The Signs of the Judgment Day” and its divisions. It also requires rooting the logical relationship between it and other conditions transmitted and contained in a number of prophetic hadiths. Proceeding from this methodological approach, His Excellency defined the signs of the Judgment Day as “a group of cosmic events and phenomena that contradict the laws, the norms and the human nature that precede the Judgment Day ushering its imminence, or for its actual occurrence. If these events and phenomena are heralding the approaching of the Judgment Day, they are called the Minor Signs of the Judgment Day. But if they are signaling the actual occurrence of Judgment Day, then it is called the Great Signs of the Judgment Day.”

Then His Excellency clarified that the difference between the major signs and the minor signs of the Judgment Day lies in the fact that the minor signs are signs that their occurrence will indicate the imminence of the Judgment Day, and as for the major signs, their occurrence indicates the actual occurrence of the Judgment Day. With regard to the major signs of the Judgment Day, His Excellency explained that there is prophetic hadith that included a comprehensive and complete explanation of those events and phenomena whose occurrence indicates the occurrence of the Judgment Day. This hadith was reported by Muslim in his Sahih narrated by the companion Hudhayfa bin Usayd Al-Ghafari, may God be pleased with him, who said: “The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was in a room while we were below him, so he looked at us and said: What are you discussing? We said Judgment Day, he said: The Judgment Day will not come until ten signs occur: an eclipse in the east, an eclipse in the west, an eclipse in the Arabian Peninsula, the smoke, the Antichrist, the beast of the earth, Gog and Magog, the sun rises from the west, and fire comes out from Eden that displaces people. One of them said the tenth sign is the descent of Jesus, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and the other one said: A wind that throws people into the sea.”

This hadith clearly clarifies the major signs of Judgment Day, and these signs are almost agreed upon and approved by all scholars, with minor difference between them in the order of events.

Then His Excellency stated that: “If that hadith dealt with the major signs of Judgment Day in a detailed and specific way, then we believe that there is another honorable prophetic hadith that dealt in detail and specifically with the minor signs of Judgment Day. I refer here to the hadith of Gabriel, peace be upon him, with its numerous narrations, which includes an honest summary and deep rooting of those events and phenomena whose occurrence indicates the imminence of Judgment Day, and they are known as the Minor Signs of the Judgment Day.”

In order to confirm this statement, His Excellency called for the necessity of looking into all the different narrations of Gabriel’s hadith, stressing that that hadith is almost mutawatir (unequivocal hadith) technically and perhaps linguistically given that the number of its narrators is not less than three, as his narrations indicate the presence of quite a few companions of the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family, with him when the hadith is received. The knowledge of these multiple narrations is instrumental in defining the exact meaning of the conditions mentioned in the hadith. He concluded by presenting the two most important narrations of the hadith, which are the narration of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab and the narration of Abu Huraira. As for the narration of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, it stipulated two conditions, and this is the text as narrated by Muslim in his Sahih: Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, said: “one of the days while we were with the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, a man with very white clothes appeared to us, very black hair, no traces of travel can be seen on him, and none of us knew him, until he sat down next to the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and he rested his knees on his knees, and put his palms on his thighs, and said, “O Muhammad, tell me about Islam.” The Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “Islam: to testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, to perform prayer, to pay zakat, to fast Ramadan, and to make the pilgrimage hajj if you are able to do so.” He said: You are right. He said: We were surprised him asking and approving at the same time. He said: So tell me about faith. He said: “To believe in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Judgment Day, and to believe in predestination, its good and its evil.” He said: You are right. He said: So tell me about charity. He said: “To worship God as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then He sees you.” He said: So tell me about the Judgment Day. He said: “The one who is asked about it is not more knowledgeable than the questioner.” He said: So tell me about its sign. He said: “That the slave will give birth to her mistress, and that you see the barefooted, the naked, the dependent, the shepherds grow big.” Then he left. I lingered for a while, then he said to me: “O Omar, do you know who the questioner is? I said Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: This is Gabriel who came to teach you your religion.”

It is clear that this famous narration of the hadith of Gabriel mentioned two signs, namely: that the slave gives birth to its mistress, and that you see the barefooted, the naked, the shepherds growing big.

As for the second narration, it is the narration of the great companion Abu Huraira, may God be pleased with him, and that narration stipulated three signs, and here’s this text as narrated by Muslim in his Sahih: Abu Huraira, may God be pleased with him, said: The Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, was one of the days out with the people, so a man came to him and said: O Messenger of God, what is faith? He said: “To believe in God, His angels, His Book, meeting Him, His Messengers, and to believe in the resurrection.” He said: O Messenger of God, what is Islam? He said: “Islam is to worship God and not associate anything with Him, to perform the prescribed prayers, to pay the obligatory zakat, and to fast Ramadan.” He said: O Messenger of God, what is charity? He said: “You worship God as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you.” He said: O Messenger of God, when is Judgment Day? He said: “The one who is asked about it is not more knowledgeable than the questioner, but I will tell you about its signs: If the slave gives birth to her Lord, then that is one of its signs, and if the barefooted and naked are the heads of people, then that is one of its signs, and if the shepherds grow big, then that is one of its signs in five that only God knows about them. Then, peace be upon him, recited: {Indeed, Allah ˹alone˺ has the knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn for tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.} [Luqman:34]. He said: then the man left. The Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “Bring back the man.” So they went after him but did find him. The Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “That is Gabriel who came to teach people their religion.” This narration mentions three signs instead of the two famous ones, which are: the woman gives birth to her Lord, the barefooted and naked heads of people, and that you see the herdsmen growing big.

In addition to this, His Excellency made it clear that the narration of Abu Huraira that Al-Bukhari included in his Sahih is of great importance, as it also clearly defined what is meant by the word “slave” in the narration of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, which is the woman in general and not the slave as is common and famous. This text of the narration in Al-Bukhari:

Abu Hurairah, may God be pleased with him said: The Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, was one of the days out with the people, when a man came to him walking and said: O Messenger of God, what is faith? He said: “Faith is to believe in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, and to meet Him, and to believe in resurrection.” He said: O Messenger of God, what is Islam? He said: “Islam is that you worship God and do not associate anything with Him, perform prayer, pay the obligatory zakat, and fast Ramadan.” He said: O Messenger of God, what is charity? He said: charity is to worship God as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then He sees you. He said: O Messenger of God, when is the Judgment Day? He said: “The one who is asked about it is not more knowledgeable than the questioner, but I will tell you about its signs: If the slave gives birth to her Lord, then that is one of its signs, and if the barefooted and naked are the heads of people, then that is one of its signs, in five that only God knows about them. {Indeed, Allah ˹alone˺ has the knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs.} Then the man left and he said: “bring him back to me.” So they went after him but they did not see anything, so he said: “This is Gabriel who came to teach people their religion.”

Yes, it is this meaning that is consistent with the meaning of this great prophetic message represented in the fact that what is meant by a woman giving birth to her lord or mistress is an expression of the phenomenon of disobedience to parents, which is an event contrary to human nature regardless of whether the mother is a slave or a free person. Disobedience to parents is therefore contrary to the norms and to human nature, and its spread and propagation as it is witnessed and lived in the present era is a condition of the minor signs of the Judgment Day. Then His Excellency stated that the narration of Abu Hurairah indicated that seeing the naked, barefooted heads of people and their kings is a separate condition from the condition of seeing the herdsmen growing big.

And based on this accurate rooting of the narrations of the hadith of Gabriel and the contents of his most famous narrations, His Excellency confirmed that the hadith of Gabriel with its multiple narrations is one of the comprehensive narrations that were given to the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, as it is the reference on which all other conditions should be based , which means that there is no condition of the minor signs of the Judgment Day that does not fall within one of these conditions.

His Excellency concluded his lecture by saying: “The minor signs of the Judgment Day are summed up in the spread of three phenomena that are contrary to the norms and human nature, namely: corruption of morals, reversal of scales, corruption and idleness. As for the corruption of morals, it was expressed in the hadith that a woman gives birth to her Lord or her mistress, and by this is meant a great deal of disobedience of parents and ungratefulness. Under this sign falls several small signs mentioned in a number of narrations such as: (closer to Judgment Day, there will be v a lot of very violent strife, in which a man starts the day believing in God and ends it a non-believer and begins the evening a believer and wakes up in the morning a non-believer, people selling their faith for money). And the narration: (I swear by God, life on earth will not end until a man passes by a grave, wallows on it and says: I wish I were the one buried in it, and there is nothing wrong with his faith except the ordeal he is in).

As for the scales’ inversion, the Noble Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, expressed it by saying that the barefooted and naked people become the heads of people (people’s kings = loss of trust = betrayal of the oath), and under this sign falls several minor signs mentioned in other narrations, such as the narration: (The Judgment Day will not come until knowledge is taken away, earthquakes multiply, time flies by, turmoil appears, and chaos abounds – which is murder – until money abounds among you), and the narration: (If the trust is lost, then wait for the Judgment Day, He said: How is it lost? He said: If the matter is entrusted to those who are not competent, then wait for the Judgment Day). And the narration: (Indeed, God does not take away knowledge by snatching it from people, but takes away knowledge by the death of scholars, so that when no scholars are left people will follow the ignorant, and when asked they issued a fatwa without knowledge so they are deceived and deceive).

As for the corruption of people and idleness, it was expressed by the Noble Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, by his saying that the herdsmen grow big (= bragging, hypocrisy, extravagance and wastefulness). Instead of caring for the human being by cultivating, developing, and preserving his dignity and his humanity, the concern and care for material things and the adornment of life becomes ostentation, hypocrisy, extravagance, and wastefulness.

With this accurate scientific analysis of Gabriel’s saying with its various narrations, with an explanation of the logical relationship between it and the other minor signs of the Judgment Day, His Excellency called on universities, colleges and institutes in the Muslim world, saying: “The time has come to pay more attention and care to establish a new science that was termed in this lecture as “Sciences of the Judgment Day”. This science sheds light on all other issues and matters related to the Judgment Day and its signs, in order to scrutinize the authentic hadiths from weak and fabricated hadiths, and to control the meanings related to the major and minor conditions. The establishment of this new science is a continuation of the sciences that were formed around the axis of Islam, which is the jurisprudence sciences, the axis of faith, which is the sciences of belief and speech, and the axis of charity, which is the sciences of mysticism, purification and education, and finally these proposed sciences, which are the sciences of the Judgment Day”.

It should be noted that the Hashemite Scientific Councils enjoy special care and high attention from the leadership of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the king, the government and the people. It is organized by the Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places under the auspices of His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein, or a member of the blessed Hashemite family on behalf of His Majesty.

The Hashemite Scientific Council was attended by the Minister of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places, His Excellency Dr. Muhammad Al-Khalayleh, His Eminence the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom Sheikh Abdul Karim Al-Khasawneh, His Eminence the Chief Justice Sheikh Abdul Hafez Al-Rabtah, His Eminence the Mufti of the Jordanian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Dr. Majid Al-Darawsheh, ambassadors accredited to the Hashemite Royal Court, members of the diplomatic corps, officers from the Jordanian armed forces and security services, directors and general secretaries, representatives of the General Ifta’ and Chief Justice departments, scholars, thinkers, imams, and preachers.