What will the greeting be like in doomsday? What is the exclusive greeting in doomsday?
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
“Just before the Hour there will be exclusive greetings (people will greet only those they know, or restrict their greeting to only certain people upon entering a gathering) and trade will be widespread, such that a woman will help her husband in his business. Severing of family ties, false testimony, concealment of truthful testimony, and the emergence of the pen (i.e. widespread literacy, whereby people will be literate in worldly sciences and illiterate in the religious sciences).” (Ahmad, I, 407, 419; Hakim, IV, 110/7043)
“One of the signs of the Hour is that a person will not greet anyone except those they know.” (Ahmad, I, 405. cf. ‘Abd al-Razzaq, Musannaf, III, 154)
Other Signs of the Hour Foretold by the Messenger of Allah
“The Final Hour will not come until two large armies fight one another in which many will be killed while they call to the same thing; until the lying Dajjals appear, about thirty of them, all of whom claim to be the Messenger of Allah; until knowledge is taken away, earthquakes are frequent, time passes quickly…until your wealth increases to the point of overflowing until the owner of wealth is anxious about who will accept his Zakat, and when he does offer it to someone, that person will say, ‘I have no need of it’…” (Bukhari, Fitan, 25)
The inability to find any person in need Zakat was experienced during the caliphate of Umar Ibn Abdulaziz, and will again be witnessed in the future. Even today, in some places, it is not easy to find someone who is entitled to Zakat in the true sense, because of an increase in wealth and affluence. But one point warrants particular attention; it is a great oversight to merely look around oneself, in one’s own circles, due to an insensitivity towards the needy, and suppose that there are no people left who are in need. It is imperative that the believers, who can be considered prosperous with regards to their religion, should seek the needy and fulfil their obligation of the establishment of a collected Zakat in the best possible way.
Again, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace said) has said:
“By the One in whose Hand is my soul! The Hour will not be established until you fight your imams (a’imma), and you strike each other with your swords, and your world will be inherited by the evilest among you.” (Tirmidhi, Fitan, 9/2170)
“The Last Hour would not come before the Euphrates discloses a mountain of gold, for which people will fight. Ninety-nine out of each one hundred will die but every man amongst them will say that perhaps he would be the one who would be saved (and thus possess this gold).” (Bukhari, Fitan, 24; Muslim, Fitan, 29)[1]
“The Euphrates is about to disclose a treasure of gold. Whoever is present then should not take any of it.” (Bukhari, Fitan, 24; Muslim, Fitan, 29-32)[2]
It is reported that the Euphrates will dry up and a mountain of gold or a large gold mine will emerge. The term ‘mountain’ here may well have been used to describe the magnitude of the treasure that will come to light. It may also signify its taking place at a time very close to the Last Day or be a figurative expression.
In another prophetic narration relating events before the end of time, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace said) said, “The earth will throw up long pieces of its liver like columns of gold and silver.”[3] At such a time, people will fight each other for the world and ninety-nine out of a hundred, according to one narration nine in ten, will die doing so.
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace said) states:
“‘Among the signs of the Hour are that… there are many women and few men so that one man has to look after fifty women.” (Bukhari, ‘Ilm, 21)
The expression used in the Narration is not meant to be an exact number and just means many. It is understood that near the end of time one man will have to protect and care for many women and Allah knows best.
In addition, as sedition will increase as the Last Day approaches, killing and war will also increase, and the male population will decrease as a result.
In the prophetic narration famously known as Hadith Jibril, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace said) is asked about the signs of the Hour, upon which he responds:
“That the slave girl will give birth to her mistress and master that you will find barefooted, destitute goat herders vying with one another in the construction of magnificent buildings.” (Muslim, Iman, 1, 5)[4]
The slave girl giving birth to her mistress and master can be understood in the following way:
- Mothers will give birth to rebellious children who will treat them like slaves and take advantage of their parents.
- Slaves will increase. The child born of a slave will assume its father’s position and be the master over him.
- The sale of slave mothers (ummahat al-awlad, or slave women bearing their master’s child), who unknowingly end up in the hands of their own children. In other words, this is the level of depravity that people will reach.
As for the, “barefooted, destitute goat herder vying with one another in the construction of magnificent buildings,” this signifies the rise of material prosperity and spread of comfort and extravagance, whereby even those who were once poor will acquire a great amount of wealth such that they will compete with one another in the construction of lofty buildings.
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace said) has said:
“The Final Hour will not come until…people compete in the construction of tall buildings…” (Bukhari, Fitan, 25).
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace said) specifically mentions fornication and the increase of tall buildings among the signs of the Last Day. Even a cursory look at the world around us today reveals the increase of immorality and tall buildings.
Fornication and immorality are detrimental to the peace and spirituality of societies. High-rise buildings resemble the grave stones of the soulless cities that debilitate spirituality.
[1] See also Ibn Maja, Fitan, 25.
[2] See also Abu Dawud, Malahim, 13; Tirmidhi, Sifat al-Janna, 26.
[3] Muslim, Zakat. 62.
[4] Also see Bukhari, Iman, 37; Tirmidhi, Iman, 4; Abu Dawud, Sunna, 16; Nasa’i, Mawaqit, 6; Ibn Maja, introduction, 9.
Source: Osman Nuri Topbaş , Journey To Eternity, Erkam Publications
