Some important explanations about the End Times are as follows: During the terrible disorder of the final times, Allah will use a servant having superior morality known as the Mahdi (the guide to the truth), to invite humanity back to the right path. Hazrat Mahdi's (as) first task will be to wage a war of ideas within the Islamic world and to turn those Muslims who have moved away from Islam's true essence back to true belief and morality. At this point, he has three basic tasks:
1. Tearing down all philosophical systems that deny Allah's Existence and support atheism.
2. Intellectually fighting superstition by freeing Islam from the yoke of those hypocritical individuals who have corrupted it, and then revealing and implementing true Islamic morality based on the Qur'an.
3. Strengthening the entire Islamic world, both politically and socially, and then bringing about peace, security and well-being in addition to solving societal problems.
According to many hadiths, the Prophet Jesus (as) will return to Earth at the same time, and will call upon all Christians and Jews, in particular, to abandon their current superstitions and to live by the Qur'an. As the Christians hearken to him, the Islamic and Christian worlds will come together in one faith, and the world will experience that period of great peace, security, happiness, and well-being known as the Golden Age.
Signs of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) Emergence
Pervasive Corruption
Charles Darwin
While a corrupt environment enables believers with strong faith to increase their faith and patience, and their rewards in the Hereafter, it may lead those with weak and superficial faith to lose their faith or weaken it further. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will come when the existing corrupt environment is extremely intense and severe.
Hazrat Mahdi (as), one of my children, comes into being, by the blessing of Allah, upon the approach of the Day of Judgment; the weakening of the believers' hearts because of death, hunger, fitnah and the disappearance of the Sunnah; and the emergence of innovations and the loss of means by which to enjoin the right and forbid the wrong. His justice and prosperity will ease the believers' hearts, and friendship and love will settle between the non-Arab and the Arab nations. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 66)
Disorder, strife, and fear will emerge in the Magrib (west)... Strife will proliferate. (Ash-Sharani, Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 440)
A kind of corruption will surface from which no party will be able to protect itself, and spread immediately in every direction. This situation will persist until one comes and says: "O people, from now on your leader is Hazrat Mahdi (as)." (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 23)
Household
Our Prophet (saas) speaks of a corruption that will touch everybody and spread quickly. In other words, a certain type of corruption that is known to everybody and opposes religion and Allah will target the people's faith. Today, materialist philosophy is the largest and most comprehensive trend designed to foolishly deny Allah's Existence and creation. Underlying this philosophy is the 'theory of evolution,' which provides it with a self-proclaimed 'scientific' basis. Even though it is not based on any scientific and logical evidence, certain materialist circles throughout the world continue to work for its acceptance by using methods associated with strong propaganda, deceit, and even fraud.
Today, as this theory has penetrated almost every household by means of both the press and television, almost everyone in the Muslim world and everywhere else has heard of it. This theory is first presented as a so-called fact when people are children by means of countless lies and deceit. As they grow older, they continue to be misled by such funny nonsense that they, and humanity as a whole, came into being merely as a result of coincidences and that they descended from monkeys. Youths of all age are brainwashed at all stages of their education by evolutionist lies.
There is a noteworthy point here. As our Prophet (saas) noted in one of his hadiths, corruption's global pervasiveness and rapid spread can materialize only when suitable technological means are available, as they are today (e.g., the press, publications, broadcasting, the Internet, and satellite communication). As the relevant technology did not exist in the past, corruption could not spread throughout the world. As a result, no other worldwide corruption that had declared war against Allah's Existence, creation, and religion was seen in the past. All of these are among the important signs that Hazrat Mahdi's (as) advent coincides with the present time.
Religious Prohibitions Gaining Acceptance
The prevailing lifestyle in some societies of our own time, which has spread so widely in the last several decades and makes no distinction between what religion prohibits and allows, while tolerating all kinds of debauchery, reflects the environment depicted in the hadiths. Several hadiths describe this dark environment, the harbinger of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) emergence, as follows:
Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not emerge until disbelief invades everywhere and is openly committed in public. What rules in such times is… the invasion by disbelief. That is its power. (Imam Rabbani, Letters of Rabbani, 2:259)
Hazrat Mahdi (as) will emerge after the appearance of such vile corruption, whereby all prohibitions are regarded as lawful. (Al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 23)
Iran-Iraq War
The following hadith reveals an important war that will take place in the End Times:
There will be tumult in Shawwal (the tenth Islamic month), talks of war in Dhul-Qa`dah (the eleventh Islamic month), and the outbreak of war in Dhul-Hijjah (the twelfth month). (Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 166)
The three months referred to in this hadith coincide with the months during which the Iran-Iraq war developed. The first uprising against the Shah took place on 5 Shawwal 1398 (8 September 1976), as indicated in the hadith, and a full-blown war broke out between Iran and Iraq in Dhu'l-Hijjah 1400 (October 1980).
Another hadith describes the details of this war as follows:
A nation/tribe will come from the Farsi direction, saying: 'You Arabs! You have been too zealous! If you don't give them their due rights, nobody will have an alliance with you... It must be given to them one day and to you the following day, and mutual promises must be kept...' They will be going up Mutekh; Muslims will be coming down to the plain... Mushrikun (idolaters) will be standing over there on the bank of a black river (Rakabeh) on the other side. There will be a war between them. Allah will deprive both armies of a victory... (Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 179)
- Those coming from the Farsi direction: those coming from the Iranian side
- Farsi: Iran, Iranian
- Coming down to the plain: Plain, Iranian Plain
- Mutekh: Name of a mountain in the region
- Rakabeh: Region where the oil wells are concentrated
This hadith may draw attention to the outbreak of a racial dispute that would cause both sides to come down to the plain (Iranian Plain) and wage war. Further, as noted in the hadith, the Iran-Iraq war lasted for 8 years and, despite the many thousands of casualties, neither side could claim victory or a decisive superiority.
The Occupation of Afghanistan
Pity poor Taliqan (a region in Afghanistan) that at that place are treasures of Allah, but these are not of gold and silver. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 59)
There is an indication that Afghanistan will be occupied during the Last Days. The Russian invasion of Afghanistan took place in 1979 (1400, according to the Islamic calendar).
In addition, this hadith draws attention to Afghanistan's material riches. Today, large oil deposits, iron basins, and coal mines that have not been commercially exploited yet have been detected there.
Stopping the Flow of The Euphrates River
Stopping and interrupting the flow of the Euphrates river is one sign of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) emergence.
Soon the river Euphrates will disclose the treasure (the mountain) of gold, so whoever will be present at that time should not take anything of it. (Bukhari)
It (the Euphrates) will uncover a mountain of gold (under it). (Abu Dawud)
Many respected books of hadith mention both of these events. Al-Suyuti mentions this hadith as 'the stopping of water.' Indeed, the Keban Dam has stopped the flow of the River Euphrates.
The surrounding land has become as valuable as gold for various reasons, such as electricity production and higher soil fertility through the irrigation and transport facilities that Keban dam has made possible.
The Keban dam and the others constructed over the River Euphrates resemble a concrete mountain, and wealth as valuable as gold comes out of it. Therefore, dam takes on the properties of 'the golden mountain.' (Allah knows the truth.)
Eclipse of The Moon and Sun in Ramadan
There are two signs for Hazrat Mahdi (as)... The first one is the lunar eclipse in the first night of Ramadan, and the second is the solar eclipse in the middle of this month. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 49)
A picture of the 1981 eclipse carried by Sky Telescope magazine in its July 1999 edition.
There will be two solar eclipses in Ramadan before Hazrat Mahdi's (as) advent. (Ash-Sharani, Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 440)
... The solar eclipse in the middle of Ramadan, and the lunar eclipse at the end... (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 37)
It has reached me that before Hazrat Mahdi (as) emerges the moon will be eclipsed twice in Ramadan. (Related by Abu Nu'aym in al-Fitan)
We understand that there will be solar and lunar eclipses during Ramadan, these will be spaced about 14-15 days apart, and the eclipses will be repeated twice.
In line with these calculations, there was a lunar eclipse in 1981 (Hijri 1401) on the 15th day of Ramadan, and a solar eclipse on the 29th day of the month.
There was a "second" lunar eclipse in 1982 (Hijri 1402) on the 14th day of Ramadan, and a solar eclipse on the 28th day of the month.
It is also particularly significant that in that particular instance, there was a full lunar eclipse in the middle of Ramadan, a most striking prophecy.
The occurrence of these incidents during the same period coinciding with the signs of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) emergence, and their miraculous recurrence at the onset of the Islamic 1400s for two consecutive years (1401-02) makes it possible for these events to be the signs foretold in the hadiths.
Moreover, an astoundingly similar eclipse occurred in the years 2002 and 2003.
The Rise of a Comet
On March 6, the Soviet Vega-1 spacecraft flew within 5,500 miles of Halley's comet, sending back the first pictures of the comet's icy core.
A star with a luminous tail will rise from the East before Hazrat Mahdi (as) emerges. (Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 200)
Before he arrives, a comet will appear in the east, giving out an illumination. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 53)
The rise of that star will occur after the eclipse of the Sun and the Moon. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 32)
As referred to in the hadiths;
In 1986 (Hijri 1406), Halley's comet passed by Earth. The comet is a bright, shining star that travels from East to West. This happened after the lunar and solar eclipses of 1981 and 1982 (Hijri 1401-1402).
The concurrence of this star's rise with other signs of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) emergence indicates that Halley's comet is the star pointed to in the hadith.
The Appearance of a Double-Tailed Comet Resembling a Horn
"When Abbasi Malik arrives at Khorasan, one of the signs of the coming of the promised Hazrat Mahdi (as), a double-toothed, light-shedding horn will appear in the East." (Imam Rabbani, Maktubat, Letter 381, p. 1184)
The expression "a double-toothed, light-shedding horn," described by our Prophet (saas) in the hadith as a sign of the coming of the awaited Hazrat Mahdi (as) in the End Times refers to the comet Lulin, which came closest to the Earth on February 24, 2009. The way that the terms in the hadith completely fit the characteristics of the comet Lulin is a great miracle and glad tidings for believers awaiting the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as).
... double-toothed...:
The fact that the tail of the comet Lulin is forked completely matches the term double-toothed in the hadith.
... light-shedding...:
The term "light-shedding" in the hadith refers to the brightness of the comet Lulin, which exceeded that of six stars as it approached the Earth.
... a horn...:
The main distinguishing feature between Lulin and other comets is that as well as the comet having a tail in the rear of its body, it also has a tail in the front. Examination of photographs of Lulin and its two tails immediately put one in mind of a horn.
The hadith further describes this comet:
"The course of the constant is from West to East... Its daily passage, on the other hand, is from East to West." (Imam Rabbani, Maktubat, Letter 381, p. 1184)
This refers to the movement of heavenly bodies, which information is in full agreement with the astronomical findings of the 20th century. Indeed, all heavenly bodies travel from West to East.
However, the expression "Its daily passage, on the other hand, ..." indicates that the comet Lulin, as opposed to all other heavenly bodies, travel from East to West.
The fact that these characteristics, seen in no other heavenly body, applies to the comet Lulin and that this was described fourteen centuries ago by our Prophet (saas) as a portent of the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) is a great miracle.
Storming The Ka`ba and The Subsequent Bloodshed
The year in which he [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will emerge, people will perform hajj together and gather without an imam. The Hajjis will be looted, and there will be a battle at Mina in which many will be slain and blood will flow until it runs over the Jamra al-'Aqaba. [Jamra: a stone pillar representing satan that is stoned during the pilgrimage.] (Narrated by `Amr ibn Shu`ayb, al-Hakim and Nu`aym ibn Hammad, Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 169)
People make pilgrimage without an imam leading them. Big wars break out when they come down to Mina, and they are entwined just the way dogs entwine, and tribes attack on each other. This strife is so widespread that legs are buried in lakes of blood. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 35)
The phrase 'the year in which he will emerge' draws attention to a massacre that will occur on the date of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) emergence. In 1979, a massacre very like this one occured during the Ka'ba raid, which took place during the pilgrimage month. It is very interesting that this raid occurred at the very beginning of the period during which the signs of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) advent appeared, that is, the first day of the Islamic year 1400 (21 November 1979).
In 1979, there was a massacre in an attack on the Kaaba during the hajj pilgrim- age, just as had been revealed in a hadith. This bloody attack on the Kaaba took place on Muharram 1, 1400, (November 21, 1979), in other words on the first day of Hijri 1400, at the beginning of the period when signs of the final times began to follow one another.
The hadiths also mention bloodshed and massacres. The killing of 30 people during the clashes between Saudi soldiers and attacking militants during the raid confirms the rest of this hadith.
Seven years later, an even bloodier incident happened during the pilgrimage. In this incident, 402 demonstrating pilgrims were killed, and vast amounts of blood was shed. Both the Saudi soldiers and the Iranian pilgrims committed great sins, for they killed one another. These bloody incidents have great parallels to the environment described in the hadith.
There come the cries of war in (the month of) Shawwal with the outbreak of war, massacre, and carnage in (the month of) Dhu'l-Hijja. The pilgrims are plundered in this month, the streets cannot be crossed because of the blood shed, and religious prohibitions are violated. Big sins are committed near al-Bayt al-Mu`addham (the Ka`ba). (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 37)
This hadith draws attention to the incidents that will occur near the Ka`ba. The incidents during 1407 actually took place near the Ka`ba, and not inside it, unlike the event of 1400. Both incidents happened just like the hadiths indicated that they would.
Sighting a Flare in The East
In July 1991, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and as a result of the burning of the Kuwaiti oil wells Kuwait, and the Persian Gulf were engulfed in flames.
... the emergence of a big flare, which is seen in the east, in the sky for three nights; the sighting of an extraordinary redness, not as red as the usual color of the dawn; and its spread over the horizon. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 32)
I swear that a flame will engulf you. That flame is presently in an extinguished state in the valley called Berehut. That flame swallows up people with terrible pain inside it, burns down and destroys people and property, and spreads all over the world by flying like a cloud with the assistance of winds. Its heat at night is much higher than its daytime temperature. By going as deep as the center of Earth from above the heads of people, that flame becomes a terrible noise, just like the lightning between the ground and the sky. (Ash-Sharani, Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 461) (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 289)
A brief explanation of this flame, a sign of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) advent, is as follows:
In July 1991, after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, a huge fire spread through Kuwait and the Persian Gulf after the Iraqis fired Kuwait's oil wells.
In addition, in the first part of the hadith the Prophet (saas) says that the flame 'is in an extinguished state.' Given that the flame is the result of burning an inflammable substance, what waits in an extinguished state is not the flame itself but the material to be burnt by the flame.
In this context, this may mean underground oil. Berehut is the name of a well—an oil well. When the time comes, oil extracted from these wells will become a fire ready to be burned.
A Sign Out of The Sun
This portent from the Sun may be the great explosion that took place in the twentieth cen- tury. On the left of the picture above is an image of the Sun taken in 1996. The image on the right was taken in 2000, and shows its latest appearance, after the explosion.
He [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will not come unless a sign emerges out of the Sun. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 49)
Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not emerge unless the Sun rises as a sign. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 33)
The large explosions detected on the Sun during the twentieth century may well be this sign.
Also, the August 11, 1999 solar eclipse was the last of the century. It was the first time that so many people had been able to watch and study an eclipse for so long. The greatest solar eclipse of this century took place on 22 July, 2009. Lasting for 6 minutes and 30 seconds, this eclipse was the longest solar eclipse since that lasting 6 minutes and 53 seconds on 11 July, 1991. Calculations show that there will be no longer solar eclipse than this until 2132.
The Rebuilding of Ruined Places
The rebuilding of the ruined places in the world, and the ruination of constructed places are signs and portents of the Last Day. (Agreed Upon)
Various Hadiths Reveal That The Qur'an Refers to Hazrat Mahdi (as)
Hazrat Mahdi (as) will rule the world just like the Prophet Solomon (as) and Dhu'l-Qarnayn (as). (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 30)
The Companions of the Cave (Ashab al-Kahf) will be Hazrat Mahdi's (as) followers. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 59)
Their [Hazrat Mahdi's (as) followers'] number is as many as those who crossed the river with Saul. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 57)
"... Those who believe in him and honor him and help him, and follow the Light that has been sent down with him, they are the ones who are successful." (Surat al-A'raf: 157)