Islamic Story

1 This is a story that rarely happens. It took place a long time ago when a princess lived happily and peacefully, worshiping Allah in her father’s palace. The worldly pleasures and luxuries did not attract her; rather, she spent her time learning about Islam, making dhikr1, performing obedience, and helping the needy. 2 One day, a prince came asking for her hand in marriage. This prince was not a good person, nor was he just or kind. He was unjust and violent. The princess thought about her situation and realized that she should marry a pious, humble man who would assist her in the matters of the religion. So she did not marry the prince. 3 The princess ordered one of her maids to search for a kind, pious, poor man whom she could marry. The servant wandered the streets until she reached a place where a group of men were building a house. She noticed one of them who was energetic, did his work well, spoke so little, and the signs of kindness and caring appeared on him. 4 The maid returned to the princess and told her what she saw. The princess sent after the man and talked to him in a respectful manner and asked him to marry her. The man told her that he was very poor and that if she were to marry him, she would not live like a princess. She assured him and said, “I accept you as you are.” This was because she wanted to be obedient to Allah and live with a pious, good man. 5 After the princess married, she had more time to spend worshiping Allah and doing the acts of obedience. She took to the good habit of fasting for the sake of Allah. Her humble husband would work all day and at night, he would bring her some food to break her fast. One day though, the financial hardships of this life overwhelmed him; so he made wudu, prayed, and asked Allah to grant him sustenance. Allah answered his supplication and a giant, gleaming pearl descended from the sky. 6 The man took the pearl to his wife, who was already content with what they had. When she saw it, she was very amazed and said, “I have never seen anything like it in my father’s possession. Where did you get it from?” He told her what happened. She thought about that and said, “Return to the same place where you supplicated to Allah and ask Allah by saying, ‘Oh Allah if this is something you granted us in this life, then make it blessed for us; but if it is something which was prepared for us for the never ending Hereafter, then raise it up again.’” 7 The man did as his pious wife asked because like her, his heart was not attracted to money. When he supplicated to Allah, the pearl was lifted up. The man returned home and told her what happened. She said, “I thank Allah, Who allowed us to see some of what has been prepared for us in the Hereafter. We do not care whether we eat or not, for what is in store for us in the Hereafter is much better and will never end.”

1 Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, to Him belong the endowments and proper commendations. May Allaah increase the honor of Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ^alayhi wa sallam, raise his rank, and protect his nation from what he fears for it. 2 Thereafter, it was said: The village of Aylah was by the Red Sea and the story of its people was cited in the honorable Qur’an. Some people in that village committed a major sin and as a punishment, God turned them into monkeys and pigs. These people were called Ashabus-Sabt, the Saturday People. 3 Before Prophet Muhammad received Revelation about this event, the Jews concealed this story. They did not want people to know that God had turned some of the Children of Israel, who were before them, into pigs and monkeys, and then destroyed them. God however, exposed them in the Qur’an when He revealed this story to Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him. 4 This story was revealed, warning the Jews not to be arrogant and stubborn. They should have accepted the truth and believed in Prophet Muhammad. The Revelation of this story was to remind those Jews of what had happened to those who were before them, from the village of Aylah. 5 During the time of Prophet David, the Muslim Children of Israel were prohibited from working, trading, crafting goods, or fishing on Saturdays, because this was a day of rest for them. This was a test from God; making evident to the people who would follow the orders of God and who would disobey Him. 6 Each Saturday fish and whales would come close to the shore, to the point that one could catch them by hand. This was because the fish and whales had an instinct that they would not be harmed that day. The fish would come to the shore in great numbers, gathering there and no one would frighten them. During the rest of the week, the fish would remain in the depths of the ocean and the Children of Israel would not see them until the following Saturday. 7 It is easy however for the devil to lead the wicked soul to wrongdoing and sinning. One of the people of the village craved some of the fish that came on Saturday. The devil made the fish seem so tempting, that the man made a plan to get what he desired. 8 One Saturday, he came to the shore and saw a big fish swimming close to it. He took the fish’s tail and tied it with a rope. Then he tied the other side of the rope to a stake and anchored it into the sand. At the end of the day (with Saturday passing at sunset), he came back to the shore, took the fish, went home, cleaned it, and barbecued it. The smell of fish surrounded his house; so his neighbors came asking about the smell. 9 The man denied having fish. After they insisted on an answer, he said, “It is the skin of a fish that I found, so I brought it home and barbecued it.” The next Saturday he did the same thing, and again the neighbors came by asking him about the smell of barbecued fish. This time, however he said, “If you want, you can do as I am doing.” “What are you doing?”, they asked. He told them what he was doing and they imitated him. 10 Then, they became inventive in their ways to catch the fish. On Fridays they would make small pools which were easy to block and were connected to the ocean through small tunnels. The fish would enter these tunnels on Saturday and get stuck in the pools. 11 Some went even further and they would ride their boats out to the open sea and force the big fish back towards the shore until these fish got stuck in the tunnels. They would then close the openings to the pools and the fish would be stuck there unable to get out until it was Sunday, when the Children of Israel came and took what they had caught. Many people did this. Eventually, it reached the point where people were openly fishing on Saturdays; then selling what they caught in the market. This, of course, was a weighty disregard for the orders of God. 12 When the major sinners sinned publicly, the scholars among the Children of Israel forbade them from doing this. The scholars told them to fear God, reminding them of the torture that was awaiting them if they did not repent. The major sinners, however, did not listen. As a result, the scholars built a wall in the village that separated them from the major sinners. 13 During the night, God punished those sinners by turning the younger ones into monkeys and the older ones into pigs. In the morning, the good people among the Children of Israel (who had ordered with the good and forbade the wrong) went to their jobs, mosques, and other places in the community, but they did not see any of the major sinners. They were shocked and surprised at this and wondered about what happened to them. One of them put a ladder on the wall to take a look. When he looked over to the other side he was astonished to find monkeys jumping over each other and pigs making ugly noises. 14 They opened the doors of the wall and entered into the side of the major sinners. The monkeys came close to the humans, smelt their clothes and cried. The humans would say, “Didn’t we forbid you from doing that sin?” The monkeys nodded their heads indicating, “Yes, you forbade us.” It is said that 70,000 were changed into monkeys and pigs. Twelve thousand people forbade them from doing that sin. 15 Before the sinners were changed into monkeys and pigs, the people in that village were of three groups. One group sinned and fished; they were around 70,000. They were changed into animals. Another group were the ones who did not fish and forbade the others from fishing. They were around 12,000. The last group neither fished nor did they forbid others from fishing. This group used to say to the group who forbade fishing, “Why do you forbid these people who are sinners while God will destroy and punish them?” They expected God to punish those sinners, relying on stories of past nations who had sinned and consequently, had been punished and destroyed by God. The ones who forbade the sinners said, “We are forbidding them as a reminder to them of the sin they are doing. Perhaps they will fear God and stop.” God saved the group who forbade the sinners and the group who did not sin but did not forbid the sinners. The only group that turned into monkeys and pigs was the one who fished on Saturday. 16 Those people who were changed into animals were only alive for three days. During that time they did not eat, drink, or produce any offspring. Their story became a great lesson for the people who had known them and knew what happened to them. Similarly, their tale was a great lesson for the nations that came after them, who did not see them but only heard about them.

1 In the cities, the houses are crowded and close together. High above them, the mosque’s minarets shine; from which the Qur’anic recitation and athan sound out loud and clear. Below, the children run in the streets and the market place is filled with buyers, sellers, and passers-by. 2 One day, Ibn Babshath and some of his friends climbed to the top of the mosque where they wanted to eat a quick meal. They were all wearing beautiful red qulunswahs(1) and green clothing with a brown belt around their waists. 3 Not before long, a cat starred circling them as if asking for something to eat. They threw him a bite of food; he took it in his mouth and went away. He then came again and stood off the side asking for another piece, so they threw him another bite. He picked it up with his mouth and left. 4 The cat came back a third time and took food again. The friends thought this was strange because the amount of food they gave him was more than enough to fill him up. Not to mention that we was a small cat. This made Ibn Babshath leave his friends and follow the cat. 5 The cat went down the roof of the mosque and started moving from roof to roof, while Ibn Babshath was following him. Eventually the cat reached an area without buildings, except for one old deserted house. Ibn Babshath followed it inside and he was surprised by the strange scene he saw. 6 In the house, he saw another cat sitting in the corner. When he got closer he discovered the cat was blind. Ibn Babshath had uncovered the secret! The cat was taking the food from his friends and he was bringing it back to this blind cat. 7 Ibn Babshath was amazed and said: ”If Allaah facilitated for this blind cat someone to feed it and help it, then what about pious Muslims who do all the obligations, stay away from all the sins, and truly rely on Allaah?” After this incident Ibn Babshath became a pious person and died as such.

1 It was related that once upon a time, there was man called Malik bin Dinar. He was a sinful person who used to drink alcohol and was drowning in his sins. Malik had a young daughter whom he loved dearly. When he wanted to drink alcohol, however, this daughter would tip over the bottle and spill its content. When she reached two years of age, she passed away. This caused Malik great grief and sadness. 2 One night, Malik went to sleep after drinking alcohol and without praying. In his dream, he saw that the Day of Judgment had come and that the people had risen from their graves. They were all gathered and he was amongst them. While Malik was standing with the people, he heard some noise behind him. When he turned around, he came face to face with a huge frightening dragon (i.e. huge serpeant). The dragon’s huge mouth was wide open, as it was rushing towards him. 3 Very frightened from the dragon, Malik began to run. While getting away, he passed by an old man who was wearing white and who had a nice scent. Malik said, “As-salamu ^alykum” to the man and asked him for help. However, the old man was not able to help Malik. Rather, he told him to run quickly so he could escape the dragon. Malik kept on running until he was overlooking Hellfire. There, he heard a voice calling out to him, “Go back, you are not amongst its inhabitants.” This comforted Malik a little, as he backed away while continuing to run. 4 Still running away, the dragon was getting closer. Malik returned to the old man and asked for his protection. The old man started weeping and said, “I am weak.” He instructed Malik to run towards the mountain. Muslim children, who died young, were gathered in that mountain. The old man said, “If you have a child in that mountain, then your child will save you.” 5 Malik saw the mountain, which seemed majestic in its beauty, and he quickly ran towards it; desperately trying to escape the dragon. When Malik got closer to the mountain, an angel called out, “Lift the covers and open the doors.” The angel then told the children to come forward. Perhaps, one of them was a son or a daughter of this desperate man and they in turn can save him. The young children, who were as beautiful as the full moon, looked at Malik. 6 When the dragon got closer to Malik, the children called upon each other to hastily come forward and see if any of them knew him. Group by group, the children passed by Malik until finally his daughter, who had died when she was young, came forward and identified him. When she saw him, the daughter wept and said, “I swear by Allah, this is my father.” 7 She threw herself at him and with her left hand, held her father’s right hand. She then confronted the dragon by lifting her right hand in its face. That was enough to repel the dragon, which quickly turned away and fled. 8 She sat her father down, as she emotionally said, “Oh father” and she recited an Ayah from the Qur’an, which means, “Isn’t it time for the believers’ hearts to soften upon hearing the name of Allah and the recitation of the Qur’an; and for them to submit and obey Allah?” When Malik heard this, he started weeping. 9 He then asked his daughter, “You children know the Qur’an?” She replied, “We are more knowledgeable in it that you are.” He then asked her to tell him about the dragon. She said,”He represents your bad deeds. He was made stronger by your sinning and by your drinking of alcohol. He wanted to throw you into Hellfire.” Malik then asked his daughter about the old man, to which she replied, “He represents your good deeds, which were so weak that they could not out-power your bad deeds.” 10 Malik suddenly awoke frightened and vowing to repent to his Creator. Malik repented from his sins and he eventually became a great, pious person. He related this story to his students during a session, when they asked him how he achieved such a high level of piety.

1 Prophet ^Isa (Jesus), peace be upon him, is an honorable Prophet. At his time, the people wanted to accompany him because of the blessings and to take advantage of the goodness that he had. 2 It was related that one day, Prophet Jesus was walking with a man. They reached a riverbank. They sat to eat some bread, as they had three loaves of bread with them. They ate two and one loaf was left. Prophet Jesus got up to drink water and when he returned, he found the last loaf of bread missing. Prophet Jesus asked the man who was with him about the loaf. The man said he did not know anything about it. 3 So they set out walking again. They reached the edge of the forest. They saw a deer with her two baby fawns. Prophet Jesus pointed to one of the fawns and it came running towards him. He slaughtered it then cooked it. They ate from it. When they were finished, Prophet Jesus collected the bones and said, ”Get up by the Will of Allah.” The fawn came back to life, by the Will of Allah, just as it had been before and went back to its mother. 4 Prophet Jesus turned to the man and said, ”I ask you by Allah, the One Who enabled you to see this miracle, who took the third loaf of bread?” The man again replied, ”I don’t know.” The man and Prophet Jesus started walking again. When they reached a deserted area, they sat down. Prophet Jesus gathered some soil in his honorable hands. He said, ”By the Will of Allah, turn into gold.” And sure enough the soil became gold. 5 Prophet Jesus divided the gold into three parts. He said to the man, “One third is mine, one third is yours, and the other third is for the man who took the loaf of bread.” The man’s eyes gleamed and he said, “I took the other loaf of bread.” Prophet Jesus said, “Take all the gold, it is all yours.” And then Prophet Jesus walked away. The man sat there delighted with the riches he acquired. 6 Within a few minutes, two thieves appeared. They wanted to kill the man and take away his gold. The man said, “Why should you kill me? Let us split the gold between the three of us.” The thieves agreed. Since they were hungry, they decided to send one of them to get food from the village. 7 On the way to get the food, the man thought to himself, “Why should I split the money with the other two?” The devil then whispered to him an evil plot. When he got the food, he put some poison in it. He thought, “When the other two men eat from the food, they will die. That way, I can take all the gold for myself.” While he was coming up with his plan, the other two men decided that they will kill him when he came back. That way, they would only have to split the gold between the two of them. 8 When the man returned with the food, the other two men were waiting for him. They killed him. The two men started eating the food that he had brought and since it was poisoned, they also died. Three dead bodies were left lying around a pile of gold. 9 Prophet Jesus and a group of his companions passed by this strange sight and Allah gave Prophet Jesus the knowledge of what happened. He warned his companions saying: "This is what happens to those who want worldly matters; so beware!"

1 It was narrated that one year, al-Hasan and al-Husein, sons of ^Ali bin Abi Talib, and ^Abdullah bin Ja^afar, their cousin, may Allah raise all of their ranks, left the enlightened Madinah and headed toward the honorable Makkah to perform Hajj. While traveling, they ran out of food and became very hungry and very thirsty. 2 The three honorable relatives passed by an old woman’s tent and asked her, “Do you have anything for us to drink?” She replied, “Yes.” She only had one small sheep. So they milked the sheep and then drank the milk. Then they asked the woman for food. She told them to slaughter the sheep and eat its meat, which they did. 3 When they had finished eating the three honorable men asked the lady to seek them out in al-Madinah after their return from Hajj. They wanted to repay her and give her something in return for what she had given them, for it was all she had. 4 Weeks passed and the old woman and her husband became very poor. They went to the enlightened Madinah, hoping to find work there. In order to get some money for food, they would collect the pits of the dates and sell them to the merchants so as to feed them to the camels. 5 One day, the woman was walking in al-Madinah and she passed by al-Hasan, may Allah raise his rank. He was sitting in front of his house and he recognized her. He called her. When she came he reminded her of himself and she remembered him. He ordered one of his servants to buy 1000 sheep. Then he gave her 1000 dinars(1) on top of that. Also, he told her to go to his brother al-Husein, may Allah raise his rank. 6 When the woman reached al-Husayn he gave her as al-Hasan had given her then he told her to go to ^Abdullah bin Ja^far. ^Abdullah bin Ja^far asked her, “What did the two brothers, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, give you?” She told him. Then Abdullah bin Ja^far gave her 2000 sheep and 2000 dinars and said, “Had you came to me first, you would have received more,” meaning that the two brothers would have given her double what he gave her. 7 The woman returned home to her husband with 4000 sheep and 4000 dinars and the tremendous generosity of the Prophet’s family became clear.

1 There was once a waliyy who was captured and imprisoned. His enemies wanted to kill him, so they starved a lion for a long time. Make note: When a lion is hungry, it may even eat its own offspring. So, they let this hungry lion loose in the place where the waliyy was being held. The lion approached the waliyy and all it did was lick him. When his enemies saw this, they did not want to kill him anymore. They released him and asked him, “What were you thinking when that lion was licking you?” He replied, “I was thinking what the scholars said about the saliva of the lion.” This is what you call — Cool Nerves. 2 Another case of cool nerves is when Shaykh ^Abdul-Qadir Al-Jilani was giving a lesson. A snake entered into his sleeves and the shaykh did not tremble at all — neither inwardly nor outwardly. This snake was, in fact, a jinn that was trying to test the nerves of the shaykh. However, he did not fear the jinn, but they feared him. This is why he was known as “The Sultan of the Jinn.” And Allaah Knows best.

1 Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to Him belong the endowments and proper commendations. May Allah increase the honor of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, raise his rank, and protect his nation from what he fears for it. 2 There are signs that appear before the Day of Judgment. These signs were cited in the Qur’an and the hadith of the Prophet. There are small signs and there are ten major signs. 3 SMALL SIGNS OF THE COMING OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT Let it be known that our Prophet (sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam) was in a session with some of his Companions and told them a lot of things that would occur before the Day of Judgment. Muslim narrated this in his book “As-Sahih” from the Companion Hudhayfah Ibnul-Yaman and others. 4 Among the small signs of the coming of the Judgment Day that the Prophet cited is that killing unjustly would be spread widely. A person would be killed without knowing why he was killed, and the killer does not know why he is killing that person. 5 In regards to that time, the Prophet stated a hadith about the merit of the person who is steadfast to perform the obligations at such a time. The Prophet said that the person who performed the obligations, the actions of worship, when the killing unjustly would be widely spread on Earth, would have the status of the person who immigrated to the Prophet, when the immigration was an obligation on the person able to do so (before the opening of Makkah). 6 Our Prophet said, “A part of my nation shall stay steadfast to the truth in an apparent way and no one can harm them (in a way that makes their call disappear) until the Day of Judgment.” The Prophet did not say “until the last moment before the Day of Judgment.” So, we know that as long as the Nation of Prophet Muhammad exists, there will always be people of his nation steadfast to the truth and no one can cancel their call. At one point all the Muslims will die, after which only blasphemers will be on the Earth. Then the Day of Judgment will occur. All the Muslims die after Prophet Jesus dies. 7 Also, among the small signs are that fornication and adultery, along with open drinking of alcohol, will be widely spread. Muslim narrated from the Prophet, “This Religion of Islam started as a stranger among the people. At one point of time it will again be like a stranger.” This has already occurred. We are living in that time. This means that the one who adheres to applying the rules of the Religion will face great hardships among the people. This is the case nowadays, just as the Prophet said. 8 THE GUIDED ONE IS COMING Among the small signs is the appearance of Al-Mahdiyy (The Guided) who is Muhammad the son of ^Abdullah. He is a pious, just person, from the lineage of the Prophet, who will enforce the rules of Islam. 9 Abu Dawud related that our Prophet said, “The Day of Judgment will not occur until a person from my family appears. He will have the same name as mine and his father’s name will be the same name as my father’s name. He will spread justice on Earth just as injustice would be spread on Earth before his appearance.” This hadith is narrated in a number of books of Hadith. It is in the book compiled by Ibn Hibban ‘Sahih’, and Abu Dawud in ‘As-Sunan’ and Al-Hakim in his book ‘Al-Mustadrak’ and others. ^Abdullah Ibn Mas^ud is the Companion who heard the Prophet say this. A lot of Companions narrated hearing about the Mahdiyy from the Prophet. 10 Other minor signs of the Day of Judgment cited by the Prophet are that the Euphrates River will change its course, so a big amount of gold will appear. Because of this, the people will fight each other severely to get that gold, to a point that 99% among those who fight for that gold will be killed. 11 Also among the minor signs is that the believers will face very great hardships, to a point that a believer will pass by a grave of his Muslim brother and will wish that he were the dead person in the grave. Muslim narrated this from the Prophet. 12 Another minor sign is that some whole mountains would be removed from their places. Another small sign is that several people will claim the status of Prophethood falsely. It is narrated that our Prophet said that thirty people would falsely claim Prophethood after him. This means at least thirty. 13 A GREAT BATTLE TO COME Our Prophet told us about a great battle that would take place between the Muslims and some people of the West before the coming forth of the Dajjal (a man claiming to be God). Al-Mahdiyy will be the leader of the Muslims. 14 This battle will last for four days. The enemies of the Muslims will gather a very big army to fight the Muslims. In the first day some of the Muslims will retreat. At that, a part of the Muslims will make an oath that they would fight and never retreat. They will fight the rest of the day, until the night. Then the two armies will separate, the one from the other, during the night. Most of the Muslims who fight will die. 15 On the second day another group of Muslims will do the same thing. Also, almost all of those Muslims will die. On the third day, also a third group of Muslims will do the same thing: fight and most of them are killed. 16 On the fourth day, all the rest of the Muslims in the army will fight the enemy, all of them at the same time. On that fourth day, by the Will of God, the Muslims will be victorious and the enemy defeated. A lot among the Westerners will be killed, to the point that their dead bodies would cover a very large area. 17 In the battle, the Muslims will lose many people, to a point that if one hundred persons go back to one grandfather, 99 of them will be killed, and one will survive. 18 While they are in that situation, the news of the Dajjal (Imposter) will come to them. The Muslims will choose ten knights among them to check the roads, as scouts. The Prophet said that he knew about these ten knights. He knew their names, the names of their fathers, and even the color of their horses. The Prophet praised these knights highly, saying that they would be among the best knights on Earth at that time. These are only some of the small signs that the Prophet cited of the coming of the Day of Judgment. 19 THE TEN MAJOR SIGNS OF THE COMING OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT THE IMPOSTER The first of the ten major signs of the Day of Judgment is the appearance of Ad-Dajjal (the Imposter). He is a human that is alive now. He was even alive when the Prophet lived. He was found, during the time of the Prophet, chained up on an island. 20 This imposter will come forth and proclaim that he is God. Many people will follow him. He will travel all over the Earth, but will not enter Makkah or Madinah. Ad-Dajjal will have two rivers, one that appears to be cool water and one that appears to be fire. The one that he throws into the river of fire will really go to Paradise. 21 Ad-Dajjal will point to the sky and say rain, and the sky will rain. God creates this rain, but some will follow him in his saying that he is God. Ad-Dajjal will split a believing man in half and tell the two halves to come together and they will. Ad-Dajjal will ask that believing man if he now follows him and the believing man will say that he is surer that he is Ad-Dajjal. Then Ad-Dajjal will kill that believing man; he will die as a great martyr. 22 PROPHET JESUS WILL COME BACK TO EARTH The second great sign is the descent of Prophet Jesus from the sky. Prophet Jesus will come down at Damascus, Syria. The Mahdiyy will be preparing to lead the believers in prayer. The Mahdiyy will ask Prophet Jesus to lead the prayer, but Prophet Jesus will tell him to lead that prayer, and he will follow. That is to indicate that Prophet Jesus did not come with a new set of laws. Then after that Prophet Jesus will lead the prayers. 23 Remember, Prophet Muhammad is the last Prophet. Jesus was born before Prophet Muhammad. Also Prophet Muhammad received a new Holy Book, after Prophet Jesus received a Holy Book. Just because Prophet Jesus will die after Prophet Muhammad, does not make Prophet Jesus the last Prophet. Prophet Muhammad is the last Prophet, and the Book he received has the rules that Prophet Jesus will follow when Prophet Jesus comes back to Earth. 24 Prophet Jesus will kill the Dajjal. Prophet Jesus will marry and have children and live for 40 years on Earth. Then he will die. During his time on Earth a great peace will occur with all the people being Muslim. Then, Prophet Jesus will die and be buried next to Prophet Muhammad, in Madinah. After the death of Prophet Jesus, at one point all the other Muslims on Earth will die. Then only blasphemers will be on the Earth. 25 THE APPEARANCE OF GOG AND MAGOG The third is the appearance of Ya’juj and Ma’juj (Gog and Magog). They are blasphemous people, humans from Prophet Adam, who exist now. They are extremely numerous. God put them in a place in this Earth unknown to us. It is a concealed place. A great waliyy, Dhul-Qarnayn built a wall to prevent them from harming the other people. This is cited in Suratul-Kahf in the Qur’an. 26 Before the Day of Judgment they will make a hole in that wall. Then they will come out on to Earth. They will cause a lot of tribulations for the other people on Earth. They are so numerous that they will come to a lake and drink the whole lake, leaving it dry. Prophet Jesus will take the believers to Mt. Tur (Sinai) protecting them from Ya’juj and Ma’juj. Then God will make a worm enter the necks of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. They all will die. The Earth will smell from all their rotting bodies. Then God will make all their bodies go into the sea and the smell will leave. 27 THE SUN WILL RISE FROM THE WEST, AND AN ANIMAL WILL APPEAR Another of the ten signs is the rising of the sun from the west instead of the east. It will happen one day. On that same day ‘Dabbatul-Ard’ (the animal of the Earth) will appear. This animal will put a mark on the believers and a different mark on the blasphemers. When these two signs occur, the gate of repentance will be closed, after which no repentance will be accepted. Belief will not be accepted from any blasphemous person, and repentance of a sin will not be accepted from any sinner. 28 A FOG Another of the ten signs is a fog. A fog will spread on Earth. The blasphemers will feel very disturbed and would feel himself suffocating. However they will not be killed from this fog. The believer would not be harmed a lot from this fog. The believers will just have the feeling similar to having a cold. 29 THREE-EARTH SPLITS Three of the ten signs are three-Earth splits. In three separate places, the Earth would split and go down. One will be in the East, one in the West, and the third in the Arabian Peninsula. (East means east of the Arabian Peninsula, and west means west of the Arabian Peninsula). There is not a long period of time between these three splits. 30 A SPREADING FIRE Another of the ten signs is a fire that will spread slowly. It will start in ^Adan, a city in Yemen. This fire will spread slowly, not fast like the wind. People will escape from this fire to the Western areas, meaning west of the Arabian Peninsula. One hundred years before the horn is blown for the first time, all the believers will die. God will send a good breeze that will take their souls and cause their death. 31 After all of these 10 signs occur, Angel Israfil will blow the horn for the first time. He will blow very strongly into that horn. All the people alive on Earth at that time will be blasphemers. They will be very afraid from this blow. The first one to hear that blow will be a person fixing the basin for his camels to drink. Due to the strength of that blow, the hearts of those blasphemers will rupture and all will die. All the living jinn will die also. All those who had already died will faint, except the souls of the martyrs in Paradise. Concerning Prophet Moses, Prophet Muhammad told us that God gave the mountain the power to see God, and the mountain totally crumbled. When Moses saw that he fainted. Hence, the Prophet said that he did not know whether or not Moses would faint when the horn will be blown the first time. 32 Among the things that occur before that first blow is that people will not inhabit Al-Madinah. Only animals will be there. An unjust ruler from Abyssinia will destroy the Ka^bah to take a treasure from underneath it. These things occur after all the Muslims on the Earth die. As long as this nation (followers of Prophet Muhammad) is on Earth, belief will remain in Al-Madinah. Pious people will be living in Al-Madinah, as our Prophet told us. 33 Also our Prophet told us that there was a great merit in the land of Ash-Sham. He said that angels cover these countries with their wings. This means that the Religion of Islam will always be practiced in that land despite hardships and calamities. This takes place until all the Muslims on Earth die. 34 Forty years after the first blow, God will resurrect Angel Israfil. He will blow the horn a second time, after which all the people will be resurrected. God will send a rain on the Earth. The people will be resurrected, just as the plants come out of the earth when it rains.

1 Alhamdulillahi rabbil ^alamin. Wa sallallahu ^ala sayyidina Muhammad wa ^ala alihi wa sahbihit-tayyibinat-tahirin. As’alullah an yaj^ala niyyatina khalisatan liwajhihi. ^Amma ba^du We mentioned that the hadith of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, informs us that after the dead person is buried, his soul returns to his body. We mentioned that some of the scholars said that the soul occupies again the whole body, and some said the soul returns and occupies a part of the body in a way that the person is able to answer the questions of the two angels in the grave. Anyway it is confirmed that the soul returns to the body. 2 The author said: It is more certain that the souls of the prophets return to their bodies after they are buried. Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated from Anas from the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, that he said “Al-anbiya’u ahya’un fi quburihim yusallun,” which means “The Prophets are alive in their graves praying.” Al-Bayhaqiyy classified this hadith as sahih, and Al-Hafizh Ibnu Hajar agreed with him on that. 3 Explanation: Among the beliefs of Ahlus-Sunnah is that the souls of the prophets return to their bodies in their graves. The case is that the people other than the prophets would have their souls return to their bodies after burial. So how about the prophets? It is more so the case. Especially that the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, mentioned explicitly this matter. He said “Al-anbiya’u ahya’un fi quburihim yusallun,” which means “The prophets are alive in their graves p raying.” 4 Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated this hadith in a booklet he authored about the life of the prophets in their graves. He also judged this hadith as sahih. Other sayings of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, supports the classification of Al-Bayhaqiyy. Like the hadith in which the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, mentioned Nabiyy Musa and he told the Sahabah that Nabiyy Musa is buried next to a hill with red soil, and that he is standing in his grave praying. 5 Because it is confirmed that the prophets are alive in their graves, then there is nothing that prevents them from knowing about things which occur among us who did not die yet. So there is nothing that prevents our Prophet from making du^a for some people so they would overcome a certain difficulty or be patient with a certain calamity or the like. 6 It is confirmed in a hadith narrated by Al-Bazzar that the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said “Hayatiy khayrun lakum, tuhdithoona wa yuhdathu lakum, wa mamatiy khayrun lakum, tu^radu ^alayya a^malukum, fa in wajad-tu khayran hamidtullaha, wa in wajadtu ghayra dhalik istaghfartu lakum,” which means “There is goodness for you in my being alive, because when you do certain matters Allah reveals rules and judgment for you to benefit from. And there is goodness for you in my death, because after I die I would be shown your deeds. When I know about something good I praise Allah and thank Him. And when I know about something bad, I ask Allah to forgive you.” So as it is very clear in this hadith related by Al-Bazzar, the Prophet knows about a part of the actions of his nation after his death. Not all of them, but a part of them, as clarified in another hadith. So there is nothing religious or intellectual that prevents the Prophet from knowing a certain difficulty that a Muslim faces and the Prophet helps him. 7 If you remember we mentioned in a previous class a hadith narrated by Muslim and others that Nabiyy Musa benefited the ummah of Muhammad a great benefit in what pertains to the number of obligatory prayers in a day and night. This occurs after his death during the night of al-Mi^raj. So if this is the case with Nabiyy Musa, how about Nabiyy Muhammad who is the best of the prophets? Especially that Allah tabaraka wa ta^ala granted Nabiyy Muhammad the status of martyrdom also, because as you know, Nabiyy Muhammad died because of being poisoned. 8 A Jewish woman sent Nabiyy Muhammad a poisoned shoulder of a lamb as a gift. The poison was strong and would kill immediately. The Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and another Sahabah ate from it. Then the Prophet told them not to eat because the shoulder told him that it has poison in it. The Sahabah did not eat from it. The Sahabah who ate from it died the same day. But the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, was affected by the poison for a whole year which was a miracle for the Prophet, because the poison used to kill immediately. But the delaying of his death for a whole year was an extraordinary matter. The effect of the poison was noticed by some of the Sahabah in certain parts of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. 9 In brief, the Prophet was a martyr also, added to the fact that he was the best of the prophets. So it would not be prohibited religiously and it would not be far fetched mentally that the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, would benefit the Muslims while he is in his grave. 10 This matter of praying in their graves is confirmed for the prophets. But it occurs also to some awliya’. As occurred to Thabit Al-Bunaniyy, who was among the great tabi^in. He was a special student of Anas ibnu Malik. Whenever he came to Anas, Anas never told him he was busy and come later. Always he would give him permission to enter and sit with him. Whenever he entered the session of Anas, he would kiss his eyes and say “I would sacrifice my father for these eyes which saw the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam,” which means “How honourable are these eyes which saw the Prophet!” He would kiss his hands and say “How honourable are these hands which touched the hands of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.” After they buried him after a period, they opened his grave and saw him standing and praying. But this does not occur to all the awliya’. 11 Some ordinary people might witness an extraordinary matter related to the life of the Prophet in his grave. Like what happened to Imam Ahmad Ar-Rifa^iyy when he came to the grave of the Prophet and said “As-salaamu ^alayka, ya jaddiy,” [O my grandfather] and the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam answered “Wa ^alaykas-salam, ya waladiy” [O my son]. All the people in the mosque heard the Prophet’s reply. There were a lot of people there that year. 90 000 people were there. [Imam Ahmad Rifa^iyy lived in the 6th century A.H., ^Abdul Qadir Jaylanee died before Ahmad Rifa^iyy but they were both in approximately the same era]. 12 [The Prophet died but then Allah brought him back to life in his grave. Abu Bakr said what means: ‘If somebody used to worship Muhammad, Muhammad is dead and for you who are worshipping Allah, Allah is forever living].

1 Allah, ta^ala said in the Quran: لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ Laysa kamithlihi shay. Ayah 11 of Suratush-Shura means: {Nothing resembles Him (Allah) in any way.} This means that Allah, ta^ala, does not resemble any of His creations. It was related that a group of Jews came to the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and said: O Muhammad, describe to us your Lord Whom you worship. Then Suratul-Ikhlas was revealed, and Prophet Muhammad said, This is the description of my Lord. 2 The questioning of the Jews was with the intent of mockery and not to seek the knowledge. The answer of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, indicates that Allah is attributed with attributes, and just as Allah Himself does not resemble His creation, His Attributes do not resemble the attributes of the creation. Allah is attributed with all the proper perfection, and He is clear from all the attributes of imperfection. 3 Allah, ta^ala, said in the Quran: وَلِلّهِ الْمَثَلُ الأَعْلَىَ Wa lillahil-mathalul-a^la. Ayah 60 of Suratun-Nahl means: {Allah has the perfect Attributes that are not similar to the attributes of others.} Everything other than Allah is created (i.e., this entire universe). 4 Allah is the only One attributed with Eternity. That is, Allah has no beginning and likewise His Attributes are eternal, without a beginning. The attributes of other than Allah are created; they change from one state to another. Allah is clear of change. He is the One Who creates changes in His creations, but He does not change. He is the One Who creates development in His creations, but He does not develop. 5 It is helpful to look at the following phrases to understand this subject of Tawhid (Creed). Allah is Eternal; He has no beginning. All the creations have a beginning. Allah created them. Allah is Everlasting; He has no end. It is mentally possible for all the creation to end. 6 The Attributes of Allah are eternal and everlasting; they have no beginning or end. The attributes of the creation are created. They have a beginning and it is mentally possible for them to end. 7 The Attributes of Allah do not change, develop, or transform, because those processes belong to the attributes of the creation. The attributes of the creation change, develop, and transform from one state to another, because Allah is their Creator. 8 Allah is the Creator of the world and what is in it. He is the Creator of good and evil. He is the Creator of the actions of the slaves, and He is their Sustainer. The creations do not create good or evil. They do not create any of their actions. The one who cuts an apple is not able to put it back together as it was. 9 Allah is One with no partners to Him. He is One in His Self, Attributes, and Actions. The creations are of many different shapes and colors. Even the same kind of fruit can be either sweet or sour. Yet the creations still resemble each other in many aspects. 10 Allah is not a body; He does not have a size, and does not occupy space. The creations have sizes and places in which they reside. Allah does not need the creation. The creations are in need of their Creator; they are in need of Allah. 11 Allah is the only One Who deserves to be worshipped. No one is God but He. The creations do not deserve to be worshipped, because they are weak and are in need of their Creator. The creed of the Muslims is that Allah is unlike the creations. Imam al-Junayd, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Tawhid is to differentiate between the Eternal and the created.

1 All Praise is due to Allah and may Allah increase the honor and raise the rank of our Master Muhammad ﷺthe most humble, merciful, just, lenient, handsome, caring, and honourable creation of Allah; the one who was sent as a mercy to all of mankind and jinn; the one who has been given the honor of the Major Intercession (Ash-Shafa^atul-Kubra) on the Day of Judgment; the one from whose hands the righteous Muslims from this nation will drink before entering Paradise and thirst will never come to them ever again; and the one who will be the first to enter Paradise on the Day of Judgment. May Allah raise his rank, and his kind relatives and Companions and protect his nation from that which he feared for them. Aameen. 2 Thereafter, it was said: Praise be to Allah and may Allah increase the honor and raise the rank of our Master Muhammad ﷺ. Allah said in the Honorable Qur’an: {وَلَكِن رَّسولَ اللهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِيِّنَ} This verse means that Muhammad ﷺ was the last of the Messengers and the Prophets. 3 He is Muhammad ﷺ, whom Allah has given the best manners that were strongly emphasized in the Qur’an. He is Muhammad ﷺ who accepts what the Honorable Qur’an calls to accept and abided by its orders; he followed the manners and conducts that the Qur’an calls for. He would not take revenge on anyone; however, when the boundaries of the Religion were violated, he used to get very angry. 4 He is Muhammad ﷺ whom Allah, the Merciful, has sent as a mercy to this nation. He is Muhammad ﷺ, the most courageous of all men when confronting the enemy. He is Muhammad ﷺ, who has never said “No” whenever asked to give away any permissible worldly thing, unless he could not find it. He is Muhammad ﷺ, the most truthful human when talking and the most trustworthy person when dealt with. 5 Allah The Exalted gave His Prophet ﷺ the highest rank of the good manners. When silent, he used to look to the ground more than looking to the sky; however, when talking he used to direct his sight to the sky as an indication that it is the Qiblah of du^a (direction for supplication) and the place from which mercies, blessings, and Revelations descend. He never gazed in anyone’s face, out of his extreme modesty and humbleness. 6 He is Muhammad ﷺ, who out of humbleness used to sit with the poor, the needy and even the slaves. He never treated anyone with insolence. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was the most humble person; out of respect, he would not extend his feet while sitting with people. 7 He was very merciful and his mercy was not restricted to the human beings; rather, his mercy included the animals and birds as well. If a cat, for example, would come to him, he would lower the pot to make it easier for it to drink. Verse 4 of Surat al-Qalam clarified his manners: {وإِنَّكَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ} It means: “Verily, your manners are distinguished and great.” When Lady ^A’ishah may Allah raise her rank was asked about the Prophet’s manners, she said: {كان خلقه القرءان} It means: “His manners were all what the Qur’an ordered to do.” 8 On another occasion, when ^A’ishah, may Allah raise her rank, was asked about the Prophet’s ﷺ manners, she said: He was moderate but not sinful. He never used to spend his time, during the day, in the market places with the purpose of collecting money. He never mistreated those who mistreated him; but rather, he used to pardon and forgive.