Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)
There are two sets of prophecy
made by the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam.
In the scores of statements he made
regarding what would unravel before the end of time,
that stand out in particular as exceptionally powerful.
That of material prosperity
and that also of increased brutality at the end of time.
(Gentle music)
As for material prosperity,
Abu Huraira radiAllahu Anhu reports
that the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
"The hour, the final hour, will not commence
before wealth becomes abundant and overflowing.
To the point that a man will walk out
with the charity due on his wealth
and not find anyone in need to accept it from him.
And to the point he said,
"that the lands of Arabia will return to being,
they will revert back to, a state of meadows and rivers.
While acknowledging earlier manifestations of this prophecy
that of unprecedented affluence.
Current lifestyles in today's first world
live in luxuries that surpass 99%
of all of recorded human history.
Even those of us who are financially struggling
enjoy recliners in our homes that are more comfortable
and cozier than any ancient royal king's throne.
We all enjoy climate controls on our walls.
And by and large, we all have access to modes of transport
that have shifted month long, painstaking journeys
into a few entertaining hours in a flight somewhere.
Perhaps even more intriguing
is the Messenger of Allah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
mentioning the agricultural transformation of Arabia
in the same context as the surplus of wealth
and material prosperity.
You see, 14 centuries ago, these extensive irrigation
methods only made possible recently
through the invention of modern irrigation techniques
modern technological apparatuses.
These sorts of things were inconceivable.
We are actually the very first generations
privileged to witness this ecological phenomen
and a related miracle here
is that the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
was aware and had knowledge that Arabia
was at one point in time, meadows and rivers.
He said, revert back to that state.
Recent discoveries actually show us now
how the petrified mud
of what is known as Arabia's empty quarter
it's barren regions.
The petrified mud has kept for us accounts
of just how lush and green this ecosystem once was
before it became an arid desert.
This area is actually still replete
until today with hippopotamus teeth and buffalo bones
and clam shells that were all fossilized
thousands of years ago before the area dried up.
Also regarding how material prosperity
will be a sign of the end times,
the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him said
"When you start seeing the barefoot, naked
shepherds of camels competing in the construction
of high rise buildings, then await the hour.
It's about to commence."
Isn't it remarkable to witness
how these arid deserts of these same Gulf states,
which were down trodden
and deep into poverty just one century ago
are now developing rather have developed
two of the world's three tallest skyscraper buildings
as for the increase in brutality and killing.
This is natural and expected
because when greed drives people
to see others' wealth as violable
seeing their lives as such becomes the unfortunate, tragic
but expected next step.
And low and behold
our past century has seen atrocities everywhere
between modern warfare, between abusive policing
between cycles of genocide, between senseless killing
at large domestically, and by individuals
we have seen more killing and more carnage
and more breaching of the sanctity of life than ever before.
And it is all traceable to greed.
As the experts say
just follow the money trails, follow the selfish interests.
Everything would become explainable.
And in another narration,
the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said
"I swear by the one in whose hand is my soul.
This world will not end
until the killer no longer knows why he killed
nor the one who was killed knows why he was being killed."
And in the final Hadith,
the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
said "The the hour will not commence
until you see knowledge being removed,
earthquakes becoming prevalent, time narrowing,
turmoil surfacing, and anarchy,
namely killing lots of killing." He said
As for knowledge becoming scarce
one can simply ask
what average Muslim knows about their religion
or consider the amount of mayhem
people often have to navigate
to search up on the internet some basic facts.
Due to personalized algorithms
which confirm each of our biases
and bury unwelcome truths
and subject us to marketing campaigns
targeting us one time after another.
As for the narrowing of time, the ubiquity,
the prominence of entertainment around us
has time flying
between the gizmos
and the gadgets and the devices that are in our hands,
and our pockets and our laps and our homes
that are designed and engineered to distract us.
And so peace be upon the one who foretold
of these times so accurately
and guided us to seeing and recognizing his prophethood
and the light he came with
through the darkness of these days.
Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)