The Degeneration That will Appear in Society Before The Coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as)

The Degeneration That will Appear in Society Before The Coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) At The Time When Hazrat Mahdi (as) Appears, the Majority of People will not Perform the Prayer (Salat) and will Even Be Unaware That Wine is Unlawful (Haram) in Islam According to Hudhayfa, the Prophet of Allah (saas) said: "O Hudhayfa! On that day (when Hazrat Mahdi (as) appears), they will have departed the faith. THEY will THINK THAT WINE IS LAWFUL AND will NOT PERFORM THE PRAYER (SALAT)." (Al-Uqayli "An-Najm al-saqib fi Bayan Anna al-Mahdi min Awladi Ali Ibn Abi Talib Ale't-Temam wa al-qamal) Slander and False Witness will Be Widespread Prior To The Appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as) Verily, in the presence of the Last Hour,... there will be false testimony and concealing evidence. (Ahmad Diya ad-Din al-Kamushkhanawi, Ramuz al-Ahadith, 1/121) The spread of false accusation is one of the portents of the Day of Reckoning. (Ash-Sharani, Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 450) There will Be A Rise In Drug-Related Deaths and Killings Before The Coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) Ali (as) says: "THERE will BE RED DEATH AND WHITE DEATH BEFORE THE COMING OF HAZRAT MAHDI (as)..." (Iqdud Durar, p. 98, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 397, Sheikh al-Tusi, Kitab al-Ghayba, p. 267, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 52, p. 211) This hadith note that killings will intensify in society prior to the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as). As can clearly be seen from the hadith, WHITE DEATH will take place as described THROUGH WHITE POISON (all kinds of narcotics), and will kill people both physically and spiritually. The reference to RED DEATH (the color of blood) indicates that bloody murders will be committed in the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as). This rise in the number of RED AND WHITE DEATHS is one of the portents of the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as). Lovelessness Among People In The End Times is A Portent Both of The Day of Judgment and of The Coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) The Day of Judgment will not take place... UNTIL GREETINGS ARE EXTENDED ONLY TO ACQUAINTANCES, not to people in general. (Ash-Sharani, Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 461, no. 845) Amr ibn Nufayl says: I heard the Imam Hussein (as) say: "The one you await (Hazrat Mahdi (as)) will not appear until you say you are distanced from one another, until you spit in one another's faces and accuse one another of denial and until you curse one another." I asked, 'Then there is nothing auspicious at that time?' He replied: "All the auspiciousness is in that period. Our Qaim (Hazrat Mahdi (as)) will appear and put an end to all that." (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 241) Umayra, daughter of Nufayl, relates: "I heard the daughter of Hasan say: "This matter you expect (the coming of Hazrat Mahdi [as]) will not happen until SOME OF YOU STAND FAR APART FROM OTHERS AND CURSE EACH OTHER. (Bihar Al-Anwar, Vol. 52, p. 211) It is Narrated That When Hazrat Mahdi (as) is Absent ''Everything On Earth will Be Corrupted'' Abu Hamza says: "I asked Imam Sadik (as), "CAN THE WORLD REMAIN PERMANENT WITH NO IMAM [HAZRAT MAHDI (as)]?" THE IMAM SAID, "IF THE EARTH IS LEFT WITHOUT AN IMAM THERE will BE TOTAL UPHEAVAL." (Usul al-Kafi, Islamiya edition, 1381, Vol. 1, p. 334) Al-Washa says: "I asked Imam Riza (as), 'Can the world be left with no imam?' The imam (as) answered, "No," and then went on to say, "the world cannot be left with no imam [Hazrat Mahdi's (as)], otherwise there will be complete upheaval." (Usul al-Kafi, Vol. 1, p. 334) Mufazzal ibn Omar, commander of the faithful: He spoke from the pulpit in the city of Qufa: "KNOW THAT THE EARTH CANNOT SURVIVE IN THE ABSENCE OF THE HUJJAT [HAZRAT MAHDI (as)] OF ALLAH... IF ALLAH SUDDENLY TAKES THE HUJJAT [HAZRAT MAHDI (as)] AWAY, THE EARTH will COLLAPSE OVER PEOPLE." (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 162) Allah has always made use of Messengers who preach His faith in preventing corruption in the world and in the well-being and happiness of people. The person whom Allah will make an instrument in the peace and salvation of the whole world in the End Times is Hazrat Mahdi (as). Indeed, it is indicated in the hadith that the world will be devastated and ruined by various catastrophes in an environment from which Hazrat Mahdi (as) is lacking. The hadith then suggest that terrible anarchy and disorder will arise in the world. Indeed, the fact that the time of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) appearance has approached can be seen from the terror, war and slaughter in many parts of the world during this time. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi also notes this attribute of Hazrat Mahdi (as) in his works: His [Hazrat Mahdi's (as)] Second duty: To resuscitate the essence of the moral values of Islam with this title of the Successor of Muhammad (saas) (in other words as Muslims' spiritual leader). To establish the union of the Islamic world as his foundation and TO SAVE MANKIND FROM MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL DANGERS AND FROM THE WRATH OF ALLAH... (Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Emirdag Addendum, p. 259) According to Bediuzzaman's account, as the spiritual leader of the Islamic world, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will free mankind, which is suffering from the corruption and disorder of the End Times, from all physical and spiritual dangers, and will teach people to avoid the wrath of Allah and will thus be instrumental in their salvation in this world and in the Hereafter. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will Appear At A Time When "People are Scattered In Different Places" Abu'l Hijaf narrates that the Prophet (saas) three times said: "Glad tidings on the subject of Hazrat Mahdi (as) for you. HAZRAT MAHDI (as) will APPEAR AT A TIME WHEN PEOPLE ARE SCATTERED AND WHEN troubles manifest themselves... (Bihar Al-Anwar, Vol. 51, p. 74) This account reveals that people "will be scattered" before the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as). This shows that people will split up from one another and go to foreign countries for such purposes as work or to earn money. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will Appear When People are Least Amicable and Most At Conflict With One Another Mufazzal Ibn Omar says: Imam Abu Abdullah Jaffar Sadik said: ... and HE [HAZRAT MAHDI (as)] will APPEAR WHEN PEOPLE ARE MOST EVILLY DISPOSED TO ONE ANOTHER. (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 187) Hazrat Mahdi (as) will Appear At A Time When People are Sick of Evil, Crime and Oppression Salama Ibn Zufar says: "One day, when someone said, 'Hazrat Mahdi (as) has appeared' in the hearing of Hudhayfa, he replied: "If Hazrat Mahdi (as) has appeared, you are near the time of the Messenger of Allah and the companions are still living among you. You are therefore really happy people. But, no, this is not true. HAZRAT MAHDI (as) will APPEAR AT A TIME WHEN PEOPLE ARE SICK OF EVIL, CRIME AND OPPRESSION and when nobody living in reclusion is as saintly or as loved as him. (As-Suyuti, Al-Hawi Lil-Fatawi, Vol. 2, p. 159) Violence and Anarchy In Society and PKK Terror will Appear During Hazrat Mahdi's (as) Occultaton There will be a time of occultation when Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be unseen by people. During this time, people will think that Hazrat Mahdi (as) has vanished, and some even think that he is dead. This is revealed in the hadith handed down from our Prophet (saas): THERE will BE TWO OCCULTATION OF THE QAIM [HAZRAT MAHDI (as)]. ONE will BE LONGER THAN THE OTHER... (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 199) The lord of this rising [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will have two occultation. ONE OCCULTATION (PERIOD OF IMPRISONMENT) will BE SO LONG that they will say, "He is dead." Some will say, "He has been killed." Others will say, "He has gone..." (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, 198) ... EVENTUALLY, ONE OF MY CHILDREN [HAZRAT MAHDI (as)] will OCCULT FROM PEOPLE'S SIGHT. PEOPLE will SAY THAT HE HAS DISAPPEARED, BEEN KILLED OR DIED. THEN CORRUPTION will BE BORN AND SCOURGES will APPEAR. TRIBAL BIGOTRY will BE RESURRECTED, AND PEOPLE will LOSE THE WAY OF THE RELIGION.(Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 163) Our Prophet's (saas) words: "... THEN CORRUPTION will BE BORN AND SCOURGES will APPEAR. ETHNIC BIGOTRY will BE RESURRECTED, AND PEOPLE will LOSE THE WAY OF THE RELIGION" refer to a time around Hijri 1400 (1979-1980), of great disorder and corruption in society, when people turn aside from religious moral values and deviate into Marxist, communist, atheist and Darwinist thinking. Indeed, the 1980s were a time, especially in Turkey, of great anarchy, terror, disorder and insecurity, when people were afraid for their lives and property, and when they turned their backs on Islam. PKK terror was responsible for great corruption in the form of Kurdish-Turkish divisions, giving birth to a spirit of tribalism in society. People were turned away from the warm, peaceful and loving spirit of Islam and encouraged to adopt Darwinist thinking. With the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as), however, Allah will intellectually annihilate these ideologies, and belief in Allah will spread rapidly throughout the world. One of The Portents of The Coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) is People's Leaving The Path of Guidance Hazrat Ali (ra) says: THEY TOOK TO THE RIGHT AND THE LEFT PIERCING THROUGH TO THE WAYS OF EVIL AND LEAVING THE PATHS OF GUIDANCE.(Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 150) Hazrat Mahdi (as) will Appear Following A Time of Troubles Abu'l Hijaf narrates how the Prophet (saas) three time reiterated: "Glad tidings of Hazrat Mahdi (as) for you. HE will APPEAR when people are dispersed AND TROUBLES RISE..." (Bihar Al-Anwar, Vol. 51, p. 74) Our Prophet (saas) Gave Us The News That In The End Times There will Be Oppression In Palestine Our Prophet (saas) gave us the news that in the End Times, there would be disorder, conflicts, bloodshed, and tribulations (fitna) caused by the system of the antichrist in various regions of the world. He also related that Muslims would be subjected to various hardships in this difficult environment. One of the regions where our Prophet (saas) told that the system of the antichrist's tribulation would be effective is Palestine. The term "Bayt al-Maqdis" mentioned in the hadith means a place close to the Dome of the Rock, that is to say, the region of Palestine. Just as how our Prophet (saas) said, in our day Palestinian Muslims are under a great siege. They are tested by hunger, poverty and all sorts of suffering. Na'im narrated from Qa'ab: Antichrist BESIEGES THE BELIEVERS at "Bayt al-Maqdis" (the place close to the Dome of the Rock, the Palestine) AND SUCH A SEVERE HUNGER IS INFLICTED ON THEM (THE BELIEVERS) that they will be obliged to eat beams of the archs. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir alaz-Zaman, p. 48) Because of The Pressure Environment Prior To The Appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as), Nobody will Be Able To Speak The Name of Allah With Ease In Sheikh Tusi's book Al-Amali: "The whole world will be filled with devastation. NOBODY will BE ABLE TO SAY ALLAH. Then Almighty Allah will send an individual [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] descended from me and my family. He [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will fill the world with justice as those before him will fill it with injustice." (Kitab al-Ghayba [Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 51], p. 120) In Sheikh Tusi's book Al-Amali: "The world will be so full of oppression and injustice that NOBODY will BE ABLE TO SPEAK THE NAME OF ALLAH EXCEPT IN SECRET. Then Allah will bring a virtuous community (the community of Hazrat Mahdi (as)) who will fill the world with honesty and justice in the same way it was filled with oppression and injustice before." (Kitab al-Ghayba [Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.51], p. 186) Hazrat Mahdi (as) will Appear At A Time When People Complain About The Troubles and Oppression They Suffer Abu'l Hijaf narrates that our Prophet (saas) said the following three times: "Let there be glad tidings for you regarding Hazrat Mahdi (as). HE will APPEAR WHEN THE PEOPLE ARE DISPERSED AND TROUBLES ARISE. HE will FILL THE WORLD THAT IS FULL OF OPPRESSION AND LAMENTATION WITH JUSTICE INSTEAD. HE will INSTALL SERVITUDE TO ALLAH IN THE HEARTS OF HIS SERVANTS AND HIS JUSTICE will ENFOLD ALL PLACES.(Hazrat Mahdi (as) from the Ahl al-bayt of our Prophet (saas), p. 16; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 51, p. 74) The hadith reports that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear when there are sectarian differences, when people form groups and turn away from one another, when there is racial sectarianism, when there are economic problems and when there is an increase in terror and anarchy. Our Prophet (saas) repeated this hadith for three times. He also stated that this period would be one of economic crisis, in which people constantly complain of high prices and the material and spiritual troubles afflicting them and the oppression they are subjected to. Administrative Systems will Be Destroyed and There will Be Economic Collapse Before The Appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as) All these (portents of the End Times) will BE REALIZED IN A PERIOD WHEN COUNTRIES will CHANGE, HUMAN BEINGS will FALL INTO A DECLINE AND ABANDON ALL HOPE FOR THE COMING OF HAZRAT MAHDI (as). Then THE QAIM (HAZRAT MAHDI (as)) who is from by my descent, will EMERGE WITH A NATION AND ALLAH will MAKE THE TRUTH PREVAIL THROUGH THIS NATION AND CRUSH THE SUPERSTITIOUS BY SWORDS OF KNOWLEDGE… Oh people, joy with the coming of the Mahdi (as). Because the word of Allah is true, it does not come to anything. His Command is not averted. He does everything with wisdom and He knows everything. ALLAH'S CONQUER IS CLOSE. (Yanabee' al-Mawadda, p. 440) Our Prophet (saas) told in his hadiths for the End Times about some events and developments that will happen before the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as). These hadiths comprise very important portents in order to understand that we are living in the End Times. In this hadith, our Prophet (saas) described a period when people will abandon all hope for the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) and that some so-called religious scholars will make comments like, "Hazrat Mahdi (as) is acollective personality, he has already come and gone, don't wait for the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as), Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not come in this century, he will come centuries later so the morality of Islam will not prevail in this century..." He told about the crises that the whole world will go through and informed that political regimes in some countries will change. So indeed in this period that we live in, government systems of a great many countries ruled by the communist regime have changed and the world has experienced grand economic crises consecutively. and now the world is going through a big economic crisis, which seriously penetrated the whole world since the year 2007 and which will continue for 7 years as forecasted by the most reputable economic institutions. Besides, epidemics that take hold of the world and cultural breakdowns are experienced one after the other. These portents being realized one after the other like the broken off beads of a necklace indicate that Hazrat Mahdi (as) has come and begun his work. (Allah knows the truth.) As it is also seen in other hadiths, the nation from which Hazrat Mahdi (as) will arise is the Turkish nation. Allah will make His religion prevail over all other religions through wisdom, knowledge and science with the hand of Hazrat Mahdi (as) and the courageous Turkish nation. In the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as), insha'Allah, The Turkish-Islamic Union will be established under the leadership of Turkey. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will Appear In A Period When People Cannot Even Find One Single Person To Lead Them Before the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as), various people from all sections of the society in which he lives will have assumed power, but they will have failed to establish the justice, peace, ease and security that people are looking for. But with Hazrat Mahdi (as), the religion of Allah and the moral values of the Qur'an will rule the entire world. Following the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as), nobody will be able to claim, "If we had assumed power and formed a government we would have behaved justly." By Allah's leave, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will rule with the moral values of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of our Prophet (saas), by his means the justice, peace and spirit of love and compassion bestowed by Islamic moral values will rule the world. Hisham Ibn Salim narrates that Imam Sadik said: "HAZRAT MAHDI (as) will NOT APPEAR UNTIL ALL SECTIONS OF THE PEOPLE HAVE ASSUMED POWER." Thus nobody will say "IF WE WERE IN POWER AND HAD FORMED A GOVERNMENT WE WOULD HAVE BEHAVED JUSTLY." (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 52, p. 244) People will Look For Solutions, But will Finally Attain Salvation (By Allah's Leave) Through Hazrat Mahdi (as) Jaffar Sadik (a.s) narrates: People will set about seeking (a savior) everywhere. Failing to find one in anybody else, they will flock to him (Hazrat Mahdi (as)). (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 52, p. 326) Hazrat Baqr (a.s) told Aban ibn Taglib: The Imamate is a monument come down to us from the Messenger of Allah... Hazrat Mahdi (as) is one of us and will protect the faith in the End Times. (Al-Hurr al-Amili, Ithbata al-Hudat, vol. 2, p. 559) People's Appearances will Be Impaired and Ugly In The End Times In the hadiths our Prophet (saas) reveals that people's appearances will change in the End Times. They will become ugly and no longer look "human," they will become as unattractive as pigs and apes, their faces will become lightless, devoid of expression and common, they will lose all human form, and will become joyless and soulless. From Aysha (ra): «AT THE END OF THIS COMMUNITY, it will collapse AND CHANGE APPEARANCE and stones will rain down...» (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 111) In the End Times there will be collapse and stones will rain down AND PEOPLE will NO LONGER LOOK HUMAN. (Sahl Ibn Saad, Ramuz Al Ahadith, Vol. 2, p. 302/8) (Ibn Majah) from Abi Umama: «ONE GROUP FROM MY COMMUNITY will eat, drink amuse themselves and in the morning THEY will RISE AS APES AND PIGS...»(At-Tabarani) (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 111) Some People Who Believe That They are Descended From Apes By Way of Evolution will Assume The Appearance of Apes and Pigs Accounts indicate that in the End Times there will be some people who imagine that Allah did not create human beings and that they were created by chance. (Surely Allah is beyond that) and these people will maintain that they and others are all descended from apes. The hadith describe how these people, who believe they were created through evolution and that they themselves are a kind of ape or animal, "will physically resemble apes." People's physical attractiveness will be impaired, and they will assume a dark, repulsive and pathological appearance, and their beauty and splendor in people's eyes will disappear. It also appears from the hadith that these people, described by our Prophet (saas) as "apes" and "resembling apes," will actually "imagine themselves to be apes and will have the characters of apes." I swear by the great power of the breath of Muhammad (saas) that A COMMUNITY FROM MY PEOPLE... will RISE IN THE MORNING IN THE FORM OF PIGS AND APES... (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, 459/2) "I swear that SOME PEOPLE FROM MY COMMUNITY... will TURN INTO APES AND SWINE (PIGS)." (Ramuz al-Ahadith, Hadith no: 5711) (Ibn Majah) from Abi Umama: «A GROUP FROM MY COMMUNITY will eat and drink and amuse themselves and then retire, but in the morning THEY will RISE AS APES AND PIGS...»(At-Tabarani; Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 111) According to what is narrated from Ali Ibn Abu Talib and Abu Huraira, the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: «... EXPECT THEIR APPEARANCES TO BECOME THOSE OF APES OR PIGS, and expect stones and the like to rain down from the sky!» (Tirmidhi) (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 114) Some So-Called Religious Scholars Who Espouse Darwinism will be Like Apes and Pigs Terrible things will happen in my community and PEOPLE will APPROACH SCHOLARS FOR COMFORT AND will SUDDENLY SEE THEY HAVE TURNED INTO APES AND PIGS. (Ash-Sharani, Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 470) In the End Times, some supposed religious scholars will espouse Darwinism and believe that they themselves appeared by way of evolution. Since they claim to be apes, in other words a kind of animal, our Prophet (saas) has described such people as "apes" and says "they will become like apes." The hadith also indicates that some so-called religious scholars "will be as stubborn, coarse, loveless, aggressive, eager to eat anything, unaffectionate and soulless as pigs." The "Raining Down of Stones and the Like" Described in the Hadith is Taking Place in Present Day with Bombings Targeting Many Places in The World From Aysha (ra): "AT THE END OF THIS COMMUNITY, there will be collapse AND A CHANGE IN APPEARANCE AND STONES will RAIN DOWN..." (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 111) According to what is narrated from Ali Ibn Abu Talib and Abu Huraira, the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "... EXPECT TO SEE CATASTROPHES OF EARTHQUAKES AND COLLAPSE, people's appearances turning into those of apes or pigs, AND STONES AND THE LIKE RAINING DOWN FROM THE SKY!" (Tirmidhi) (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 114) IN THE END TIMES THERE will BE COLLAPSE AND STONES will RAIN DOWN, and people will no longer look human. (Sahl Ibn Saad, Ramuz Al Ahadith, Vol. 2, p. 302/8) In the hadith our Prophet (saas) speaks of "stones and the like raining down from the sky," "earthquakes," "catastrophe and collapse." In our century stones are raining down in many parts of the world in the face of bombing attacks. Bombs falling to ground shower people with earth and stones – "stones and the like will rain down," in the words of the hadith – resulting in catastrophes in which people die en masse.