or pelted with stones among the Qadariyya” (1).

Abd al-Rahmān ibn Suhār al-Abdī reported from his father that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The Hour will not come until entire tribes are swallowed by the earth, whereupon it will be asked: ‘Who remains of the clan of so-and-so?’” He said: When he mentioned “tribes,” I realized that he meant the Arabs, for non-Arabs are identified by their towns (2).

Muhammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Taymī said: I heard Buqayra, the wife of al-Qa‘qā‘ ibn Abī Hadrad, say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say from the pulpit: “When you hear that an army nearby has been swallowed by the earth, the Hour has drawn near” (3).

Occurrences of people being swallowed by the earth had already taken place in various locations in the East and West (4) before our own age. In the present age, many such occurrences have taken place in different parts of the earth. They are a portent heralding severe punishment, a warning from Allah to His servants, and a punishment for those guilty of religious innovations and sins, so that people may take heed, return to their Lord, and know that the Hour has