One of the gravest calamities is that mosques have become tourist destinations and sightseeing attractions for disbelievers, after once being places of remembrance and worship. This has occurred in the present age, as seen in some Muslim lands and in lands under the control of disbelievers. There is no might or power except with Allah, the Most High, the Magnificent.
40 — New Moons Appearing Enlarged:
Abdullah ibn Masūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “One sign that the Hour is drawing near is that new moons will appear enlarged” (1).
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Among the signs that the Hour is drawing near are the new moons appearing enlarged and the new moon being sighted (2) when only one night old, whereupon it will be said:
(1) Narrated by al-Tabarānī in *al-Kabīr*. Al-Haythamī said: “Its chain includes Abd al-Rahmān ibn Yūsuf. This hadith is cited under his entry in *al-Mīzān*, where he is described as unknown.” *Majma al-Zawāid* (3/146). See also al-Dhahabī, *Mīzān al-Itidāl* (2/600).
Al-Albānī said: “Authentic.”
The hadith scholars who recorded it include al-Uqaylī in *al-Duafā*, Ibn Adī in *al-Kāmil*, and al-Tabarānī in *al-Awsat* and *al-Saghīr*.
Al-Tabarānī also narrated it from Abū Hurayrah in *al-Awsat*, as did al-Diyā al-Maqdisī. Al-Bukhārī narrated it from Anas in *al-Tārīkh*. It was also narrated from Talha ibn Abī Hadrad and Abū Amr by al-Dānī, and in *mursal* form by al-Shabī and al-Hasan.
See *Sahīh al-Jāmi al-Saghīr* (5/213–214), hadith no. 5774.
(2) In *Sahīh al-Jāmi al-Saghīr* (5/214), the wording is: “that the new moon will be seen *qabalan* when only one night old”; that is, it will be seen as soon as it rises. *Qabalan* means “by direct observation.” See al-Qurtubī, *al-Tadhkira*, p. 648.