and the Byzantines. Wealth then became so abundant during the reign of Umar ibn Abd al-Azīz—may Allah have mercy on him—that a man would offer wealth in charity but find no one to accept it.

Wealth will also become abundant at the end of time, to the point that a man will offer his wealth to someone, who will reply, “I have no need of it.”

This—and Allah knows best—is an allusion to what will occur in the time of the Mahdi and Jesus—peace be upon them—(1): wealth will abound, and the earth will bring forth its blessings and treasures.

Abū Hurayra—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “The earth will vomit up pieces of its liver like columns of gold and silver.” He continued: “The murderer will come and say, ‘For this I killed.’ The one who severed family ties will come and say, ‘For this I severed my ties of kinship.’ The thief will come and say, ‘For this my hand was cut off.’ Then they will leave it and take nothing from it.” (2)

Ibn Hajar mentioned that it is possible that people will have no need of wealth and will abandon it when the Fire emerges and they become preoccupied with the Gathering. At that time, no one will pay any attention to wealth; rather, each person will seek to unburden himself as much as possible.

What Ibn Hajar mentioned—that people will have no need of wealth because they will be preoccupied with the Gathering—does not preclude their having no need of it for another reason: the abundance of wealth, as will occur in the time of the Mahdi and Jesus—peace be upon them. Thus, although the two periods will be far apart, this freedom from need will occur at two different times for two different reasons. And Allah knows best.