al-Faraj ibn Faḍālah, and some scholars have questioned his accuracy; nevertheless, Wakiʿ and a number of the leading imams transmitted from him (1).

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Bazzār said:
“Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Qaysī narrated to us; Yūnus ibn Arqam narrated to us; Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥasan ibn Ḥasan narrated to us, from Zayd ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, from his father, from his grandfather, from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led us in the dawn prayer. When he had finished, a man called out, “When is the Hour?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ rebuked and scolded him, saying, “Be quiet!” Then, when daylight had become clear, he lifted his gaze to the sky and said, “Blessed is He who has raised it and manages it.” He then cast his look to the earth and said, “Blessed is He who has spread it out and created it.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then asked, “Where is the one who inquired about the Hour?” The man knelt on his knees and said, “By my father and mother, I was the one who asked.” He replied, “It will be when the imams are guilty of ḥayf (2)—oppression—when people believe in the stars, deny the divine decree, regard the trust as spoils, see charity as a penalty, and treat fornication as an advantage. At that time your people will be destroyed.”

Al-Bazzār added: “We do not know this narration except through this chain. Yūnus ibn Arqam was truthful—people narrated from him—but he had strong Shīʿī leanings (3).”

Al-Tirmidhī then said: “ʿAlī ibn Ḥujr narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Yazīd narrated to us, from al-Mustalim ibn Saʿīd, from Rumayḥ al-Judhāmī, from Abū Hurayrah, who said:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘When the fayʾ is dealt with as personal estates, the trust as booty, and zakah as a burden; when knowledge is sought for other than religion; a man obeys his wife but disobeys his mother; brings his friend close yet distances his father; loud voices are heard in the mosques; the most depraved of the tribe becomes its chief; the vilest of the people becomes the leader of the clan; a man is honored out of fear of his evil; songstresses (4) and musical instruments appear; wine is drunk; and the last of this community curses its first—then let them await a red wind, the swallowing of the earth, transformation, pelting, and signs that will follow one another like an old necklace (5) whose string has snapped and the beads cascade.’ ”

He said: “This ḥadīth is gharīb; we know it only through this chain (6).”

ʿAbbād ibn Yaʿqūb al-Kūfī told us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Quddūs narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Hilāl ibn Yasāf, from ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “In this community there will be khasf, maskh, and qadhf—the earth’s swallowing, transformation, and pelting.” A man from among the Muslims asked, “When will that be, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “When songstresses appear, musical instruments become widespread, and wine is drunk.”

They both said: “This ḥadīth is gharīb, and it has also been narrated …”