Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (17/50)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

and says, “Would that I were in his place”; until the sun rises from the West. When it rises and the people behold it, they will all believe, yet that will be the moment when "no soul shall benefit from its faith if it had not believed before, or earned through its faith any good" (al-Anʿām 6:158).

The Hour will surely strike while two men have spread a garment between them: they will neither conclude the sale nor fold it up. The Hour will surely strike while a man has just returned with the milk of his she-camel (1) but will not taste it. The Hour will surely strike while he is plastering the rim of his watering-trough yet will draw no water from it. The Hour will surely strike while he has raised a bite of food to his mouth, yet he will not eat it. (2)

Imām Aḥmad said: Suraij ibn al-Nuʿmān narrated to us; ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz—meaning al-Darāwardī—narrated to us, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The Hour will not be established until there arise people who consume with their tongues just as cattle consume with their tongues.” Aḥmad alone transmitted this report. (3)

Muslim said: Ḥarmalah ibn Yaḥyā al-Tujībī related to me; Ibn Wahb related to us; Yūnus related to us, from Ibn Shihāb, that Abū Idrīs al-Khawlānī said: Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān said, “By Allah, I am the most knowledgeable of people about every tribulation that will occur between me and the Hour. It is not that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ confided something to me that he did not confide to anyone else; rather, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was describing the trials in a gathering at which I was present. As he enumerated them, he said: ‘Among them are three that will scarcely leave anything standing, and among them are tribulations like the summer winds—some are small and some are great.’” Ḥudhayfah added, “All of those companions in that group have gone except me.” (4)

Muslim also transmitted—from the narration of Zuhayr, from Suhayl, from his father, from Abū Hurayrah—who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When Iraq withholds its dirham and its qafīz (a measure of grain), when Syria withholds its mudd (5) and its dinar, and when Egypt withholds its irdabb and its dinar, then you will return to where you started, you will return to where you started, [you will return to where you started].” The flesh and blood of Abū Hurayrah bear witness to this. (6)

Imām Aḥmad said: Ismāʿīl narrated to us; al-Jurayrī narrated to us, from Abū Naḍrah, who said: We were with Jābir, and he said, “It is near that the people of Iraq will no longer have the qafīz nor the dirham reach them.” We asked, “From where will that be?” He replied, “From the non-Arabs; they will prevent it.” Then he said, “It is near that the people of Syria will no longer have the dinar nor the mudd reach them.” We asked, “From where will that be?” He replied, “From the Romans; they will prevent it.” He then fell silent for a short while and said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There will be…"

(1) al-laqhah: a milch she-camel. (2) Recorded by al-Bukhari, no. 7121. (3) Narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad (1/84); it is classified as hasan (good). (4) Recorded by Muslim, no. 2891. (5) al-maddī: a measure of capacity traditionally used in the Levant. (6) Recorded by Muslim, no. 2896.

فيقول: يا لَيْتَنِي مَكانَه، وحَتّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ مَغربها، فإذا طلعتْ ورآها الناس آمنوا أجمعون فذلك حين ﴿لَا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا﴾ [الأنعام: ١٥٨] ولتقومن الساعة وقد نشر الرجلان ثوبهما بينهما فلا يتبايعانه ولا يطويانه، ولتقومن الساعةُ وقد انصرف الرجلُ بلبن لقحته (١) فلا يَطْعَمُهُ، ولتقُومنَّ الساعةُ وهو يَليطُ حوضه فلا يسْقِي فيه، ولتقُومن السَّاعةُ وقد رفع أُكْلَتَهُ إِلى فيه، فَلَا يَطْعَمُها " (٢) . وقال الإمام أحمد: ثنا سُريجُ بن النعمان، ثنا عبد العزيز، يَعْنِي الدَّرَاوَرْديَّ، عن زيدِ بن أسلمَ، عن سعد بن أبي وقاص، قال: قال رسول اللَّه ﷺ : "لَا تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتى يَخْرُجَ قَوْمٌ يَأْكُلُونَ بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ، كَمَا تَأْكُلُ الْبَقَرُ بِأَلْسِنَتِهَا ". تفرَّد به أحمد (٣) . وقال مسلم: حدثني حَرْمَلةُ بن يحيى التُّجِيبيّ، حدثنا ابنُ وهب، حدثنا يونُس، عن ابن شِهَاب: أن أبا إدريس الخَوْلَاني، قال: قال حُذيفة بن اليمان: واللَّه إني لأعلم الناسِ بكلّ فِتْنَة كائنَةٍ فيما بَيْنِي وبينَ الساعة، وما بي إلّا أن يكون رسُولُ اللَّه ﷺ أسرّ إليَّ في ذلك شيئًا لم يُحَدّثْه غيري، ولكنّ رسولَ اللَّه ﷺ قال، وهو يُحدّث مَجْلسًا أنا فيه عن الفتن، فقال رسولُ اللَّه ﷺ ، وهو يَعُدّ الفتن: "منهن ثلاث " لا يَكَدْنَ يذَرْنَ شَيْئًا، ومنهن فِتَنٌ كريَاح الصيف، منها صِغَار ومنها كِبَار" قال حُذَيفة: فذهب أولئك الرَّهْطُ كلُّهم غيري (٤) . وروى مسلم من حديث زهير، عن سُهَيْل، عن أبيه، عن أبي هريرة، قال: قال رسولُ اللَّه ﷺ : "إذا مَنَعَت العِرَاق دِرْهَمَها وقَفِيزها، ومنَعَتِ الشامُ مُدْيَها (٥) ودِينَارَها، ومنَعَتْ مصرُ إرْدَبَّها، ودِينَارَها، وعُدْتمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ بَدأتُمْ، وعدتم من حيث بدأتم، [وعدتم من حيث بدأتم] " شهد على ذلك لَحم أبي هُريرَة ودمُه (٦) . وقال الإمام أحمد: حدثنا إسماعيل، حدثنا الجُرَيْريّ، عن أبي نَضْرة، قال: كُنَّا عِندَ جَابِرٍ، فقال: يُوشِكُ أهْلُ العِراقِ ألّا يُجْبى إليهم قفيزٌ، ولا دِرْهَمٌ، قلنا: مِنْ أينَ ذاك؟ قال: من قِبَل العَجَم، يمنعون ذَاكَ، ثم قال: يوشك أهلُ الشام ألّا يُجْبَى إليهم دِينَارٌ ولا مُدْي، قُلنا: مِنْ أيْنَ ذاك، قال: مِنْ قِبَلِ الرُّوم، يمنعون ذَاكَ، ثم سكتَ هُنيهَة ثم قال: قال رسول اللَّه ﷺ : "يكون في

(١) اللقحة: الناقة الحلوب. (٢) رواه البخاري رقم (٧١٢١). (٣) رواه أحمد في المسند (١/ ٨٤) وهو حديث حسن. (٤) رواه مسلم (٢٨٩١). (٥) المدي: مكيال معروف لأهل الشام. (٦) رواه مسلم (٢٨٩٦).