Then Muslim said:
Hajjāj ibn al-Shāʿir narrated to me; Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb narrated to us; Ḥammād—meaning Ibn Zayd—narrated to us; Maʿbad ibn Hilāl al-ʿAnazī narrated to us, from Anas ibn Mālik:
A man asked the Prophet ﷺ, “When will the Hour be?”
The Prophet ﷺ remained silent for a moment, then looked at a boy who was sitting in front of him, a youngster from the Azd Shanūʾah tribe, and said,
“If this child is granted a full life, old age will not overtake him before the Hour is established.”
Anas added, “That boy was of my own age on that day.” Muslim alone related this report through this chain.

Muslim also said:
Hārūn ibn ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us; ʿAffān ibn Muslim narrated to us; Hammām narrated to us; Qatādah narrated to us, from Anas, who said:
A young boy belonging to al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah passed by—and he was one of my contemporaries—so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“If this one is granted respite, old age will not overtake him before the Hour is established.”
Al-Bukhārī likewise transmitted it through ʿAmr ibn ʿĀṣim, from Hammām, with the same wording (1).

These narrations show that this question and this answer were repeated on several occasions. The aim was not to pinpoint the time of the Greater Hour to the moment that particular boy reached senility; rather, what was intended was their own “hour,” namely the passing away of their generation and era, whose outer limit would not exceed the lifespan of that child—as has already been stated in the ḥadith:
“You ask me about the Hour, while its knowledge lies with Allah; and I swear by Allah, no soul living on earth today will live for one hundred years.”

This understanding is further supported by the report of ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said, “Your hour has come upon you.” For whoever dies has, in effect, entered the sphere of the Resurrection: the realm of al-barzakh is close to the realm of the Day of Resurrection, resembling this world in some respects, though it is more akin to the Hereafter. Then, when the appointed term allotted to this world has run its course, Allah commands the establishment of the Hour; He will gather the first and the last for an appointed Day well known, as will be explained from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Allah—glorified be He—is the One whose help is sought (2).

A mention of the nearness of the Hour, its imminent approach, its unquestionable coming, the fact that it will arrive suddenly, and that no one knows its precise time except Allah the Exalted:

Allah the Most High says,
“The reckoning of mankind has drawn near to them, yet they remain heedlessly turning away.” ⦗1⦘ [al-Anbiyāʾ 21:1]

He, exalted is He, says,
“The command of Allah is coming; so do not seek to hasten it.” [al-Naḥl 16:1]

And He says,
“And what can make you know? Perhaps the Hour is near.” ⦗63⦘ [al-Aḥzāb 33:63]

He, the Exalted, says,
“A questioner asked for a punishment bound to fall,
upon the disbelievers—none can repel it—
from Allah, Lord of the pathways of ascent.
The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day whose measure is fifty thousand years.
So be patient with gracious patience.
Indeed, they see it as distant,
but We see it as near—
on the Day when the sky will be like molten brass,
and the mountains will be like tufts of wool;
and no close friend will ask about another,
though they will be made to see them.” ⦗1-10⦘ [al-Maʿārij 70:1-10]

He says,
“The Hour has drawn near and the moon has split.” ⦗1⦘ [al-Qamar 54:1]

And He says,
“On the Day He gathers them, it will be as though they had not remained (in the world) but for an hour of daylight, recognising one another…” [Yūnus 10:45]