and he will say, “O earth, sprout—yes, O earth, bring forth your vegetation!” and it will do so. By morning those people will find themselves in the lushest pasture imaginable. Their livestock will return to them with udders as full as can be—brimming with milk—and with their humps raised high from plentiful feed and fat. Delighted, they continue to worship him. They may think they have profited in worldly terms, but in truth they have squandered both this life and the next—Allah’s refuge is sought—for they have taken him as a lord instead of Allah.

Concerning the Antichrist, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “He is the worst absentee that people still await.” May Allah protect us and you from his trial.

Then the Prophet added, “Or are you waiting for the Hour?”—this being the seventh and final calamity, the very establishment of the Last Hour—“for the Hour is more calamitous and more bitter.” The meaning is that it is the most grievous and the most bitter experience. Allah the Exalted says: “Rather, their appointed time is the Hour—and the Hour will be more calamitous and more bitter” (Q 54:46).

In short, no human being will escape these seven impediments, and every one of them can obstruct him from righteous deeds. Therefore he must seize the opportunity while he still enjoys health, energy, youth, free time, and security—praise be to Allah. Let him hasten to good works before all of that slips away, lest he regret it when regret is of no benefit. I ask Allah to make me and you among those who race to every good.