16
to anyone because of this fear, his existence affords neither grace nor benefit; this contradicts what they have affirmed. By contrast, any prophet who was sent and rejected nevertheless conveyed the message, and those who believed received grace and benefit as part of Allah’s blessings upon them.
All that this Awaited One has brought his followers is waiting for someone who never comes, perpetual grief and pain, hostility toward the whole world, and supplication that Allah does not answer—for they pray for his emergence [and appearance](1). (For more than 450 years, none(2) of this has occurred. Moreover, that any one of the Muslims)(3) should live for such a length of time is known to be false according to the uniform course of life in the nation of Muhammad. No one is known to have been born into the religion(4) of Islam and lived for 120 years(5), let alone to such an age.
It is established in the Sahih(6), on the authority of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—that toward the end of his life he said:
“Consider this night of yours: indeed(7), one hundred years from this night, no one among those who are on the face of the earth today(8) will remain”(9).
(1) “And appearance” is omitted from (N). A, B: “through appearance and emergence.”
(2) B only: “and did not.”
(3) The passage between the asterisks is omitted from (W).
(4) B only: “time of.”
(5) N, M, R, H, W: “one hundred and ten years.”
(6) S: “in the two Sahih collections.”
(7) B, M: “for indeed.”
(8) S, H, W, R: “on it today.”
(9) The hadith is narrated from Abd Allāh ibn Umar—may Allah be pleased with them both—in *al-Bukhārī*, 1/119–120 (Book of Prayer Times, chapter “Conversation about Jurisprudence and Good after the Night Prayer”). Its wording is: “Toward the end of his life, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—performed the night prayer. After concluding it with the salutation, he stood and said: ‘Consider this night of yours: when one hundred years have elapsed, not one of those presently on the face of the earth will remain.’” People misunderstood the Messenger of Allah’s statement—peace be upon him—relating it to the reports they circulated concerning a hundred years. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had only said, “None of those presently on the face of the earth will remain,” meaning that this would bring that generation to an end.
An abridged version of the hadith also appears in two other places in *al-Bukhārī*: 1 (Book of Knowledge, chapter “Conversation about Knowledge”) and 1/113 (Book of Prayer Times, chapter “The Names ‘Ishā’ and ‘Atama for the Night Prayer”). A detailed version appears in *Muslim*, 4/1965–1966 (Book of the Virtues of the Companions, chapter “The Prophet’s Statement: ‘One Hundred Years Will Not Pass While Any Person Alive Today Remains upon the Earth’”); *Sunan Abī Dāwūd*, 4/176 (Book of Tribulations, chapter “The Advent of the Hour”); and *Sunan al-Tirmidhī*, 3/354–355 (Book of Tribulations, chapter 55).
The editor of *Sunan Abī Dāwūd* states: “Muslim records in his *Sahīh* that Abū al-Tufayl ibn Āmir ibn Wāthila was the last of the Messenger of Allah’s Companions—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—to die, and that his death occurred in the year 100 AH.”
لِأَحَدٍ، لِأَجْلِ هَذَا الْخَوْفِ، لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي وُجُودِهِ لُطْفٌ وَلَا مَصْلَحَةٌ، فَكَانَ هَذَا مُنَاقِضًا لِمَا أَثْبَتُوهُ. بِخِلَافِ مَنْ أُرْسِلَ مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَكُذِّبَ، فَإِنَّهُ بَلَّغَ الرِّسَالَةَ، وَحَصَلَ لِمَنْ آمَنَ مِنَ اللُّطْفِ وَالْمَصْلَحَةِ مَا هُوَ مِنْ نِعَمِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ. وَهَذَا الْمُنْتَظَرُ لَمْ يَحْصُلْ بِهِ لِطَائِفَتِهِ إِلَّا الِانْتِظَارُ لِمَنْ لَا يَأْتِي، وَدَوَامُ الْحَسْرَةِ وَالْأَلَمِ، وَمُعَادَاةُ الْعَالَمِ، وَالدُّعَاءُ الَّذِي لَا يَسْتَجِيبُهُ اللَّهُ؛ لِأَنَّهُمْ يَدْعُونَ لَهُ بِالْخُرُوجِ
[وَالظُّهُورِ]
(١)
(* مِنْ مُدَّةٍ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَرْبَعِمِائَةٍ وَخَمْسِينَ سَنَةً لَمْ (٢)
يَحْصُلْ شَيْءٌ مِنْ هَذَا. ثُمَّ إِنْ عُمِّرَ وَاحِدٌ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ *)
(٣)
هَذِهِ الْمُدَّةَ أَمْرٌ يُعْرَفُ كَذِبُهُ بِالْعَادَةِ الْمُطَّرِدَةِ فِي أُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ، فَلَا يُعْرَفُ أَحَدٌ وُلِدَ فِي دِينِ
(٤)
الْإِسْلَامِ وَعَاشَ مِائَةً وَعِشْرِينَ سَنَةً
(٥)
، فَضْلًا عَنْ هَذَا الْعُمُرِ. وَقَدْ ثَبَتَ فِي الصَّحِيحِ
(٦)
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -
أَنَّهُ قَالَ فِي آخِرِ عُمُرِهِ:
" «أَرَأَيْتَكُمْ لَيْلَتَكُمْ هَذِهِ، فَإِنَّهُ
(٧)
عَلَى رَأْسِ مِائَةٍ سَنَةٍ مِنْهَا لَا يَبْقَى عَلَى وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ مِمَّنْ هُوَ الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْهَا
(٨)
أَحَدٌ»
(٩)
.
(١) وَالظُّهُورِ سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) . وَفِي (أ) ، (ب) : بِالظُّهُورِ وَالْخُرُوجِ.
(٢) ب (فَقَطْ) : وَلَمْ.
(٣) مَا بَيْنَ النَّجْمَتَيْنِ سَاقِطٌ مِنْ (و) .
(٤) ب (فَقَطْ) : زَمَنِ.
(٥) ن، م، ر، هـ، و: مَائِةً وَعَشْرَ سِنِينَ.
(٦) ص: فِي الصَّحِيحَيْنِ.
(٧) ب، م: فَإِنَّ.
(٨) ص، هـ، و، ر: عَلَيْهَا الْيَوْمَ.
(٩) الْحَدِيثُ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا - فِي: الْبُخَارِيِّ ١/١١٩ ١٢٠ (كِتَابُ مَوَاقِيتِ الصَّلَاةِ، بَابُ السَّمَرِ فِي الْفِقْهِ وَالْخَيْرِ بَعْدَ الْعَشَاءِ) وَنَصُّهُ: صَلَّى النَّبِيُّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - صَلَاةَ الْعِشَاءِ فِي آخِرِ حَيَاتِهِ فَلَمَّا سَلَّمَ قَامَ النَّبِيُّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - فَقَالَ: " أَرَأَيْتَكُمْ لَيْلَتَكُمْ هَذِهِ، فَإِنَّ رَأْسَ مِائَةٍ لَا يَبْقَى مِمَّنْ هُوَ الْيَوْمَ عَلَى ظَهْرِ الْأَرْضِ أَحَدٌ ". فَوَهَلَ النَّاسُ مِنْ مَقَالَةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - إِلَى مَا يَتَحَدَّثُونَ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأَحَادِيثِ عَنْ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ، وَإِنَّمَا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -: لَا يَبْقَى مِمَّنْ هُوَ عَلَى ظَهْرِ الْأَرْضِ، يُرِيدُ بِذَلِكَ أَنَّهَا تَخْرِمُ ذَلِكَ. وَجَاءَ الْحَدِيثُ مُخْتَصَرًا فِي مَوْضِعَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ فِي: الْبُخَارِيِّ ١ (كِتَابُ الْعِلْمِ، بَابُ السَّمَرِ فِي الْعِلْمِ) ، ١/١١٣ (كِتَابُ مَوَاقِيتِ الصَّلَاةِ، بَابُ ذِكْرِ الْعَشَاءِ وَالْعَتَمَةِ. .) . وَجَاءَ الْحَدِيثُ مُفَصَّلًا فِي: مُسْلِمٍ ٤/١٩٦٥ ١٩٦٦ (كِتَابُ فَضَائِلِ الصَّحَابَةِ، بَابُ قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَا تَأْتِي مِائَةُ سَنَةٍ وَعَلَى الْأَرْضِ نَفْسٌ مَنْفُوسَةٌ الْيَوْمَ) ، سُنَنَ أَبِي دَاوُدَ ٤/١٧٦ (كِتَابُ الْمَلَاحِمِ، بَابُ قِيَامِ السَّاعَةِ) سُنَنَ التِّرْمِذِيِّ ٣/٣٥٤ ٣٥٥ (كِتَابُ الْفِتَنِ، بَابُ ٥٥) . وَقَالَ مُحَقِّقُ سُنَنِ أَبِي دَاوُدَ: " وَقَدْ أَخْرَجَ مُسْلِمٌ فِي صَحِيحِهِ أَنَّ أَبَا الطُّفَيْلِ بْنَ عَامِرِ بْنِ وَاثِلَةَ آخِرُ مَنْ مَاتَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -، وَأَنَّ وَفَاتَهُ كَانَتْ سَنَةَ مِائَةٍ مِنِ الْهِجْرَةِ "