1345 — “When you see the slave woman give birth to her mistress or master; when you see the keepers of sheep vying with one another in constructing buildings; and when you see the barefoot, hungry, destitute becoming the leaders of the people—then that is among the signs and portents of the Hour.”

Ahmad recorded it (1/318–319) through ‘Abd al-Hamid, who said: Shahr narrated to us; ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas narrated to me, attributing it to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with this wording. He added at its end:

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was seated in a gathering when Gabriel, peace be upon him, came to him. He sat before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, placing his palms upon the knees of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, tell me about Islam.’”

(I say: He then cited the hadith in full, and it includes:) “He said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, then tell me: when will the Hour be?’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, replied: ‘Glory be to Allah! There are five matters of the unseen which none knows but Him: “Indeed, Allah alone has knowledge of the Hour …” the verse. But if you wish, I can tell you some of its signs apart from that.’ He said: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah, tell me.’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then mentioned it.”

He added at its end: “He said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, who are the keepers of sheep, and the barefoot, hungry, destitute?’ He replied: ‘The Arabs.’”

I say: This chain of transmission is acceptable for corroborative evidence. Shahr—meaning Ibn Hawshab—had a poor memory, but the hadith is authentic and established in the two Sahihs through Abu Hurayrah, with similar wording; and through ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab in Muslim and elsewhere, but without the addition.

1346 — “The killing of my Companions will suffice them.”

Ahmad recorded it (3/472): Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us—in Baghdad—saying: Abu Malik al-Ashja‘i, Sa‘d ibn Tariq, informed us, from his father, that he heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, say it. I say: This is an authentic three-narrator chain according to Muslim’s criteria. Al-Haythami said (7/23): “Ahmad and al-Tabarani narrated it through the chains of al-Bazzar, and Ahmad’s narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.”