2767 — “Among the signs of the Hour are that wealth will become abundant, ignorance will increase, tribulations will become manifest, and trade will become widespread [and knowledge will appear].”

Al-Nasa’i recorded it in his Sunan (2/212), as did al-Hakim in his Mustadrak (2/7)—the wording is his—and al-Tayalisi (1171), from whom Ibn Mandah transmitted it in al-Ma‘rifah (2/59/2), and al-Khattabi in Gharib al-Hadith (81/2), through the route of Wahb ibn Jarir: “My father narrated to us, saying: I heard Yunus ibn ‘Ubayd narrate from al-Hasan, from ‘Amr ibn Taghlib, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said…” and he mentioned it.

The addition is al-Nasa’i’s, and in his version it continues: “A man will conduct a sale and say, ‘Not until I consult the merchant of such-and-such clan.’ In a large district, people will seek a scribe but find none.”

Al-Hakim said: “It is authentic according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs, except that no one narrated from ‘Amr ibn Taghlib other than al-Hasan.” That is what he said! It seems that he had not come across Ibn Abi Hatim’s statement in his book (3/1/222/1235), which Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr followed in al-Isti‘ab: “…Al-Hasan al-Basri and al-Hakam ibn al-A‘raj narrated from him.”

I say: Al-Bukhari, in his Sahih (2927 and 3592), Ibn Majah (4098), and Ahmad (4/69–70) also narrated, through the route of al-Hasan from ‘Amr ibn Taghlib, a hadith concerning the signs of the Hour and the fighting of the Turks. However, in it he explicitly used a direct-narration formula. This is an important condition for a hadith’s authenticity in general, and for meeting al-Bukhari’s criteria in particular, because it is well known