قیامت آنے کی دس بڑی نشانیاں

Hazrat Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that (one day) we were discussing (the Day of Judgment) among ourselves when the Prophet (peace be upon him) came out towards us and asked: “What are you discussing?” We said we are discussing the Day of Judgment. He (peace be upon him) said: “Surely the Day of Judgment will not come until you see ten signs before it.” Then he (peace be upon him) mentioned these signs: “(1) the smoke, (2) the Dajjal, (3) the beast of the earth, (4) the rising of the sun from the west, (5) the descent of Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him), (6) the appearance of Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog), (7, 8, 9) the sinking of the earth in three places — one in the east, one in the west, and the third in the Arabian Peninsula — and after all these signs a fire will appear that will drive people out of Yemen and, herding them, take them towards the land of gathering (i.e. Syria).”

Belief in the Day of Judgment is one of the fundamental articles of faith of the Muslims, denying which takes a person outside the fold of Islam. It is a fixed day whose knowledge belongs only to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; but the Master of both worlds (peace be upon him) informed his Ummah about those things whose appearance will occur before the Day of Judgment. The above hadith too mentions these very signs that will appear before the Day of Judgment.
The first sign is the smoke, which will spread over the whole earth from east to west and will remain for forty continuous days, and all people will be in severe distress. The second sign is the appearance of the Dajjal. The word ‘Dajjal’ is derived from ‘dajl’, which means deception, lying and the mixing (of falsehood with truth). He is a particular person who will be one-eyed, will claim divinity, and will do certain things that are beyond the power of any human; for example, he will cause rain to fall, the earth will grow crops at his command, and with him will be a false paradise and a false hell, and so on. Many godless people who are deprived of faith, or who are very weak in faith, will be impressed by his tricks and will accept his claim to divinity. But those firm in faith will reject him, which will become a means of increase in their faith. The third sign is the beast of the earth. By the beast of the earth is meant a strange and rare creature that will emerge in the Sacred Mosque from between the hills of Safa and Marwah. It is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an too. The fourth sign is that the sun, which normally rises from the east, will one day rise from the west. This will be for some time, after which it will again rise from the east. After this sign the door of repentance will be closed and the faith of no disbeliever will be accepted. The fifth sign is the descent of Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him) from the sky. His descent will be after the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (peace be upon him). At the time of evening he will descend from the sky onto the eastern white minaret of the Grand Mosque of Damascus, and will then seek out the Dajjal and kill him at the gate of Ludd. The sixth sign is the emergence of Yajuj and Majuj. These are the names of two tribes who were very savage and powerful. Their special occupation was plunder and spreading strife and corruption on the earth. They are held captive in some valley, and when the Day of Judgment is about to come they will be released from that captivity and will once again spread disorder and corruption on the earth. The seventh, eighth and ninth signs are the sinking of the earth in various places. The tenth sign is the appearance of a fire that will drive people towards the land of gathering, i.e. the region of Syria.
Here it is necessary to understand this much: the signs or portents of the Day of Judgment are of two kinds. One is the minor signs, called ‘alamat sughra’, which are signs of the approach of the Day of Judgment — the very prophethood of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is the first sign of the nearness of the Day of Judgment. And the other, the major signs, called ‘alamat kubra’, which are the forerunners of the Day of Judgment, i.e. signs of its actual arrival. The above blessed hadith describes the major signs.
Some of these signs — for example the sun rising from the west, or the appearance of the beast of the earth — are apparently against this system of nature that is in force in this world; but the Master who established this world and its system can, whenever He wills, by His power make it operate in an entirely different manner.