101. Some Young People Turn Away from Religion's Morality
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Ali [r.a.] relates: "The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) once asked: 'What will become of you when your young people turn to wrongdoing, and your women turn to excess?'" (Agreed upon) | ||
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(1) Youth Must Have Gone Nuts (Cumhuriyet, June 25, 2003) (2) Wealthy but Unhappy (Vakit, June 8, 2002) - The New age of Anxiety (Newsweek, August 23, 1999) - Rising Youth Crime Troubles Japan (Herald Tribune, 13 October, 1999) |
In our day, a great danger threatens the world's social fabric. Just as a virus kills the human body, this danger - the degradation of those moral values that help maintain a healthy society - brings about a subtle social collapse.
From the hadiths of our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace), we understand that social degeneration will prevail in the End Times. One hadith tells us that people will engage openly in prostitution:
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The Hour will not come... until there will be prevalence of open illegal sexual intercourse (Sahih Bukhari) | ||
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These remain continual matters of public concern. Some people are not aware of this growing danger and so mistakenly consider it as normal. But, statistics show that with every passing day, this danger is spreading unperceived.
The proportion of sex-related illnesses is an important indication of the problems facing humanity. According to World Health Organization (WHO), sex-related diseases form one of the largest segments of illnesses. These reports show that of an estimated 333 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases occur in the world every year.54 In addition, AIDS continues to be the most serious problem. WHO statistics indicate that AIDS has killed 18.8 million people since the beginning of the epidemic in the early 1980s.55 The WHO report for 2000 sums up the situation succinctly: "AIDS is unique in its devastating impact on the social, economic and demographic underpinnings of development."56
Among the most frightening developments is the spread of homosexuality. In some countries, homosexuals can legally marry, enjoy its social benefits, and form associations and organizations. Around the world, their activities show their opposition to religious faith and their antagonism to religious values. This is a characteristic of our age, for such things have never happened before since the time of the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace).
The audacity of today's homosexuals makes one think of what happened to Lot's people, who were noted for their homosexuality. As the Qur'an says, when they flamboyantly rejected Lot's (pbuh) invitation to the right path, God destroyed the city and its people by a great disaster. As a reminder, the remains of this perverse society still lie beneath the water of Lut's Lake (the Dead Sea).
It is clear that the hadiths describing the moral degeneration of the End Times are coming true today. This once again reminds us that, by God's Will, Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) return to this world is very close.
103. Spread of Adultery
The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) says that the spread of extramarital sexual relationships is a sign of Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) second coming: | ||
The Hour will come when adultery becomes widespread. (Sahih Bukhari) | ||
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The weakening of moral values and a sense of shame is described in these words:
The Last Hour will not be established until they [wicked people] commit adultery on the roads [public ways]. (Ibn Hibban and al-Bazzar)It is interesting to note that, recently, scenes of prostitution captured by hidden cameras have been broadcast on television. Prostitutes have sexual intercourse with their customers in the middle of the street. This is another sign of the Last Day as revealed in a hadith, one which millions of people have witnessed.
Children of adultery will grow in number. Many people will commit adultery with women in the middle of the street. (Muhammad ibn `Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah li Ashrat as-Sa`ah, p. 140)
A time will come when adultery with women will be committed in the middle of the road. Nobody will object to this. (Muhammad ibn '`Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah li -Ashrat as-Sa`ah, p. 142)
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104. Acceptance of Homosexuality
These hadiths show that tolerating homosexuality as a normal way of life is an important sign of the period before the Last Day. | ||
Men will imitate women; and women will imitate men. (Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti, Durre-Mansoor) The Hour will draw nigh when men are content with men and women are content with women. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi) | ||
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105. Epidemics
Epidemics such as plague, that is, the disease that hits sheep; it will seize you... (Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 417, no. 761)
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"O Awf ibn Malik! Shall I recite you six signs preceding Doomsday?" I [Awf ibn Malik] said: "What are they, o Resullulah?" He [The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace)] said: "Two fatal diseases, such as cholera and anthrax, will spread among you." (Sahih Bukhari) | ||
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Two fatal diseases will spread among you, such as the Ikasu'l-Ganem [a fatal and epidemic animal disease]. (Jami` al-Ushul, vol. 10, p. 412)Throughout history, epidemics have always raged among people. However, compared to the ones in the past, today's epidemics spread much faster. Moreover, those that used to affect only a certain part of the world now can spread to many countries simultaneously.
This aside, in our day, new and unknown epidemics appear. Within the last 20-30 years, we have had to deal with AIDS, SARS, Ebola, and Mad Cow, which have become great threats.
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The Death Toll of Malaria in Ethiopia: 4,200
Local authorities stated that the epidemic became the leading cause of death between May and August, killing 4,200. (27.06.2003 www.ntvmsnbc.com)
AIDS Death Toll May Reach 70 Million
Researches warned that AIDS will kill 70 million people in the year 2020. (27.06.2003 www.ntvmsnbc.com)
The Chronological Progress of SARS
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) persists in being fearsome, despite the news that it is under control in some countries and has slowed down in others. (29.04.2003 www.ntvmsnbc.com)
Increase in the Number of Sudden Deaths
Epidemics in Iran
Thirty percent of the cattle are infected by a fatal virus in Iran. The public has been warned about an epidemic known as "Crimean and Congolese Fever." According to IRNA, Muhammed Mehdi Guya, chairman of the Disease Management Center of the Ministry of Health, said that in one year, 20 out of 140 people who are infected by the disease have died. (25.05.2002, www.hurriyetim.com.tr)
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106. Reports of Sudden Death Will Multiply
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Count six things before the Last Hour comes: My death, then the conquest of Jerusalem, then a mortal disease which will affect you like qu'as [deadly pain in the chest] in sheep. (Sunan Ibn Majah, as-Sa`ah, p. 123) | ||
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Six things will happen to this ummah: … the fourth is that sudden death will be widespread. (Ibn Ahmad Hanbal, Musnad) In our day, there is an increase in the number of diseases that cause sudden death, such as heart attacks brought on by various forms of malnutrition and improper lifestyles.
107. An Increase in Murders
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The Hour [Last Day] will not be established until murders increase. (Sahih Bukhari) Doomsday will not come until your leaders kill and the wicked inherit your world. (Muhammad ibn `Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah li Ashrat as-Sa`ah, p. 141) | ||
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... The appearance of strife, terrifying situations, and murders. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 39)An increase in murders is an obvious sign of the End Times. We can readily say that the events related in these hadiths have occurred, for in our day people hire murderers and others join organized crime rings.
The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) said: "When the time would draw close to the Last Hour, the Harj will increase." They said: "What is al-Harj?" Thereupon he said: "It is bloodshed and slaughter."(Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and Sunan Abu Dawud)
"… the shedding of blood … is one of the portents of Doomsday." (Muhammad ibn `Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah li Ashrat as-Sa`ah, p. 142)
He [the Prophet (pbuh)] said: "Before the Hour comes, there will be a lot of harj." I asked: "O God's Messenger, what is harj?" He replied: "It is murder, that is, murders..." What we mean by murder is not killing idolaters, but killing one another, to such an extent that it is killing one's neighbor, nephew, or close relative." (Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 385, no. 711)
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Violence is a sign of the End Times. Violence spreading among young people and moral degeneration are consequences of leading a life that is far from the religion's morality. Time [May 3, 1999] covered the story of a massacre in the U.S. committed by 2 high-school pupils, who attacked their school with bombs and weapons and killed 13 innocent people. - Death Machine (Hurriyet, May 28, 2003) - The Monsters Next Door (Time, May 3, 1999) |
108. Increase in Suicides
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People kill themselves, and mischief prevails all over the world. (Ibn Kathir, An-Nihaya, vol.1, p. 131) | ||
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According to the World Health Organization [WHO] reports, suicide cases are on the rise all over the world. A person commits suicide every 40 seconds. But with the verse "... and do not kill yourselves…" (Surat an-Nisa', 4:29), God clearly forbids suicide. According to Islam, it is forbidden to kill oneself, no matter what the reason may be. (1) In China, 2 Million Women Commit Suicide in a Year (Gundem, December 16, 2002) (2) Every 40 seconds a person Suicides (Yeni Asya, September 12, 2003) (3) In the USA, Suicides are More than Murders (Cumhuriyet, January 27, 2002) (4) Suicide Bridge (Sabah, March 14, 2002) |
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In the near future, there will be people who will cause fitna and conflict. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 376, no. 685) Doomsday will not come until a person kills his brother. (Muhammad ibn `Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah, p. 141) Doomsday will not come until hearts hate one another, ideas are divided, and brothers fall into conflict over religion. (Muhammad ibn `Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah li Ashrat as-Sa`ah, pp. 142-43) | ||
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Aksam, August 23, 2001 |
This enmity and hatred, which God has forbidden, will be seen in the End Times. The return of Prophet Jesus (pbuh), however, will be a blessed period during which all of this hostility, war, and conflict will end and be replaced by peace and security.Those who disbelieve filled their hearts with fanatical rage - the fanatical rage of the Time of Ignorance - and God sent down serenity to His Messenger and to the believers, and bound them to the expression of heedfulness, which they had most right to and were most entitled to. God has knowledge of all things. (Surat al-Fath, 48:26)
110. An Increase in Literacy
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It is of the conditions of the Hour that the learning will be raised up and illiteracy will be prevalent… (Mishkat-ul-Masabih, vol.4, no 58) | ||
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A significant difference that distinguishes the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries from previous ages is the advance in literacy. In earlier times, this ability was restrictedto a particular group of privileged people, whereas, toward the end of the twentieth century, UNESCO and other government and private organizations organized worldwide campaigns to promote literacy. This mobilization of educational resources, with its attendant technological innovations and humanitarian services, has born great fruit, for according to one UNESCO report, the average literacy rate in 2003 was 84%.57 This figure is certainly the highest in human history.
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