The Final Sign of the Hour?
A Brief Description of the Question:
The Final Sign of the Hour?
The Answer:
ANSWER 1
Jafr and Abjad reckoning are the branch of science. It is used in order to understand some secrets and decode some codes that Allah set for the past and future. However, it does not mean to know the unseen (ghaib). It is merely to know how to read it. The person who does not know Chinese language assumes he is looking at a picture. Nonetheless, those having the knowledge of that language can work out many meanings out of it.
Jafr and Abjad reckoning is the art of learning and interpreting some codes that God did set for the past and future.
Hazrat Ali got the essence of this branch of science from our Prophet (pbuh). Therefore, the source of this science is based on revelation. Hazrat Ali assessed those secrets with some rules and formulas. It has been said that those formulas and secrets that Sayyid ancestry is said to have known very well will be known perfectly by Mahdi who was announced to come at the end of the time as glad tidings. (Katip Çelebi, Keşfuzzunun, İlmu Cifir Maddesi)
There are some explanations that knowledge of this science was held by some Jews. For instance, when the verse “alif lam mim” was read out, the Jews claimed the life-span of the umma of Muhammad would be short but they had to keep quiet when our Prophet recited some other verses. Another example is the statement “baldatun tayyibatun” in the Quran. When that phrase is calculated in terms of abjad reckoning, the conquest of Istanbul is concluded. (İsmail Hekimoğlu, Yeni Ansiklopedi, Ebced Maddesi)
The science interpreting the secrets coded within the Quran and Hadiths is called the Abjad and Jafr reckoning.
For more explanations and examples with regard to this issue, it can be referred to the work entitled Kudsi Kaynaklar prepared by Abdulkadir Badıllı and published by Envar Publications.
The knowledge of Allah embraces all of the happenings from the beginning of the world to the farthest limits of the end of time, times and places. Nothing can be out of the limits of His Knowledge nor can be concealed from Him.
Only Allah knows the unseen occurrences that have not come into existence yet. Nobody but He knows the unseen. There are Five Hidden Things and they can only be known by Allah. 1. The face of baby different from all other human beings in his mother’s womb and his spiritual-talent face. 2. The rainfall time that is still in the scope of the unseen and the signs of which are not apparent yet. 3. What a human being will gain and lose tomorrow 4. When, where and how a person is going to die. 5. When the doomsday is going to occur.
The scholars of Islam considered it forbidden to make any prediction for the unseen so as not to desecrate and be disrespectful to the law “nobody but Allah knows the unseen.” Those giving notice of it did so only in a curtained and unopened way in a form of signal.
The science used to tell something from the future is the Jafr and Abjad reckoning. Each Arabic letter has a certain numerical value. That Abjad reckoning was known before Islam, too. Badiuzzaman confirms that truth by the following story. When some scholars of the sons of Israel heard about the letters ‘alif-lâm-mim’ at the beginning of some verses in the presence of our Prophet, they said relying on the Jafr reckoning: Oh Muhammad. The lifespan of your umma is very short. He said to them. “No, it is not. He recited some other letters at the beginnings of the other verses and declared “They still have time.” And then they kept silent.
The Qasidah al-Jaljalutiya by Hazrat Ali was compiled from the beginning to the end based on a kind of Abjad and Jafr reckoning. Moreover, the people like Jafar-i Sadiq and Muhyiddin-i Arabi working on the unseen secrets and the letter science accepted this Abjad reckoning as an unseen law and a key. (Rays: Şualar p 613)
As is seen, Badiuzzaman Said Nursi analyses a hadith telling us about the end of time and Doomsday with abjad and jafr reckoning and concludes some dates. “La tazalu taifatun min ummati zahirina ala’l-haqqi hatta ya’tiyallahu bi amrihi ”, which means “ a group from my nation is going to come and be victorious upon true path until the order of Allah arrives (until the doomsday comes).
“La tazalu taifatun min ummati.” The numerical value according to the abjad and jafr reckoning is Rumi Calendar 1506 (Gregorian calendar 2090)
“Hatta ya’tiyallahu bi amrihi.” Rumi Calendar 1545 (Gregorian calendar 2129)
While thinking about how long the lifespan of students of Risale-i Nur would last, Badiuzzaman Said Nursi said, all of a sudden at the second hour of the tenth day of Ramadan, a hadith had been inspired to his heart.According to that hadith, until Rumi calendar 1506 (Gregorian calendar 2090), religious activities would be carried out obviously, openly and even victoriously and then, till the date 1542 (Gregorian calendar 2126), the guidance and illumination mission would keep on going secretly and in a defeated way. He said that the doomsday would break forth over the unbelievers in Gregorian calendar 2129 and that the knowledge of it was held only by Allah and the truth could be known merely by Allah.
It is very significant that the clause “Allazina an’amta alayhim” describing those being on the straight path in Sura al-Fatiha makes 1506 or 1507 without shadda (a sign written above a consonant (in the Arabic alphabet) to show that it is doubled) and thus it is equal to the numerical value of the part “zahirina ala’l-haqqi”. And it confirms the implication of the hadith. Hence, it is understood that the students of Risale-i Nur are going to be a well-accepted group amongst Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Community at the end of time.
Besides the implied signs of the Quran and Hadiths regarding the doomsday, the scholars also make some calculations. The comet Halley revolving around an orbit connected to the solar system and passes nearest to the earth at each 76 years passed very close to our globe latest at the early years of 1980. At the next pass, its striking to our sphere with the permission of Allah may give rise to occurrence of the Doomsday. It is even said that a comet called “Swift Tuttle” three miles in diameter is approaching our earth at a speed thirty-seven miles per second and will bump into the world onAugust 14, 2126 causing an effect greater than that of one million atom bomb. All of those mentioned above are just approximate estimates. Allah knows the best.
“I came in the afternoon period of the humanity” our Prophet (pbuh) says. In another hadith, he is reported to have said “the lifespan of my nation will not be longer than 1500 years.”
The doomsday is the destruction of the universe and its death, which will be followed by a resurrection. Our passing away is our doomsday. Making some preparations for the Infinity Land prior to the breaking forth of the doomsday and complying with the orders and prohibitions of Allah and thus leading a life on true path are the best things that we can do.
ANSWER 2
I will dare to make a guess about the date of Doomsday although it exceeds my authority to say “The doomsday will come at such and such a date.” Of course, no one can be sure of what will become of one the next day. However, when death draws nearer, you feel it. The Creator says that He wills to keep doomsday, which is becoming evident as it draws nearer, a secret and says “My design is to keep it hidden.”(1) And when it draws nearer and nearer, you begin to say that it is about to happen and your prediction gets nearer to the truth.
Allah warns us as follows: “They ask thee about the (final) Hour - when will be its appointed time? Say: The knowledge thereof is with my Lord (alone): None but He can reveal as to when it will occur. Heavy were its burden through the heavens and the earth. Only, all of a sudden will it come to you." (2) “Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). Nor does anyone know what it is that he will earn on the morrow.” (3) “The (Judgment) ever approaching draws nigh.” (4) “And will ye laugh and not weep, wasting your time in vanities.” (5)
I dreamed of the world coming to the end on the night of 26th October 1992. When I understood that the Hour had come, I ran through the streets; I grasped everyone I encountered from arms and told them that we should prepare for the Hereafter. Whomever I grasped escaped before I finished my words. While I was running with the pain of not expressing myself, the downfall began and I retired to a corner and watched death.
The Earth was shaken with waves; flames gushed out of the cracked and scattered ground. I was afraid of the masses of rock, mount and flames that would fall onto me. I fell on my knees and prayed: “Oh Allah, do not make me suffer pain!”
I lost my body in the darkness. Then I opened my eyes on the burnt-up debris; I was going somewhere. I was feeling sorry saying “Why did we not heed and understand?” The moment I turned my head and saw the ground as black and the heavens as dark, I woke up.
The next morning I went to my work in the TBMM (Turkish Grand National Assembly) Commission of Investigation. Holding in one of my hand the daily newspaper, in the other my tea, I was trying to interpret my dream. I opened one of the pages of the newspaper randomly. My eyes were caught by the heading: “The date of the doomsday is found.” I got exited and shuddered. The news was as follows: “The doomsday everybody expected was finally disclosed: 14th August 2126. The famous astronomer Duncan Stell, from the British-Australian Observatory, stated that a comet with a width of three miles named Swift Tuttle is heading for us with a speed of 37 miles per second and at the reckoned time it will crash the Earth causing an explosion more destructive than a million nuclear bombs.” (6)
I was affected by the news after my dream and made studies about the date of the doomsday. I heard that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: “The life span of my community will exceed a thousand years, but it will not exceed much one and a half thousand years.” (7) And I saw that it was inferred from a hadith that was evaluated with the reckoning of ‘abjad’ that the year 1545 of the Hegira (2120 CE) might be the year of doomsday. (8). When I gathered other dates like that together, I saw that an interesting similarity between the dates pointed nearly to the same years.
Nine years after this dream, I wanted to write a book about Doomsday and gathered data. (9). I asked one of the authorities of the subject, Prof. Brian G. Marsden, about the developments concerning Swift Tuttle. The e-mail answer of Prof. Marsden dated 17 April 2001 was as follows: “If it were to collide with the Earth during its next crossing, it would happen on 14th August 2126. The comet makes delay with its each crossing. According to the precise reckonings done taking into consideration the observations of the Chinese in the years 68 BC and 188 AD, it was understood that the possibility of a collision at that time is very small.” I asked Prof. Marsden whether there was any possibility of collision in the year 2120. He wrote: “If there is any chance of collision at that time, it may happen with a heavenly body we do not know of yet.”
So the possibility of unknown meteors drawing nearer to the Earth was high. According to the scientists in NASA, the meteor called 2004 MN4 that was discovered in June 2004 and that was 400 meters in diameter might crash the Earth with a possibility of one out of three hundred on 13 April 2029. (10) The closer the meteor gets, the higher the possibility of collision; the possibility reckoned recently is one out of thirty-eight. (11)… How many pieces of news like that will we read; without even taking it seriously at all…
Will there actually be flood after the year 2100? Will natural disorders happen one after another until Doomsday after the fifty-seventy years ahead of us? When will the calamity befall our earth? Every watchful conscience will find its answer.
When the star Neutron, which is fifty thousand years of light away from us, exploded in 2004, the energy issued, in just one second, can only be given off by our sun in one million years. According to the scientists, if that explosion had happened ten light-years nearer to our world, much of the life on earth would have vanished. (12). From now on, the news of doomsday will blow like winds that herald the impending storm. Finally, the real storm will befall us all of a sudden and unexpected. (13).
In the headline of German newspaper ‘Bild’, scientists were warning people against doomsday. One of those scientists, Prof. Sir David King talked to BBC: “If this downfall of the world does not gain momentum, there remain sixty years for us to live peacefully.” (14). Moreover, according to the Washington Worldwatch Institution, there is no world for the generations after our grandchildren. (15). In other words, they mean to say that it is too late.
Shall we fear that the years when our world will no longer go on are about to come and abandon all efforts? On the contrary, the way to deserve eternity passes through efforts to repair and to leave good memoirs. The knowledge of doomsday should lead us to working hard and to good deeds.
The Destruction of the Universe
How will the catastrophe take place? Will it affect only the world and the solar system; or will it cover the entire Universe? Will the doom of the world and that of the solar system and the universe happen at the same time?
“Do they then only wait for the Hour, - that it should come on them of a sudden? But already have come some tokens thereof, and when it (actually) is on them, how can they benefit then by their admonition?” (16). “The Hour will certainly come: Therein is no doubt: Yet most men believe not.” (17)
“To Allah belongeth the Mystery of the heavens and the earth. And the Decision of the Hour (of Judgment) is as the twinkling of an eye, or even quicker: for Allah hath power over all things.” (18). Just like the Creator creates the universe all of a sudden, He also starts the doom all of a sudden. Everything that seems to be going all right suddenly turns upside down.
The dangers against our world are increasing more and more. Recently, a meteor has passed our world at close range. (19) Could the scientist disclose it to the public if they were sure that a meteor is going to crash our world? Mihail Smirnov made the announcement: “No meteor is going to crash the Earth in 175 years.” He thinks “The mankind will have already found the way to destroy meteors by that time.” (20)
According to a research published in the magazine Science, it was ‘discovered’ that a meteor of one kilometer width is going to crash the Earth on 16th March 2880. The scientists believe that they will develop the technology to change the direction of the meteor until that time. Moreover, Jon D. Giorgini, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratories says he is not worried because he thinks they will benefit from the time they have and find a solution. (21) Always the same trick and deception…
Meteors are just the pretext of it. The Divine Power that starts the downfall of the Universe will flow into the Universe through the breath of the angel Israfil. If the energy that spreads from the trumpet of Israfil upsets the energy balance of the Universe, the system will begin to fall apart. Unbalance reaches every atom; the Universe begins to fall down with its galaxies and layers of heavens. That day the trumpet is blown; “The Trumpet will be blown, and so all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will fall dead, except those whom God wills to exempt.” (22)
The Universe is expanding like a rubber cloth that is pulled from each side; every entity grows distant from one another from the atom to galaxies. Scientists say that it may be because of the hidden dark energy present in the Universe. (23) If the Universe is under the control of a hidden energy tens of times greater than it, you can imagine the outcomes of its going backwards.
Whether it is veiled with a cause that is either impending or created suddenly or it is triggered without a cause, the process of collapsing will cover the Earth. Whether a meteor crashes or the energy balance of the Universe is upset or the solar and galactic systems fall down; no matter how, the doom will start.
Imagine what will happen if Allah takes away the power He sends out of the unknown source of the heavens and the earth to electrons. All the wheels of the clock of the universe will break off; the components of the machine of substance will spring from their places like a watch spring. An untold lack of control and order will be experienced followed by a fading out and perishing like foam.
The death of the world is awesome: “When the earthquakes with a violent quaking destined for it, And the earth yields up its burdens…” (24) “When the earth is shaken with a violent shock; And the mountains are shattered and crumble; So they become dust scattered…” (25) That day the earth and mountains will quake; mountains will turn into piles of molten sand!
Death spreads all over the universe. “When the stars are effaced, And when the sky is rent asunder, (27) When the heaven is cleft open; And when the stars fall in disorder and are scattered…(28) The sky will cleft open thereby. His promise (of Resurrection and Judgment) is certainly to be fulfilled.” (29) “When the eyesight is confounded (through fear), when the eyesight is confounded (through fear), and the sun and the moon are joined together, On that Day human will say: "Where is the escape?" (30)
We would fall into darkness if a veil was put between us and the sun. If the Creator halts the reflection of His light and power for just a second, the universe will turn to nothing at this moment. We think up scenarios of doomsday in vain.
The return to non-existence
When doomsday comes, there will be only apathetic and insensitive people living on earth who will be interested only in their material desires. Although they will be seeing all the signs, they will still be reckoning that they will somehow get rescued; they will amuse themselves and continue their disobedience.
They will be shaken by such an uproar of quake that many hearts will burst within breasts. The brain veins of many will thereby split up. Imagine flames that stretch from the horizon to the moon blowing towards you. Seas are pouring down on you just like coming up from heavens. Mountains are torn from their basis; the ground collapses; you watch the earth turning upside down. The ground and the heavens are crying out death.
At the time of the doom, the angels, jinni, devils and souls are weak and desperate, bewildered and shuddered. Since its birth, the universe had not experienced such an unbelievable terror. “O humankind! Keep from disobedience to your Lord in reverence for Him and piety and get under His protection. (Never forget that) the violent convulsion of the Last Hour is an awesome thing.” (31)
Every living being will experience the terror of doomsday. People continue to see events with the eye of soul after they die. The collapse will take place in the presence of the souls that are in the intermediate world of grave. The world of grave will also be scattered. This is mixed with the terror of the ones who expect hell and with the joys of the ones who hope the paradise.
They bring the ones sentenced to death at night to the gallows or to the place of execution… They crown the leaders that succeeded in being selected in big ceremonies… That day everybody feels what will become of them soon. Everything will be evident in the presence of everybody; the biggest questioning of the history will presently take place.
The commandment “The Day when We will roll up heaven as written scrolls are rolled up” (32) will take place. The material of the universe collapses and the systems are scattered. The collapse of the galaxies is followed by the closure of the heavenly layers. Souls and angels also fade away one after another and the final judgment of the verse “Everything is perishable (and so perishing) except His "Face" (His eternal Self and what is done in seeking His good pleasure).” (33) comes true.
The doom has taken place. Time finishes and there remains no entity except Allah. From then on, everything is in the knowledge of only Allah. The last page of a wonderful novel was lived and sent to history. Everything with body and material perished like foam; the universe melted like wax and vanished.
References
(1) The Qur'an, Ta Ha, 15.
(2) The Qur'an, Al-A'raf, 187.
(3) The Qur'an, Luqman, 34.
(4) The Qur'an, An-Najm, 57.
(5) The Qur'an, An-Najm, 60.
(6) See Hürriyet, 27.10.2002. In addition, I mentioned this topic for the first time in my article titled “When will the Doomsday break out?” Which was published in the newspaper Yeni Asya dated 18.11.2002.
(7) Al-Barzanji, Kiyamet Alametleri (Signs of the Doomsday)(Istanbul: Pamuk Publications., 2002) p. 299, quoted from Jalaladdin Suyuti's “al-Kashf'u fi Mujazawati Hazin al-Ummati al-Alfa allazi Dallat Alayh al-Asar”.
(8) Now we are in the year 1426 according to the Hijrah Calendar (based on the Emigration from Mecca to Medina) (2005 AD). See Badiuzzaman, Kastamonu Lahikası, p. 23.
(9) After gathering all data about the Doomsday, when I thought I would be able to write my book, I renewed my computer. Long after the formatting, I learned that the data about the Doomsday were also deleted.
(10) Milliyet, “Will Doomsday break out on 13 April 2029?” (25.12.2004).
(11) Vatan, “The Alarm for Meteor” (10.4.2005).
(12) Hürriyet, “Great explosion in the Milky Way” (20.02.2005).
(13) “It does not come to you except unawares.” (The Qur'an, Al-A'raf, 187).
(14) Hürriyet, “The world has a life of 60 years left” (07.11.2004).
(15) NTVMSNBC, “We have a time of one or two generations left” (10.01.2003).
(16) The Qur'an, Muhammad, 18.
(17) The Qur'an, Al- Mumin, 59.
(18) The Qur'an, An-Nahl, 77.
(19) Hürriyet, “The meteor passed by tangent” (19.03.2004).
(20) Hürriyet, “No meteor will fall down in 175 years.” (05.02.2001).
(21) Akşam, “The Doomsday is after 878 years” (05.04.2002).
(22) The Qur'an, Az-Zumar, 68. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) states that on the right side of the Archangel Israfil, whom he described as “The owner of The Trumpet”, Archangel Gabriel will be positioned; and on Israfil's left side, the Archangel Michael will be positioned. (Abu Dawud, Huruf wa’l-Qiraat 1, 3999). Together with those trees, Archangel Azrael will penetrate the dimensions of the universe and they represent four great areas of energy and the dimension of conscious and command. As we understand, Israfil represents the area of energy which plays a role in Allah's exterminating and resurrecting the universe.
(23) The known baryonic matter (galaxies) in the universe makes up % 4 of the whole body. It is assumed that % 75 is the dark energy and the rest is the dark matter. See http://www.nasa.gov/missions/deepspace/f_dark-energy.html
(24) The Qur'an, Az-Zalzalah, 1-2.
(25) The Qur'an, Al-Waqi'ah, 4-6.
(26) The Qur'an, Al-Muzzammil, 14.
(27) The Qur'an, Al-Mursalaat, 8-11.
(28) The Qur'an, Al-Infitaar, 1-3.
(29) The Qur'an, Al-Muzzammil, 18.
(30) The Qur'an, Al-Qiyamah, 7-10.
(31) The Qur'an, Al-Hajj, 1.
(32) The Qur'an, Al-Anbiya, 104.
(33) The Qur'an, Al-Qasas, 88.
Quoted from the author's book "Sonsuzluk Yolculuğu" (The Journey to Eternity)...
Muhammed Bozdağ (Dr.)
Allah warns us as follows: “They ask thee about the (final) Hour - when will be its appointed time? Say: The knowledge thereof is with my Lord (alone): None but He can reveal as to when it will occur. Heavy were its burden through the heavens and the earth. Only, all of a sudden will it come to you." (2) “Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). Nor does anyone know what it is that he will earn on the morrow.” (3) “The (Judgment) ever approaching draws nigh.” (4) “And will ye laugh and not weep, wasting your time in vanities.” (5)
I dreamed of the world coming to the end on the night of 26th October 1992. When I understood that the Hour had come, I ran through the streets; I grasped everyone I encountered from arms and told them that we should prepare for the Hereafter. Whomever I grasped escaped before I finished my words. While I was running with the pain of not expressing myself, the downfall began and I retired to a corner and watched death.
The Earth was shaken with waves; flames gushed out of the cracked and scattered ground. I was afraid of the masses of rock, mount and flames that would fall onto me. I fell on my knees and prayed: “Oh Allah, do not make me suffer pain!”
I lost my body in the darkness. Then I opened my eyes on the burnt-up debris; I was going somewhere. I was feeling sorry saying “Why did we not heed and understand?” The moment I turned my head and saw the ground as black and the heavens as dark, I woke up.
The next morning I went to my work in the TBMM (Turkish Grand National Assembly) Commission of Investigation. Holding in one of my hand the daily newspaper, in the other my tea, I was trying to interpret my dream. I opened one of the pages of the newspaper randomly. My eyes were caught by the heading: “The date of the doomsday is found.” I got exited and shuddered. The news was as follows: “The doomsday everybody expected was finally disclosed: 14th August 2126. The famous astronomer Duncan Stell, from the British-Australian Observatory, stated that a comet with a width of three miles named Swift Tuttle is heading for us with a speed of 37 miles per second and at the reckoned time it will crash the Earth causing an explosion more destructive than a million nuclear bombs.” (6)
I was affected by the news after my dream and made studies about the date of the doomsday. I heard that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: “The life span of my community will exceed a thousand years, but it will not exceed much one and a half thousand years.” (7) And I saw that it was inferred from a hadith that was evaluated with the reckoning of ‘abjad’ that the year 1545 of the Hegira (2120 CE) might be the year of doomsday. (8). When I gathered other dates like that together, I saw that an interesting similarity between the dates pointed nearly to the same years.
Nine years after this dream, I wanted to write a book about Doomsday and gathered data. (9). I asked one of the authorities of the subject, Prof. Brian G. Marsden, about the developments concerning Swift Tuttle. The e-mail answer of Prof. Marsden dated 17 April 2001 was as follows: “If it were to collide with the Earth during its next crossing, it would happen on 14th August 2126. The comet makes delay with its each crossing. According to the precise reckonings done taking into consideration the observations of the Chinese in the years 68 BC and 188 AD, it was understood that the possibility of a collision at that time is very small.” I asked Prof. Marsden whether there was any possibility of collision in the year 2120. He wrote: “If there is any chance of collision at that time, it may happen with a heavenly body we do not know of yet.”
So the possibility of unknown meteors drawing nearer to the Earth was high. According to the scientists in NASA, the meteor called 2004 MN4 that was discovered in June 2004 and that was 400 meters in diameter might crash the Earth with a possibility of one out of three hundred on 13 April 2029. (10) The closer the meteor gets, the higher the possibility of collision; the possibility reckoned recently is one out of thirty-eight. (11)… How many pieces of news like that will we read; without even taking it seriously at all…
Will there actually be flood after the year 2100? Will natural disorders happen one after another until Doomsday after the fifty-seventy years ahead of us? When will the calamity befall our earth? Every watchful conscience will find its answer.
When the star Neutron, which is fifty thousand years of light away from us, exploded in 2004, the energy issued, in just one second, can only be given off by our sun in one million years. According to the scientists, if that explosion had happened ten light-years nearer to our world, much of the life on earth would have vanished. (12). From now on, the news of doomsday will blow like winds that herald the impending storm. Finally, the real storm will befall us all of a sudden and unexpected. (13).
In the headline of German newspaper ‘Bild’, scientists were warning people against doomsday. One of those scientists, Prof. Sir David King talked to BBC: “If this downfall of the world does not gain momentum, there remain sixty years for us to live peacefully.” (14). Moreover, according to the Washington Worldwatch Institution, there is no world for the generations after our grandchildren. (15). In other words, they mean to say that it is too late.
Shall we fear that the years when our world will no longer go on are about to come and abandon all efforts? On the contrary, the way to deserve eternity passes through efforts to repair and to leave good memoirs. The knowledge of doomsday should lead us to working hard and to good deeds.
The Destruction of the Universe
How will the catastrophe take place? Will it affect only the world and the solar system; or will it cover the entire Universe? Will the doom of the world and that of the solar system and the universe happen at the same time?
“Do they then only wait for the Hour, - that it should come on them of a sudden? But already have come some tokens thereof, and when it (actually) is on them, how can they benefit then by their admonition?” (16). “The Hour will certainly come: Therein is no doubt: Yet most men believe not.” (17)
“To Allah belongeth the Mystery of the heavens and the earth. And the Decision of the Hour (of Judgment) is as the twinkling of an eye, or even quicker: for Allah hath power over all things.” (18). Just like the Creator creates the universe all of a sudden, He also starts the doom all of a sudden. Everything that seems to be going all right suddenly turns upside down.
The dangers against our world are increasing more and more. Recently, a meteor has passed our world at close range. (19) Could the scientist disclose it to the public if they were sure that a meteor is going to crash our world? Mihail Smirnov made the announcement: “No meteor is going to crash the Earth in 175 years.” He thinks “The mankind will have already found the way to destroy meteors by that time.” (20)
According to a research published in the magazine Science, it was ‘discovered’ that a meteor of one kilometer width is going to crash the Earth on 16th March 2880. The scientists believe that they will develop the technology to change the direction of the meteor until that time. Moreover, Jon D. Giorgini, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratories says he is not worried because he thinks they will benefit from the time they have and find a solution. (21) Always the same trick and deception…
Meteors are just the pretext of it. The Divine Power that starts the downfall of the Universe will flow into the Universe through the breath of the angel Israfil. If the energy that spreads from the trumpet of Israfil upsets the energy balance of the Universe, the system will begin to fall apart. Unbalance reaches every atom; the Universe begins to fall down with its galaxies and layers of heavens. That day the trumpet is blown; “The Trumpet will be blown, and so all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will fall dead, except those whom God wills to exempt.” (22)
The Universe is expanding like a rubber cloth that is pulled from each side; every entity grows distant from one another from the atom to galaxies. Scientists say that it may be because of the hidden dark energy present in the Universe. (23) If the Universe is under the control of a hidden energy tens of times greater than it, you can imagine the outcomes of its going backwards.
Whether it is veiled with a cause that is either impending or created suddenly or it is triggered without a cause, the process of collapsing will cover the Earth. Whether a meteor crashes or the energy balance of the Universe is upset or the solar and galactic systems fall down; no matter how, the doom will start.
Imagine what will happen if Allah takes away the power He sends out of the unknown source of the heavens and the earth to electrons. All the wheels of the clock of the universe will break off; the components of the machine of substance will spring from their places like a watch spring. An untold lack of control and order will be experienced followed by a fading out and perishing like foam.
The death of the world is awesome: “When the earthquakes with a violent quaking destined for it, And the earth yields up its burdens…” (24) “When the earth is shaken with a violent shock; And the mountains are shattered and crumble; So they become dust scattered…” (25) That day the earth and mountains will quake; mountains will turn into piles of molten sand!
Death spreads all over the universe. “When the stars are effaced, And when the sky is rent asunder, (27) When the heaven is cleft open; And when the stars fall in disorder and are scattered…(28) The sky will cleft open thereby. His promise (of Resurrection and Judgment) is certainly to be fulfilled.” (29) “When the eyesight is confounded (through fear), when the eyesight is confounded (through fear), and the sun and the moon are joined together, On that Day human will say: "Where is the escape?" (30)
We would fall into darkness if a veil was put between us and the sun. If the Creator halts the reflection of His light and power for just a second, the universe will turn to nothing at this moment. We think up scenarios of doomsday in vain.
The return to non-existence
When doomsday comes, there will be only apathetic and insensitive people living on earth who will be interested only in their material desires. Although they will be seeing all the signs, they will still be reckoning that they will somehow get rescued; they will amuse themselves and continue their disobedience.
They will be shaken by such an uproar of quake that many hearts will burst within breasts. The brain veins of many will thereby split up. Imagine flames that stretch from the horizon to the moon blowing towards you. Seas are pouring down on you just like coming up from heavens. Mountains are torn from their basis; the ground collapses; you watch the earth turning upside down. The ground and the heavens are crying out death.
At the time of the doom, the angels, jinni, devils and souls are weak and desperate, bewildered and shuddered. Since its birth, the universe had not experienced such an unbelievable terror. “O humankind! Keep from disobedience to your Lord in reverence for Him and piety and get under His protection. (Never forget that) the violent convulsion of the Last Hour is an awesome thing.” (31)
Every living being will experience the terror of doomsday. People continue to see events with the eye of soul after they die. The collapse will take place in the presence of the souls that are in the intermediate world of grave. The world of grave will also be scattered. This is mixed with the terror of the ones who expect hell and with the joys of the ones who hope the paradise.
They bring the ones sentenced to death at night to the gallows or to the place of execution… They crown the leaders that succeeded in being selected in big ceremonies… That day everybody feels what will become of them soon. Everything will be evident in the presence of everybody; the biggest questioning of the history will presently take place.
The commandment “The Day when We will roll up heaven as written scrolls are rolled up” (32) will take place. The material of the universe collapses and the systems are scattered. The collapse of the galaxies is followed by the closure of the heavenly layers. Souls and angels also fade away one after another and the final judgment of the verse “Everything is perishable (and so perishing) except His "Face" (His eternal Self and what is done in seeking His good pleasure).” (33) comes true.
The doom has taken place. Time finishes and there remains no entity except Allah. From then on, everything is in the knowledge of only Allah. The last page of a wonderful novel was lived and sent to history. Everything with body and material perished like foam; the universe melted like wax and vanished.
References
(1) The Qur'an, Ta Ha, 15.
(2) The Qur'an, Al-A'raf, 187.
(3) The Qur'an, Luqman, 34.
(4) The Qur'an, An-Najm, 57.
(5) The Qur'an, An-Najm, 60.
(6) See Hürriyet, 27.10.2002. In addition, I mentioned this topic for the first time in my article titled “When will the Doomsday break out?” Which was published in the newspaper Yeni Asya dated 18.11.2002.
(7) Al-Barzanji, Kiyamet Alametleri (Signs of the Doomsday)(Istanbul: Pamuk Publications., 2002) p. 299, quoted from Jalaladdin Suyuti's “al-Kashf'u fi Mujazawati Hazin al-Ummati al-Alfa allazi Dallat Alayh al-Asar”.
(8) Now we are in the year 1426 according to the Hijrah Calendar (based on the Emigration from Mecca to Medina) (2005 AD). See Badiuzzaman, Kastamonu Lahikası, p. 23.
(9) After gathering all data about the Doomsday, when I thought I would be able to write my book, I renewed my computer. Long after the formatting, I learned that the data about the Doomsday were also deleted.
(10) Milliyet, “Will Doomsday break out on 13 April 2029?” (25.12.2004).
(11) Vatan, “The Alarm for Meteor” (10.4.2005).
(12) Hürriyet, “Great explosion in the Milky Way” (20.02.2005).
(13) “It does not come to you except unawares.” (The Qur'an, Al-A'raf, 187).
(14) Hürriyet, “The world has a life of 60 years left” (07.11.2004).
(15) NTVMSNBC, “We have a time of one or two generations left” (10.01.2003).
(16) The Qur'an, Muhammad, 18.
(17) The Qur'an, Al- Mumin, 59.
(18) The Qur'an, An-Nahl, 77.
(19) Hürriyet, “The meteor passed by tangent” (19.03.2004).
(20) Hürriyet, “No meteor will fall down in 175 years.” (05.02.2001).
(21) Akşam, “The Doomsday is after 878 years” (05.04.2002).
(22) The Qur'an, Az-Zumar, 68. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) states that on the right side of the Archangel Israfil, whom he described as “The owner of The Trumpet”, Archangel Gabriel will be positioned; and on Israfil's left side, the Archangel Michael will be positioned. (Abu Dawud, Huruf wa’l-Qiraat 1, 3999). Together with those trees, Archangel Azrael will penetrate the dimensions of the universe and they represent four great areas of energy and the dimension of conscious and command. As we understand, Israfil represents the area of energy which plays a role in Allah's exterminating and resurrecting the universe.
(23) The known baryonic matter (galaxies) in the universe makes up % 4 of the whole body. It is assumed that % 75 is the dark energy and the rest is the dark matter. See http://www.nasa.gov/missions/deepspace/f_dark-energy.html
(24) The Qur'an, Az-Zalzalah, 1-2.
(25) The Qur'an, Al-Waqi'ah, 4-6.
(26) The Qur'an, Al-Muzzammil, 14.
(27) The Qur'an, Al-Mursalaat, 8-11.
(28) The Qur'an, Al-Infitaar, 1-3.
(29) The Qur'an, Al-Muzzammil, 18.
(30) The Qur'an, Al-Qiyamah, 7-10.
(31) The Qur'an, Al-Hajj, 1.
(32) The Qur'an, Al-Anbiya, 104.
(33) The Qur'an, Al-Qasas, 88.
Quoted from the author's book "Sonsuzluk Yolculuğu" (The Journey to Eternity)...
Muhammed Bozdağ (Dr.)
Why the Doomsday is kept secret?
There are vast explanations about the Doomsday, which has primal importance for monotheistic religions both in Quran and in Hadith books. Humans are warned to be prepared that the Doomsday is so immanent and so devastating.
In a hadith which narrated by Anas bin Malik, He heard Prophet Muhammad as saying, I and the last hour have been sent like this and (he while doing it) joined the forefinger with the middle finger. (Muslim, Book 041, No 7049)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with these words was referring that the last hours imminence.
In Quran, the statement, Doomsday is so immanent, and Prophet Muhammads (pbuh) announcement that the last hour would come soon should not bring any suspicions to the minds just because it has already passed 1400 years and did not happen yet. Because, Doomsday is directly related with the life of the world. Doomsday is appointed hour of the world, and in relation to the life of the world one or two thousand years are like one or two minutes in relation to a year. The hour of Doomsday is not only the appointed hour of mankind that it should be related to it and seen as distant. (Risale-i Nur Collection, Bediuzzaman, Words, 24. word)
It may not have been given the exact time of the Doomsday neither in Quran nor in Hadiths but Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by pointing out the distinctive signs in Hadiths and in Quranic verses, which will happen near to the last hour constantly warned the believers for the appointed day.
Reasons and wisdom in the hour of Doomsday being vague:
There are so many instances of wisdom of it. It is as if one knows his time of death and being left destitute of belief and Islamic consciousness
Calamities and disasters vagueness has the same wisdom. Because waiting for the specified disasters and calamities is much more torturing than experiencing it.
That is why numerous other instances of wisdom remain hidden as the Doomsday does.
Just as for individuals appointed hour of death, Doomsday for humanity is same. The author of Risale-i Nur Collection, Bediuzzaman explains the subject in his book Rays as follows:
If the appointed hour had been specified, the Early and Middle Ages would have been virtually unaffected by the idea of the hereafter, and they would have been lived in needlessness. And the humans of the last age would have no pleasure or value of worldly life because of waiting the specified last hour.
Also, if the death of the world had been specified, some of the truths of belief would have been clearly obvious and everyone would have affirmed them willy-nilly, as a result the mystery of mans accountability and the wisdom and purpose of belief, which are tied to mans choice and will, would have been negated, there will be no secret of the trial. It is for numerous benefits that the time of the Doomsday remains secret. Everyone therefore continually bears in mind both his death and continues life, and he works for this world and the Hereafter.
Doomsdays being vague will remain hidden until the crack of the doom. Whenever the sun rises from the west instead of east, the door of trial arena and repentance will be closed, every individual will believe in Doomsday. Nevertheless, it will be useless to be regretful or faithful by then.
In a hadith which narrated by Anas bin Malik, He heard Prophet Muhammad as saying, I and the last hour have been sent like this and (he while doing it) joined the forefinger with the middle finger. (Muslim, Book 041, No 7049)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with these words was referring that the last hours imminence.
In Quran, the statement, Doomsday is so immanent, and Prophet Muhammads (pbuh) announcement that the last hour would come soon should not bring any suspicions to the minds just because it has already passed 1400 years and did not happen yet. Because, Doomsday is directly related with the life of the world. Doomsday is appointed hour of the world, and in relation to the life of the world one or two thousand years are like one or two minutes in relation to a year. The hour of Doomsday is not only the appointed hour of mankind that it should be related to it and seen as distant. (Risale-i Nur Collection, Bediuzzaman, Words, 24. word)
It may not have been given the exact time of the Doomsday neither in Quran nor in Hadiths but Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by pointing out the distinctive signs in Hadiths and in Quranic verses, which will happen near to the last hour constantly warned the believers for the appointed day.
Reasons and wisdom in the hour of Doomsday being vague:
There are so many instances of wisdom of it. It is as if one knows his time of death and being left destitute of belief and Islamic consciousness
Calamities and disasters vagueness has the same wisdom. Because waiting for the specified disasters and calamities is much more torturing than experiencing it.
That is why numerous other instances of wisdom remain hidden as the Doomsday does.
Just as for individuals appointed hour of death, Doomsday for humanity is same. The author of Risale-i Nur Collection, Bediuzzaman explains the subject in his book Rays as follows:
If the appointed hour had been specified, the Early and Middle Ages would have been virtually unaffected by the idea of the hereafter, and they would have been lived in needlessness. And the humans of the last age would have no pleasure or value of worldly life because of waiting the specified last hour.
Also, if the death of the world had been specified, some of the truths of belief would have been clearly obvious and everyone would have affirmed them willy-nilly, as a result the mystery of mans accountability and the wisdom and purpose of belief, which are tied to mans choice and will, would have been negated, there will be no secret of the trial. It is for numerous benefits that the time of the Doomsday remains secret. Everyone therefore continually bears in mind both his death and continues life, and he works for this world and the Hereafter.
Doomsdays being vague will remain hidden until the crack of the doom. Whenever the sun rises from the west instead of east, the door of trial arena and repentance will be closed, every individual will believe in Doomsday. Nevertheless, it will be useless to be regretful or faithful by then.
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