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Knowledge Will Be Lifted

Signs of the Last Days, Part 8

Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

26 March 2016 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan

Asr Suhbah (2)

[Series source text: السنن الواردة في الفتن وغوائلها والساعة وأشراطها As-Sunan al-Waridah Fi ‘l-Fitani wa Ghawaali’ihaa wa ‘s-Saa`ati wa Ashraatihaa, by `Uthman bin Sa`eed al-Muqri ad-Daani; research and Hadith authentication by Dr. Ridaaullah bin Muhammad Idris Mubarakfuri; published by Daar al-`Aasima, Riyadh. Originally published 444 Hijri.]

A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.

وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ

Above every knower is a (higher) knower. (Surah Yusuf, 12:76)

Mahmaa yu`allim al-mu`allim yabqaa talmeedh, As much as the scholar learns, he still remains a student and a failing student, because he does not use his `ilm to calm down his ego. So there are two competitions in every person, in every self: one wants to give you pride and arrogance that you are a teacher and the other is telling you there is no one above you. Allah (swt) says, wa fawqa kulli dhi `ilmin `aleem, “Above every knower there is a knower,” above every gnostic there is a gnostic, above every ascetic there is an ascetic, which means above every wali there is a wali--it never ends--above every prophet there is a prophet, until reaching Sayyidina Muhammad (s) in the highest level. The rest of `ulama and awliya are students whose `ilm is continuously coming to them from the Prophet (s), because as much as the Prophet (s) ascends, the Ummah ascends with him.

We are in a time about which the Prophet (s) said regarding `ilm, about knowledge in many different Ahadith, especially this one:

اطلب العلم ولو في الصين

Seek knowledge even (if you must go) to China. (Bayhaqi in Shu`b al-Iman)

The Sahaabah (r) didn't know anything about China except that it was far away and the Prophet (s) said, “Try to reach there in order to learn,” and Allah (swt) sent Jibreel (a) to the Prophet (s) to tell him, “Read what I have taught you, say it.” When Jibreel (a) asked him, "Iqraa!" it means "Read something of knowledge!” Allah (swt) taught him:

الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ

(Allah) Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught the Qur'an. (Surat ar-Rahmaan, 55:1-3)

To whom did Allah teach Qur’an? To the Prophet (s) through `ilm, so his name is “al-`Alim”, but when the Prophet (s) when he was revealing some of the Signs of Last Days to his Sahaabah (r), he worried the Ummah will lose some of their `ilm, that’s why he was urging them to get `ilm from anywhere. Sayyidina Imam Isma`eel al-Bukhari (r) spent two to three months traveling to confirm one Hadith that he heard a person who had heard from a Sahaabi; he was not sitting in at home in his tent waiting for `ilm to come to him. They remained busy, collecting Ahadith of what the Prophet (s) said from the Sahaabah (r) and the Tabi`een (r); that was their main aim, to collect what Prophet (s) had said.

Today we are continuing lessons of the Signs of the Last Days. One of the Ahadeeth, Ibn Mas`ood (r) said the Prophet (s) said, ta`alamoo al-`ilm, “Learn the knowledge,” but what `ilm? It means anything that you don't know or never came across is `ilm for you, to look into it, and `ilm is not just secular knowledge but heavenly `ilm. Secular `ilm is dunya knowledge, and Allah does not care for this whole dunya:

لو كانت الدنيا تعدل عند الله جناح بعوضة ما سقى كافراً منها شربة ماء

If the value of this dunya weighed the wing of a mosquito, Allah would never give a cup of water for the unbelievers to drink. (Tirmidhi)

To Allah (swt), this whole dunya does not weigh as much as the wing of a mosquito, which is so small that you don't even detect it until it bites you! However, people are crying for dunya and not crying for Akhirah. People who cry for Akhirah, Allah will reward them, and who cries for dunya and for Akhirah, Allah will reward them also as He said in Holy Qur’an:

رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

Our Lord, give us hasanah (good) in this life and hasanah in the Next Life and protect us from the punishment of the Fire. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:201)

Hasanah is something good, and what is the best hasanah? Allah said He rewards goodness ten times, and the best hasanah, “Rabbanaa attinaa fi ‘d-dunya hasanah, al-hasanat al-mutlaqa, the absolute hasanah that Allah has created for humanity, is Noor an-Nabi (s)! So that ayah is guiding us every day, to remind in everything we do every day, “O our Lord, give us hasanah to be with the Prophet (s) because he is the hasanah; give us this dream that we will be with Prophet (s) wa fi ‘l-Akhirati hasanah, and in Akhirah!” Allah (swt) will give to us, as we are asking that He give us hasanah, which is to be with Prophet (s), because he is the hasanah, there is no higher hasanah than the appearance of Prophet (s)! He is caring for his whole Ummah, to make them feel he is with them and that he is hasanah for them! If not for the Prophet (s) we would never get any hasanah; if we were not from his Ummah we would have been lost. This Ummah is the best:

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ

You were the best of Nations evolved for Mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah. (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:110)

“You were the best of Nations sent to humanity,” because of the Prophet (s), that is hasanah! Allah gave us hasanah by giving us the Prophet (s) and Ahl al-Bayt (a). So what is the Prophet (s) saying? Ta`alamoo 'l-`ilm, learn knowledge, not only the dunya knowledge that people are running after and become half crazy about it, studying for 25 five years their life, then they work 25 years, so half their adult life is gone, so what is left? One-third or half of your life.

تَعَلَّمُوا الْعِلْمَ وَعَلِّمُوهُ النَّاسَ , وَتَعَلَّمُوا الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلِّمُوهُ النَّاسَ , وَتَعَلَّمُوا الْفَرَائِضَ وَعَلِّمُوهَا النَّاسَ , فَإِنِّي امْرُؤٌ مَقْبُوضٌ , وَإِنَّ الْعِلْمَ سَيُقْبَضُ , وَتَظْهَرُ الْفِتَنُ حَتَّى يَخْتَلِفَ الاثْنَانِ فِي الْفَرِيضَةِ لا يَجِدَانِ أَحَدًا يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَهُمَا

Learn knowledge and teach it to people, learn Qur’an and teach it to people, learn the obligations and teach it to people, for indeed I am a person who whose soul will be taken and truly knowledge will be withdrawn, and chaos will appear to the point that two people will disagree about an obligation and not find anyone to resolve the issue between them. (Bayhaqi; al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim an-Nisapuri)

The Prophet (s) said, “Don't waste your time, but ta`alamoo 'l-`ilm.” Learn the knowledge of Fiqh, Hadith and Tafseer, and not only learn it but to teach it, don’t learn only for yourself and not teach it to others. He (s) said from the Signs of the Last Days, be careful of learning knowledge, ta`lamoo 'l-`ilm wa `allimahu li ’n-naas, learn knowledge and teach it to humanity. Prophet (s) said that it is an obligation on every one of us to learn Islam and then teach it, and if you don't teach it and only keep it for yourself that is not accepted, Allah will not be happy. What Allah (swt) gave you is not only for you, it is also for others because not everyone can teach. Then he (s) specified, ta`lamoo 'l-Qur’an wa `allimahu li ‘n-naas, learn the Holy Qur'an and teach it to humanity.

What do you want better than this? The One Who created us is saying to us with all love and respect in Surat ar-Rahmaan:

الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ

The Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught the Qur'an! (Surat ar-Rahmaan, 55:1,2)

And the Prophet (s) is saying, ta`lamoo 'l-qur’an wa `allimahu li ‘n-naas, to learn Holy Qur'an and teach it to people. Tashabahun bimaa amr Allah, in imitating the order of Holy Qur'an, Allah, in His Majestic Greatness, taught the Holy Qur'an, so you learn and inherit from that secret and teach the Holy Qur'an. The first order is for us is to learn Holy Qur'an and to teach it to people and the first part of Hadith, “Learn knowledge and teach it to people,” and the knowledge here is the knowledge of Holy Qur'an. So the second time he mentioned knowledge he said “learn Qur’an”. That is my aim, to learn Holy Qur'an and to teach it.

Holy Qur'an is not like a fairytale, one must study the ayaat and dig the secrets out, not reading it like a newspaper. Every word and letter has a heavenly meaning! So the Prophet (s) is encouraging people to learn Holy Qur'an, as Allah taught Qur’an to Prophet (s) so be part of that by teaching people. You cannot teach any prophet, but they teach you and you learn from them as they are the holders of knowledge and they disseminate that knowledge to you.

How did Ibn `Arabi (q) come with all this knowledge? Allah opened on his heart when he was digging and diving into these knowledges because he went with sincerity, digging and diving in these oceans of knowledge. When Allah says, “I am teaching Holy Qur’an,” it means there are high-level teachings and many things are veiled from us, but dig for it and bring it out, Allah will support you, “Learn the obligations and teach them to people.” When you learn and teach, Allah (swt) will reward you because you are giving others what they need. That is why `ulama today are teaching those who are interested, but we have to add sincerity and piety to those teachings.

That is why when Jibreel (a) came to the Prophet (s) and asked him about Islam, Imaan and Ihsaan, he went from one level to another level, speaking about Islam and its Five Pillars, about Imaan and its Six Pillars and about Maqaam al-Ihsaan, Purification of the Self, which is the highest level in that you annihilate yourself and see no one existing except Allah. Everything else, as Imam Ghazali (r) said, is an image, a reflection: you are imaginary, you are not real, your reality is not here, what people see of you is what they understand, you are that one. But in reality, Allah knows what kind of `ilm He dressed you with on the Day of Promises and there is where you have to dig. Awliyaullah say if you don't reach to know what you promised to Allah (swt) on the Day of Promises, you are nothing, your `ilm is not considered true knowledge, it is considered imaginary knowledge.

Prophet (s) said, “Learn knowledge and teach it to people and learn Holy Qur'an and teach it to people and ta`lamoo 'l-faraa’id wa `allimahu li ’n-naas, learn the obligations and teach it to people,” because he said, fa innee maqboodan, “I am passing on, I am going to leave dunya, so I am giving knowledge to you, my Sahaabah, so you will learn and teach my Ummah after me.”

That’s why he (s) said:

أصحابي كالنجوم بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم

My Companions are like stars (on a dark night); whichever of them you follow, you will be guided.

(`Abd ibn Humayd, ad-Daraqutnee, ibn `Adiyy, ibn `Abd al-Barr,

with unsound chains but the meaning is sound.)

Fa innee maqbood wa inna ‘l-`ilman sayuqbad, “I am maqboodun, I am a human being; my soul will be taken away,” to reach ar-Rafeeq al-`Alaa, “and knowledge will be taken away.” He (s) was telling the Sahaabah (r) the Signs of Last Days, as Sayyidina `Umar (r) said when the Prophet (s) left dunya, “If anyone says the Prophet (s) died, I will kill him.” The Sahaabah (r) did not expect the Prophet (s) to die, they thought he would live forever, and yes, he is living forever in our hearts and in our belief, he is the one that is living forever, his soul is in his body, as he said in the Hadith:

ما من أحد يسلم عليَّ إلا رد الله عليَّ روحي حتى أسلم عليه

No one prays on me, except that Allah will send back my soul to me to return his greeting. (Abu Dawud)

“Whoever sends salawaat on me, Allah sends my soul back to my body to return the salawaat on that one.” According to the interpretation of Imam Suyuti (q), there are always people sending salawaat on the Prophet (s), which means he is always there!

He said, “Knowledge will be lifted up,” yuq bad, knowledge will be taken from among you. Today there are knowledgeable people, but not up to the calibre of previous scholars, and today's saints are not up to the calibre of previous saints. Today's saints know they are helpless, but Allah granted them to be saints because of their sincerity and piety, but they always say, “Yaa Rabb, we are nothing.”

Wa yakhtalifu ithnaan fi ‘l-fareeda, fitna will come up until there will come differences even to the extent that two people will dispute the obligations: some will say, “That is haraam,” “That is kufr,”That is bid`a,” “That is shirk.” They will debate you and there will be no one but the other and they will differ in the fareeda even to the extent that when you stand up to pray, someone will come from the back line and say, “Yaa Akhee, spread your legs wider to close the gap in the prayer rank.” The order is to stand shoulder to shoulder (shoulders touching), not to put your feet on the feet of the one praying next to you, but today you don't see people praying like that, they spread their feet so far apart! The order is to spread your feet in alignment with your shoulders.

Laa yajidani ahadan yafsilu baynahuma, you will not find anyone to judge between them as everyone will have a different opinion. Are you not seeing that now? [Na’am, Sayyidi.] This is from the Signs of the Last Days. They asked the Prophet (s), “How will this happen? `Ilm will be yuq bad, meaning “taken away.” “Will the Qur’an be lifted up?” He (s) said, “No.”

`Abdullah Ibn `Umar (r) related from the Prophet (s):

قال رسول اللّه صلى اللّه عليه وسلم: إن اللّه لا يقبض العلم انتزاعا ينتزعه من الناس ولكن يقبض العلم بقبض العلماء، حتى إذا لم يترك عالما اتخذ الناس رؤوسا جهالا فسئلوا فأفتوا بغير علم فضلوا وأضلوا

Allah will not remove knowledge by extracting it from people, but He will remove it by removing scholars until no scholar is left and people follow ignorant leaders. They will ask them and they will give fatwa with no knowledge, misguiding themselves and misguiding others. (Bukhari, Muslim)

“Allah (swt) will not pull the knowledge out by force, but He will take the souls of the `ulama and they are dead with their knowledge.” So if they did not teach it they are under a responsibility, that is why the Prophet (s) urged them, “Teach your `ilm and empty your heart,” because there will come a time on the Ummah when `ulama will be taken away suddenly, until there will be no more `ulama, that’s how the knowledge will drop down.

Hatta idha lam yabqaa `aliman ittakhadha ‘n-naasu ru’oosan juhhaalan, “Until there will be no more `ulama,” not many, only a few here and there and the rest will disappear, “and people will take ignorant leaders that don’t know `ilm, ru’oosan juhaala, they follow them, saying, “This one speaks well, he is `alim.” Fa qaalu bi-ghayri `ilmi, “They will teach with no knowledge,” they invent knowledge as if it is true through today’s fatwas coming from here and there, especially on the Internet. We spoke about those who kill and massacre people with knives and what not. From where are they making these fatwas? The Prophet (s) said, “You cannot raise your sword in the face of your brother,” that means you cannot raise a gun against your Muslim brother, but today they are killing each other.

The Hadith states, “Allah will not remove knowledge by extracting it, but by removing scholars until no scholar is left and people follow ignorant leaders who give fatwas with no knowledge, misguiding themselves and others.” They will not find except ignorant `ulama, fa dalloo wa adalloo, they deviate and make others deviate with them, so be careful that we do not fall into that kind of issue. May Allah (swt) guide us to what is needed to learn.

سيأتي عليكم زمان لو وجد أحدكم الموت يباع لاشتراه

A time will come upon you when if one of you finds death being sold, he will buy it.

(As-Sunan al-Waridah fi ‘l-Fitan)

There will come a time on Earth that an `alim, a sincere person, a scholar, will buy death to be away from dunya and if you can purchase death, buy it, because at that time death will be more valuable to people than the red gold! “By Allah, I am giving an oath that a time will come on people when they will love to die to avoid the massive killings and horrors on Earth, and they will love to die more than their love to gold.” How people run to collect gold, but at that time to die will be more precious to them than gold, and, “you will be asking Allah (swt) to take your soul at that time.”

Sayyidna al-Hasan (a) said, then Prophet (s) said to the Sahaabah (r):

أَنْتُمْ فِي زَمَانٍ مَنْ تَرَكَ عُشْرَ مَا أُمِرَ بِهِ هَلَكَ ، وَسَيَأْتِي عَلَيْكُمْ زَمَانٌ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِعُشْرِ مَا أُمِرَ بِهِ نَجَا

You are in a time when if people leave ten-percent of what they were commanded to do they will perish, but there will come a time when if people perform ten-percent of what they were commanded to do they will be saved. (Tabarani)

“This is a time that if you leave only ten percent of your obligations, you will perish.” It means you will not find Akhirah, but as Rahmatan li ‘l-Ummah, Mercy to the Ummah, for us, he (s) said, wa sa-yaa’tee `alaykum `alaa ’n ‘n-naasi zamaanun man `amila bi `ashrin maa umira bihi najaa, “Good tidings for those who come during the Signs of the Last Days: if they do only ten percent of their obligations they will be saved, ten percent is enough.” If they will do only ten percent of their obligations they will be saved, and if the Sahaabah (r) do ninety percent leaving ten percent, they will perish! They are Ahlu 'l-`Azaa'im, not Ahl al-Rukhas, we are Ahl al-Rukhas, the ‘easy-ways’ weak people. They were the People of Strong Determination, not the People of License and Ease, we are the people of easiness. They had Prophet (s), they saw him, sat with him, ate with him, listened to him, so of course they had great love for him and did everything he taught them. If you love your shaykh, you do everything for him; if you love your father or mother you do everything for them. May Allah (swt) keep us with the Prophet (s) in dunya and Akhirah!

وَعَنْ عَلِيٍّ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - : " يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ لَا يَبْقَى مِنَ الْإِسْلَامِ إِلَّا اسْمُهُ .وَلَا يَبْقَى مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ إِلَّا رَسْمُهُ ، مَسَاجِدُهُمْ عَامِرَةٌ وَهِيَ خَرَابٌ مِنَ الْهُدَى ، عُلَمَاؤُهُمْ شَرُّ مَنْ تَحْتَ أَدِيمِ السَّمَاءِ ، مِنْ عِنْدِهِمْ تَخْرُجُ الْفِتْنَةُ ، وَفِيهِمْ تَعُودُ "

Sayyidina `Ali ibn Abi Talib (r) said: There will come a time upon a people when nothing remains from Islam except its name, nothing from the Qur’an except the form of its letters, mosques will be built but are empty of guidance, their scholars will be the worst people beneath the sky, and chaos will emerge from them and return to them. (Bayhaqi)

What is left of Islam today? Nothing, Islam is becoming a toy in the hands of Orientalists: they open the Qur’an, read from it and comment the way they like and not according to Shari`ah. There are so many non-Muslims teaching Islam, so many today, especially in universities. Wa laa yabqa min al-qur’ani illa rasmuh, “And there will be nothing left of Holy Qur'an in the hearts of people except calligraphy.”

Calligraphy, what you are decorating your home and your masaajid with; there will be nothing left of Holy Qur'an except nice calligraphy. They say “Oh! Isn’t that nice calligraphy?” Yes, it is nice and you get barakah if you hang on the wall, but what if you were to hang it in your heart? There’s a big difference.

Masaajiduhum yawmaidhin `amirah, “The masjids at that time are full, but their hearts are kharaab min alhuda, ruined in terms of guidance.” The hearts are empty, the masjids have no taste, no guidance. “They come, pray and leave. `Ulamauhum sharrun man tahta adeem as-samaa, “Their `ulama are the worst people under the sky.” Look at the `ulama in the Middle East or anywhere else, not all of them, but Sayyidina `Ali (r) said, “`ulamauhum,” referring to “all the scholars,” as “the worst under the skies.” Now Da`ish (ISIS) is giving fatwa on everything. Min `indihim takhruju ‘l-fitna, “From the `ulama the fitna comes,” and this is what is happening now. `Ulama are with different parties, I don't want to mention names, but this hizb, this party, that organization, fitna comes from them, those who are leading us. Wa feehim ta`ood an, “and in them it goes back.”

Abu Hurayrah (r) narrated that the Prophet (s) said:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ، قَالَ : قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " لا تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يُقْبَضَ الْعِلْمُ , وَتَكْثُرَ الزَّلازِلُ , وَيَتَقَارَبَ الزَّمَانُ , وَتَظْهَرَ الْفِتَنُ , وَيَكْثُرُ الْهَرْجُ وَهُوَ الْقَتْلُ , وَحَتَّى يَكْثُرَ فِيكُمُ الْمَالُ فَيَفِيضَ " .

The Hour will not arise until knowledge is lifted, earthquakes are many, time contracts, chaos is manifest, killing is prevalent, and until there is so much money it spills everywhere. (Bukhari)

When that happens, there will be too many earthquakes. Now we are seeing so many more earthquakes and tsunamis than ever before. Wa yataaqrabu ‘z-zaman wa tazhharu ‘l-fitan, “and time will be folded.”

يَوْمَ نَطْوِي السَّمَاء كَطَيِّ السِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ

On that Day We shall roll up the skies as written scrolls are rolled up. (Surat al-Anbiya 21:104)

“When We fold the skies like folding a book,” means time is collapsing, and “Wa yaksur ‘l-harj, too much fitna and killing. Wa hatta yakfurul haad fa ya feed, too much money, wealth will be given out.” Today they are giving wealth a lot to `ulama, scholars, in order to make certain fatwas and specific research. How much research is being done in universities on certain subjects?

May Allah (swt) forgive us and bless us. These are some Hadith of the Signs of the Last Days in order for us to remember these warnings from the Prophet (s).

عَنِ النَّزَّالِ بْنِ سَبْرَةَ ، قَامَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ : فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ وَأَثْنَى عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ : " يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ , سَلُونِي قَبْلَ أَنْ تَفْقِدُونِي " , قَالَهَا ثَلاثَ مَرَّاتٍ , فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ صَعْصَعَةُ بْنُ صُوحَانَ الْعَبْدِيُّ , فَقَالَ : يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ! نَبِّئْنَا مَتَى خُرُوجُ الدَّجَّالِ ؟ فَقَالَ : " يَا ابْنَ صُوحَانَ ، اقْعُدْ , عَلِمَ اللَّهُ مَقَالَتَكَ , مَا الْمَسْئُولُ عَنْهَا بِأَعْلَمَ مِنَ السَّائِلِ , وَلَكِنْ لَهَا عَلامَاتٌ وَهَنَاتٌ وَأَشْيَاءُ يَتْلُو بَعْضُهَا بَعْضًا كَحَذْوِ النَّعْلِ بِالنَّعْلِ , وَإِنْ شِئْتَ أَنْبَأْتُكَ بِعَلامَتِهَا " , قَالَ : عَنْ ذَلِكَ سَأَلْتُكَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ! قَالَ : " اعْقِدْ بِيَدِكَ يَا صَعْصَعَةُ , إِذَا أَمَاتَ النَّاسُ الصَّلاةَ , وَأَضَاعُوا الأَهِلَّةَ , وَاسْتَحَلُّوا الْكَذِبَ , وَأَكَلُوا الرِّبَاءَ , وَأَخَذُوا الرِّشَا , وَشَيَّدُوا الْبِنَاءَ , وَاتَّبَعُوا الأَهْوَاءَ , وَبَاعُوا الدِّينَ بِالدُّنْيَا , وَاسْتَخَفُّوا بِالدِّمَاءِ , وَتَقَطَّعَتِ الأَرْحَامُ , وَصَارَ الْحِلْمُ ضَعْفًا , وَالظُّلْمُ فَرَحًا ، وَالأُمَرَاءُ فَجَرَةً , وَالْوُزَرَاءُ خَوَنَةً , وَعُرَفَاؤُهُمْ ظَلَمَةً , وَقُرَّاؤُهُمْ فَسَقَةً , وَظَهَرَ الْجَوْرُ , وَكَثُرَ الطَّلاقُ , وَمَوْتُ الْفَجْأَةِ , وَقَوْلُ الْبُهْتَانِ , وَحُلِّيَتِ الْمَصَاحِفُ , وَزُخْرِفَتِ الْمَسَاجِدُ , وَطُوِّلَ الْمَنَارُ , وَازْدَحَمَتِ الصُّفُوفُ , وَنُقِضَتِ الْعُهُودُ , وَخُرِّبَتِ الْقُلُوبُ , وَشَارَكَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ زَوْجَهَا فِي التِّجَارَةِ حِرْصًا عَلَى الدُّنْيَا , وَتَرَكَ النِّسَاءُ الْمَيَازِرَ , وَتَشَبَّهْنَ بِالرِّجَالِ , وَتَشَبَّهَ الرِّجَالُ بِالنِّسَاءِ , وَالسَّلامُ لِلْمَعْرِفَةِ , وَالشَّهَادَةُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسْتَشْهَدَ , وَلَبِسُوا جُلُودَ الضَّأْنِ عَلَى قُلُوبِ الذِّئَابِ , قُلُوبُهُمْ أَمَرُّ مِنَ الصَّبِرِ , وَأَنْتَنُ مِنَ الْجِيفَةِ , وَالْتَمَسُوا الدُّنْيَا بِعَمَلِ الآخِرَةِ , وَالتَّفَقُّهَ بِغَيْرِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ , فَالنَّجَاءَ فَالنَّجَاءَ , الْوَحَا الْوَحَا , الْحَذَرَ الْحَذَرَ , الْجِدَّ الْجِدَّ يَا صَعْصَعَةُ بْنَ صُوحَانَ , نِعْمَ الْمَسْكَنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بَيْتُ الْمَقْدِسِ , وَلَيَأْتِيَنَّ عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمْ : يَا لَيْتَنِي تِبْنَةٌ فِي لَبِنَةٍ فِي سُورِ بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ " .

While on the minbar, `Ali ibn Abi Talib (r) praised and glorified Allah. Then he said, “O People! Ask me before you lose me, ask me before you lose me, ask me before you lose me!” Upon this, Sa`sa` bin Sawhaan al-`Abdee stood up and said, “O Leader of the Faithful! Inform us of when the Dajjal will come.” He said, “O ibn Sawhaan, this is Allah’s knowledge, the one asked knows no more than the one asking, but there are signs, things that will come one after another, like foot after foot. If you like I can inform of the signs.” He said, “That was what I asked you about, O Leader of the Faithful.” He said, “O Sa`sa`, tie your hands together. [The signs are] if people make the prayer to die, and lose the trust that Allah gave them, and allow lying, and consume usury, and take bribes, and build high buildings, and follow their desires, and sell their religion for the dunya, and have no value for human life, and families ties are broken, and there is no forbearance, and oppression makes people happy, and princes become shameless, and government ministers become deceitful, and those who work with them become oppressive, and their reciters of Qur’an become corrupted, and tyranny is everywhere, and divorce is common, and sudden death becomes common, as does slander, and Qur’ans are ornamented, and mosques are decorated, and minarets are tall, and the rows of prayer are crowded, and promises are not kept, and hearts are ruined, and the woman is a partner with her husband in business for the sake of dunya, and women no longer wear skirts, and they imitate men, and men imitate women, and peace is in true knowledge, and the Shahaadah is said before being martyred, and they are like sheepskin dressed on the hearts of wolves, their hearts are more bitter than aloes and more putrid than corpses, and people confuse `amal of the Akhirah with the dunya, and there is studying of Fiqh without true knowledge. Deliverance, deliverance! Safety, safety! Careful, careful! Do more, do more! O ibn Sawhaan, at that time how happy will the resident of Bayt al-Maqdis be! There will come a time upon people when the individual says,“If only I were a piece of straw in the bricks of Bayt al-Maqdis!”

(Ibn al-Munadi and Kanz al-`Ummaal 39709)

Look how they were waiting for him from that time, anticipating that he is coming soon...

Fa qaal uq`ud, “Sit, don't keep standing, `alima ‘Llahu maqaalatak, Allah knew what you want to say.” Maa al-mas’oolu `anhaa bi `alama min as-saa`il, “The one you are asking does not know more than the one who asked, but it has signs and I will mention some signs to you.” He said, “At that time idha amaat an-naas as-salaat, when people will put the prayers to death,” meaning they don't pray, and today not every Muslim is praying; there are six-billion Muslims and non-Muslims and few of them pray. Wa adall al-ahilla, “and they lost the Trust, al-Amaanah, wastahalla ‘l-kadhib, and they made the lies halaal.” So let them eat halaal lies. How did they make lies halaal? Meat we know how to make halaal, by slaughtering and saying, “Allahu Akbar” and how to make lies halaal? They lie to Allah. When they asked the Prophet (s):

قال أبو الدرداء وذكر بعضهم قال عبدالله بن جراد يارسول الله هل يزني المؤمن قال قد يكون ذلك قال هل يسرق المؤمن قال قد يكون ذلك قال هل يكذب المؤمن قال لا ثم أتبعها نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : { إنما يفتري الكذب الذين لا يؤمنون بآيات الله } النحل : 105

One time the Sahaabah (r) asked the Prophet (s), “Yaa Rasoolullah! Does the mu’min steal or rob?" The Prophet (s) replied, "Perhaps." They asked, "Does the mu’min make zinaa (adultery)?" The Prophet (s) replied, "Perhaps." They asked, "Does the mu’min steal?" The Prophet (s) replied, “Perhaps.” Then they asked him, "Does the mu’min lie?" To this the Prophet (s) replied, "This, no!" Then the Prophet (s) followed it by (reciting), “Only they invent falsehood who believe not Allah's Revelations, and (only) they are the liars.” [Surat al-Nahl, 16:105] (Kanzu ’l-`Ummal, 8994)

They asked, “Does a Believer steal?” and the Prophet (s) said, “Might be,” and they asked, “Does a believer fornicate?” and the Prophet (s) said, “He might,” and they asked, “Does a Believer lie?” and the Prophet (s) said, “As for that, no.”

Yet here Sayyidina `Ali (r) is saying that they will make lies halaal. Wa akalu ‘r-riba, “And they will eat interest, usury, wa akhadhu ‘r-risha, and they will take money from under the table, wa shayidu ‘l-bina, and they will build high rises.” There were no tall buildings in the time of the Prophet (s), only one or two storeys high as that is the Sunnah. Now they build penthouses. Wa ‘t-taba’ul ahwa, “And they follow their desires, wa ba`u ‘d-deen bid-dunya, and they sold religion for dunya, wa ‘s-takhaffu bid-diwa, and did not concern themselves over bloodshed, wa taqatta`ati ‘l-arham, and they cut the blood relationships.” Today there are no more blood relations: the cousin doesn't know the cousin, the husband divorces the wife and they don't know their children, everyone is in a different place, blood relations have been cut.

Wa saar al-hilmu du`afaan, “And forbearance becomes a sign of weakness, wa ‘z-zulmu fariha, and oppressors are happy to be oppressors, wa ‘l-umaraa’u fajara, and leaders are loudly speaking and openly corrupt, wa ‘l-wuzaraa khawana, the ministers are traitors,” they betray everyone, put the money in their pockets and go for election. Wa `urafaoohum zhalama, “and their leaders are oppressors, wa qurra’uhum fasaqa, and their reciters are corrupted, wa kathurat at-talaaq, there will be too much divorce. ” You will not find any marriage that continues to the end (death); after 10-15 years they divorce, especially in the West where changing one’s spouse becomes as easy as ‘changing the shoes’. Wa mawtu ‘l-fuja’a, “And the sudden death comes too much (is common), wa qawlu l-buhtan, and to say something that is not correct, wa shaarakat al-mar’atu zawjahaa fi ‘t-tijaarah hirsan `ala ad-dunya, the wife will share her husband’s business ventures,she wants to trade like him, with too much care for dunya, wa tashabbahu ‘r-rijalu bi ’n-nisa, and the men will imitate women in their dressing and women imitate men.” Today men are putting makeup on their lips!

May Allah bless us and forgive us. We will continue later, inshaa-Allah.

Wa min Allahi ‘t-tawfeeq bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.

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