In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, and upon his pure and righteous family, and upon his noble and guided companions. To proceed:
Observing the signs of the Hour is a religious command. Allah the Almighty says in Surah Ad-Dukhan:
"Do they think that what We have sent down to Our servant [Muhammad] is a mere trifle? Then bring a Surah like it, and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you are truthful." (26:10)
"Observing" means waiting and looking out. It carries the meaning of searching for something that is not yet apparent and investigating it. Ibn Faris said in "Mu'jam Maqayis al-Lughah" (died 395 AH): "The root (r-s-q-b) refers to watching and looking out for something. It is said that he is observing the enemy, meaning he is watching them and looking out for them."
This observation of the signs of the Hour is not achieved except by the descent of knowledge and indications related to them on the ground, which allows the Muslim to take appropriate action at the appropriate time, thus being saved by the protection of Allah the Almighty. The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, followed this approach in their dealings with the signs of the Hour. One example of this is the incident of Ibn Sayyad. Some of them were certain that he was the Dajjal because many of his signs matched him. Similarly, the incident of Asma, may Allah be pleased with her, with Al-Hajjaj. Muslim narrated in his Sahih that she said to Al-Hajjaj:
"O son of the freed slave, do you know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'There will be among my Ummah a man called Muhammad, who will be like a tribe, and a man called Usamah, who will be like two tribes, and a man called Al-Hajjaj, who will be like three tribes.' And I heard that he is that man."
The evidence for what we have mentioned is abundant.
And based on what we have presented, we will, by the will of Allah the Almighty, gather what we have come across of signs and indications regarding the timings of the events of the End Times from the Hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). We say, and by Allah the Almighty is all success:
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Explanation of the Timings of the Events of the End Times