It was reported from 'Abd Allaah ibn 'Amr that the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) said,
"The Hour will not come until Allaah takes away the best people on earth; only the worst people will be left; they will not know any good or forbid any evil." [Ahmad] [1]'Abd Allaah ibn Mas'ood said,
It was reported from Anas that the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) said,"I heard the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) say: 'Eloquence can be bewitching; the worst of the people are those upon whom the Hour will come while they are still alive, and those who turn graves into mosques.' " [Ahmad] [2]
"The Hour will not come until no-one on earth says 'Laa ilaaha illaa Allaah.'" [Ahmad] [3]It was also reported from Anas that the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) said:
"The Hour will not come until no-one on earth says, 'Allaah, Allaah.'" [Ahmad] [4]There are two suggestions as to the meaning of the phrase, "until no-one on earth says 'Allaah, Allaah'":
- It could mean that no-one will forbid evil, or try to correct another if he sees him doing something wrong. We have already come across this in the Hadeeth of 'Abd Allaah ibn 'Amr:
"Only the worst people will be left; they will not know any good or forbid any evil."
- It could mean that Allaah will no longer be mentioned, and His Name will not be known; this will be part of the prevalent corruption and Kufr, as in the previous Hadeeth,
"Until no-one on earth says 'Laa ilaaha illaa Allaah."
'Albaa' al-Salamee said,"The Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) came in, saying 'O 'Aa'ishah, your people will be the first of my Ummah to join me.' When he sat down, I said, 'O Messenger of Allaah, may I be sacrificed for you! When you came in, you were saying something which scared me.' He asked, 'What was that?' I said, 'You said that my people would be the first of your Ummah to join you.' He said, 'Yes.' I asked, 'Why is that?' He said, 'Death will be widespread among them, and their relatives will be jealous of them.' I said, 'How will people be after that?' He said, 'Like locusts: the strong will devour the weak, until the Hour comes.' " [Ahmad] [5]
Footnotes"I heard the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) say: 'The Hour will only come upon the worst of the people.' " [Ahmad] [6]
[1] Ahmad, Musnad, 1/454.
Checker's Note: Da`eef isnaad due to `an`anah of al-Hasan al-Basree.
[2] Ahmad, Musnad, 3/268.
Checker's Note: Saheeh, Musnad Imaam Ahmad, checking by Ahmad Shakir: 4342.
[3] Ahmad, Musnad, 3/268.
Checker's Note: Saheeh, Tahdheerus Saajid of Shaykh al-Albaanee, pg. 119.
[4] Ahmad, Musnad, 3/107.
Checker's Note: Saheeh, Saheeh al-Jami as-Sagheer: 7420.
[5] Ahmad, Musnad, 6/81.
Checker's Note: Saheeh, Silsilatul Ahadeeth as-Saheehah: 1953.
[6] Ahmad, Musnad, 3/499.
Checker's Note: Saheeh, Mustadrak of al-Hakim: 4/496. Declared saheeh by al-Hakim and agreed to by adh-Dhahaabee.