Do We Have an Islamic Prophecy about How the End Will Occur in the West?
Answered by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan
Question
We have read, and hadith are told about the end of times and the chronological events before the day of judgment. It seems that war will erupt in Syria. My question is, what about us, those who live in the USA or Canada?
Where is the Islamic prophecy about how the end will happen here? It seems like the Asian continent is the one discussed in the end-of-world prophecies, but where are the prophecies about North America?
Answer
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The Day of Judgment and I have been sent together like these two fingers.” This indicates that his mission is close to the Day of Judgment and also that most of the events at the end of time will happen around the area where he came.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) also spoke about the dajjal, which is a global phenomenon that will affect people in the East and the West.
Although several of his prophecies refer to Sham, Yemen, and the Hijaz, they do so because these places are the hub of Muslim activities. However, the prophecies are not country-specific because events in certain countries may not differ that much from events in the Middle East. For example, the Palestinian situation has an impact across the globe. The delaying or canceling of the hajj likewise affects Muslims across the globe.
So, the North American continent is not going to disappear, leaving the end of the world to happen in the areas of Syria, Makka, and Madina. Many hadiths refer to changes that will happen in societies, in individuals, and in people’s lives generally. This applies to the Middle East as much as to the West.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The day of judgment will not come until al-Sakarun appears.” His companions asked who they were, so he said, “They are young people at the end of time who greet each other by swearing.” We can see this phenomenon happening in the West.
He also said, “The day of judgment will not appear until men suffice with men and women suffice with women.” This behavior is being legalized in the West, and the whole debate about it is coming from the West. The change in standards and principles, and the change in human fitrah, is emerging in the West and the Middle East will be subsequent to it. The West exports these ideas.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) spoke about secularisation as one of the diseases that will emerge. He mentioned the fitna of attacking and running away. This refers to colonialism, which has come from Europe and North America.
However, there is some light in the hadiths, in that there will be pockets of nur in the West, so we must not allow the prophecies to make us gloomy.
So there are hadiths that refer to changes that will happen in societies across the globe, not only specifically to events in the Middle East. Some hadiths focus on these events because the Middle East is the hotspot. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) also spoke about al-Rum and al-Turk, which are taken as referring to the West.
Muslims in the West are people like all others, so what happens to the rest of the globe also happens to them.
Therefore, we should look at the changes happening in society without identifying a specific society. All the issues regarding sexuality, gender relations, transgender, LGBTQ, etc., were frowned upon in the West fifty years ago. Now, things are very different.
We should realize that we have more ability in the West to carry out some of the Prophet’s advice, namely to focus on self-sufficiency, small communities, building communities, etc. This advice is very pertinent to the West but less easily applicable to the Middle East. We can take this from the Prophetic hadiths if we regard them as relating to events across the globe, not only in the Middle East.
[Shaykh] Ahmed Saad al-Azhari
This answer was transcribed from an audio response of the Shaykh Ahmed Saad al-Azhari by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan.
[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan received ijaza ‘amma from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib ‘Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.
