Is the Spread of Snitching and Intoxication a Sign of the Day of Judgment?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
In the West, people hate being snitched on, and in many cases, they get violent against the snitcher. Why did people in the past forgive that person, but not anymore? Is there a Hadith that says that people who snitch would be seen as evil, and the snitcher would be seen as the victim and that they will be violent near the hour? Also, people used to talk about drugs in private, but now they do so in public and among children. Are those part of the signs of the Day of Judgment?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
For a detailed discourse on the established signs of the Day of Judgement, please see:
Signs of the Hour: The Fiqh of the End of Times
Some Minor Signs
“Snitching” is not explicitly mentioned, though some elements of what you’ve described are in some narrations about the minor (as opposed to major) signs of Judgment Day, such as:
1. Increase in the number of police and helpers of the oppressors
2. Disappearance of trustworthiness
3. Hatred amongst people’s hearts
4. Increase in falsehood and having no concern to check reports
5. Increase in false testimony and withholding truthful witness
6. Drinking (or other forms of consumption) of intoxicants and it being allowed
[Al-Shalabi, Sahih Ashrat Al-Sa’a]
I pray this is of benefit, that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar, Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and pursuing his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
