Praise be to Allah.
Knowledge of the Hour is a matter of the unseen which is known only to Allah, and He has not disclosed it to any angel who is close to Him or any Prophet whom He sent, as He, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the Hour: when is its arrival? Say, “Its knowledge is only with my Lord. None will reveal its time except Him. It lays heavily upon the heavens and the earth. It will not come upon you except unexpectedly.” They ask you as if you are familiar with it. Say, “Its knowledge is only with Allah, but most of the people do not know” } [al-A‘raaf 7:187].
In Saheeh Muslim, when Jibreel asked the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about the Hour, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to him: “The one who is asked about it does not know more than the one who is asking.”
But Allah, may He be glorified, has ordained signs for it which will indicate that it is approaching. These signs are also matters of the unseen which we cannot know except through what Allah has taught us. In the Book of Allah and the saheeh Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) there are texts which describe some of these signs, and this is what we are to rely on and trust. As for what is mentioned in weak (da‘eef) hadiths, or in the texts narrated from the Children of Israel, they cannot be relied upon and we cannot base our beliefs on them. If anything happens in reality that is in harmony with some of what it says in those books, perhaps those are undistorted texts among what they inherited from their prophets.
The Muslim must strive to learn that which will benefit him and keep away from speculation and illusions, for they are of no benefit. Hence it is known that when it comes to the signs and portents of the Hour, we cannot rely on anything except that which came through revelation, whether it is in the Qur’an or the saheeh Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
And Allah knows best.
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