The
End Times (or the Last Days) may not be a familiar concept
to many people. Therefore, we first give a brief explanation
of it. The End Times means "the last era." According
to Islamic literature, this period of time is close to Doomsday,
during which we will witness the prevalence of the Qur'an's
morality and widespread adherence to religious values.
Towards the end of this period, all conditions
that ensure a peaceful and safe life will be established,
and the misery that marked the previous periods will be
replaced will wealth, abundance, and justice. All forms
of immorality, fraud, and degeneration will end. This is
the blessed period, marked by Islamic morality, for which
all people of faith have longed for centuries.
The Hadith literature and the works of Muslim
scholars contain extensive references to this period. These
descriptions indicate that, following great corruption and
outrage, Earth will enter upon a period of salvation characterized
by bounty and blessings due to the prevalence of true religion.
In this period, science, medicine, and technology will advance
to a unprecedented degree and provide extensive benefits
humanity, and the understanding of art will flourish in
an unprecedented way.
During the early phases of the End Times, moral
degeneration will become all-pervasive due to the influence
of some philosophical systems such as atheism, materialism
and racism. Humanity will forget the reason for its existence
and thus enter the downward spiral of spiritual purposelessness
and moral degeneration. Great disasters will occur one after
another. Wars and insurmountable trouble will cause humanity
to seek the answer to the question: "Is there a way
out?" But Allah will save people from this great turmoil
and enable them to enter a blessed period. Actually, such
a blessed period applies to each community at all times,
provided its members abide by the Qur'an's morality. Allah
has always granted great blessings to His servants who,
out of their awe and consciousness of Him, comply meticulously
with His commands. He causes such people to live in abundance.
What we know about the End Times comes from
our Prophet's (saas) words and the works of Muslim scholars.
There is no reason to doubt the authenticity of these resources,
for the Hadith literature provides detailed descriptions
about this period. The facts that such detailed accounts
were provided 14 centuries ago and that all these happenings
occurred one after another within a particular period of
time is a miracle in itself, and thereby removes any misgivings
regarding the origin of these words.
Indeed, since Allah gives us some information
related to the End Times, such as the global prevalence
of the Qur'an's morality or Jesus' second coming to Earth,
we have no reason to doubt its accuracy. In the following
verse, Allah gives the good news that the Qur'an's morality
will pervade Earth:
Signs That the Qur'an's Values Will Prevail
Many verses refer to the global prevalence
of the Qur'an's values in the Golden Age, the latter years
of the End Times. These verses have great parallels with
our Prophet's (saas) sayings related to the Golden Age.
Clearly, this prevalence is a sign of the Golden Age described
by our Prophet (saas), for such an event has not occurred
yet. Some verses about how this phenomenon will come about
are as follows:
Allah has written, "I will be victorious,
I and and My Messengers." Allah is Most Strong, Almighty.
(Surat al-Mujadala: 21)
They desire to extinguish Allah's Light
with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His Light, though
the unbelievers hate it. He sent His Messenger with guidance
and the Religion of Truth to exalt it over every other
religion, though the idolaters hate it. (Surat
as-Saff: 8-9)
They desire to extinguish Allah's Light
with their mouths. But Allah refuses to do other than
perfect His Light, even though the unbelievers detest
it. He sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion
of Truth to exalt it over every other religion, even though
the idolaters detest it. (Surat at-Tawba: 32-33)
Allah confirms the Truth by His words,
even though the evildoers hate it. (Surah Yunus:
82)
Those before them planned, but all planning
belongs to Allah. He knows what each soul earns, and the
unbelievers will soon know who has the Ultimate Abode.
(Surat ar-Ra'd: 42)
We destroyed generations before you when
they did wrong. Their Messengers brought them the Clear
Signs, but they were never going to have faith. That is
how We repay evildoers. Then We appointed you after them
to be successors on the earth so We might observe how
you would act. (Surah Yunus: 13-14)
The Qur'an relates the following
divine law in many of its verses: Those who have a pure faith
in Allah and do not ascribe partners to Him will inherit the
earth. Some examples are the following:
