Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil

Ashrat al-Saa (Signs of the Hour) is an eschatological treatise authored by Yusuf ibn Abd Allah ibn Yusuf al-Wabil, examining the minor and major portents of the Day of Judgment according to Sunni creed and hadith criticism Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil+1.

Background and Composition

The book originated as an academic master's thesis submitted to the Department of Creed within the Faculty of Sharia at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil. The author completed and defended the thesis in Muharram 1404 AH (October 1983 CE), receiving a master's degree with distinction (mumtaz) Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.

Al-Wabil noted that his motivation for compiling the work was twofold: first, to counter contemporary writers who cast doubt on unseen eschatological matters or allegorized them away; and second, to rectify deficiencies in earlier eschatological literature, in which authors often compiled hadiths without verifying their authenticity or explaining obscure terminology Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.

Methodology and Sources

Al-Wabil established a critical methodology for the book:

• Confining the signs discussed exclusively to those explicitly affirmed or clearly indicated by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.
• Citing only hadiths judged authentic (sahih) or good (hasan) by hadith scholars, deliberately omitting unverified and fabricated traditions Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.
• Explaining unusual vocabulary and clarifying geographical locations mentioned in eschatological narrations Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.
• Defending traditional Sunni hermeneutics, asserting that eschatological signs belong to unseen matters (ghaybiyyat) that must be accepted literally rather than reduced to symbolic representations of abstract forces Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.
• Establishing the binding epistemic authority of authentic solitary reports (khabar al-ahad) in creedal affairs (aqidah) Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil+1.

In reviewing earlier eschatological literature, al-Wabil utilized and referenced earlier compendiums, such as Kitab al-Fitan by Nu'aym ibn Hammad (d. 228 AH), al-Nihayah fi al-Fitan wa-l-Malahim by Ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH), al-Isha'ah li-Ashrat al-Sa'ah by Muhammad al-Barzanji (d. 1103 AH), al-Idha'ah lima Kana wa-ma Yakunu Bayna Yaday al-Sa'ah by Siddiq Hasan Khan (d. 1307 AH), and Ithaf al-Jama'ah by Hammud ibn Abd Allah al-Tuwayjiri Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil+1.

Structure and Contents

The book is arranged into an introduction, an extensive preliminary study (tamhid), two main parts (abwab), and a conclusion Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil+1:

• Preliminary Study: Covers six sections dealing with the impact of belief in the Last Day; its diverse Quranic names; the epistemic authority of solitary reports in creed; the scope of Prophetic information on future events; the exclusive divine knowledge of the Hour's exact timing (refuting attempts to fix the lifespan of the world); and textual proofs of its proximity Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil+1.
• Part One (Minor Signs of the Hour): Comprises three chapters. The first defines terms and distinguishes between the minor, middle, and major hours Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil. The second outlines classifications of portents (past, ongoing, and yet to occur) Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil. The third catalogues and analyzes 57 specific minor signs, including the mission and death of the Prophet ﷺ, the plague of 'Amwas, the loss of trust, competitive construction of tall buildings, widespread usury, and the receding of the Euphrates Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil+3.
• Part Two (Major Signs of the Hour): Features an introduction on the chronological sequence and rapid succession of major signs, followed by nine dedicated chapters:
  1. The emergence of the Mahdi, his identity, textual proofs, the mass-transmission (tawatur) of his reports, and responses to deniers Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.
  2. The False Messiah (al-Masih al-Dajjal), his attributes, the case of Ibn Sayyad, means of protection, and his demise Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil+1.
  3. The descent of Jesus (peace be upon him) as a just ruler, its mass-transmitted status, and the conditions of his era Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil+1.
  4. Gog and Magog (Yajuj and Majuj), their lineage from Adam, their barrier, and refutations of modern historical identifications (such as identifying them solely with the Mongol invasions) Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.
  5. The three major earth-swallowing landslides in the East, West, and Arabian Peninsula Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.
  6. The Smoke (al-Dukhan) Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.
  7. The rising of the sun from the west, the cessation of repentance, and a critique of Muhammad Rashid Rida's stance on related hadiths Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.
  8. The emergence of the Beast of the Earth (Dabbat al-Ard) Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil+1.
  9. The gathering fire driving people toward the Levant (al-Sham) before the Day of Resurrection Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil.
• Conclusion: Synthesizes the core theological takeaways, emphasizing that belief in the signs of the Hour is an integral facet of belief in the unseen and the Last Day Nataij al-Buhuth wa Khawa…+1.

Reception and Publication

Published in a single volume, the book became widely utilized as a standard contemporary Sunni reference on eschatology Ashrat al-Saa - al-Ghafil…+1. Later scholars and institutional legal councils frequently recommend it alongside classic monographs for studying the portents of the Hour due to its methodological rigor and critical hadith selection Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla…+2.

The book was first printed in 1409 AH (1989 CE) by Dar Ibn al-Jawzi (as well as Dar Taybah in Riyadh), followed by a second edition in 1411 AH (1990 CE), a third in 1411 AH (1991 CE), and reached its eighth edition with Dar Ibn al-Jawzi in 1418 AH Ashrat al-Saa - al-Wabil+2.