Earthquakes
There is no doubt that there have been
no other natural events in history
that have affected people to the
extent that earthquakes have. They can
happen anywhere and at any moment.
Throughout the centuries, they have
caused many deaths and great material
loss. For this reason, they have been
greatly feared. Even the technology of
the twentieth and twentyfirst
centuries has been able to prevent
earthquake damage only to a certain
extent..
 
The hadiths
of the Prophet (saas) mention
that most of the earthquakes
will increase in the End Times.
The frequent occurrence of
earthquakes over the last few
years is among the foremost
concerns of people throughout
the world.
|
The 1995
earthquake in Kobe serves as an
example to those who like to think
that technology will make it possible
to harness nature. It will be
remembered that this earthquake came
unexpectedly upon Japan's largest
industrial and transportation center.
In spite of the fact that it only
lasted 20 seconds, as Time magazine
reported, it caused about 100 billion
dollars in damage.10
In the last few
years, major earthquakes have occurred
repeatedly and are among the foremost
fears of people around the world. If
we look at the data collected by the
American National Earthquake
Information Center for 1999, we find
that 20,832 earthquakes happened
somewhere in the world. As a result,
an estimated 22,711 persons lost their
lives.11
All such cases bring to mind what the
Prophet (saas) said 1400 years ago:
The Hour (Last Day) will not be
established until ... earthquakes will
be very frequent. (Bukhari)
There are two great hadiths before
the day of Judgment ... and then years
of earthquakes. (Narrated by Umm
Salama (r.a.))
 
Earthquakes, as predicted in the
hadiths, are among the most
important signs of the Last Day.
|
In the Qur'n, there are certain
verses that point out the relation
between earthquakes and the End Times.
The 99th Surah is called Surat
az-Zalzala; zalzala means great
shaking, or earthquake. This Surah,
composed of eight verses, describes
the violent shaking of the earth and
states that, following it, the
Judgment Day will arrive, people will
be raised from the dead, will give
account of themselves to Allah, and
receive their just rewards, even for
the slightest thing that they have
done:
When the earth is convulsed with its
quaking
and the earth then disgorges its
charges
and man asks, "What is wrong with
it?",on that Day it will impart all
its news
because your Lord has inspired it.
That Day people will emerge segregated
to see the results of their actions.
Whoever does an atom's weight of good
will see it.
Whoever does an atom's weight of evil
will see it. (Surat az-Zalzala: 1-8)
 
Disasters
affect the whole world. We must
learn a lesson from them and
turn to Allah.
|
Poverty
It is well known that poverty is the
lack of food, shelter, clothing,
health services, and the other basic
needs, due to a low level of income.
Despite the possibilities afforded by
advanced technology, poverty is today
one of the most serious problems the
world faces. In Africa, Asia, South
America and Eastern Europe, many
people live with hunger every day.
Imperialism and unrestrained
capitalism has prevented the
distribution of income throughout the
world and the advancement of
under-developed and developing
countries. While there is a happy
minority that has more than it needs,
there are a considerable number of
people struggling with the problems of
poverty and destitution.
|
Despite the possibilities
afforded by advances in
technology, poverty continues to
be one of the major problems in
the world today. According to
the report of the United Nations
Food and Agriculture
Organization, for the year 2000,
826 million people are
undernourished.
|
|
In the world
today, poverty has reached grave
proportions. The last report by UNICEF
stated that one in four people of the
world's population lives in
"unimaginable suffering and want."12
1.3 billion of the world's people
survive on less than $1 a day. 3
billion people in the world today
struggle to survive on $2 a day.13
Approximately 1.3 billion people lack
safe water. 2.6 billion people are
without access to adequate sanitation.14

The basic
reason for social injustice and
its consequent gap between the
rich and the poor is that the
moral teaching of the Qur'n is
not followed.
|
According to the
report by the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), for
the year 2000, 826 million people
around the world do not get enough to
eat. In other words, one in six people
are hungry.15
Over the last
ten years, the injustice of income
distribution has increased more than
one can imagine. United Nations
reports show that, in 1960, the 20% of
the people of the world who live in
the richest countries had 30 times the
income of the poorest 20; by 1995 it
was 82 times.16
As an example of the collapse of
social justice, the wealth of the
world's 225 richest individuals is
equal to the annual income of the
poorest 47%.17
The current statistical data point to
what the Prophet (saas) said about the
increase of poverty. In the hadiths,
it is revealed that poverty and hunger
will be among the signs of the first
period of the End Times.
The poor will grow in number. (Amal
Al-Din Al-Qazwini, Mufid Al-'ulum
Wa-mubid Al-humum)
Gains will be shared out only among
the rich, with no benefit to the
poor.(Tirmidhi)
Obviously, that period indicated by
the Prophet (saas) describes
conditions in our day. If we look at
past centuries, we see that the
difficulties and anxiety brought about
by drought, war and other calamities
were temporary and limited to a
particular region. However, today, the
poverty and difficulty of earning a
living are permanent and endemic.
Certainly, our Lord has endless
compassion and mercy; He does not
wrong people. But, because of the
ungratefulness of humanity, and the
evil it has committed, poverty and
anxiety have been institutionalized.
Indeed, this sorry state of affairs
shows clearly that the world is
stratified on a basis of selfishness
and greed rather than on religion,
moral values and conscience.

|
Those
of you possessing affluence and
ample wealth should not make oaths
that they will not give to their
relatives and the very poor and
those who are refugees in the way
of Allah. They should rather
pardon and overlook. Would you not
love Allah to forgive you? Allah
is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
(Surat an-Nur: 22)
|
The Collapse of Moral Values
In our day, there is a great danger
that threatens the world's social
fabric. In the same way as a virus
kills the human body, this danger
brings about subtle social collapse.
This danger is the degradation of
those moral values that help to
maintain a healthy society.
Homosexuality, prostitution,
pre-marital and extra-marital sex,
sexual misdemeanors, pornography,
sexual harassment and the increase of
sex-related illnesses, are a number of
important indications of the collapse
of moral values.

22 million
dead in 20 years
|
These remain continual matters of
public concern. A great number of
people are not aware of the danger
that is increasing around them, and
mistakenly consider it as normal. But,
statistics show that, with every
passing day, the extent of the danger
is growing unperceived.
The proportion
of sex-related illnesses is an
important criterion to help indicate
the extent of the problems facing
humanity. According to the records of
the World Health Organization (WHO),
sex-related diseases forms one of the
largest segments of illnesses. These
reports show that of an estimated 333
million new cases of sexually
transmitted diseases occur in the
world every year.18
In addition, AIDS continues to be the
most serious problem. Statistics of
WHO indicate that the total number of
AIDS deaths since the beginning of the
epidemic have been 18.8 million
persons.19
The report of the World Health
Organization for the year 2000 sums up
the situation succinctly: "AIDS is
unique in its devastating impact on
the social, economic and demographic
underpinnings of development."20
 |
Among the most frightening
developments is the spread of
homosexuality. In some countries,
homosexuals can be legally married,
enjoy the social benefits of marriage,
and form associations and
organizations. Around the world their
activities show their opposition to
religious faith and their antagonism
to religious values. This is a
characteristic of our age; such things
have never happened before since the
time of the Prophet (saas).
The audacity of today's homosexuals
makes one think of the end of the
people of Lut who were noted for their
homosexuality. As it says in the
Qur'n, when they flamboyantly
rejected Lut (as)'s invitation to the
right path, Allah destroyed the city
and its people by a great disaster. As
a reminder, the remains of this
perverse society still lie beneath the
water of Lut's Lake (the Dead Sea).
It is clear that the hadiths
describing the End Times and its moral
degeneration are coming true today.
One hadith indicates that the absence
of the shame of prostitution is a sign
of the Last Day.
There will be prevalence of open
illegal sexual intercourse. (Bukhari)
The Prophet (saas) says that the
spread of extra-marital sexual
relationships in society is a sign:
The Hour will come when adultery
becomes widespread. (Al-Haythami,
Kitab al-Fitan)

The growing
prevalence of homosexuality over
the past few years is a
frightening development. This
phenomenon was mentioned in the
hadiths of our Prophet (saas)
fourteen centuries ago.
|
The weakening of moral values and a
sense of shame is described in these
words:
The Last Hour will not be
established until they (wicked people)
commit adultery on the roads (public
ways). (Ibn Hibban and Bazzar)
It is interesting to note that,
recently, scenes of prostitution
captured by hidden cameras have been
broadcast on television channels.
Prostitutes have sexual intercourse
with their customers in open view in
the middle of the street. This is
another sign of the Last Day revealed
in a hadith; millions of people have
witnessed this sign. These hadiths
show that tolerating homosexuality as
a normal way of life is an important
sign of the period before the Last
Day.
  
Every day
newspaper pages contain reports
that point to the collapse of
social morality, while many
regard these developments as
merely normal.
|
Men will imitate women; and Women
will imitate men. (Allama Jalaluddin
Suyuti, Durre-Mansoor)
People will indulge in
homosexuality and lesbianism. (Al-Muttaqi
Al-Hindi, Muntakhab Kanzul Ummaal) |