INTRODUCTION

The hadiths of our Prophet (saas) provide very detailed information and signs about the End Times, which will occur shortly before Doomsday. According to these reports, several highly significant events will take place one after the other during this period. In the first stage of the End Times, terrible corruption and chaos will rule; in the second stage, these will be replaced by peace and security as people come to live by true religious moral values. Our Prophet (saas) imparted glad tidings regarding the Mahdi, who will be sent during the End Times. For example, this great individual will liberate Muslims from cruelty and suffering; eliminate corruption; and usher in an era of peace, justice, plenty, happiness, and well being. According to reliable hadiths, he will return Islam, which has been distorted via superstitions and practices, to its true essence; meet with Prophet ‘Isa (as); and, by Allah’s will, will enable Islam’s moral values to prevail on Earth. These great tidings enhance all believers’ enthusiasm and excitement. Many of the prophetic hadiths and scholarly manuscripts that have come down to us have transmitted the joy and enthusiasm of those tidings and have kept the subject alive and of interest among believers. The portents that we are seeing in our own time show us that the Mahdi’s coming is close at hand. Indeed, the current climate of chaos, oppression, terror, and war, as well as the strife, famines, and earthquakes, are all portents of this great event. This website consists of two parts: “The Portents of the Mahdi’s Coming” and “The Mahdi’s Features.” There can be no doubt that all new information learned regarding this subject will enhance the Muslims’ excitement.

PART ONE PORTENTS OF THE MAHDI’S COMING

Many of the prophetic hadiths that have been handed down to us in the works of great Islamic scholars are devoted to portents of the Mahdi’s coming. This section examines the links between these hadiths and the present day. We shall see that they describe the contemporary climate and conditions and certain critical events that took place in the recent past accurately and miraculously. As stated earlier, both the Mahdi’s coming and the fulfillment of the hadiths regarding the portents of Doomsday started coming to pass, one after the other, at the beginning of the 1400s ah (1979-80), clearly reveals that these are the years of the Mahdi’s presence on Earth. (Allah knows the truth, of course.) Let’s now examine these portents. 1) PORTENTS OF MAHDI’S COMING TAKING PLACE ONE AFTER THE OTHER, 2) THE PROLIFERATION OF SEDITION (FITNAS), 3) WIDESPREAD SLAUGHTER BEFORE THE MAHDI COMES, 4) THE GLOBAL PERVASIVENESS OF CHAOS AND CONFLICT, 5) STRIFES IN WHICH EVEN WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE SLAUGHTERED, 6) HE WILL APPEAR WHEN THE WAYLAYING INCREASES, 7) INCREASED OPPRESSION OF MUSLIMS, 8) THE DESTRUCTION OF MASJIDS AND MOSQUES, 9) RELIGIOUS PROHIBITIONS GAIN ACCEPTANCE, 10) THE OPEN DENIAL OF ALLAH (Surely Allah is beyond that!), 11) THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR, 12) THE OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN, 13) THE ARMY THAT SANK IN THE DESERT, 14) HALTING OF THE FLOW OF THE EUPHRATES, 15) LUNAR AND SOLAR ECLIPSES DURING RAMADAN, 16) THE RISE OF A COMET 17) STORMING THE KA`BAH AND THE SUBSEQUENT BLOODSHED, 18) SIGHTING A FLARE IN THE EAST, 19) AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF FALSE PROPHETS, 20) USING RELIGION FOR PERSONAL ENDS, 21) GREAT AND AMAZING THINGS TAKING PLACE, 22) A SIGN OUT OF THE SUN, 23) THE DESTRUCTION OF GREAT CITIES, and 24) AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF EARTHQUAKES. 1) PORTENTS OF MAHDI’S COMING TAKING PLACE ONE AFTER THE OTHER Those hadiths that reveal the portents of the Mahdi’s coming describe them as occurring one after the other “like the dots on a prayer-beads.” We can see that this is the case, for as stated in the hadiths, chaos and anarchy are on the rise all over the world, sedition is growing, slaughter and terrible catastrophes are taking place in many lands, poverty and hunger are increasing, and people are suffering terribly. The fact that these portents are coming to pass at one particular time shows that the Mahdi, the blessed person for whom Muslims have awaited for centuries, will come soon. (Allah knows the best!) Some of the reports related to this subject are as follows: I asked Abu Abdullah Husain ibn Ali: “Are there portents of this?” – in reference to the Mahdi’s appearance. He said: “Yes.” I asked: “What are they?” He said: “The destruction of the [tribe of the] Bani Abbas, the emergence of the Sufyani (Abu Sufyan), and sinking in Bayda.” I said: “I am afraid this will all take a long time,” to which he replied: “These things will happen one after the other, like the dots on a tasbih (prayer beads).” (Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, Portents of the Mahdi of the End Times, Kahraman Publishings, p. 3) Signs of the Doomsday follow one another, like the pieces of a prayer beads falling one after the other when its string is cut. (Tirmidhi Hadiths) Painful situations and grievous sights will be seen. Strife will go on and on… (al-Suyuti, Portents of the Mahdi, p. 36) Fitnas (seditions) will follow one another in the near future. Then, there will be other fitnas and even more following them. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 374, no. 684) 2) THE PROLIFERATION OF SEDITION (FITNAS) The word fitna (sedition) describes events, environments, and conditions in which all people, especially believers, face intensified tests of their faith. Such tests, in which living conditions are difficult and efforts are made to weaken or destroy people’s faith, are all described as fitna in Islamic sources. The following hadith describes how believers’ faith will weaken prior to the Mahdi’s coming and the causes thereof: The Mahdi, one of my children, comes into being, by the blessing of Allah, when the Day of Judgment approaches and the believers’ hearts weaken because of death, hunger, the disappearance of the Sunnah, the emergence of innovations, and the loss of the means by which to enjoin the right and forbid the wrong. His justice and prosperity will ease the believers’ hearts, and friendship and love will settle between the non-Arab and the Arab nations. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 66) To summarize, the following events will take place before the Mahdi appears: 1) Death: Public security will disappear in the face of anarchy, widespread slaughter, and the ensuing tension. 2) Hunger: The high cost of living, as well as catastrophes and natural disasters, will cause a rise in hunger and famine. 3) Fitnas (Sedition): Sin will be encouraged and spread, and all kinds of immoral actions will take place before people’s eyes. 4) Un-Islamic innovations (bid`at): Customs that have no place in true Islam and that were added on and gradually came to be accepted as a true part of it, will emerge. 5) Being Unable to Preach the Religion: An emptiness caused by being unable to teach how good is commanded and evil forbidden; in other words, the preaching of religion. Sedition enables strong believers to enhance their faith and fortitude, as well as their degree in the Hereafter, whereas they lead those with weak faith to become further removed from faith, and those whose faith is artificial to lose it altogether. The Mahdi will appear at a time when such a climate of corruption is being experienced in its fullest and most violent form. Another hadith imparts the tidings that there will be confusion, sedition, and fear in the “west”: Disorder, sedition, and fear will emerge in the west... Sedition will proliferate. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah Qurtubi) Another hadith reveals that the Mahdi will come when sedition is everywhere: A kind of sedition will surface from which no party will be able to protect itself, and spread immediately in every direction. This situation will persist until one comes and says: “O people, from now on your leader is the Mahdi.” (Ibn Hajar al-Haytahami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 23) In other words, a sedition that opposes religion and Allah will target people’s faith. Today, this sedition is materialist philosophy, the supposed scientific basis of which is Darwin’s theory of evolution. Although it is completely irrational, unscientific, and devoid of any scientific or logical proof, materialist circles are seeking to impose this theory on every society through intensive propaganda, deception, and misrepresentation. This theory enters our homes through the press and television, whether we live in the West or in the Muslim world. Forming a part of most science and other textbooks, it is imposed upon children from the early grades through constant repetition, such as its most famous claim: that people are descended from a common ancestor with apes. Young people are fed these evolutionist lies from primary school to the university. In addition, the sedition referred to in the prophetic hadiths can only become so widespread through modern-day technological means (e.g., the press, publishing, the Internet, and satellite communications). Indeed, such widespread sedition has never been seen before today. All of these are important signs that the Mahdi’s coming coincides with our own time. The hadiths also state that this sedition will end when the Mahdi comes. 3) WIDESPREAD SLAUGHTER BEFORE THE MAHDI COMES The hadiths reveal that violence and chaos will affect the great majority of people before the Mahdi comes and that much blood will be shed: Doomsday will not take place until these things come to pass… Death and slaughter will be widespread… (al-Suyuti, Jamius Sagir, 3:211; Musnad, 2:492, 4:391, 392) There will be cries of war in Shawwal and war and carnage in Dhu al-Hijjah. Again in Dhu al-Hijjah, pilgrims will be plundered and the roads will be filled with blood… The bloodshed will continue and increase. (al-Suyuti, Portents of the Mahdi of the End Times p. 37) …The Hajjis will be looted, and there will be a battle at Mina in which many will be slain. Blood will flow until it runs over the Jamra al-'Aqaba. [Jamra: a stone pillar representing Satan that is stoned during the pilgrimage.] (Narrated by `Amr ibn Shu`ayb, al-Hakim, and Nu`aym ibn Hammad) There will emerge widespread strife that seems impossible to ever end... (Al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 55) People make pilgrimage without an imam leading them. Big wars break out when they come down to Mina, and they are entwined just the way dogs entwine, and tribes attack each other. This strife is so widespread that legs are buried in lakes of blood. (al-Suyuti, Portents of the Mahdi of the End Times, p. 35) Such a strife will appear that nowhere will be spared. When it ends in one place, it will immediately spread to another... (al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar,pp. 21-22) Modern communications technology will make everyone aware of this corruption and disasters. Even though there may only be few people present at the scene, the whole world will learn what is happening instantaneously. Radio, television, newspapers, and the Internet will broadcast bloodshed, injustice, and oppression to the whole world. 4) THE GLOBAL PERVASIVENISS OF CHAOS AND CONFLICT At a time when the world will be in utter confusion and disorder (harj), fitna will appear, people will be attacked, the old will not have mercy on the young, and the young will not show respect to the old, Allah will send someone (the Mahdi) to eradicate hostility, conquer the castles of perversion, uphold faith in the End Times just as I upheld it formerly; someone who will fill this Earth with justice where violence prevailed before. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 12) Rather than describing one particular place, the hadith refers to chaos (e.g., conflict, war, slaughter, and terror) spreading all over the world. Indeed, this is the case today, a time when every day hundreds of people are killed or exiled for no fair reason. 5) STRIFE IN WHICH EVEN WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE SLAUGHTERED Even women, children, the elderly, and the innocent will be massacred before the Mahdi comes: In this case, killing a woman will be as easy as wielding a whip. This event will spread twenty-four miles from Madinah. Then the oath of allegiance will be taken to the Mahdi. (al-Suyuti, Portents of the Mahdi, p. 34) The Mahdi will not appear until innocent people are killed… (Ibid., p. 35) The last of this strife will be the killing of innocent people, and then the Mahdi will appear, to the approval of all. (Ibid., p. 38) The Mahdi will not appear until innocent people are slaughtered. He will appear when those on Earth and in the skies can no longer bear the killing... (al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 37) They will kill mothers, fathers, daughters, men, everyone, and inflict great suffering on the [Muslim] community by conquering Persia and Iraq. Among these there will be strife, violence, destruction, and flight. (al-Suyuti, Portents of the Mahdi, p. 36) 6) THE MAHDI WILL APPEAR WHEN THE ROADS ARE CUT The hadiths reveal that the Mahdi will come when the means of transport are severed due to conflict, anarchy, and terror, and when people are unable to travel in safety and security: When trade and roads are cut and strife multiplies ... (al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, pp. 39-40) Before the Mahdi appears, trade and roads between nations will be cut and strife among people will grow. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 454) 7) THE INCREASED OPPRESSION OF MUSLIMS During the end times, the hadiths state that Muslim societies will suffer from the conflict, war, and injustice aimed at them. The conflicts and climate of chaos experienced in parts of the Islamic world, both now and in the recent past, as well as the oppression that has led to dictatorial regimes in certain Muslim countries, are some of the proofs that this time has begun. Everyone bowing (ruqu`) and prostrating (sajda) themselves in prayer will be punished. Cruelty, malice, and vice will be produced; scholars and ascetics murdered; and many cities conquered. There will be hostility to Prophet Muhammad (saas), bloodshed and destruction will be legitimate. (al-Suyuti, Portents of the Mahdi, p. 37) There will be caliphs after me, amirs after the caliphs, and cruel tyrants after the amirs. Finally, one from my line will appear. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 84) Woe to this community because of those tyrannical rulers. These cruel ones frighten even the silent and submissive, apart from those who obey them. (Ibid., p. 13) Every one out of three Muslim will be killed... (Ibid., p. 73) 8) THE DESTRUCTION OF MOSQUES The Sufyani will emerge from a dry valley and form an army from the Kalb tribe consisting of grim-faced and hard-hearted men who will oppress all people. He will destroy mosques and madrassas, and punish everyone bowing (ruqu`) and prostrating (sajda) themselves in prayer. (al-Suyuti, Portents of the Mahdi, p. 35) 9)RELIGIOUS PROHIBITIONS GAIN ACCEPTANCE Today, although such harmful activities as prostitution, alcohol consumption, usury, and bribery are unlawful or religiously forbidden in many lands, more and more people are indulging in them. Even more, some those who engage in them are praised and encouraged, whereas those who do not are disparaged and belittled. Lifestyles that know no bounds, that care nothing for what the scriptures allow and forbid, and that regard all forms of excess as permissible have spread far and wide during the last few decades. The hadiths describe this dark age, a herald of the Mahdi’s coming, as follows: Strife will be seen, and more will follow. Such a level of strife will come that the first will spur the last to clashes of swords, and after this there will be such strife that what is forbidden is regarded as lawful. Then the caliphate will come to the Mahdi, the most auspicious individual on Earth, while he is sitting at home. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 26) The Mahdi will not emerge until unbelief invades everywhere and is openly committed in public. What rules in such times is… the invasion by unbelief. That is its power. (Imam Rabbani, Letters of Rabbani, 2:259) The Mahdi will emerge after the appearance of such vile corruption, whereby all prohibitions are regarded as lawful. (al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 23) 10) THE OPEN DENIAL OF ALLAH (Surely Allah is beyond that!) The Mahdi will not come until Allah is openly and flagrantly denied. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 27) This hadith indicates that many people will either be atheists or agnostics, and that they will relay their denial to everyone through the press and declare it openly. This state of affairs clearly exists today, since those who deny Allah are highly esteemed for their supposed “modern and contemporary” attitude. Moreover, the public is encouraged to emulate them. 11) The IRAN-IRAQ WAR The hadith reports that a major war will take place in the End Times: There will be tumult in Shawwal, talk of war in Dhu al-Qa`dah, and the outbreak of war in Dhu al-Hijjah. (Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa`ah, p. 166) These three months match the dates of the developmental stages of the Iran-Iraq war: Tumult in Shawwal … The first uprising against the shah took place on 5 Shawwal 1398 (8 September 1976), as indicated by the hadith. Talk of war in Dhu al-Qa`dah, and the outbreak of war in Dhu al-Hijjah … A full-blown war broke out between Iran and Iraq in Dhu al-Hijjah 1400 (October 1980). Another hadith describes the details of this war as follows: A tribe will come from the Farsi direction, saying: "You Arabs! You have been too zealous! If you don't give them their due rights, nobody will have an alliance with you... It must be given to them one day and to you the following day, and mutual promises must be kept..." They will be going up Mutekh; Muslims will be coming down to the plain ... Mushrikun [idolaters] will be standing over there on the bank of a black river [Rakabeh] on the other side. There will be a war between them. Allah will deprive both armies of a victory ... (Ibid., p. 179) - Those coming from the Farsi direction: Those coming from the Iranian side, - Farsi: Iran, Iranian, - Coming down to the plain: Coming down to the Iraqi plain, - Mutekh: Name of a mountain in the region, and - Rakabeh: A region where the oil wells are concentrated. "You Arabs! You have been too zealous! If you don't give them their due rights, nobody will have an alliance with you…" This hadith may draw attention to the outbreak of a racial dispute that will cause both sides to come down to the (Iraqi) plain and wage war. Allah will deprive both armies of a victory... The Iran-Iraq war lasted for 8 years and, despite the enormous number of casualties, neither side could claim victory. 12) THE OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN Pity poor Taliqan [a region in Afghanistan]. At that place are treasures of Allah. These are not of gold and silver, but consist of people who have recognized Allah as they should have. They are the Mahdi’s servants. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 59) Pity poor Taliqan… The hadith may refer to the invasion of Afghanistan during the Mahdi’s time. Indeed, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 (1400 ah – according to the Islamic calendar), the beginning of a new Islamic century. The hadiths state that the Mahdi will appear at the beginning of a new Islamic century. The fact that many portents coincided with this particular date shows that these dates are an important sign of the Mahdi’s coming. … at that place are treasures of Allah. But these are not of gold and silver … This hadith also draws attention to Afghanistan's material riches. Today, large oil deposits, iron basins, and coal mines that have not yet been commercially exploited have been detected there. 13) THE ARMY THAT SANK IN THE DESERT But when this army enters the desert, it will so be buried in the ground at the place called Dhu al-Hulaifah that those on top will not see those underneath, nor will those underneath see those on top, until Doomsday. (al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 21) One of the portents of his appearance is, as stated before, the burial of an army in the desert. (al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 37) When a shepherd seeing an army moving across the desert on a bright night says: “It will be a sadness for Makkah. Woe will befall them,” he will see the army suddenly disappear. He will say: “Subhan Allah. How did they disappear so quickly?” When he goes down and looks, he will see a blanket half under the ground and half out. He will try to extract it. But when he cannot, he will realize that the army he saw has been buried… (Ibid., p. 39) 14) STOPPING THE FLOW OF THE EUPHRATES The blocking and stopping of the Euphrates’ water is another portent: One of the portents of the Mahdi’s coming is the stopping of the Euphrates. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 39) Other hadiths provide more details: The river’s water has been blocked by the Keban Dam. The Euphrates will soon disclose the treasure [the mountain] of gold. Whoever will be present at that time should not take any of it (because the end of the old world has come). (Sahih Bukhari, 12:305) The Prophet said: Doomsday will not come until the Euphrates discloses a gold mountain. Men will wage war for it. Ninety-nine out of every hundred will be killed, and every man will wish he had been the one to be saved. (Sahih Muslim, 11:320) The Prophet said: “The Euphrates will soon disclose a gold mountain. Let no one who is there take anything from it. (Sahih Muslim, 11:320) The Prophet said: “The Euphrates will soon disclose a golden treasure. Whoever is present, let him take nothing from it. (Sunan Abu Dawud, 5:116) The Prophet said: “It [the Euphrates] will uncover a mountain of gold.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, 5:116) The time when the Euphrates will disclose its golden treasure as its waters withdraw is approaching. Whoever is present at that time, let him take nothing from that treasure. Otherwise, he will die or be killed. (Narrated by Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim/ Riyazu's Salihin, 3:332) As we have seen, stopping the Euphrates’ water is an important sign. In addition, many hadiths say that a treasure as valuable as gold will emerge. Let’s examine these signs further: Allah's Messenger (saas) said: "The Hour will not come to pass before the Euphrates dries up to unveil the mountain of gold, for which people will fight. Ninety-nine out of one hundred will die [in the fighting], and every man among them will say: 'Perhaps I may be the only one to remain alive.' " (Narrated by Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim/ Riyazu's Salihin, 3:332) 1) … the Euphrates dries up… As-Suyuti calls this the “stopping of the water.” The Keban Dam did, in fact, accomplish this feat. 2) … unveils the mountain of gold… Thanks to this dam, the newly exposed land became “worth its weight in gold,” for the resulting increased production of electricity made it possible to irrigate more land and facilitated transport. 3) … for which people will fight. Due to the widespread anarchy and killing in the region, anyone asserting ownership of land in that area may kill or be killed, just as the hadith states. 15) SOLAR AND LUNAR ECLIPSES DURING RAMADAN There are two signs for the Mahdi... The first one is the lunar eclipse in the first night of Ramadan, and the second is the solar eclipse in the middle of this month. (al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 49) A lunar eclipse will occur in the first night of Ramadan. In the middle of Ramadan, a solar eclipse will occur. (Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah, p. 199) During his [the Mahdi's] reign, on the fourteenth of Ramadan, a solar eclipse will occur. On the first of that month, the Moon will darken... (Imam Rabbani, Letters of Rabbani, p. 380; 2:1163) ... The solar eclipse in the middle of Ramadan, and the lunar eclipse at the end ... (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi,, p. 38) There will be two lunar eclipses in Ramadan... (al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 53) There will be two lunar eclipses in Ramadan before the Mahdi emerges. (Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah, p. 200) There will be two solar eclipses in Ramadan before the Mahdi's advent. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 440) The most important points here are the solar eclipse in the middle of Ramadan and that the Sun and Moon cannot be eclipsed twice in one month under normal conditions. However, other portents can happen as a result of certain causes and can be comprehended. Close inspection of the phenomena described in these hadiths reveals various differences between the accounts. According to the first, second, and third accounts, the Moon will be eclipsed on the first day of Ramadan, and according to the fourth it will be eclipsed on the last day. The correct course of action here is to find the common ground in these accounts: 1. There will be lunar and solar eclipses in Ramadan. 2. These eclipses will be equidistant, at intervals of 14-15 days. 3. These eclipses will be repeated twice. In line with these calculations, the Moon was eclipsed on 15 Ramadan 1401 (1981) and the Sun on 29 Ramadan 1401. And, the Moon was again eclipsed on 14 Ramadan 1402 (1982)) and the Sun on 28 Ramadan 1402. Significantly, this hadith declares that the Moon should be eclipsed in the middle of Ramadan as a full moon. This is noted as being a portent. The fact that these events took place in the same period as the other portents of the Mahdi’s coming and were miraculously repeated twice at the beginning of the 1400s ah strengthens the assumption that the hadith is pointing toward these events. 16) THE RISE OF A COMET A star with a luminous tail will rise from the east before the Mahdi emerges. (Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah, p. 200) Before he arrives, a comet will appear in the east, giving out an illumination. (al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 53) The star’s rise will occur after the eclipse of the Sun and the Moon. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 32) As stated in the hadiths: - Halley’s Comet passed close to Earth in 1986, at the beginning of the 1400s ah (1406 ah). This comet was a bright, shining star that moved from east to west and appeared after the lunar and solar eclipses of 1981-82 (1401-02). The fact it was born at the same time as the other portents confirms that Halley’s Comet is the celestial body referred to in the hadith. Imam Rabbani provides the following information about this specific portent: A tailed star will be born in the east and spread its light. Its daily direction will be from east to west. (Imam Rabbani, Letters of Rabbani, 2:1170) Whenever this comet has passed by, events that represent significant turning points with regard to Muslims have taken place. Some of these are revealed in the accounts handed down from our Prophet (saas). According to these accounts, when the comet was seen: - The people of Prophet Nuh (as) were destroyed, - Prophet Ibrahim (as) was cast into the fire, - Pharaoh and his tribe were destroyed, - Prophet Yahya (as) was killed, - Prophet ‘Isa (as) was born, - Our Prophet (saas) began receiving the first revelation, - The Ottoman Empire made its appearance, and - Constantinople was captured by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. Some Interesting Figures Linked to Halley’s Comet Interestingly, some figures pertaining to the comet are multiples of 19. For example, Halley's Comet appears every 76 years (19 x 4 = 76) and was last seen in 1406 ah (19 x 74 = 1406). Surat al-Muddaththir, which refers to the miracle of 19 in the Qur'an, is the seventy-fourth surah. Moreover, its thirtieth verse reveals that 19 is a means of mercy for believers and of fitna for unbelievers. A last great miracle and sign of this comet is its appearance in 1986 (1406 ah), its nineteenth appearance since 610, when Prophet Mohammed (saas) was honored with prophecy. In Surat al-Muddaththir 74:1-2, Allah commands our Prophet (saas): "O you who are enveloped in your cloak, arise and warn." The meaning is clear. Yet, they may be a hidden meaning: "(the one) enveloped in cloak" may well refer to the Mahdi, who is from our Prophet's (saas) lineage and whose appearance will be signaled by the rise of Halley's Comet in 1406 ah. 17) STORMING THE KA`BAH AND THE SUBSEQUENT BLOODSHED The year in which he will emerge, people will perform hajj together and gather without an imam. The Hajjis will be looted, and there will be a battle at Mina in which many will be slain and blood will flow until it runs over the Jamra al-'Aqaba. [Jamra: a stone pillar representing Satan that is stoned during the pilgrimage.] (Narrated by `Amr ibn Shu`ayb, al-Hakim and Nu`aym ibn Hammad) People make pilgrimage without an imam leading them. Big wars break out when they come down to Mina, and they are entwined just the way dogs entwine, and tribes attack each other. This strife is so widespread that legs are buried in lakes of blood. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 35) The phrase "the year in which he will emerge" draws attention to a massacre that will occur on the date of the Mahdi's emergence. In 1979, a massacre very like this one occurred during the raid on the Ka`bah, which took place during the pilgrimage month on the first day of the Islamic year 1400 (21 November 1979). The hadiths also mention bloodshed. The killing of 30 people during the clashes between Saudi soldiers and militants during the raid confirms the rest of this hadith. Seven years after this attack, an even bloodier event took place during the Hajj: 402 people were killed in attacks on pilgrims demonstrating in the streets, and much blood was spilled. Muslims committed terrible sins by killing each other (the Saudi troops and the Iranian pilgrims) beside al-Bayt-al Mu`azzamah (the Ka`bah). These bloody incidents bear a close resemblance to the climate described in the relevant hadiths: The Prophet (saas) said: "There will be a voice in Ramadan, a noise in Shawwal, and war between the tribes in the month of Dhu al-Qa`dah. Pilgrims will be despoiled. There will be a war in Mina in which many will die, to such an extent that so much blood will flow as to leave the stones there in a lake of blood." (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 31) There will be a voice in Ramadan, and a voice in Shawwal. In Dhu al-Qa`dah, the tribes will fight one another. In Dhu al-Hijjah, pilgrims will be despoiled. In Muharram, there will be a shout from the sky: "Take heed. Such a person is of the auspicious ones of the people of Allah. Listen to and obey him." (Rumuz al-Ahadith,2:518, no. 5) There will be rebellion in Shawwal, talk of war in Dhu al-Qa`dah, and an act of war in Dhu al-Hijjah. Pilgrims will be despoiled, and their blood will flow [over the Ka`bah]. (Barzanji, Al-Isha`ah, p. 166) In the month of Dhu al-Qa`dah, the tribes will wage war, pilgrims will be kidnapped, and there will be bloody wars. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 34) There come the cries of war in [the month of] Shawwal with the outbreak of war, massacre, and carnage in [the month of] Dhu al-Hijjah. The pilgrims are plundered in this month, the streets cannot be crossed because of the [amount of] blood shed, and religious prohibitions are violated. Big sins are committed near al-Bayt-al Mu`azzamah [the Ka`bah]. (Ibid., p. 37) A great sin will be committed beside al-Bayt al-Mu`azzamah The above hadith draws our attention to incidents that will occur by al-Bayt al-Mu`azzamah (the Ka`bah), not inside it. In contrast to the first, the events of Dhu al-Hijjah 1407 ah (during the hajj season) happened not inside the Ka`bah, but beside it. The first event described took place inside the Ka`bah on 1 Muharram 1400, in line with the indications given in both hadiths. Two major events, shedding blood in the Ka`bah and killing pilgrims, take place one after the other at a time when all of the portents regarding the Mahdi are coming true. This appears to be more than coincidental. When we examine the expressions in these hadiths, we see signs pointing to other important events that will occur at the same time: - ... [There will be] outbreak of war, massacre, and carnage in [the month of] Dhu al-Hijjah. The combined reference in the hadiths to war, conflict, and the killing of pilgrims shows that the incidents in question will take place at the same time. The period in question was when the Iran-Iraq war broke out and when the worst conflict and chaos were experienced in southeastern Turkey and the Middle East. - There come the cries of war in [the month of] Shawwal... This may be a reference to tension in the Persian Gulf, heightened tension between Iran and the United States, and a state of war.