Combining the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (No time will come...
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Reconciling His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): (No time will come...
) and the spread of the awakening
Honorable Shaykh! How can we reconcile the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (No time will come except that the one after it is worse) with what we see in our reality of people turning to Allah? We are certain, with absolute certainty, that this time is better than times that have passed, due to the decrease in evil and people’s turning to Allah. This is something observed, and it is what is now called the awakening. It is known that this awakening does not occur except after heedlessness. So how can we reconcile these two things?
We must know that the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah never contradict reality. If something occurs that contradicts the apparent meaning of the Book and the Sunnah, know that you have erred in understanding the Book and the Sunnah, and that the intended meaning is one that does not contradict reality.
The reality now—as the brother mentioned—is that there is a strong turning to the religion of Allah, praise be to Allah, among the youth. We ask Allah for their steadfastness and that He guide them to the truth. But there is rampant evil regarding many people! There is turning to Allah, praise be to Allah, but there is also great evil. Do the evils present among Muslims now exist as they did before? They did not exist. In fact, we did not believe that a person would drink intoxicants! Now, in some Islamic lands, intoxicants are sold openly and placed in refrigerators just as lawful drinks are placed. We did not think that a person would commit sodomy with another! Now, in some Islamic lands, the male organ is displayed to a person as if it were a lawful woman! Did we know the narcotics that destroy nations? No.
So the Ummah now has much good in it, and it has evil,And if you compare this with that, you might say: The good is predominant, if Allah wills, and if the people of evil are not restrained, the people of good will prevail.
But the intended meaning of the hadith is: The rulers; because the reason Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned this hadith is that people came to him complaining about what they were experiencing from al-Hajj, and al-Hajj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi is well known,So he said to them: (Be patient, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No time will come upon people except that the one after it is worse until you meet your Lord), and this is the reality regarding the rulers. No time comes upon people except that the one after it is worse.
Look now at the Islamic lands, especially the Arab ones that we know! For example, Egypt—when it was a monarchy, was it better, or after it became a republic? The former was much better. Then the republics that followed, each republic was worse than the one before it! Look at Iraq! You will find it the same! Look at Sham! You will find it the same! So regarding the rulers, no time comes except that the one after it is worse, in terms of injustice, distance from the religion, suppression of the people of truth, and other things.
Do you understand now? So the intended meaning of that—as it appears—is the rulers; (No time will come upon people except that the one after it is worse).
The caliphate of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) may be raised as an objection to this, for the caliphs before him were worse than he was, and he was better than them without doubt, better than those who preceded him, especially those close to him,It is said: This does not contradict the hadith; because the texts of the Book and the Sunnah sometimes apply to the majority, not to every individual and every person.
) and the spread of the awakening
Honorable Shaykh! How can we reconcile the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (No time will come except that the one after it is worse) with what we see in our reality of people turning to Allah? We are certain, with absolute certainty, that this time is better than times that have passed, due to the decrease in evil and people’s turning to Allah. This is something observed, and it is what is now called the awakening. It is known that this awakening does not occur except after heedlessness. So how can we reconcile these two things?
We must know that the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah never contradict reality. If something occurs that contradicts the apparent meaning of the Book and the Sunnah, know that you have erred in understanding the Book and the Sunnah, and that the intended meaning is one that does not contradict reality.
The reality now—as the brother mentioned—is that there is a strong turning to the religion of Allah, praise be to Allah, among the youth. We ask Allah for their steadfastness and that He guide them to the truth. But there is rampant evil regarding many people! There is turning to Allah, praise be to Allah, but there is also great evil. Do the evils present among Muslims now exist as they did before? They did not exist. In fact, we did not believe that a person would drink intoxicants! Now, in some Islamic lands, intoxicants are sold openly and placed in refrigerators just as lawful drinks are placed. We did not think that a person would commit sodomy with another! Now, in some Islamic lands, the male organ is displayed to a person as if it were a lawful woman! Did we know the narcotics that destroy nations? No.
So the Ummah now has much good in it, and it has evil,And if you compare this with that, you might say: The good is predominant, if Allah wills, and if the people of evil are not restrained, the people of good will prevail.
But the intended meaning of the hadith is: The rulers; because the reason Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned this hadith is that people came to him complaining about what they were experiencing from al-Hajj, and al-Hajj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi is well known,So he said to them: (Be patient, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No time will come upon people except that the one after it is worse until you meet your Lord), and this is the reality regarding the rulers. No time comes upon people except that the one after it is worse.
Look now at the Islamic lands, especially the Arab ones that we know! For example, Egypt—when it was a monarchy, was it better, or after it became a republic? The former was much better. Then the republics that followed, each republic was worse than the one before it! Look at Iraq! You will find it the same! Look at Sham! You will find it the same! So regarding the rulers, no time comes except that the one after it is worse, in terms of injustice, distance from the religion, suppression of the people of truth, and other things.
Do you understand now? So the intended meaning of that—as it appears—is the rulers; (No time will come upon people except that the one after it is worse).
The caliphate of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) may be raised as an objection to this, for the caliphs before him were worse than he was, and he was better than them without doubt, better than those who preceded him, especially those close to him,It is said: This does not contradict the hadith; because the texts of the Book and the Sunnah sometimes apply to the majority, not to every individual and every person.