While no human can know the exact day or timing of the Final Hour, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described a series of signs that will precede it, after which the Hour will be established and every soul will reach its ultimate destination. These major signs of the Day of Judgement are extraordinary and unprecedented events that will occur rapidly, one after another, shortly before the actual Day, when the door to repentance will be closed forever. Therefore, these signs are not merely conveyed for information, but serve as a profound reminder for self-reflection and sincere evaluation of one’s deeds. This article explains these major signs of the Day of Judgment.
1) Arrival of Dajjal
Dajjal has been described as the greatest trial humankind will face before the Day of Judgement. He will emerge from a land in the East called Khorasan (parts Central Asia and Iran) and travel throughout the world, deceiving people with extraordinary powers granted as a test from Allah. He will command the sky to rain, and the earth to produce crops. The people will follow him due to fear, hunger, and temptation. He will claim to be a prophet and eventually claim to be God. (Bukhari 7,408)
Despite these powers, he will be physically imperfect — blind in one eye, with the word “kafir” written on his forehead, which true believers will recognise. The Prophet ﷺ warned us repeatedly about him, teaching that every prophet warned his nation about Dajjal because of the severity of his fitnah. It is pertinent to mention Ibn Sayyad here, a mysterious figure during the Prophet’s ﷺ time, whom some companions suspected might be Dajjal, but no final conclusion was reached.
The rise of Dajjal will last forty days, though the first days will feel unusually long. He will enter nearly every place except Makkah and Madinah, which will be protected by angels. He will perform extraordinary feats to make the people believe in him, like giving life to the dead, showing false images of Paradise and Hell, and so on. Eventually, Prophet Isa (AS) will descend near Damascus, pursue Dajjal, and kill him near the gate of Ludd (Lod) in Palestine.
2) Descent of Isa Ibn Maryam (AS)
Isa (AS) or Jesus Christ, like any other prophet, arrived in this world to spread the message of Allah. He was granted the Injeel (Gospel) and many miracles, such as healing the blind and raising the dead, to prove his prophethood to the people of those times. He was born to Maryam (AS) without a father, which itself was a miracle from Allah. Most of his people, the Jews, did not listen to him and wanted to crucify him, so Allah raised him to the heavens. That is why he will return to the earth, defeat the enemies of Islam, and rule according to Shariah.
Many ahadith indicate how and where he will descend: this will be in Damascus, at the eastern, white minaret (possibly at the Umayyad Mosque rebuilt in 741 AH), and that will happen at the time of the iqamah for Fajr prayer which the Mahdi will be leading. He will be carried down by two angels wearing two dyed garments. He will break the Cross, kill the pigs and abolish jizya. During his time, there will be abundance of money and nobody will be left to accept charity. (Bukhari 2,476)
Isa (AS) will rule the world justly and many people will enter the fold of Islam through him. The level of iman in those days will be so high that a single prostration in prayer will be better than the world and everything in it. Allah says in the Quran regarding Isa (AS): “And there is none from the People of the Scripture but that he will surely believe in him before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection, he will be against them a witness.” (Al-Nisa 4:159)
Further, Allah confirms in the following ayah that the coming of Isa (AS) will be a sign of the Hour: “And indeed, he will be [a sign for] knowledge of the Hour, so be not in doubt of it, and follow Me. This is a straight path.” (Al-Zukhruf 43:61)
Isa (AS) is the one who will kill Dajjal. Yajuj and Majuj will also appear during his time whom Allah will destroy by virtue of Isa’s (AS) supplication. After they are gone, the earth will restore its “treasures” at Allah’s command. For instance, the size of a pomegranate will be so big that many people will be able to eat from it and the milk of one camel will suffice for a large number of people. (Muslim 2,937a)
Isa (AS) will marry and have children. He will live for 45 years and he will die in Madinah. His funeral prayers will be offered in Masjid Al-Nabawi and he will be buried beside the Prophet ﷺ. (Tirmidhi 3,617 – Hasan) The people shall continue living for seven years after his death whereby Allah will send a cool breeze which will take the soul of every believer. Following their demise, none will be left except the most evil of people (worshipping idols, fighting with each other like beasts, etc.), upon whom the Hour will come. (Muslim 2940a)
3) Return of Yajuj and Majuj
Yajuj (Gog) and Majuj (Magog) are two disbelieving tribes. Dhul-Qarnayn was a Muslim ruler who was a good servant of Allah. During his reign, people complained to him that Yajuj and Majuj were creating unrest and spreading mischief, so Allah gave him the power to build a barrier to detain them. Each day, they work to climb the wall and when night falls, they stop working on it and decide to come back in the morning. (Bukhari 7059) One night, they will say, “We will continue tomorrow, in sha Allah,” and then Allah will give them permission to come out. This will be after Isa (AS) kills Dajjal.
Yajuj and Majuj have been described as having wide faces and small eyes. They will emerge in huge numbers, and will drink up the water of Lake Tiberias in Occupied Palestine. They will spread mischief on earth and no one will be able to resist them. They will kill people with arrows which will be returned to them from the sky, with blood smeared on them, and nobody will dare fight them back. (Muslim 2,937b) Isa (AS) and his followers will take refuge in Mount Sinai (Mount Tur) in Egypt until Allah destroys Yajuj and Majuj by sending worms that will eat their necks. (Ibn Majah 4,080 – Sahih) Then Allah will send rain to wash away their bodies into the sea and cleanse the earth of their stench.
4) The Three Landslides (or Earthquakes)
Another major sign of the Day of Judgement is three sets of landslides or earthquakes that will “melt” the earth. These are massive earthquakes or sinking of the earth in which the ground will split and swallow up everything. According to Hadith, one huge landslide will happen in the East, one in the West and one in the Arabian Peninsula. (Muslim 2,901a) These three events will not be like normal earthquakes or landslides but are understood to be massive and severe, and will indicate the coming of the Hour to people who will witness them.
5) Emergence of the Beast
Another sign of the Hour is the appearance of a beast from the earth. It is mentioned in the Quran: “And when the word befalls them, We will bring forth for them a creature from the earth speaking to them, [saying] that the people were, of Our verses, not certain [in faith].” (Al-Naml 27:82)
This Beast will appear at a time when many people will have abandoned the teachings of Islam. This will be a unique creature that will talk to humans and distinguish between them – whether they are believers or non-believers. The Beast is a manifestation of Allah’s power who can make the animals or supernatural creatures testify to the truth. It is supposed to be the final, inevitable warning to humankind before the Day of Judgment approaches. (Muslim 2,941a)
6) The Smoke (Al-Dukhan)
In the end of times, a great smoke will appear that will spread upon the earth. The same has likely been mentioned in the Quran, where Allah says: “Then watch for the Day when the sky will bring a visible smoke covering the people; this is a painful torment.” (Al-Dukhan 44:10-11) Further, it is mentioned in a hadith: “…Smoke will prevail on the Day of Resurrection and will deprive the hypocrites of their faculties of hearing and seeing. The believers will be afflicted with something like cold only thereof…” (Bukhari 4,774)
7) The Sun’s Rising from the West
In various ahadith, the Prophet ﷺ has made it clear that the nature of this sign is such that no one would have any reason to doubt after seeing it. This will be the time when the tests and trials of this world are over and the result day has arrived. No one will be able to change their religion and people will immediately stop doing what they were doing like feeding their livestock, eating, drinking, etc.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “The Hour will not be established till the sun rises from the west, and when it rises (from the west) and the people see it, then all of them will believe (in Allah). But that will be the time when: ‘No good it will do to a soul to believe then, if it believed not before…’” (Bukhari 6,506) The Prophet ﷺ was referring to the following ayah of the Quran:
“Do they wait for anything except that the angels should come to them or your Lord should come or that there come some of the signs of your Lord? The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good. Say, ‘Wait. Indeed, we [also] are waiting.’” (Al-An’am 6:158)
8) The Raging Fire
This is the last of the major signs of the Day of Resurrection. It is a massive fire that will erupt from the region of Yemen and spread across the earth. Many ahadith explain that this fire will erupt shortly before the Day of Judgment, and will drive people to their final gathering place. (Muslim 2,901a)
Once this occurs, the next event will be blowing of the Trumpet by Angel Israfil at Allah’s command to announce the end of the world: all living things shall perish. Then a second sounding of the Trumpet will resurrect everyone for the Day of Judgment to face the reckoning before Allah.
For other signs, such as emergence of the Mahdi, see 50 Minor Signs of the Day of Judgement.
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