Will these earthquakes reverse the Earth's Direction of Rotation?

Were the recent earthquakes caused by a disturbance in the earth’s rotation and is the direction of rotation about to be reversed?

Q. In recent times a message on cell phones has become widespread which speaks of the reasons for the earthquakes in Asia. This message is attributed to Dr Zaghlool al-Najjaar and the text of the message is:
“Dr. Zaghlool al-Najjaar: The reason for the earthquakes in Asia is a disturbance in the earth’s rotation caused by its slowing down, which indicates that the earth’s direction of rotation is about to be reversed, and the onset of the major signs of the Day of Judgement and the beginning of natural disasters, until the sun rises from the west. Spread this message and pray for forgiveness.”  
What do you think of this message? Is it true?.

A. Praise be to Allaah.

What is attributed in this message to Dr Zaghlool al-Najjaar is not correct. The Doctor himself had denied it when he was asked about it on the Minbar al-Jazeerah show discussing Arab preparations to face disasters, on the al-Jazeerah satellite channel.

He replied:
“By Allaah, my dear brother, this idea is completely and utterly baseless. It seems that there are devils among mankind who want to spread some of these myths through me, because they know how much the people love me by the grace of Allaah, so they will believe these words.

Firstly: I repeat all the time that the Hereafter has laws which are completely different to the laws of this world.

Secondly: The Hereafter, as the Qur’aan says, will come suddenly, as Allaah describes it (interpretation of the meaning):

“Heavy is its burden through the heavens and the earth. It shall not come upon you except all of a sudden”
[al-A’raaf 7:187]

Thirdly: The mass of the earth is approximately six thousand billion million million tons. Although they are powerful, these earthquakes cannot change the speed of the earth’s rotation or slow it down.

Some people say – and this can be found on the internet and it is correct – that if the explosion is in the opposite direction to the earth’s rotation, it can slow it down, and if it is in the same direction, it can speed up the earth’s rotation around its axis. But in either case the difference is no more than a millionth of a second. So how can it be said that this is one of the major signs of the Hour? The major signs have been defined by our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in precise detail, and there is no room for ijtihaad when the ahaadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are so clear.”
End quote.

The Doctor has also explained in other discussions the cause of these earthquakes from a scientific point of view, as well as stating that they are a punishment for sin.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much”
[al-Shoora 42:30]

“Evil (sins and disobedience to Allaah) has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds), that He (Allaah) may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by repenting to Allaah, and begging His Pardon)”
[al-Room 30:41]

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A

Ref: http://islamqa.com/en/ref/69861

The Mercy of Allaah towards His slaves

The Mercy of Allaah towards His slaves

Q. How merciful is Allah, because i heard he loves you more than 70 mothers. Is that true? please explain.

-----------------------------------

Praise be to Allaah.

Allaah is the Most Merciful, Most Compassionate, and He is the most Merciful of those who show mercy. His Mercy encompasses all things. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“and My Mercy embraces all things”
[al-A’raaf 7:156]

In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Allaah has one hundred parts of mercy, of which He sent down one between the jinn, mankind, the animals and the insects, by means of which they are compassionate and merciful to one another, and by means of which wild animals are kind to their offspring. And Allaah has kept back ninety-nine parts of mercy with which to be merciful to His slaves of the Day of Resurrection.” [Muslim, al-Tawbah, 6908]

It was narrated that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab said:
“Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and there was a woman among the prisoners who was searching (for her child). When she found her child she embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to us, ‘Do you think that this woman would throw her child in the fire?’ We said, ‘No, by Allaah, not if she is able not to.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘Allaah is more merciful to His slaves than this woman is to her child.’”
[Agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, 5653; Muslim, 6912]

One aspect of the mercy of Allaah to His slaves is that He sent the Messengers and revealed the Books and laws to organize their lives according to the ways of wisdom, far removed from hardship and difficulty.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)”
[al-Anbiya’ 21:107]

The mercy of Allaah is what will admit His believing slaves to Paradise on the Day of Resurrection. No one will ever enter Paradise because of his deeds alone, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“No one’s deeds will ever admit him to Paradise.” They said, “Not even you, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “No, not even me, unless Allaah shower me with His Mercy. So try to be near to perfection. And no one should wish for death; he is either doing good so he will do more of that, or he is doing wrong so he may repent.”
[Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5349; Muslim, 7042]

So the believer must remain in a state between hoping for the mercy of Allaah and fearing His punishment, for Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Declare (O Muhammad) unto My slaves, that truly, I am the Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful.


And that My Torment is indeed the most painful torment”
[al-Hijr 15:49-50]

With regard to your saying that Allaah loves us more than seventy mothers, Allaah knows best concerning that. It is sufficient for us to know that the mercy of Allaah encompasses all things. O Allaah, have mercy upon us, O Most merciful of those who show mercy.

Islam QA
Ref: http://islamqa.com/en/cat/12

Three questions in the grave

Three questions in the grave (from the trials of the grave)

Praise be to Allaah.  

Firstly:

When the son of Adam dies and his soul departs and he is placed in his grave, then he is in the first stage of the Hereafter, because the grave is the first of the stages of the Hereafter.

It was narrated that Haani’ the freed slave of ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan said: when ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affaan stood by a grave he would weep until his beard became wet. It was said to him, “You remember Paradise and Hell and you do not weep, but you weep because of this?” He said, “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The grave is the first of the stages of the Hereafter; whoever is saved from it, whatever comes afterwards will be easier for him, but if he is not saved from it, what comes afterwards will be worse for him.’” And the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I have never seen any scene but the grave is more frightening than it.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2308; Ibn Maajah, 4567; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1684).

Secondly:

The two angels who are charged with questioning come to him and ask him what he used to believe in in this world, who was his Lord, what was his religion and who was his Prophet. If he gives a good answer, that is good, but if he does not answer them they inflict a severe and painful beating on him.

If he was one of the righteous, angels with white faces come to him, but if he was one of the evildoers, angels with dark faces come to him. This is the fitnah or tribulation that he suffers.

It was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say, ‘Allaahumma inni a’oodhu bika min al-kasali wa’l-haram wa’l-maghram wa’l-ma’tham. Allaahumma inni a’oodhu bika min ‘adhaab al-naar wa fitnat il-naar, wa fitnat il-qabri, wa ‘adhaab il-qabri, wa sharri fitnat il-ghina wa sharri fitnat il-faqair wa min sharri fitnat il-maseeh il-Dajjaal. Allaahumma ighsil khataayaaya bi ma’ al-thalji wa’l-baradi wa naqqi qalbi min al-khataaya kama yunaqqa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas, wa baa’id bayni wa bayna khataayaaya kama baa’adta bayna al-mashriqi wa’l-maghrib (O Allah! I seek refuge with You from laziness and old age, and from debts and sins; from the torment of the Fire and from the tribulation of the Fire, and from the tribulation of the grave and the torment of the grave, and from the evil of the tribulation of wealth, and from the evil of the tribulation of poverty, and from the evil of the tribulation of the Dajjaal (Antichrist). O Allah! Wash away my sins with the water of snow and hail, and cleanse my heart from sin as a white garment is cleansed from filth, and put a great distance between me and my sins, as great as the distance You have made between the East and the West).”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6014).

Ibn Hajar said:

The phrase “from the tribulation of the grave” means the questioning of the two angels.
Fath al-Baari, 11/177.

And al-Mubaarakfoori said:

“The tribulation of the grave” means confusion when answering the two angels.
Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 9/328

Thirdly:

With regard to the questions that the angels will ask in the grave, this is explained clearly in the following hadeeth:

It was narrated that al-Bara’ (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: 

We went out with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for the funeral of a man from among the Ansaar. We came to the grave and when (the deceased) was placed in the lahd, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sat down and we sat around him, as if there were birds on our heads (i.e., quiet and still). In his hand he had a stick with which he was scratching the ground. Then he raised his head and said, “Seek refuge with Allaah from the torment of the grave”, two or three times. Then he said, “When the believing slave is about to depart this world and enter the Hereafter, there come down to him from heaven angels with white faces like the sun, and they sit around him as far as the eye can see. They bring with them shrouds from Paradise and perfumes from Paradise. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head, and he says, ‘O good soul, come forth to forgiveness from Allaah and His pleasure.’ Then it comes out easily like a drop of water from the the mouth of a waterskin. When he seizes it, they do not leave it in his hand for an instant before they take it and put it in that shroud with that perfume, and there comes from it a fragrance like the finest musk on the face of the earth. Then they ascend and they do not pass by any group of angels but they say, ‘Who is this good soul?’ and they say, ‘It is So and so the son of So and so, calling him by the best names by which he was known in this world, until they reach the lowest heaven. They ask for it to be opened to them and it is opened, and (the soul) is welcomed and accompanied to the next heaven by those who are closest to Allaah, until they reach the seventh heaven. Then Allaah says: ‘Record the book of My slave in ‘Illiyoon in the seventh heaven, and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it I will return them and from it I will bring them forth once again.’ So his soul is returned to his body and there come to him two angels who make him sit up and they say to him, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He says, ‘Allaah.’ They say, ‘What is your religion?’ He says, ‘My religion is Islam.’ They say, ‘Who is this man who was sent among you?’ He says, ‘He is the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ They say, ‘What did you do?’ He says, ‘I read the Book of Allaah and I believed in it.’ Then a voice calls out from heaven, ‘My slave has spoken the truth, so prepare for him a bed from Paradise and clothe him from Paradise, and open for him a gate to Paradise.’ Then there comes to him some of its fragrance, and his grave is made wide, as far as he can see. Then there comes to him a man with a handsome face and handsome clothes, and a good fragrance, who says, ‘Receive the glad tidings that will bring you joy this day.’ He says, ‘Who are you? Your face is a face which brings glad tidings.’ He says, ‘I am your righteous deeds.’ He says, ‘O Lord, hasten the Hour so that I may return to my family and my wealth.’ 

But when the disbelieving slave is about to depart this world and enter the Hereafter, there come down to him from heaven angels with black faces, bringing sackcloth, and they sit around him as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head, and he says, ‘O evil soul, come forth to the wrath of Allaah and His anger.’ Then his soul disperses inside his body, then comes out cutting the veins and nerves, like a skewer passing through wet wool. When he seizes it, they do not leave it in his hand for an instant before they take it and put it in that sackcloth, and there comes from it a stench like the foulest stench of a dead body on the face of the earth. Then they ascend and they do not pass by any group of angels but they say, ‘Who is this evil soul?’ and they say, ‘It is So and so the son of So and so, calling him by the worst names by which he was known in this world, until they reach the lowest heaven. They ask for it to be opened to them and it is not opened.” Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited (interpretation of the meaning): 

“for them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle”
[al-A’raaf 7:40]

He said: “Then Allaah says, ‘Record the book of My slave in Sijjeen in the lowest earth, and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it I will return them and from it I will bring them forth once again.’ So his soul is cast down.” Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited the verse (interpretation of the meaning):

“and whoever assigns partners to Allaah, it is as if he had fallen from the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown him to a far off place”
[al-Hajj 22:31]

He said: “Then his soul is returned to his body, and there come to him two angels who make him sit up and they say to him, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He says, ‘Oh, oh, I don’t know.’ They say, ‘What is your religion?’ He says, ‘Oh, oh, I don’t know.’ Then a voice calls out from heaven, ‘Prepare for him a bed from Hell and clothe him from Hell, and open for him a gate to Hell.’ Then there comes to him some of its heat and hot winds, and his grave is constricted and compresses him until his ribs interlock. Then there comes to him a man with an ugly face and ugly clothes, and a foul stench, who says, ‘Receive the bad news, this is the day that you were promised.’ He says, ‘Who are you? Your face is a face which forebodes evil.’ He says, ‘I am your evil deeds.’ He says, ‘O Lord, do not let the Hour come, do not let the Hour come.’”
(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4753; Ahmad, 18063 – this version was narrated by him. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1676)

The correct view is that the two angels will only question the deceased in his grave about matters of Tawheed (monotheism) and ‘aqeedah (belief). This is quite clear.

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A

Ref: http://islamqa.com/en/ref/10403

Mahdi and the order of appearance of the portents of Hour

The truth about the Mahdi, and the order in which the portents of the Hour will appear

"In the present distressed situation many people including scholars are found to talk about the Renaissance of Islam and the emergence of Imam Mehdi. I want to ask about two things: first, who is or may be Imam Mehdi and is there any evidence about his possible emergence, in the light of Quran and Hadith. Secondly what will be the order of occurence of events before the Qiyamat, including emergence of Imam Mehdi, Fitna-e-Dajjal, Yajooj Majooj and Hazrat Issa (Jesus). Kindly reply in detail."

A. Praise be to Allaah.

Imam al-Mahdi will be a righteous man from among the descendants of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who will appear at the end of time, through whom Allaah will set mankind’s affairs straight, and will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it was filled with wrongdoing and oppression. His name will be the same as the name of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and his father’s name will be the same as that of the father of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). So his name will be Muhammad ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Mahdi, or Ahmad ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Mahdi. He will be descended from Faatimah the daughter of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), through al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him). The sign of his appearance will be widespread corruption and the earth being filled with wrongdoing and aggression.

There are a number of ahaadeeth which point to his appearance and attributes being as described above. When taken together these reports reach the level of tawaatur (i.e., narrated from so many people by so many people that it is inconceivable that they could all have agreed upon a lie). This is explained in more detail in question no. 1252 [Is Mahdi Real or Not?].

With regard to the order in which the portents of the Hour will appear, there is some difference of opinion among the scholars, the reason being that no such order or events is narrated in the Sunnah. However the scholars have determined the order of some of the events, as follows:

1 – The appearance of the minor portents of the Hour, of which there are many which will not appear in any specific order. These include: the sending of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his death; the plague of ‘Amwaas; the appearance of tribulations; the loss of honesty; the disappearance of knowledge; the spread of riba, musical instruments and alcohol; regarding these things as permissible; competition in erecting tall buildings; a great deal of killing; time passing more quickly; adornment of the mosques; prevalence of shirk; the spread of immorality; a great deal of stinginess; many earthquakes; landslides, transformations and pelting with stones from the heavens; disappearance of righteous people; believers’ dreams coming true; neglect of the Sunnah; a great deal of lying; a great deal of false testimony; a great deal of sudden death; a great deal of rain but little growth of vegetation; wishing for death; increase in numbers of the “Romans” and fighting them; and other signs which are narrated in saheeh ahaadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

2 – The appearance of the Mahdi, who will appear before the Dajjaal and before the descent of ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
This is indicated by the hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “ ‘Eesa ibn Maryam will come down and their leader the Mahdi will say to him: ‘Come and lead us in prayer.’ But he will say: ‘No, one of them should lead the others in prayer, as a sign of honour from Allaah to this ummah.’: Narrated by al-Haarith ibn Abi Usaamah in his Musnad. And Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-Manaar al-Muneef (1/147): its isnaad is jayyid. The hadeeth is narrated with a mawsool isnaad in Saheeh Muslim, without naming their leader. Muslim’s report says: “… ‘And ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) will come down and their leader will say to him: ‘Come and lead us in prayer.’ But he will say: ‘No, one of them should lead the others in prayer, as a sign of honour from Allaah to this ummah.’” Narrated by Muslim, 225.
So ‘Eesa (peace be upon him) will follow the Mahdi in prayer, which indicates that the Mahdi will appear before ‘Eesa, and ‘Eesa will kill the Dajjaal, which indicates that the Dajjaal will appear during the time of the Mahdi. See also question no. 10301 [The Emergence of the Mahdi].

3 – The appearance of the Dajjaal – for more detail about his emergence see Questions no.

•   8806 [Who is the Dajjaal?],
•   171 [The Dajjaal (Anti-Christ), Al-Daabbah (the Beast) and Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj (Gog and Magog)],
•   8301 [Who was Ibn Sayyaad? Was he the false messiah (al-maseeh al-dajjaal)?].

4 – The descent of ‘Eesa ibn Maryam and his killing the Dajjaal
(see question no. 10302 [The Messiah son of Maryam and the false messiah (Dajjaal)]).

5 – The appearance of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj (Gog and Magog). 
One indication that Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj will emerge at the time of ‘Eesa (peace be upon him) is the hadeeth of al-Nawaas ibn Sam’aan, which says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told them about the Dajjaal, and said: “Whilst he is like that, Allaah will reveal to ‘Eesa: ‘I have released slaves of Mine whom no one will be able to fight. Take My slaves to safety in al-Toor (Sinai),’ and Allaah will send Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj, who will come swarming down from every mound. The first of them will pass by Lake Tiberias and will drink the water in it, and the last of them will pass by it and will say, ‘There was water here once.’” Narrated by Muslim, no. 2937.

See also questions no.
171 [The Dajjaal (Anti-Christ), Al-Daabbah (the Beast) and Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj (Gog and Magog)] and 3437 [Do Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj exist at the present time, and is the barrier real?].

Then the signs will come quickly, one after another. According to a hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The signs will come one after another, like beads falling from a string”. Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam al-Awsat; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’. Then the sun will rise from the west, the Beast will emerge, and there will be landslides and other major signs. We ask Allaah to make us steadfast unto death. And Allaah knows best.

For more information see: al-Mahdi al-Muntazar by Dr. ‘Abd al-‘Aleem al-bastawi, 1/256; Ashraat al-Saa’ah by Yoosuf al-Waabil, p. 249.
See also question no. 3259 [Will we see the Mahdi et al. in our lifetimes?].

Islam Q&A


Ref: http://islamqa.com/en/ref/43840