Signs of The Hour Which Have Happened (2/4)
Dr. `Umar S. al-Ashqar
3 - The Fire in Hijaaz Illuminated the Necks of the Camels in Busra
It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said:
"The Hour will not come until fire comes out of the land of Hijaaz and will illuminate the necks of the camels in Busra."[1]
The great sign which was foretold by the most truthful one did indeed come to pass in the manner in which the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) had described it. It emerged in 654 AH.
The great scholar and historian Ibn Katheer spoke of the events of 654 AH and wrote of this fire. He said:
In this year appeared the fire from the land of al-Hijaaz which illuminated the necks of the camels in Busra, as was spoken of in the hadith whose authenticity is agreed upon. The leading scholar Al-Haafiz Shihaab ad-Deen Abu Shaamah al-Maqdisi spoke about it at length in his book adh-Dhayl wa Sharhuhu. He quoted from many letters which were sent to Damascus from Al-Hijaaz describing this fire which was seen by many eye-witnesses, and how it emerged and what it looked like. Abu Shaamah's[2] conclusion was: Letters came to Damascus from Madeenah, may the best of blessings and peace be upon its inhabitants, saying that a fire had emerged there on the fifth day of Jumaada al-Aakhir of this year. The letters were written on the fifth of Rajah, and the fire was still raging, and these letters reached us on the tenth of Sha'baan. Then he said:
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. There arrived in Damascus on the first day of Sha'baan, 654 AH, letters from the city of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) (Madeenah), in which were descriptions of a mighty event which had happened there, in fulfilment of the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated in as-Saheehayn (Bukhari and Muslim). [Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him)] related: 'The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said:
"The Hour will not come until fire comes out of the land of Hijaaz which will illuminate the necks of the camels in Busra."
I was informed by one of the trustworthy witnesses that he had written letters in Taymaa' by the light (of that fire). He said, 'We were in our houses on those nights, and it was as if there was a lamp in each one of our houses. It did not have much heat even though it was so great. Indeed it was one of the signs of Allah.'"
Abu Shaamah said: this is a quotation from a letter which we received: "On the night of Wednesday, the third of Jumaada al-Aakhirah, 654 AH, there was a huge explosion in the city of the Prophet (Madeenah), then there was a mighty earthquake which shook the ground, the walls, the roofs, the wood and the doors, hour after hour until Friday the fifth of the same month. Then there appeared an immense fire in the harrah[3] close to Qurayzah, which we could see from our houses inside the city as if it were next to us. It was a huge fire, brighter than three beacons. Rivers of fire were flowing to the valley of Shazaa like streams. It blocked the stream of Shazaa which is no longer flowing. By Allah, a group of us went out to look at it, and the mountain was flowing with fire. The route of "Al-Haajj al- 'Iraaqi (the 'Iraqi pilgrims) was blocked, and the flow continued until it reached the harrah, then it stopped, after we had feared that it would come to us, and it flowed back towards the east.
From the midst of it there came mountains of fire which devoured stones, and it was similar to what Allah described in His Book,
“Verily! It [Hell] throws sparks [huge] as Al-Qasr [a fort or a Qasr (huge log of wood)], as if they were Jimaalatun Sufr [yellow camels or bundles of ropes].” (Qur'an Surah Al-Mursalaat, 77: 32-33)
The earth was devoured, and I wrote this letter on the fifth day of Rajah in the year 654 AH. The fire is increasing and not decreasing.
It went back to the harrahs in Qurayzah. The area from the route of Al-Haajj al- 'Iraaqi (the 'Iraqi pilgrims) to the harrah is all in flames which we can see at night from Madeenah, as if they are the torches carried by pilgrims. As to the source of this great fire, it is a mountain of red fire. The source from which the fires are flowing at Qurayzah is growing stronger and people do not know what is going to happen after that. May Allah make our end good. I cannot describe this fire."
Abu Shaamah said: "In another letter it says: during the first week of Jumaada al-Aakhir in 654 AH, there appeared to the east of Madeenah a great fire between which and Madeenah was a half-day's journey. There burst forth from the earth a river of fire which reached Mount Uhud, then it stopped and went back, and this is the state of affairs now. We do not know what to do. When it started, the people went into the Mosque of their Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) seeking forgiveness and repenting to their Lord. These are the signs of the (Day of) Resurrection."
He further said: "And in another letter it said, on Monday the first of Jumaada al-Aakhir, in 654 AH, there was a noise in Madeenah like the sound of intermittent distant thunder. This continued for two days, then on the night of Wednesday the third of the month, the sound which we had been hearing was followed by an earthquake.
On Friday the fifth of the month, the harrah exploded with a great fire as big as the Mosque of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him). We watched it and it was throwing forth sparks (huge) as Al-Qasr [a fort or a Qasr (huge log of wood)], as Allah says. This was in a place called Ajeeleen. There flowed forth from this fire a river which was four parasangs (i.e., 12 miles) long and four miles wide, and as deep as the height of a man and a half. It flows over the face of the earth and there come forth from it hills and small mountains. It flows over the face of the earth and it is molten rock, until it becomes like molten copper. When it solidifies it becomes black, but before it solidifies its colour is red. Because of this fire, many people have given up their sins and have drawn closer to Allah by acts of worship, and the governor of Madeenah has returned a lot of things which were seized wrongfully from people."
Shaykh Shihaab ad-Deen Abu Shaamah said: "From the letter of Shams ad-Deen ibn Sinaan ibn 'Abdul-Wahhaab ibn Numaylah al-Husayni, the Qaadi of Madeenah, to some of his companions: on the night of Wednesday the third of Jumaada al-Aakhirah, during the last third of the night there was a great earthquake in Madeenah which scared us. During that night and the following day the earth shook ten times. By Allah, it shook on one occasion when we were around the tomb of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him), and it shook the min bar so hard that we were afraid (that it might fall), because we could hear the sound of the iron inside it. The lamps of the Noble Sanctuary (Al-Haram ash-Shareef) shook. The earthquake lasted until mid-morning on Friday, and it rumbled like the sound of mighty thunder. Then on Friday there emerged in Ra's Ajeeleen, on the way to the harrah, a great fire as big a large city, but we were not aware of it until Saturday night. We were frightened of it and we were utterly terrified. I went to the governor and spoke with him. I said, 'The torment has encompassed us, return to Allah!' So he freed all his slaves and restored some people's wealth to them. When he had done that, I said to him, 'Come with us now to the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him).' So he came with us, and we spent Saturday night there. All the people were there, even the women and children. No one was left in An-Nakheel or in Madeenah, but they were with the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) (i.e., at his grave). Then there flowed forth from it a river of fire, which flowed into the valley of Ajeeleen and blocked the road. Then it went towards Bahrat al-Haajj, and it became a sea of fire on top of which were coals, flowing until it blocked that valley and the valley of al-Shazaa. No water flowed in that valley again, because it was blocked to the height of two men and a third.
By Allah, my brother, our life is now very difficult, and all the people of Madeenah have repented. You can no longer hear the sound of any rabaab (a stringed instrument) or daff (drum) in the city, or anyone drinking. The fire continued to flow until it blocked part of Tareeq al-Haajj and Bahrat al-Haajj, and some of it started to flow in the valley towards us, and we were scared that it would reach us. The people gathered and went to the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) (to his grave), and they all repented there on Friday night. The flame of the lava that was flowing near us was extinguished by the decree of Allah, but up until now it has not lessened but it is still throwing forth stones the size of camels. It is rumbling and does not let us sleep or eat or drink. I cannot describe to you how frightening it is or the terrors that it contains.
I saw the people of Yanbu' who had sent their Qaadi, Ibn As'ad. He came rushing to see it, and he could not describe it because it is so terrifying. He wrote a letter on the fifth of Rajab, and the fire was still · as it was. The people are scared of it, and the sun and moon do not rise except they seem to be eclipsed. We ask Allah to keep us safe and sound."
Abu Shaamah said: In Damascus we saw the effects of that eclipse in the weakness of its light shining on the walls. We were wondering what that was, until news reached us of this fire.
I (Ibn Katheer) say: Abu Shaamah had recorded that before the letters came with news of this fire. He said: On that night, Monday the sixteenth of Jumaada al-Aakhirah, the moon was eclipsed during the first part of the night. It was a deep red, then it cleared. The sun was also eclipsed, and in the morning it turned red at the time of rising and setting. It stayed like that for several days, changing its colour and lacking in light. And Allah is Able to do all things. Then he said: thus was made clear what ash-Shaafa'i had mentioned when he discussed an eclipse and 'eid occurring at the same time, which the astronomers thought very unlikely.
Then Abu Shaamah said: "From another letter from one of Banu al-Faashaani in Madeenah, who says: In Jumaada al-Aakhirah some people from 'Iraq came to us and told us that there had been a great flood in Baghdad. The water had reached the tops of the walls of Baghdad, and a large part of the city was flooded. The water entered the middle of the city, the Daar al-Khilaafah (the capital administration) and the palace of the wazeer (minister) and three hundred and eighty houses were flooded. The treasury of the khaleefah (the caliph) was also flooded, and a large part of his armoury had been destroyed. The people were very close to being destroyed. Boats had started to enter the middle of the city, passing through the streets of Baghdad.
(Continued)
[1] This hadith is narrated by Bukhari under, Kitaab al-Fitan, Baab Khurooj anNaar, Fathal-Baari, 3/78. Muslim, Kitaab al-Fitan, Baab Laa taqoom as-Saa'ah hatta takhruja naar min anf al-Hijaaz, hadith no. 2902, 4/2227. Busra, as noted by An-Nawawi (An-Nawawi 'ala Muslim, 18/30) is a famous city in Syria. It is the city of Hooraan, between which and Damascus is a journey of three stages (maraahil). The historians mentioned that events unfolded as described by the Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him), and the necks of the camels in Busra were indeed illuminated and students used to read by its light in places far away from Madeenah.
[2] Abu Shaamah lived at the time when this happened.
[3] Harrah: Stony area or lava field; there are several of these in the vicinity of Madeenah. (Translator)