The Unhealthy Obsession with End Times – Between the Two Extremes

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

عن أَنسٍ رضي الله عنه: أَنَّ أَعرابيًّا قَالَ لرسول اللَّه ﷺ: مَتَى السَّاعَةُ؟ قَالَ رسولُ اللَّه ﷺ: مَا أَعْدَدْتَ لَهَا؟ قَالَ: حُبُّ اللّهِ ورسولِهِ، قَالَ: أَنْتَ مَعَ مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ. متفقٌ عَلَيهِ، وهذا لفظ مسلمٍ.

ʾAnas (may Allāh be pleased with him) narrated:

A Bedouin asked Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ), “When will the Hour [end of the world] be?” Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) responded, “What have you prepared for it?” He said, “Love for Allāh and His Messenger.” Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) thereupon remarked, “You will be with whom you love.” [Muslim].
Amongst the miracles of Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) is that his concise words are diamonds of wisdom with myriad facets. Thus the above narration may enlighten some on seeking knowledge. Others may be struck on the importance of love and faith. Students of Arabic will see this narration as a perfect example of the rhetorical device ʾuslūb ʾal-ḥakīm. [Here I refer to competent students, unlike those students of mine who read both a tanwīn and lām ʾat-Taʿrīf on the same noun].
Strangely enough, few note the overarching message. The primary purpose of knowledge of the Hour is preparation for meeting Allāh. It is not to obsess over events beyond our control and knowledge, and in the case of most mankind, events which most of us will not even experience.

Ḥadīth Scholars

Are these narrations then of no consequence? Allāh forbid that such disrespect should ever be thought, let alone expressed to any utterance of Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ). Narrations on the end times are valuable. They prove the truth of the station of Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) when they do transpire. They alert us to the transitory nature of this ethereal realm and that we are travellers to a permanent abode. They remind us that much a life may be difficult, the people who will experience the end times will undergo the worst tribulations ever. A person who bears some of these facts in mind will lead a more productive life in those fields where it really counts.

The compilers of the sacred prophetic words certainly paid attention to these narrations and they certainly understood what I wrote above with far greater scholarly ability and spiritual insight. Yet show me which of these scholars made it a focus and obsession as so many do today. Did ʾal-ʾImām Muslim commence his compilation with this topic? Did it take precedence over the basics of faith, prayer, purity etc? How much did ʾAbū Dāwūd devote to the topic as a percentage of his work?

Are you aware that much of what circulates on this topic amongst the masses are from sources, such as ʾAbū Nuʾaym, whose works, to put it respectfully, is not of the same standard as senior ʾAʾimmah of Ḥadīth?

What we authentically know is much less than that which will titillate the cyber generation who are in need of constant entertainment, and perhaps it is not exciting enough for them.

Moderation and Extremism

I do not tire of mentioning that Allāh says:

وكذلك جعلناكم أمة وسطا

“And thus have We made you a moderate nation…” [ʾal-Baqarah: 143]

For I believe that almost every problem we face as a community stems from diverging from the moderation of the Sunnah and leaning to one extreme (ghulūw) or the other.

Extremism includes obsession over the end times and placing it outside of its proper perspective. Incidentally the tafsīr of ẓulm, which is popularly translated as oppression, is in fact to place something out of its proper place. The end time extremists are thus ẓālimūn infected with a deadly disease.

I do not cite this extremism as a theoretic problem which irks me. History testifies to the practical insane and bloody consequences of this disease. The least harm of this disease is an obsession to examine every matter in the light of end times, even if it means bending scripture to fit your interpretation. The ultimate harm is that there are those who have actually left Islām because of this.