. J ; ; ;J; : ,;I•; (cont.)

4b1pi ;4- :i ae, -&.:! 1, Ź::uui +\.!JI ԕp 0Jfa J+9 "Do they then await [anything] other than the Hourthat it should come upon them suddenly? But some of its portents have already come" (Muhammad 18). Hence, it is referring to the first event or beginning of the Hour that will come all of a sudden. It could also be referred to as the "Hour" because that is with respect to the "timing" of Allah. Allah says, 1 During the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the word saah ("hour") did not mean "hour" in the sense of sixty minutes. However, it did mean a portion of time that was neither extremely long or extremely short. Hadith #2: The Hadith of Jibreel "The angels and the Rooh (Gabriel) ascend to Him in a Day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years" (al-Maarij 4). Hence, it is a very long event but as part of that day, it is like but one hour.1 Finally, some say it is called an "Hour" in the way of a good omen­ hoping that it will pass easily and quicklyin the same way that, in Arabic, an important matter is referred to as the successful matter. "The slave-girl shall give birth to her master." The scholars have differed concerning the interpretation of this sign of the Hour. Indeed, it is difficult to explain many of the signs of the Hour that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated. In some cases, perhaps only those who actually live through the events being described will have a complete and correct understanding of what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was actually alluding to. For example, it may be only in modern times that one truly witnesses and understands what the Prophet (peace be upon him) meant by women who are dressed but naked. Before modern times, the scholars could only hypothesize as to exactly what that was referring to. Ibn al-Tin says that there are seven explanations for this sign mentioned by the Prophet (peace be upon him). Ibn Hajr says that in reality these seven opinions boil down to four separate and distinct opinions. These four are:2 (1) Al-Khattaabi mentions that its meaning is that Islam will spread, dominate the lands of the disbelievers and take their inhabitants as slaves. Then a man will have a child through his slave-girl and that child shall be like her master because she is the daughter of her master. Al-Nawawi states that this is the opinion of the majority of the scholars. However, this interpretation is somewhat problematic. Ibn Hajr points out that such a thing existed during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the early years of Islam. The implication of the speech is that such an event will occur close to the Day of Judgment and will be a sign of its coming. Others give a slightly different interpretation by saying that a woman will give birth to a child and then that child will end up being the king of the land. Hence, the woman will fall under his general citizenry and he will be her master. Some even say that the king will later buy his own mother who was a slave, either out of ignorance or 1 There is a hadith in Musnad Ahmad that states, "By the One in whose hand is my soul, it [the Hour] will be made so easy upon the believer that it will be easier upon him than an obligatory prayer that he used to pray in this world." However, according to al-Albaani, the chain of this hadith is weak. See al-Albaani's footnotes to Muhammad al-Tabreezi, Mishkat al-Masaabeeh (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islaami, 1985), vol. 3, p. 1 544. 2 Cf, ibn Hajr, Fath, vol. 1, p. 167. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi knowingly, and then use her as a servant. Hence, the mother has given birth to her own master. (2) A second interpretation is that the slave-girls who have given birth to the owner's children will be sold by the owners. There will be so much selling of such women that the woman's own son will later buy her and not realize that it is his mother. Hence, the one she gave birth to will become her master. According to some scholars, if a slave-girl gives birth to a child, she cannot then be sold and she becomes free on her master's death. Hence, this sign of the Hour reflects either ignorance of the laws of Islam or disdain for the laws of Islam in the later years. However, some scholars say that such sales are permissible so that is neither a sign of ignorance or disdain. Finally, to reconcile the two views, some say that the woman are sold while they are still pregnant and this is absolutely forbidden according to the consensus of the scholars. (3) A third interpretation is that a woman gives birth to a child.