. J ; ; ;J; : ,;I•; (cont.)

However, that child was not the result of a completely legal act of intercourse, such as the child being the result of fornication or an improper marriage. Then the mother is sold in a proper and correct manner and she continues to be sold until, finally, her own child buys her. (4) The fourth interpretation is that the children will disobey their mothers. The child will end up treating his own mother like a slave owner treats a slave girl, showing disdain, perhaps beating her and, in general, treating her simply like a servant. In this case, "her master" is either figurative or in the sense of the one who brings up the other. This is the view that ibn Hajr prefers. He states that it is the most general. Furthermore, it is parallel to the next sign that the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated. That is, it is further evidence that the society has changed so much that things are, in essence, upside down. This is a sign of the coming of the Hour as things are no longer in the way that they should be. "And you will see the barefooted, scantily-clothed, destitute shepherds competing in constructing lofty buildings." The point of this sign is, as al-Qurtubi mentioned, that, once again, the affairs will be turned upside down. The bedouins will be in charge, taking over by force and having the wealth in their hands. Their only concern after that will be competition and boasting in constructing tall buildings. Al-Qurtubi, who died in 671 A.H., said, "We have witnessed that during this time."1 In general, it means that those not qualified to be in charge and to have the wealth in their hands will be running the affairs and will be in control of the wealth. They will not know the proper way to deal with their wealth or how to 1 Al-Qurtubi was quoted in al-Shanqeeti, vol. 2, p. 362. Al-Qurtubi's statement, "by force," is based on other narrations of this hadith. 1.·;···· , j :ࢿ l i ' 1 Hadith #2: The Hadith of Jibreel run the affairs. Hence, they will waste their money in extravagance and frivolous pursuits. Other hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) give the same impression of what will occur before the Hour. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ӹ J.1 Ӻ lJӻӼ W81 ढf 0 _h ड (Lll r _;; ':1 "The Hour will not be established until the happiest of all people with this world is Luka' ibn Luka'."1 The name Luka' ibn Luka' means "the most ignorant, stupid fool, the son of the most ignorant stupid fool." Another hadith states, ,,,. ,,,. ,,. ,,,. "" ,,,. ,,, ,,. ,,, ,,.. ,,,. ,,., ,,,, ,,- J ,,, "" ,,, ,,,. Hi '· JI "'\ ::.G' \(\ Jt; 1-:.!;...ୋI Ǹ Jt; 'wl 1:.ঙ\j aSC:'I ) \(Lt ,, ff , J'° ) ' ' • .ff"' / • ' ,,, ,,... ,,, / ,,,. ,,... )Lll ffili / "If the 'trust' is lost, then expect the Hour." He was asked, "How will it be lost?" He answered, "When the affairs are in the hands of those who are not qualified for it, then expect the Hour." (Recorded by al-Bukhari.) Note that the word >ly.11 is usually translated as "naked". However, al­ Qaari points out that it also applies to the person who has left a part of his body that should be covered uncovered. 2 This is the most likely meaning here and, hence, the translation "scantily-clothed" has been used. Allah knows best. Summary of the Two Signs Mentioned in the Hadith Both of the signs indicate that the state of affairs will not be proper. In the first sign, those that are deserving of authority, respect and good treatmentmotherswill be treated with disdain and without their due respect. In the second sign, those that are not deserving of wealth and authority or who do not know how to handle it will receive wealth and authority. One can only imagine what society as a whole must be like when such occurs. Ibn Rajab wrote, The points that are mentioned in these signs of the Hour in this hadith go back to the fact that matters are not in the hands of qualified people, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned in [another hadith quoted above] ... If the barefoot, scantily-clothed shepherdsand they are the people of ignorance and crudenessare the leaders of the people and 1 Ibn Hajr states that this hadith is in Sahih al-Bukhari but this does not seem to be correct. It was recorded by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi. According to al-Albaani, it is sahih. See al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. 2, p. 1238. 2 Al-Qaari, vol. I, p. 63. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi the owners of the resources and wealth, to the point that they compete in constructing buildings, then the entire structure of the religion and worldly affairs will be ruined and in disarray.