Hadith #413

Arabic Text

English Translation

Abū al-Yamān narrated to us, Shuʿayb informed us, ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Ḥusayn narrated to us, who said: Shahr ibn Ḥawshab narrated to me, from ʿĀmir — or Abū ʿĀmir — or Abū Mālik — that the Prophet ﷺ, while sitting in a gathering with his Companions, Jibrīl عليه السلام came to him in a form other than his own — they thought he was a Muslim man. He greeted him and he returned the greeting. Then Jibrīl placed his hand on the knees of the Prophet ﷺ and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what is Islam?' He said: 'That you submit your face to Allah, testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger, establish the prayer, and pay the zakāh.' He said: 'If I do that, have I submitted?' He said: 'Yes.' Then he said: 'What is faith?' He said: 'That you believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, the Prophet ﷺs, death, life after death, Paradise, the Fire, the Reckoning, the Scale, and divine decree — all of it, its good and its evil.' He said: 'If I do that, have I believed?' He said: 'Yes.' Then he said: 'What is excellence, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'That you worship Allah as though you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He surely sees you.' He said: 'If I do that, have I attained excellence?' He said: 'Yes.' The Companions could hear the Prophet ﷺ's ﷺ replies to him but could not see the one speaking to him nor hear his words. He said: 'When is the Hour, O Messenger of Allah?' the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'Glory be to Allah! Five matters of the unseen that none knows except Allah: {Indeed, Allah alone has knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Aware.}' The questioner said: 'O Messenger of Allah, if you wish, I shall tell you of two signs that will occur before it.' He said: 'Tell me.' He said: 'When you see the slave woman give birth to her master, and the people of buildings compete in height, and the destitute, rude ones become the leaders of people.' He said: 'And who are those, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'The Arabs.' Then he turned away and his path could not be seen afterward. He ﷺ said: 'Glory be to Allah' — three times — 'He came to teach the people their religion. By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muḥammad, he has never come to me except that I recognized him, except perhaps this time.' Abū al-Naḍr narrated to us, ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd narrated to us, Shahr ibn Ḥawshab narrated to me, from Ibn ʿAbbās who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prohibited certain types of women — and he mentioned the hadith attached to it, saying: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sat in a gathering and Jibrīl عليه السلام came and sat before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — and he mentioned the hadith, and said in it: 'If you wish, I shall tell you of signs before that.' He said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah, tell me.' And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'When you see the slave woman give birth to her mistress' — and he mentioned the hadith.