Question:
Assalamu alaikum. Could you kindly explain the Hadith below especially the answer to the last question. Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said "In near future such a time will come upon man when it will be difficult to save his religion. To save religion he will flee like a Jackal from cave to cave and from one hillock to other. They asked: When will it occur? He said: When you will not be able to earn livelihood without sin. When that time come, one will be ruined at the hands of his parents, if has no parents, at hands of his wife & children & in their absence at hands of his relatives. They asked: How will that come to pass? He said: They will abuse him for his insolvent condition. His parents will ask what is beyond the capacity of their son; as a result he will come to the position of ruin.” Was Salaam.
Fatwa:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.
There is no need to explain the Prophetic narration to which the questioner referred in the question, as it is a weak narration and can not be attributed to the Prophet . The chain of narrators include Jaami' Ibn Sawdah, who is unknown, and Mubaarak Ibn Fudhaalah, who gives false impressions concerning the narration without mentioning that he heard it from another narrator (i.e. reports the narration as if he heard it from the person after him in the chain), as clarified by Abu Daawood . Indeed, this narration is classified as weak by Al-Albaani .
There is no doubt that we are in an era where afflictions are widespread, and it is very difficult to hold fast to one's religion, as the Prophet said to the companions, may Allah be pleased with them: "Indeed, there will come after you days of endurance and patience, in which the one who remains patient is like the one who grabs a firebrand." [At-Tirmithi].
Allah knows best.
Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb