Before Islam reached Iraq, the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, talked about a blockade on Iraq. He also said that the River Euphrates will dry up, leaving a mountain of gold. I want to know the relevant Hadeeths.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

There are several relevant Saheeh Hadeeths (authentic narrations) concerning these subjects. Some of these Hadeeths are mentioned as follows:

1-      In a Hadeeth narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the River Euphrates will dry up leaving a mountain of gold. He ordered anyone who finds it not to take anything from it. [Al-Bukhari]

2-      In a Hadeeth narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that before the Day of Resurrection, the River Euphrates will dry up, leaving a mountain of gold. People will fight one another for control over this mountain. Ninety-nine persons out of one hundred will be killed. Every person will hope that he is the one that will survive. [Muslim]

3-      In a Hadeeth narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that before the Day of Resurrection, the River Euphrates will dry up, leaving a mountain of gold. People will fight one another for control of the mountain. Nine persons out of ten will be killed and only one out of ten will live. [Ahmad]

Al-Arnaa’oot declared this Hadeeth as Saheeh.

4-      In a Hadeeth narrated on the authority of 'Ubayy ibn Ka‘b the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the River Euphrates is about to dry up, leaving a mountain of gold. When people come to know that, they will go to it and fight one another for control over it. Ninety-nine persons out of one hundred will be killed. [Muslim]

There are also many Hadeeths concerning the blockade of Iraq:

5-      Jaabir ibn ‘Abd Allaah said that the non-Arabs will blockade Iraq and will stop money from coming in. [Ahmad, Ibn Hibbaan and Al-Haakim]

We believe that what is mentioned in these Hadeeths will happen because the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that such things will occur. However, only well-versed scholars who are deeply rooted in knowledge can apply these Hadeeths to Muslims in today’s context.

Muslims must perform the required acts of worship, and must depend on Allaah The Almighty. They should not occupy themselves with useless matters.

Allaah Knows best.