Are the Major Signs of the Day of Judgment such as the appearance of the Antichrist inevitable? If so, how can we reconcile these signs with the fact that the Day of Judgment will come suddenly as stated in the Quran?

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 ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

•       {The Hour has come near, and the moon has split [in two].}[Quran 54:1]

•       {Then do they await except that the Hour should come upon them unexpectedly? But already there have come [some of] its indications.}[Quran 47:18]

Imaam Al-Baghawi mentioned that the Bi'thah (coming) of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is one of the signs that the Day of Judgment is near.

Given the fact that the Day of Judgment is of great importance, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to mention it along with its signs and indications, and its preceding trials.  He also warned his Ummah (nation) to be ready for that Day. However, only Allaah The Exalted knows the exact time when the Day of Judgment will occur.  He concealed the time of that day from His servants for their benefit; so they would continually prepare themselves for it.

Scholars divide the signs of the Day of Judgment into three types: 

1- Signs that have already occurred in the past

2- Signs that are occurring at present

3- The major signs that will occur immediately before the Day of Judgment

The signs that have already occurred: This includes the mission of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who said that the time of the Day of Judgment was as close to the time he was sent as a prophet, as the forefinger is close to the middle finger.  [Al-Bukhari]

The signs that are occurring:  There are many of these signs and the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, mentioned them in several Hadeeths (narrations). The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the Day of Judgment would not come until the foolish and ignorant people of the world would become the happiest people on earth.  [Ahmad]  These signs will continue to occur until the Day of Judgment, as they represent the majority of the signs.

 The following are some of these signs:

•       Death of the scholars

•       Widespread murder

•       Prevalence of ignorance

•       Trials everywhere

•       Frequent earthquakes

•       Following the ways of the disbelievers

•       Abundance of money  

•       The spread of sins, usury and adultery

•       Appearance of the women who do not wear Hijab (Islamic covering)

•       The Bedouins and the erstwhile poor nations will be so rich to the extent that they will become boastful

The major signs that will appear immediately before the Day of Judgment include the following:

•       The appearance of Al-Mahdi:  There is a lot of evidence this sign in several authentic Hadeeths (about seventy Hadeeths according to some scholars), including a Hadeeth narrated by Imaam Ahmad.  In that Hadeeth the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the world would not cease to exist before the Arabs are ruled by a man (referring to Al-Mahdi) of his family whose name would be the same as that of the Prophet .

•       The appearance of the Antichrist:  There are many Hadeeths about the appearance of the Antichrist; some of them are authentic, (Saheeh), some are Hasan (good), and some are Dha‘eef (weak).  However, there is no doubt that the Anti-Christ will appear before the Day of Judgment.  It was narrated on the authority of Anas that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, warned his Ummah (nation) against him and mentioned that all the prophets had warned their people against him as well.  [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Ibn Katheer mentioned that Allaah The Exalted will allow the Antichrist to appear before the end of the world.  First, he will appear as a tyrant ruler, then he will claim prophethood, and then he will claim to be a god.  The ignorant people will follow him, but the righteous and pious people will defy him.  He and his soldiers will go to every place on earth except Makkah and Madeenah.

•       Return of ‘Eesaa (Jesus ): It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, swore by Allaah The Almighty that the Maseeh (Messiah ) will return soon to rule with justice, break the cross, kill the pigs, and abolish Al-Jizyah (tax paid by non-Muslims in a Muslim state). There are many other Hadeeths in this regard.

•       The emergence of the mighty tribes of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj (Gog and Magog):  Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Until when [the dam of] Gog and Magog has been opened and they, from every elevation, descend.}[Quran 21:96]  There are several Hadeeths about this sign.

•       The emergence of Ad-Daabbah (The Beast):  Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And when the word befalls them, We will bring forth for them a beast from the earth speaking to them, [saying] that the people were, of Our verses, not certain [in faith].}[Quran 27:82]

•       The sun rising from the West: Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good.}[Quran 6:158]

•       Gathering people in the lands of Ash-Shaam (The Levant): It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that people would be gathered alive (shortly before the Day of Resurrection and the Blowing the Soor (Horn)) to the Levant.

He added that the people would be in three groups: The first group will be of those who would be afraid of punishment or wishing for reward. The members of this group will mainly be the common Muslims. The second group will be those who would gather while riding two on a camel or three on a camel or ten on a camel; the members of this group are mainly the righteous Muslims.  The rest of the people will be urged to gather by the Fire, which would accompany them at the time of their afternoon nap and stay with them where they spend the night, and in the morning and in the afternoon wherever they might be. This sign will be the last one before the Day of Judgment.

•       Blowing the Soor (Horn) and destruction:  Ibn Taymiyyah said that the Quran mentions that the Soor will be blown three times. 

1-      The blow of terror:  Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And [warn of] the Day the Horn will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will be terrified except whom Allah wills.}[Quran 27:87]

2-      The blow of destruction 

3-      The blow of Resurrection:  The last two blows were mentioned in the Quranic verse in which Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And the Horn will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall dead except whom Allaah wills. Then it will be blown again, and at once they will be standing, looking on.}[Quran 39:68]

As-Saffaareeni also mentioned that there will be three blows: 

1-      The blow of terror: This blow changes the whole world and crumbles the system of the universe.  This blow is mentioned in the Quranic verse in which Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And these [disbelievers] await not but one blast [of the Horn]; for it there will be no delay.}[Quran 38:15]

2-      The blow of destruction: This blow destroys everything in this world.  Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And the Horn will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall dead except whom Allaah wills.}[Quran 39:68]

3-      The blow of Resurrection: This blow was mentioned in several Quranic verses, for example, Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Then it will be blown again, and at once they will be standing, looking on.}[Quran 39:68]

With regard to reconciling the inevitable occurrence of these signs and the fact that the Day of Judgment will come suddenly, it is known that any sign does not necessarily identify its exact time; therefore, Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {It will not come upon you except unexpectedly." They ask you as if you are familiar with it. Say, "Its knowledge is only with Allaah, but most of the people do not know."}[Quran 7:187]

The Day of Judgment will come suddenly and unexpectedly, in spite of the signs indicating that it is about to come, however, people will become inattentive to these signs as they will have got accustomed to them.

Consequently, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, mentioned that the Day of Judgment will not come until the sun rises from the West; and when the people see it, anyone living on the surface of the earth will have faith, and that is the time when {no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good.}[Quran 6:158]  [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

In the previous Hadeeth, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, referred to the fact that there will be disbelievers even after the occurrence of the major signs of the Day of Judgment.  Furthermore, the Day of Judgment will come while people are very inattentive so that a man will raise a morsel of food towards his mouth, and then the Day of Judgment will come suddenly before he has the chance to even eat or swallow it.

Furthermore, it was narrated on the authority of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab that Jibreel (Gabriel ) had asked the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, about the exact time of the Day of Judgment. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, answered that he knew no more than he (Jibreel) did.  Then Jibreel asked the Prophet to tell him some of its signs. After telling Jibreel that he did not know the time of the Day of Judgment, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told him some of its indications and signs. Hence, there is no contradiction between knowing the signs and being ignorant of the exact time when it will occur.  [Muslim]

And Allaah Knows best.