Many a generation, culture, civilisation, or community did Allah end in the past, usually because of their iniquity and repeated transgressions. He said that He will never bring annihilation without prior sending warners. He wiped almost all of mankind during Noah’s time, and tells us that every community has a given duration, then its time will end. But there will come a specific time when the whole of mankind, without any exception, will be recalled to face Judgement from Allah. That time is already set, and the clock is ticking.
That time bears many names in Quran: the day of Gathering, of Assembly, of reckoning,
79:42-45. “They ask you about the Hour, ‘when will it occur?’. How are you to know? Its decision is your Lord’s. You are (only) a warner to those who fear it”.
83:12.“Denying it (the Hour) is only every transgressor, excessive sinner”
Although only Allah can bring about that event (7:187), He said that He almost “hides it” (20:15). He also said that its parameters or coordinates, although they do not appear in Quran, they have already been given (47:18). In Quran, we find only scant indications of what will happen when the Hour arrives, but no clear mention of its coordinates are given. If they are not in Quran, then they must be in the previous scriptures, as Quran is not, as most people presume, a separate scripture, but a continuation of what was revealed prior to it.
Quran tells us only about the events that will occur during that day. The previous scriptures tell us about the conditions on earth about the time of the “Hour”. That is done for the benefit of believers, so they can get some warnings and take some precautions.
Other entities may be aware of the Hour’s timing. One of them is Satan, as indicated in a conversation Quran relays between him and Allah, who tells him that he has a reprieve until the “known time”. It is more likely the reason why he is working so hard these days, as the time seems to be drawing near.
The scriptures previous to Quran give us a fairly detailed information about the situation on earth around the time of the Hour, and Quran gives us a description of the events related to the Hour, but none gives us its exact timing.
The “end of the world” has been predicted many, many times. One indication and prerequisite for its occurrence comes in 17:104, and is related to the return of the Children of Israel to the land Allah had given them: “Inhabit the earth, and when the promise of the Hereafter will occur, We will gather you from all around”.
Among the major events of the “Hour”, Quran cites the following:
- “Cracking” of the moon when the Hour draws near (54:1).
- The “smoke” on earth , in sura 44, a prelude to a bigger “suffering”.
- Seas will “explode” (81:6, 82:3)
- Stars will be darkened (81:2)
- The earth will crack
- Sky will be split
- Angels will come down to Earth
How far in time are those events? Some of them may have occurred, and some seem to be happening right now. The last warning may have been given with the unveiling of Quran’s numerical and mathematical structure. The rest of the predicted events may not be far away.
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L’ “Heure”
Quran Perspective 