The Attack on and Shedding of Blood in the Kaaba The year when he appears, people will go on the Hajj

with no leader at their head They will head for the Kaaba together, then when they descend to Mine they will attack one another like dogs, pilgrims will be robbed, and blood will flow over the Jemre road. (Portents of Doomsday, Berzenci, p. 168-169) The Appearance of the Mahdi with Sacred Relics The Mahdi will appear in the evening time with the banner, shirt, sword, signs, light and pleasant speech of our Prophet (saas). (Ali b. Sultan Muhammed el- Kari el-Hanefi, Risaletl Mereb elverdi fi mezhebl Mahdi) He will produce the treasures of Jerusalem, the Ark of the Covenant, the table of the People of Israel and the tablets, the jacket of Prophet Adem (as), the staff of the Prophet Sulayman (as) and the milkwhite gloves sent by Allah to the People of Israel. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 33) The Mahdis spiritual capture of Istanbul Allah will capture Constantinople (Istanbul) by the hand of His beloved friends He will lift sickness and sorrow from them. (Portents of Doomsday, p. 181) Countries will pass under his command. Allah will favor him with the capture of Constantinople. (AlMuttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 56) It is reported from Ibni Amr that; Our Prophet (saas) said: O People! There are six things without which doomsday will not come (the sixth is) the capture of the city. - Which city? He was asked Constantinople, he replied. (*) This is the capture of Constantinople by the Mahdi. (Portents of Doomsday, 204, Ramuz-el Ehadis, 296) Future Developments in the Middle East in the Light of the Hadiths It is clear that the great majority of the portents that our Prophet (saas) tells us will take place in the Middle East, and that the End Times have already come about. There are also many other accounts from our Prophet (saas) concerning this region. Looked at in general, the striking point about these is that chaos, strife, and major events will continue until the appearance of the Mahdi. One of the hadiths in question states as follows: As the strife calms down in one place in Sham, it will rise up in another. The strife will not end until angels calls out from the sky The Mahdi is your leader. The Mahdi is your caliph. (Mustafa Resit Filizi, Treatise on the Coming of the Mahdi, p. 63) It appears from the hadith that there will be terrible chaos in Sham before the coming of the Mahdi, who will appear on Earth together with Prophet Isa (as). As has already been mentioned, the word Sham in Arabic means left, and has been used since very early times to refer to those countries to the left of the Hijaz region (the region containing the cities of Mecca and Medina). Therefore, this hadith is indicating that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East region will sometimes die down and

sometimes flare up again, and that it will only come to a complete end with the appearance of the Mahdi. (Allah knows the truth.) The events that will be experienced in the Middle East will not consist of chaos, conflict, and war alone. Following his appearance, the Mahdi will unite the great majority of the countries in this region and be a means whereby a very powerful economic and political union is established. The Mahdi will meet with Prophet Isa (as) in this region and they will pray together. The Mahdi will unearth the Ark of the Covenant and the sacred relics. We may say, in the light of hadiths and of accounts by Islamic scholars, that a great many landmark events in the history of the world will take place in this region. (Allah knows the truth.)

People make pilgrimage without an imam leading them. Big wars break out when they come down to Mina, and they are entwined just the way dogs entwine, and tribes attack on each other. This strife is so widespread that legs are buried in lakes of blood. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 35) People will perform hajj together and gather without an Imam. The Hajjis will be looted and there will be a battle at Mina in which many will be slain and blood will flow until it runs over the Jamra al-'Aqaba. (Jamra: a stone pillar, which represents Satan, that is stoned during the pilgrimage.) (Narrated by 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, al-Hakim and Nu'aym ibn Hammad)

The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) said: There will be a voice in Ramadan, a noise in Shewwal, and war between the tribes in the month of Dhu'l Qa'dah. Pilgrims will be despoiled. There will be a war in Mina in which many die, to such an extent that so much blood will flow as to leave the stones there in a lake of blood. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 31)

There will be rebellion in Shawwal, talk of war in Dhu'l Qa'dar, and an act of war in Dhu'I Hijja. Pilgrims will be despoiled and their blood will flow, (over the Kaaba). (Muhammad ibn Abd al Rasul Barzanji, Al-Ishaah li-ashrat al-saah, p. 166) In the month of Du'l Qa'dar the tribes will wage war, pilgrims will be kidnapped and there will be bloody wars. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 34) There come the cries of war in (the month of) Shawwal with the outbreak of war, massacre, and carnage in (the month of) Dhu'l-Hijja. The pilgrims are plundered in this month, the streets cannot be crossed because of the blood shed, and religious prohibitions are violated. Big sins are committed near the Magnificient House (the Ka`ba). (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat alMahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 37)

"This is a hadith passed by Abu Jaffer b. Muhammad b. Ali (ra). When you see a flame rise in the East for three or seven days, then wait for the emergence of Al-i Muhammad; God will proclaim from the sky uttering the name of Mahdi and everybody whether in the East or West will hear that voice. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 32)

I swear that a flame will engulf you. That flame is presently in an extinguished state at the valley called Berehut. That flame swallows up people with terrible pain inside it, burns down and

destroys people and property, and spreads all over the world by flying like a cloud with the assistance of winds. Its heat at night is much higher than its daytime temperature. By going as deep as the center of Earth from the heads of people, that flame becomes a terrible noise just like the lightning between the earth and sky, he narrated. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah Qurtubi, p. 461)

Abi Ja'far said: "If the Abbas reaches Khorasan , (a star known as) Horn Zu-Shifa rises in the East.The first time it appeared was at the perishing of the people of (Prophet) Noah when Allah drowned them. And it rose at the time of (Prophet) Abraham, peace be upon him, when they cast him into fire, and when Allah caused Pharaoh (at the time of Moses) and those with him to perish, and when (Prophet) John (the Baptist) son of Zakariah was killed. If you see this, seek refuge in Allah against the evilness of Fitan (strifes and tribulations)

Upon Abdullah b. Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said: The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: There will be a fitna that will clean (tastanzifu) the Arabs, its dead will be in Hell. During which the tongue will be more severe (ashadd) than a blow of the sword. [Reported by Abu Dawud] The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Woe to the Arabs because of the evil which has drawn near! He will escape who will restrain his hand. ( sunan Abu dawud book 30. 4237) The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Before the Last Hour there will be commotions like pieces of a dark night in which a man will be a believer in the morning and an infidel in the evening, or a believer in the evening and infidel in the morning. He who sits during them will be better than he who gets up and he who walks during them is better than he who runs. So break your bows, cut your bowstrings and strike your swords on stones. If people then come in to one of you, let him be like the better of Adam's two sons. *sunan Abu dawud book 30 4246 The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: A Muslim's best property will soon be sheep which he takes to the top of mountains and the places where the rain falls, fleeing with his religion from civil strife (fitnah). *sunan Abu dawud book 30 4254