Title: Signs of The Day of Judgment Question: There are many signs for the coming of The Day of Judgment, viz. time will pass very quickly, big buildings will be built. The Sun will rise from the west etc. Are these signs for those peoples who do not believe in The Day of Judgment, or these signs have any reality that when these signs will happen, after this there will be The Day of Judgment. Also tell me what is the significance of big buildings, which is mentioned as a sign for the coming of The Day of Judgment? Thanks M.ASLAM SAQI Answer: The referred signs of the Day of Judgment have generally been mentioned in narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh). In view of the nature of the transmission of Hadith and its heavy reliance upon the correct understanding and subsequently the accurate transmission and communication of the reported saying of the Prophet (pbuh), it is almost impossible to ascertain whether the narrators have reported the exact and unaltered saying of the Prophet (pbuh) or not. In view of this apparent susceptibility of narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh), those narratives, which do not have a clear basis in the Qur'an and the Sunnah - as is clearly the case with the narratives which mention the signs of the Day of Judgment - can neither be confirmed nor rejected as accurately reported, till such time that the sign mentioned in such narratives becomes manifest. Nevertheless, as reported in these narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh), most of the referred signs have been mentioned as events that shall take place before or close to the time of the establishment of the Judgment Day. As for the 'tall buildings', this is not a general but a sign specific to the Arabs. Mentioning this sign, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said that "these bare footed, naked and poor shepherds shall match each other in making tall buildings". Seen from a wider perspective, the sign mentioned in this saying ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) seems to relate to the fact that near the Day of Judgment, the poor Arabs will become affluent and rich. The twentieth century saw this prediction fulfilled. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad January 3, 2002