Signs of the Latter Days from The Qur’an

Signs of the Latter Days from The Qur’an

There are many signs in the Qur’an in regards to the time of th Messiah of the end times. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as beautifully explains these signs which are mainly from Surah Takwir and Surah Infitar. He states:

“Among the arguments which prove that I am the Promised Messiah, there are some signs that are personal to the Promised Messiah. A major sign among them is that the Promised Messiah must appear in the latter days as set out in the Hadith:

“It will be in the latter days when tribulations will abound and the age will be approaching its end”

There are two kinds of indications to prove that these are the last days in which the Messiah should appear. The signs set out in the Qur’an and the Ahadith which indicate the approach of the Day of Judgement and which have been clearly fulfilled. As, for instance, the eclipse of the sun and the moon in the month of Ramadan which is indicated in the verse:

وَجُمِعَ الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ {75:10}

Then there is the discarding of camels as a means of transportation, as is clearly indicated in the verse:

وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ {81:5}

And the multiplication of irrigation canals which is obvious from the verse:

وَإِذَا الْبِحَارُ فُجِّرَتْ {82:4}

And the continuous falling of stars as indicated in:

وَإِذَا الْكَوَاكِبُ انْتَثَرَتْ {82:3}

And the occurrence of famines and the spread of epidemics and the scarcity of rain as contained in:

إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انْفَطَرَتْ {82:2}

And a total eclipse of the sun; thus spreading darkness as stated in:

إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ {81:2}

And the moving of the mountains as is generally understood to be the meaning of the verse:

وَإِذَا الْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ {81:4}

And the rising of the fortunes of the people who are wild, lowly, and unacquainted with noble Islamic virtues, as is obvious from the verse:

وَإِذَا الْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ {81:6}

And the multiplication of the means of communication and travel, whereby it will become easy for people to meet one another, which is an accepted interpretation of the verse:

وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ {81:8}

And publication of books, pamphlets and letters in all countries, as indicated in:

وَإِذَا الصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتْ {81:11}

And the corruption of the inner condition of the divines, who are the stars of Islam, which is a clear purport of the verse:

وَإِذَا النُّجُومُ انْكَدَرَتْ {81:3}

and the spread of innovations, errors, and all kinds of disobedience and vices, as indicated in the verse:

إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انْشَقَّتْ {84:2}

All these signs of the approach of the Day of Judgement have been manifested and the world is in the grip of a great revolution…

Then there is the verse in Surah Al-Mursalat which indicates that a great sign of the approach of the Day of Judgement is that someone should appear and with his coming the number of Messengers should be determined. This means that the last Khalifah in the chain of successors in the Islamic dispensation, whose name is the Promised Messiah and the awaited Mahdi, shall make his appearance in the last days. The verse is:

وَإِذَا الرُّسُلُ أُقِّتَتْ {77:12}

i.e., the time when number of the Messengers will be determined. This means that with the appearance of the last Khalifah, the number of Messengers which had been determined by Divine decree and had been hidden, shall become manifest. This verse also clearly shows that the Promised Messiah will be from among the Muslims. (Tohfa-e-Golarhviyyah, Ruhani Khazain, Volume 17,  Pages 241-244)