Part of the belief in the Last Day is belief in its signs, which point to its imminence. Allah Almighty says: {Are they but waiting for the Hour to come upon them by surprise? Already [some of] its signs have appeared.} [Surat Muhammad: 18] This belongs to the unseen which we are commanded to believe in.
Some of the signs of the Hour have already appeared and finished, and these are too numerous. One of them is mentioned in the Hadīth that reads: "My advent and the Hour is like this next to that, or like these two", joining his index and middle fingers. [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (5301) and Muslim (2950)] In another Hadīth, he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Count six signs that indicate the approach of the Hour: my death, the conquest of Jerusalem, a plague that will afflict you as the plague that afflicts sheep, an increase of wealth to such an extent that even if one is given one hundred Dinars, he will still be dissatisfied..." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (3176) and Ibn Mājah (4042)] The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) also said: "The Hour will not come until two big groups fight each other whereupon there will be a great number of casualties on both sides and they will be following the same religious doctrine; until about thirty dajjāls (impostors) appear, and each one of them will claim that he is the messenger of Allah; until the religious knowledge is taken away, earthquakes increase in number, time passes quickly, afflictions appear, and killing prevail; until wealth becomes so abundant that a wealthy person will worry lest nobody would accept his Zakah, and whenever he presents it to someone, he would say: 'I am not in need of it'; and until people compete with one another in constructing high buildings." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (7121), Muslim (157), and At-Tirmidhi (2218)]
Other signs of the Hour have taken place and continue to exist. One of them is the occurrence of trials within the Ummah. (Numerous Hadīths reported by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim do mention trials, but they do not say explicitly that they are signs of the Hour. Hence, we have cited two Hadīths from the Sunan because they mention that clearly.) The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings 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 a disbeliever in the evening, or a believer in the evening and a disbeliever 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 with stones. If people come in to one of you, let him be like the better one of Adam's two sons." [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd (4259), At-Tirmidhi (2204), Ibn Mājah (3961), Ibn Aby Shaybah (30978), Ahmad (19662), and Ar-Ruwyāni (585)]
In another Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings 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 a disbeliever in the evening, or a believer in the evening and a disbeliever in the morning. People will sell their religion in return for some worldly gains." [Narrated by At-Tirmidhi (21970, Ibn Aby Shaybah in Al-Musannaf (31053) and in Al-Imān (64), and Al-Faryābi in Sifat An-Nifāq Wa Dhamm Al-Munāfiqīn (97)]
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) also said: "The Hour will not come until about thirty dajjāls appear, and each one of them will claim that he is the messenger of Allah." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (7121), Muslim (157), and At-Tirmidhi (2218)]
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: While the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was saying something in a gathering, a Bedouin came and asked him: "When will the Hour come?" The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) continued his talk; so some people said that the Messenger had heard the question, but did not like what that Bedouin asked. Some others said that he did not hear the question. When the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) finished his speech, he said: "Where is the one who inquired about the Hour?" The Bedouin said: "I am here, O Messenger of Allah." The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When honesty is lost, then wait for the Hour." The Bedouin said: "How will it be lost?" The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When matters are entrusted to unfit people, then wait for the Hour." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (59)]
In another Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Among the signs of the Hour is that knowledge will be taken away, ignorance will be established, alcohol will be drunk, and adultery will prevail." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (80), Muslim (2671), At-Tirmidhi (2205), and Ibn Mājah (4045)]
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) also said: "Ahead of the Hour there will be days in which ignorance will emerge, knowledge will be taken away, and killing will be widespread." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (7062), Muslim (2672), At-Tirmidhi (2200), and Ibn Mājah (4050)]
Some signs of the Hour have not taken place yet. They will occur shortly before the Day of Judgment, like the descent of the Messiah, ‘Īsa, the son of Mariyam (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty says: {There will be none from the People of the Book but will believe in him [upon his return] before his death; and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them.} [Surat an-Nisā’: 159] And the emergence of Gog and Magog. Allah Almighty says: {Until when Gog and Magog are let loose, swarming swiftly from every mound.} [Surat al-Anbiyā’: 96] And the emergence of the Beast. Allah, the Exalted, says: {When the decree [of the Hour] comes to pass against them, We will bring forth to them a beast out of the earth that will tell them that the people had no faith in Our verses.} [Surat an-Naml: 82]
Hudhayfah ibn Usayd al-Ghifāri reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) came to us all of a sudden as we were busy in a discussion. He said: "What are you discussing?" We said: "We are discussing the Last Hour." Thereupon, he said: "It will not come until you see ten signs ahead of it." So, he mentioned the smoke, the Anti-Christ, the Beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus, the son of Mariyam (peace be upon him), the Gog and Magog, and land-slides in three places: one in the east, one in the west, and one in Arabia - and the last of these will be a fire that will emerge from Yemen, which will drive people to the place of their grand assembly. [Narrated by Muslim (2901), Abu Dāwūd (4311), At-Tirmidhi (2183), and Ibn Mājah (4041)]
In another Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Hour will not come until the sun rises from the west, and when it rises from the west, all people will believe, and on that day {Belief will be of no benefit to those who did not believe before, or those who did not do some good through their faith.} [Surat al-An‘ām: 158]" [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (4635), Muslim (157), Abu Dāwūd (4312), and Ibn Mājah (4068)]
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) also said: "By the One in Whose Hand my soul is, the son of Mariyam is about to descend among you as a just judge. He will break the cross, kill the pig, and abolish the jaziyah (tribute), and wealth will be so superfluous that none would accept it." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (2222), Muslim (155), Abu Dāwūd (4324), At-Tirmidhi (2233), and Ibn Mājah (4078)]
In yet another Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah did not send a prophet except that he warned his people about the one-eyed impostor; he is one-eyed, and indeed your Lord is not one-eyed. It is written between his two eyes: a disbeliever." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (7408), Muslim (2933), Abu Dāwūd (4316), and At-Tirmidhi (2245)]