Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
➊
In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“There are three signs such that when they appear, no one’s faith will benefit him if he had not believed before, or had not done good deeds in the state of his faith. Among them is the rising of the sun from the west, the appearance of the Dajjal, and the emergence of the Beast of the Earth (Dabbat al-Ard).” (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman, Hadith: 398(158))

➋
Among these signs, the appearance of the Dajjal and the emergence of the Beast of the Earth (Dabbat al-Ard) are proofs of the nearness of the Hour, while the rising of the sun from the west will be proof of the actual occurrence of the Hour, and from that moment the door of repentance will be closed.

Before the occurrence of the Hour, Allah, Lord of the Worlds, will manifest the signs of the Hour, which are called Ashrat al-Sa’ah, so that the servants may repent and turn towards Allah. Then, when Allah the Exalted wills to establish the Hour, the sun will first rise from the west instead of the east. This will indicate that the laws of nature which have been operating in the current system of the world have reached the end of their appointed time.

Then, when the totality of all the signs of the nearness of the Hour is realized, the occurrence of the Hour will begin. After that, the witnessing of everything will commence, and the door of repentance will be closed.

And Allah is the One whose help is sought.

Hadith Commentary:
The meaning of this hadith is that the Day of Judgment will come suddenly; no one will have any prior knowledge of it. People will be engaged in their daily occupations when the Day of Judgment will be established.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“When three things appear, then at that time, the faith of a person who had not believed before or who had not earned any good deeds after believing will not benefit him. Among these three are: the rising of the sun from the west, the coming of the Dajjal, and the emergence of the Beast of the Earth (Dabbat al-Ard).”
(Sahih Muslim, Al-Iman, Hadith: 398 (158))

(2)
After the sun rises from the west, the faith of a disbeliever will not benefit him, because to believe at a time when the signs of the Hour have begun to appear is like believing at the time of death, and faith at the moment of the death rattle (ghargara) is of no benefit, as mentioned in the hadith:
“A servant’s repentance is accepted as long as he is not afflicted by the death rattle (ghargara); when this state begins, then faith will be of no benefit.”
(Sunan Ibn Majah, Al-Zuhd, Hadith: 4253)
Similarly, Allah the Exalted says:
“When they saw Allah’s punishment, their faith did not benefit them at all.”
(al-Mu’min: 85)

(3)
When the sun rises from the west, at that very time the Beast (Dabbah) will emerge.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah explains its wisdom as follows: At the time of the sun’s rising from the west, the door of repentance will be closed, so the emergence of the Beast will occur, which will distinguish the believer from the disbeliever, so that the purpose intended by closing the door of repentance may be fulfilled.
(Fath al-Bari: 11/429)

(4)
It should be clear that “ghargara” refers to the time of the death throes, when the process of soul extraction begins.
When the angels of death appear, a connection with the Hereafter is established, and thus the opportunity for repentance comes to an end.

Hadith Commentary: This is the final sign of the establishment of the Day of Judgment, which will certainly manifest at its appointed time; however, its timing is known only to Allah.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“There are three signs such that when they appear, no one’s faith will benefit him if he had not believed before, or had not done good deeds in the state of his faith. One of them is the rising of the sun from the west, the second is the appearance of the Dajjal, and the third is the emergence of the Beast of the Earth (Dabbat al-Ard).” (Sahih Muslim, Al-Iman, Hadith: 398(158))

➋
Among these signs, the appearance of the Dajjal and the emergence of the Beast of the Earth (Dabbat al-Ard) are proofs of the nearness of the Hour (Qiyamah), and the rising of the sun from the west will be a proof of the actual occurrence of the Hour. At that very moment, the door of repentance will be closed.

Before the occurrence of the Hour, Allah, Lord of the worlds, will manifest the signs of the Hour, which are called Ashrat al-Sa’ah, so that the servants may repent and turn towards Allah. Then, when Allah the Exalted wills to establish the Hour, the very first thing will be that the sun will rise from the west instead of the east. This will indicate that the laws of nature which have been operating in the current system of the world have reached the end of their appointed term.

Then, when the totality of all the signs of the nearness of the Hour is realized, the occurrence of the Hour will begin. After that, the witnessing of everything will commence, and the door of repentance will be closed.

Wallahu al-musta‘an.

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues:
The faith that is accepted and considered valid is that which is in the unseen (without seeing).
When the occurrence of the Day of Judgment becomes certain and its signs have appeared,
then faith at such a time is not valid,
just as faith at the time of the rattling of the throat (i.e., at the moment of death) is not accepted.
However, faith at the time of the appearance of the signs close to the Day of Judgment is valid.
The rising of the sun from the west and the emergence of Dabbat al-Ard (a strange and wondrous creature from the earth),
the details of which are not established from any authentic hadith,
these are signs of the occurrence of the Day of Judgment.
The appearance of the Dajjal and ‘Isa (alayhis salam) are signs of the nearness of the Day of Judgment,
therefore, faith at their time is valid,
as the realities of the unseen will not yet have been unveiled at that time.

Benefits and Issues:
Only that faith is beneficial and accepted which is in the unseen; after witnessing the realities of the Hereafter, faith will in no way be beneficial.
Even in the Hereafter, the disbelievers will say: "O our Lord! We have seen and heard, so send us back; we will do righteous deeds, we have now attained certainty." (), but returning to the world will not be possible.

Benefits and Issues:
(1)
The rising of the sun from the west is a clear indication of a change in the system of the heavens and the nearing of its end.

(2)
After the appearance of this sign, no one’s repentance will be accepted; however, the righteous deeds of the believers will remain.

Explanation of the Hadith:

Until the sun rises from the west:

What is the nature of the sun rising from the west? Regarding this, there is a hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr radi Allahu anhu, in which he states that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: “Do you know where this sun goes?” The noble Companions radi Allahu anhum ajma‘in replied: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: “It goes until it reaches its resting place beneath the Throne, where it falls into prostration (the reality of this prostration is known only to Allah Ta‘ala). Then it remains in that state until it is commanded: ‘Rise up and return to where you came from.’ It returns and emerges from its place of rising. Then it continues in this manner until it reaches its resting place beneath the Throne and prostrates. It remains in that state until it is told: ‘Rise up and return to where you came from.’ It emerges from its place of rising and continues in this way. One time, it will proceed in this manner and people will not notice any difference in its movement, until it reaches its resting place beneath the Throne. At that time, it will be told: ‘Rise up and emerge from the west, from where you set.’ It will then emerge from the west.” Then the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: “Do you know when this will be (i.e., the sun rising from the west)? This will be when faith will not benefit anyone who had not believed before, nor performed any good deeds with his faith.” [صحيح مسلم، كتاب الايمان، رقم: 399 - شرح السنة، باب قتال الترك والروم: 39/15 ، رقم: 4244]

Similarly, there is another narration, whose narrator is Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu. He states that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: “When three things appear, faith will not benefit anyone who had not believed before or had not performed good deeds. These three things are:
1_ The sun rising from the west.
2_ The appearance of the Dajjal (Antichrist).
3_ The emergence of the Beast from the earth.

Thus, the rising of the sun from the west has also been mentioned in the Divine Word as a sign of the Hour.

«يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا ۗ» [الانعام: 158]

‘On the Day when your Lord’s great sign comes, no soul will benefit from its faith if it had not believed before, or had not earned any good through its faith.’ [صحيح مسلم، رقم: 396]

Similarly, whoever dies before the appearance of this sign, for him too there is a fixed time after which his faith and repentance will not be accepted. As mentioned in the hadith, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

«إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَقْبَلُ تَوْبَةَ الْعَبْدِ مَا لَمْ يُغَرْغِرْ .» [سنن ترمذي، كتاب الدعوات، رقم: 3537 - سنن ابن ماجه: 4653]

Al-Albani rahimahullah has graded it as “hasan”.

“Allah accepts the repentance of His servant until the death rattle reaches his throat (i.e., at the time of death).”

It is thus clear that these are such occasions after which the faith and repentance of any soul will not be accepted.

When the sun rises from the west, all people will immediately accept faith upon seeing it:

After the appearance of this sign, people will turn to Allah; before this, they neither cared for faith nor had any concept of repentance. But upon witnessing this extraordinary event, they will immediately turn to Allah. However, at that time, their faith will not benefit them.

The reality is that after the completion of proof (itmam al-hujjah), bringing faith will be of no avail. At that time, the opportunity for faith will have ended, and the moment of people’s death will have drawn near.