This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Hafiz Mubashir Hussain Lahori's book Signs of the Day of Judgment in the Light of Authentic Hadiths.
Sign of the Day of Judgment: Faces will be disfigured and people will be swallowed by the earth
عن عبد الله بن عمرو رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : يكون فى أمتي حسف ومسخ وقدف
It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "In my Ummah, there will surely be distortion of forms, sinking into the earth, and raining of stones."
Reference: Ahmad (218/2) Ibn Majah: Kitab al-Fitan: "Bab al-Khusuf" (4060) Hakim (492/4)
عن عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : يكون فى آخر هذه الأمة حسف ومسخ وقدف قالت : قلت يا رسول الله : أنهلك وفينا الصالحون ؟ قال : نعم إذا ظهر الخبث
It is narrated from Hazrat Aisha (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "At the end of this Ummah, there will be distortion of forms, sinking into the earth, and raining of stones." I said, "O Messenger of Allah, will we be destroyed while there are still righteous people among us?" He said, "Yes, when wickedness spreads."
Reference: Tirmidhi: Kitab al-Fitan: "Bab ma jaa fi al-khusf" (2185) Sahih al-Jami' al-Saghir (358/6)
Hazrat Sahar Abdi (RA) says that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: The Day of Judgment will not be established until some tribes are sunk into the earth. It will be said, "Is there anyone left from those who were sunk?"
Reference: Ahmad (633/3) (43/5) Fath al-Bari (412/8) Sahih al-Mizan (3403) Abu Ya'la (6834) Tabarani Kabir (78) Majma' al-Zawa'id 18/8
Hazrat Safiya (RA) says: "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: People will not desist from attacking the House of Allah until an army comes for this purpose, and when they reach the place of Badr, without distinction, their front, back, and middle will all be sunk. I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, what about those among them who dislike this army or the attack?' He said, 'Allah will raise all people according to their intentions.'"
Reference: Ahmad (379/6) (380) Tirmidhi (2184) Ibn Majah (4113) Ibn Abi Shaybah (609/8)
According to a narration, the Prophet (PBUH) woke up from a dream and narrated this hadith in which the sinking of two armies is mentioned.
Reference: Muslim: Kitab al-Fitan: "Bab al-Khusf bil-Jaysh" (2882) Abu Dawood (4289) Ahmad (357/6) Hakim (475/4) Abu Ya'la (439/12) As-Silsilah as-Sahihah (577/4)
It is narrated from Ibn Umar (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: In my Ummah, there will be distortion of forms and disfigurement, and this will be among the deniers of destiny and heretics.
Reference: Ahmad (145/2) (183) Abu Dawood (4613) Tirmidhi (2152) Ibn Majah (4109) Tabarani Kabir (5810) Bazzar (2182) Majma' al-Zawa'id (413/7) As-Silsilah as-Sahihah (392/4)
It is narrated from Hazrat Baqirah (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: When you hear that an army has been sunk into the earth somewhere nearby, then the Hour is near.
Reference: Ahmad (378/6)
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Umamah (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Some people of my Ummah will spend their nights in wine, meat, and entertainment, and in the morning they will have become monkeys and pigs because they have torn the veil of prohibitions, made permissible singing women, wine, usury, and silk clothing.
In one narration, the Prophet (PBUH) swore and made this prediction.
Reference: Ahmad (325/5) At-Targhib (101/3)
It is narrated from Imran bin Husain (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: There will surely be sinking and disfigurement in my Ummah. A man asked, "O Messenger of Allah, when will this happen?" He said, "When singing, musical instruments, and immoral women become widespread, and wine is abundant."
Reference: Tirmidhi: Kitab al-Fitan: Bab ma jaa fi 'alamat hulul al-masakh wal-khusf' (2212) Sahih al-Jami' al-Saghir (103/4)
Abu Malik al-Ash'ari (RA) says that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Some people of my Ummah will change the name of wine and drink it, and arrangements for musical instruments will be made for them. Some of them Allah will sink into the earth, and some He will turn into monkeys and pigs.
Reference: Ibn Majah: Kitab al-Fitan: "Bab al-'Uqubat" (4020) Sahih al-Jami' (105/5) Abu Dawood (3685)
Benefits:
(1) The distortion of faces, the raining of stones, and people being swallowed by the earth are signs of the Day of Judgment.
(2) The sinners deserving this punishment will be the wicked drunkards, gluttons, and those who rebel against Allah's commands by making forbidden things lawful.
(3) When the wicked are punished, the righteous are also caught in this punishment, although on the Day of Judgment everyone will be questioned according to their intentions and deeds.
(4) There are many examples of people being swallowed by the earth.
Reference: For details see Fath al-Bari (84/13), Al-Tadhkirah (p. 654), Al-Isha'ah (49-52)
(5) The hundreds of people who died due to landslides in the Kaghan Valley and the destruction of the area is a living example of this, which Allah Almighty has recently shown to the people of Pakistan. May Allah protect us from His worldly and hereafter punishment. آمين
(6) The distortion of people's faces into monkeys and pigs, etc., is literal, not metaphorical or symbolic, meaning they will actually be turned into monkeys and pigs, and this punishment is not far from divine power. ان الله على كل شئ قدير
Hafiz Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, considers distortion to be both literal and metaphorical, but he rejects absolute metaphorical distortion.
Reference: See Tafsir Ibn Kathir (150/1-153)
(7) No example of distortion from the recent or near past can be presented, but from the distant past, in the light of the Holy Quran, it is established that when the Children of Israel greatly transgressed the limits of Allah and rebelled, disregarding the divine commands, Allah Almighty punished them by distorting their forms and turning them into monkeys. Allah's statement is:
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذِينَ اعْتَدَوْا مِنْكُمْ فِي السَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ
"And indeed, you know about those among you who transgressed on the Sabbath, and We said to them, 'Be disgraced monkeys.'"
Reference: Al-Baqarah: 65
The lineage of monkeys has been continuing from before those who were distorted, as the Prophetic hadith states:
When Allah intends to destroy or punish a nation, their lineage does not increase, and indeed these monkeys and pigs (the distorted group of the Children of Israel) have been coming before.
Reference: Muslim: Kitab al-Qadar: Chapter on explaining that lifespans, sustenance, and other matters do not increase or decrease beyond what has been decreed (2663); Ahmad (395/1-421); Abu Ya'la (5313)
(8) Before the Day of Judgment, this divine punishment will surely descend upon those fond of trumpets, drums, dancing, and revelry, so that their faces will be changed into monkeys, pigs, etc., stones will rain from the sky, and they will be swallowed by the earth. We pray to Allah Almighty to save us from being included in the list of such wretched people. آمين
