This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Hafiz Mubashir Hussain Lahori's book Signs of the Day of Judgment in the Light of Authentic Hadith.
Sign of the Day of Judgment: The Emergence of Paper and Pen (Publishing and Printing)
عن ابن مسعود رضى الله عنه عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : إن بين يدي الساعة تسليم الخاصة وفشو التجارة حتى تعين المرأة زوجها على التجارة وقطع الأرحام ، وشهادة الزور وكتمان شهادة الحق وظهور القلم
It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Masood (RA) that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: Near the Day of Judgment, only specific people will be greeted with peace, trade will spread so much that a woman will assist her husband in business, kinship ties will be broken, false testimony will be given, the truth will be concealed, and the use of the pen will become widespread.
Reference: Ahmad (509/1 - 333/5) Hakim (493/4) Majma' al-Zawa'id (635/7) Abdul Razzaq (5137) Bazzar (3407) Al-Adab Al-Mufrad (1053) As-Silsilah As-Saheehah (246/2)
عن عمرو بن تغلب رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : إن من أشراط الساعة أن يفشو المال ويكثر .... ويلتمس فى الحي العظيم الكاتب فلا يوجد
It is narrated from Hazrat Amr bin Taghlib (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Among the signs of the approaching Day of Judgment is that wealth and riches will be abundant, and a merchant will not be able to find even one scribe (accountant) from a large tribe to record his transactions.
Reference: Nasa'i: Kitab al-Buyu': Bab al-Tijarah (4461) Minhat al-Ma'bud (112/2)
Benefits:
➊ The abundance of book publications is a sign of the Day of Judgment.
➋ This mentioned sign is currently at its peak.
➌ At one time, the work of writing and composing on large sheets of paper by hand with pen and ink was undertaken, which was certainly equivalent to risking one's life; moreover, even for a short task, months or even years were required. But today the situation is completely different. Through computers and printing machines, years of work are completed in months, weeks, or days. That is why literature, magazines, books, advertisements, diaries, etc., are seen in abundance everywhere. Additionally, almost every household has a library consisting of books with a specific ideology. Yet despite all this, knowledge is rapidly declining and ignorance is increasing day by day because knowledge is not gained merely by the weight of books but by reading and exploring them.
➍ The second hadith is not related to the title and apparently seems contradictory, which can be interpreted in several ways. For example:
◈ Both are signs occurring at different times and are opposite to each other.
◈ Publication will be abundant, but scribes will not be found, and in the era of computers, the importance of scribes has certainly been affected.
◈ The inclination towards education and learning among people will be lost, as in current circumstances children are engaged in work from the beginning and are even deprived of writing their own names.
