This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Hafiz Mubashir Hussain Lahori's book Signs of the Day of Judgment in the Light of Authentic Ahadith.
Sign of the Day of Judgment: The sun will rise from the west
The command of the Almighty is:
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَن تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ ۗ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا ۗ قُلِ انتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ
Do these people wait for nothing except that the angels should come to them, or your Lord should come, or there should come some sign from your Lord? On the day when some sign from your Lord will come, no soul will benefit from its faith if it did not believe before or did not do righteous deeds through its faith. Say, "Wait, indeed we are waiting."
Reference: (Al-An'am: 158)
In the light of Ahadith
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : لا تقوم الساعة حتى تطلع الشمس من مغربها فإذا طلعت ورآها الناس آمنوا أجمعون وذلك حين لا ينفع نفسا إيمانها ثم قرأ الآية
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The Day of Resurrection will not occur until the sun rises from the west instead of the east. So when it happens and people see it rising from the west, then all will believe. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited this verse:
لَا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ
"That is, at that time, believing will not benefit anyone who did not believe before."
Reference: Bukhari: Book of Tafsir: Surah Al-An'am: Chapter: No soul will benefit by its faith (4636) Muslim (248) Abu Dawood (4312) Ibn Majah (4119) Sunan al-Kubra (180/9) Abu Awana (10711)
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : بادروا بالأعمال ستا : طلوع الشمس من مغربها
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Hurry towards good deeds before six signs: the rising of the sun from the west.
Reference: Muslim: Book of Tribulations: Chapter on the remainder of the hadiths of the Dajjal (2947) Ahmad (428/2) Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) (199/15) Hakim (561/4) Sharh al-Sunnah (431/7) Abu Ya'la (397/11) Musnad Tayalisi (2549)
عن عبد الله بن عمرو رضى الله عنه قال : حفظت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حديثا لم أنسه بعد سمعت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : إن أول الآيات خروجا طلوع الشمس من مغربها وخروج الدابة على الناس ضحى وأيهما ما كانت قبل صاحبتها فالأخرى على إثرها قريب
It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say, which I have remembered until today: Among the signs (of the Hour), the first will be the sun rising from the west, then at the time of noon, a beast will come towards the people. Whichever of these two (major) signs appears first, the other will follow immediately after.
Reference: Muslim: Book of Tribulations: Chapter on the emergence of the Dajjal (2941) Abu Dawood (114/4) Hakim (590/4) Ahmad (265/2) Ibn Majah (4120) Sharh al-Sunnah (4186) Tabari (407/5) Ibn Abi Shaybah (619/8)
عن أبى ذر رضى الله عنه قال قال النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم لأبي ذر حين غربت الشمس أتدرى أين تذهب ؟ قلت : الله ورسوله أعلم ، قال : فإنها تذهب حتى تسجد تحت العرش فتستأذن فيؤذن لها ويوشك أن تسجد فلا يقبل منها وتستأذن فلا يؤذن لها فيقال لها : ارجعى من حيث جئت فتطلع من مغربها فذلك قوله تعالى : وَ الشَّمْسُ تَجْرِیْ لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَاؕ-ذٰلِكَ تَقْدِیْرُ الْعَزِیْزِ الْعَلِیْمِ
Hazrat Abu Dharr Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said that when the sun set, the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked them if they knew where the sun goes. I said, only Allah and His Messenger know. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: It goes beneath the Throne, prostrates first, then asks permission to return, and permission is granted. And the day is near when it will prostrate but its prostration will not be accepted, and it will ask permission but will not be granted. Instead, it will be told to return to where it came from. Thus, on that day, it will rise from the west. This verse: وَ الشَّمْسُ تَجْرِیْ لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا .... points to this.
Reference: Bukhari: Book of the Beginning of Creation: Chapter on the description of the sun and moon (3199) Muslim (159) Tirmidhi (2186) Ahmad (214/5 - 227) Sharh al-Sunnah (4187) Abu Awana (108/1)
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : من تاب قبل أن تطلع الشمس من مغربها تاب الله عليه
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Whoever repents before the sun rises from the west, Allah will accept his repentance.
Reference: Muslim: Book of Remembrance and Supplication: Chapter on the recommendation of Sharh al-Sunnah: Book of Supplications (1292)
عن معاوية رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : لا تنقطع الهجرة حتى تنقطع التوبة ولا تنقطع التوبة حتى تطلع الشمس من مغربها
It is narrated from Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Migration will continue as long as the door of repentance is open, and repentance will continue to be accepted until the sun rises from the west.
Reference: Ahmad (138/4) Abu Dawood: Book of Jihad: Chapter on whether migration has ceased (2479) Darimi (312/2) Al-Tamhid (3989/8) Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir (378/19) Al-Durr al-Mansur (59/3) Fath al-Bari (362/11) Sahih al-Jami' (1244/2) Arwa' al-Ghalil (288/9)
عن أبى موسى رضى الله عنه عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : إن الله عز وجل يبسط يده بالليل ليتوب مسيء النهار ويبسط يده بالنهار ليتوب مسيء الليل حتى تطلع الشمس من مغربها
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Allah extends His hand at night so that the sinner of the day may repent, and He extends His hand during the day so that the sinner of the night may repent (and this continues repeatedly), until the sun rises from the west.
Reference: Muslim: Book of Repentance: Chapter on acceptance of repentance from sins (2759) Ahmad (534/4 - 545) Sunan al-Kubra by Al-Bayhaqi (136/8) Book of Names and Attributes (52/1)
عن صفوان بن عسال رضى الله عنه قال قال النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم : إن الله عز وجل جعل فى المغرب بابا عرضه مسيرة سبعين عاما للتوبة لا يغلق حتى تطلع الشمس من قبله وذلك قول الله تبارك وتعالى : يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا
It is narrated from Hazrat Safwan bin Assal (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Allah Almighty has made a door towards the west whose width is equivalent to seventy (70) years (distance). This is the door of repentance (Bab al-Tawbah) which will not be closed until the sun rises from the west. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited this verse: At that time, no soul will benefit by its faith who did not believe before.
Reference: Tirmidhi: Book of Supplications: Chapter on the virtue of repentance and seeking forgiveness (3535) Ahmad (328/2 - 328/4) Musnad Humaydi (388/2) Ibn Majah summarized (4121) Tafsir Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) (406/5)
عن حذيفة رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : إنها لن تقوم حتى ترون قبلها عشر آيات : طلوع الشمس من مغربها
It is narrated from Hazrat Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The Hour will never be established until you see ten signs before it, the rising of the sun from the west.
Reference: Muslim: Book of Tribulations: Chapter on the signs that will occur before the Hour (2901)
Benefits:
➊ The rising of the sun from the west is a major sign of the Day of Judgment.
➋ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ
“The Day your Lord’s (great) sign comes, no soul will benefit from its faith if it had not believed before.”
Reference: (Al-An'am: 158)
“This sign refers to the sun rising from the west.”
Reference: For details see: Tafsir Tabari (103/8), Fath al-Qadeer by Al-Shawkani (182/2)
➌ Upon seeing the sign of the sun rising from the west, all people on earth will believe in Allah Almighty, but their faith will not be accepted except for those who had believed before this sign; their faith will benefit them.
➍ The mentioned sign has not yet appeared.
➎ Allah Almighty, in His perfect mercy, has kept the door of repentance open so that no matter how deeply a person is immersed in disbelief and disobedience, if before the last breath (the moment of death) and before the sun rises from the west, he sincerely repents to Allah, then Allah will forgive all his previous minor and major sins in an instant and grant him entry into Paradise.
➏ After the sun rises from the west, the door of repentance will be closed and it will not be opened until the Day of Judgment.
Reference: See Fath al-Bari (354/11)
➐ When the sun sets in one place in the world, it is rising in another place, but during this period the sun prostrates to Allah Almighty without delay and asks for permission to rise again. The sun is granted permission every day, but near the Day of Judgment, the sun will not be allowed to rise from the east; rather, it will be commanded to revolve back towards the west, thus the sun will rise from the west.
➑ Some people have rejected the prostration of the sun and its asking for permission to rise again as irrational, but such rejection changes a person’s faith into disbelief. Therefore, one should believe in Allah’s perfect power and have faith in these unseen and metaphysical matters.
➒ Some people have issued insufficient “criticism” fatwas on the mentioned ahadith and declared them non-authoritative, even though these narrations are found in agreed and authentic books like Bukhari and Muslim. Moreover, many such matters are also present in the Holy Quran, so are the status of these Quranic verses also doubtful? معاذ الله
As examples, a few verses are mentioned:
◈ الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ 5 وَالنَّجْمُ وَالشَّجَرُ يَسْجُدَانِ
“The sun and the moon [move] by precise calculation, and the stars and trees prostrate.”
Reference: (Ar-Rahman: 5-6)
◈ وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ
“Everything glorifies Him with praise, but you do not understand their glorification.”
Reference: (Al-Isra: 44)
◈ يَوْمَ تَشْهَدُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَلْسِنَتُهُمْ وَأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
“The Day their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to what they used to do.”
Reference: (An-Nur: 24)
◈ وَ قَالُوْا لِجُلُوْدِهِمْ لِمَ شَهِدْتُّمْ عَلَيْنَاؕ-قَالُوْۤا اَنْطَقَنَا اللّٰهُ الَّذِيْۤ اَنْطَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ
“They will say to their skins, ‘Why do you testify against us?’ They will say, ‘We were made to speak by Allah, who has taught everything to speak.’”
Reference: (Fussilat: 21)
