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 era will become short (brief)
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه قال قال النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم : لا تقوم الساعة حتى يقبض العلم وتكثر الزلازل ويتقارب الزمان
"It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: The Day of Judgment will not be established until knowledge is taken away, earthquakes become frequent, and the era becomes short."
Reference: Bukhari: Book of Seeking Rain: Chapter on What Has Been Said About Earthquakes and Signs (1036) Muslim (2671) Ahmad (307/2 - 694) Abu Dawood (4255) Ibn Majah (4096)
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : لا تقوم الساعة حتى يتقارب الزمان فتكون السنة كالشهر ويكون الشهر كالجمعة وتكون الجمعة كاليوم ويكون اليوم كالساعة وتكون الساعة كاحتراق السعفة (الخوصة)
"It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Before the Day of Judgment is established, (this sign will appear that) the era will become short, so that a year will be like a month, a month like a week, a week like a day, a day like an hour, and an hour like a flame of fire (passing swiftly)."
Reference: Ahmad (711/2), Ibn Hibban (256/15)
Benefits:
The time will soon come when this sign of the Day of Judgment will have several meanings transmitted from the scholars, which are basically of two types:
Literal:
Meaning that in reality, time will begin to rapidly move towards the Day of Judgment; a year will pass as quickly as a week, a week as a day, and a day as an hour.
Figurative:
Several sayings have been narrated in a metaphorical sense:
➊ Time will be devoid of blessings; the entire day will pass in just one or two tasks while many other tasks will remain incomplete.
➋ People will be so engrossed in luxury and pleasure that they will not even realize the passage of time, and this will be the state when the descent of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) and the emergence of Imam Mahdi will have occurred, and there will be peace, security, and abundance of wealth everywhere. Moreover, it is proven from experience that even a short time in hardship and difficulty feels quite long and burdensome.
➌ Day and night will become exactly equal.
➍ Lifespans will become shorter, as in earlier times lifespans used to be quite long.
➎ Evil and corruption will become increasingly closer.
➏ Dangerous sea routes will become closer and can be crossed easily in minimal time, as is the case in the present era with airplanes and modern ships, enabling journeys that used to take months to be completed in days or even hours.
If the second (metaphorical) type is intended from the above two types, then all the aspects, points, and ideas contained in it have been apparent for some time. But if the first (literal) type is intended, meaning that time will actually start passing very rapidly, then this sign of the Day of Judgment has not yet appeared.
Dominant Aspect:
It seems dominant to interpret the mentioned hadith in its literal sense because (Hadith No: 1) and other similar hadiths indicate a general statement that: يتقارب الزمان meaning the time will come near.
However, some authentic hadiths also provide an explanation of this generality, as is evident from (Hadith No: 2) that the year will be equal to a month, the month equal to a week, the week equal to an hour, and the hour equal to flames, increasing (towards the Day of Judgment) very rapidly.
Moreover, authentic hadiths also prove that at the time of the emergence of the Dajjal, the first day will pass like a year, the second like a month, and the third like a week (becoming longer).
If in reality a day can become longer, then how can it be considered far-fetched for it to become shorter?
