وَ عَن أُمِّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أُم عَبْدِ اللهِ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ( (يَغُزُو جَيْشُ الْكَعْبَةَ فَإِذَا كَانُوا بِبَيْدَاءَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ يُحْسَفُ بِأَوَّلِهِمْ وَ آخِرِهِمْ)) قَالَتْ: قُلتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ كَيْفَ يُحْسَفُ بأَولهم و آخِرِهِمْ وَفِيهِمْ أَسْوَاقُهُمْ وَ مَنْ لَيْسَ مِنْهُم !؟ قَالَ: ( (يُخْسَفُ) بِاَوَّلِهِمْ وَ آخِرِهِمْ، ثُمَّ يُبْعَثُونَ عَلَى نِيَّاتِهِمْ)). مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيْهِ – هَذَا لَفُظُ الْبُخَارِى .
The Mother of the Believers, Umm Abdullah Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “An army will march towards the Kaaba, and when they reach Al-Bidaa (a barren plain), all of them, from the front to the rear, will be swallowed by the earth.” Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “I asked: O Messenger of Allah! How will all of them, from the front to the rear, be swallowed when among them are market people and some who are not part of them?” He replied: “All of them, from the front to the rear, will be swallowed, then (on the Day of Resurrection) they will be raised according to their intentions.” (Agreed upon. These words are from Bukhari.)
Authentication of the Hadith:
Rare Hadith:
جيش: “Army” — Which army is this and when will it occur? Only Allah Almighty knows, but from the hadiths it is understood that this army will be prepared to kill Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him), who will be taking refuge in the House of Allah. This army will be from among this Ummah as explicitly stated in Sahih Muslim, but those who will demolish the Kaaba will be from Abyssinia (Habasha). The evidence is that the Abyssinians will gain control over the Kaaba, but this army will be swallowed by the earth before reaching there.
Al-Bidaa: “A barren plain where nothing grows.”
Some narrators of the hadith have explained this plain; in Sahih Muslim it is called Bidaa of Medina, referring to the well-known place between Mecca and Medina, also the elevated place on the way to Mecca from Dhul-Hulaifah.
الخسف : “Being swallowed by the earth.” Allah Almighty said:
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ خَسَفْنَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ :
“Some of them We caused to be swallowed by the earth.”
Also He said:
فَخَسَفْنَا بِهِ وَبِدَارِهِ الْأَرْضَ :
“We caused him and his dwelling to be swallowed by the earth.”
أسواقهم : “Souq” is plural, meaning businessmen and market people, or it refers to the subjects.
يبعثون على نياتهم : “They will be raised according to their intentions.” That is, Allah Almighty will resurrect them from their graves and hold them accountable according to their intentions and reward them accordingly. Thus, on that day Allah will differentiate between the servants, the oppressed, and the warriors who knowingly participated in this army.
Fiqh of the Hadith:
1. One should avoid companionship with oppressors, tyrants, and rebels because it may lead to sharing their fate.
2. One should separate from a nation where disobedience and sin increase, because the sins and punishments of others also affect a person.
3. The deeds of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم are judged and accepted according to the intention of the doer.
4. These prophecies are among the unseen matters revealed to him by Allah and are matters of faith upon which belief is obligatory. No one should worry that this hadith is a solitary report because, in our view, a sound solitary report is equally authoritative in matters of creed and Sharia rulings. The book الأدلة والشواهد فى وجوب الأخذ بخبر الواحد فى الأحكام والعقائد by the commentator of the book is beneficial regarding the authority of solitary reports.
5. There is an objection in this hadith (as Hazrat Aisha رضي الله عنها also had) that those who did not join this army with the intention of fighting, why will they be punished? Whereas the cause of punishment is fighting.
Many answers have been given to clarify this objection, one of which is that when punishment comes, it generally affects everyone, and then people will be raised according to their intentions. The oppressed, subjects, and travelers are afflicted because they did not try to avoid this trial. This punishment is not limited to the oppressors only; it sweeps away everyone like a flood, including those who do not participate in this evil and oppression. But when Allah’s disobedience occurs, these righteous people see this evil happening, do not try to stop it, and show no sign of grief or anger on their faces. Thus, such righteous people also suffer punishment, and only those righteous people who follow امر بالمعروف اور نهي عن المنكر are saved.
Allah Almighty said:
قلُوْلَا كَانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ اُولُوا بَقِيَّة يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسَادِ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِمَّنْ انجینا منھم واتبع الذین ظَلَمُوا مَا أَتْرِفُوا فِيهِ وَكَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ . وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ O الْقُرَى بِظُلْمٍ وَأَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُونَ
“Were there not among the previous generations righteous people who forbade corruption on earth except a few whom We saved from among them? But the wrongdoers pursued what they were given in luxury and were criminals. And your Lord would never destroy the cities unjustly while their people were reformers.”
This verse points to Allah’s practice regarding previous nations. So, if in a nation polytheism and evil spread and some among them take up the responsibility of reform, that nation is saved and will not face punishment or destruction. But if a nation spreads polytheism and corruption and none among them takes up the responsibility of reform or condemns this evil, then Allah’s way with such a nation is to destroy them, whether by extermination or by dissolution and disorder, both resulting in decline and replacement. This clarifies the value and importance of calling to Allah: when corruption spreads in a land, it becomes necessary to cleanse Allah’s earth from this corruption. If the people of a nation or tribe do not fulfill this duty, they become deserving of Allah’s wrath, displeasure, and punishment.
