Among the subjects that most readily animate discussion within Muslim communities—whether in scholarly circles, on social media, or in online forums—few rival the topic of the End of Times. The signs of the Final Hour, the emergence of Imam al-Mahdi, the coming of the Dajjal (the Antichrist), the descent of the Prophet ʿIsā (Jesus), peace be upon him, and various apocalyptic scenarios are debated with considerable fervour. Yet beneath this enthusiasm lies a more fundamental question: for what purpose did the Prophet ﷺ actually convey all of this? Was it to turn the Muslim community into passive spectators of history, patiently waiting for prophesied figures to appear? Or was it to galvanise believers into action—to reform themselves and their societies?This is far from a merely academic question. It bears directly upon how a Muslim chooses to live: whether one’s energy is consumed by speculation about an uncertain future, or channelled into the very real and pressing work of self-improvement and service to others. The scholars of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah have articulated a clear and coherent answer to this question—and that answer is far more practical than is often assumed.The Five Phases of Leadership: Reading History, Not Predicting the FutureA fitting starting point for understanding the true purpose of these traditions is a report transmitted in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad from the companion Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān. In it, the Prophet ﷺ foretells that the history of Muslim governance will pass through five phases: prophethood (nubuwwah); a caliphate modelled upon prophethood (khilāfah ʿalā minhāj al-nubuwwah); a biting kingship (mulkan ʿaḍḍhan); a coercive kingship (mulkan jabrīyyan); and finally, a return of the caliphate upon the prophetic model.Scholars have understood the first phase as the era of the Prophet ﷺ himself, when revelation was still descending and every aspect of communal life was guided directly by Divine instruction. This era represents the unrivalled ideal. The second phase is generally associated with the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs—Abū Bakr, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, radhiyallahu 'anhum—with some scholars including Hasan ibn ʿAlī (appointed caliph in 661 AD after the death of his father. He ruled for about 6 to 7 months before peacefully handing over the caliphate to Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan to prevent civil war—and was characterised by leadership chosen through consultation (shūrā), justice as its cornerstone, and authority regarded as a trust rather than a privilege.The third and fourth phases—the “biting” and the “coercive” kingships—reflect a gradual departure from that ideal. Power became hereditary, consultation waned, authority grew centralised, and dissent was suppressed. Scholars are nonetheless careful to note that the third phase was not wholly dark: the spread of Islam, advances in learning, and the flourishing of civilisation continued within it. What was lost was not everything, but rather the spirit of shūrā and the austere simplicity that had marked the earliest caliphs.The fifth phase—the return of a caliphate upon the prophetic model—is widely linked by scholars to the events of the End of Times, including the emergence of Imam al-Mahdi. Yet it must be noted that the Prophet ﷺ gave no specific name, date, or constitutional blueprint for this phase. This is precisely where many go astray: attempting to fill the silence with speculation, the identification of contemporary figures, or claims that lack any sound basis.The most important lesson of this tradition, therefore, is not a map for determining which phase we presently inhabit. It is a reminder that human governance is ever-changing in form, whilst the Muslim’s duty remains constant: to have faith in Allah, to hold fast to the Sunnah of His Prophet ﷺ, to improve oneself, to uphold justice, and to remain steadfast until one meets Allah.The Meanings and Wisdom Embedded in the Traditions of the End of TimesHistory Rests in Allah’s HandsWhen the Prophet ﷺ foretold events yet to come—from the minor signs of the Final Hour to its great upheavals—this was not a mere display of supernatural knowledge. There is a profound theological message contained within: human history does not unfold without direction or purpose. Not a single event lies beyond the knowledge and will of Allah.قُل لَّن يُصيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَنَا“Say: Nothing shall befall us save that which Allah has decreed for us.”— Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Tawbah (9): 51The traditions of the End of Times, therefore, instil serenity and trust in Allah (tawakkul), rather than panic or dread. A Muslim who truly grasps that Allah governs history will not be easily swept along by sensationalist narratives about imminent catastrophe, knowing that whatever comes to pass does so within His design.Warning Against Tribulation, Not a Calendar of Its ArrivalThe majority of the prophetic traditions concerning the End of Times consist of warnings about the various trials (fitan) that will afflict humanity: the appearance of impostors claiming prophethood, the spread of religious ignorance, the temptation of wealth, moral dissolution, and unjustified bloodshed. Most significantly, they speak of the Dajjāl—a figure of such danger that every prophet before Muhammad ﷺ was commanded to warn his people of him.“There is not a single prophet but that he warned his community about the Dajjāl.”— Recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ MuslimWhat must be carefully observed is that the purpose of these warnings is not to prompt the calculation of the Dajjāl’s arrival date, nor to draw up maps of his anticipated movements. The purpose is to enable believers to recognise the symptoms of tribulation and to keep their distance. The emphasis is on active vigilance, not passive identification.A Call to Hasten in Good DeedsOne of the most direct traditions concerning the orientation Muslims should adopt in the face of the End of Times is the following saying of the Prophet ﷺ:“Make haste in performing good deeds before tribulations descend like portions of a dark night.”— Recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ MuslimNotice the urgency and the active voice of this command. The Prophet ﷺ did not say, “Sit and wait for those tribulations.” He said, “Make haste in good deeds.” This reveals the genuine orientation of all the traditions on the End of Times: not fatalistic passivity, but productive immediacy. The tribulations that lie ahead are intended to serve as a motivation for multiplying one’s good works, not as a pretext for resignation or for awaiting a saviour from the heavens.Hope in the Midst of DarknessThe pedagogical wisdom of the Prophet ﷺ is evident in the balance with which he conveyed the news of the End of Times. On one side, he warned of tribulations and moral decline; on the other, he announced tidings to strengthen the heart: the appearance of Imam al-Mahdī bringing justice, the descent of the Prophet ʿIsā, the destruction of the Dajjāl, and the ultimate triumph of truth.These glad tidings are not meant to generate speculative euphoria, but to plant a firm and enduring hope: that, however dire the state of the world becomes, Allah does not abandon His servants. His mercy is ever-present, and history shall ultimately conclude with His justice. A Muslim, for this reason, must never succumb to despair over the condition of the age.
A Reminder of the World’s TransienceThere is a profound dimension of renunciation (zuhd) embedded in the traditions of the End of Times. When the Prophet ﷺ conveyed that the whole of human civilisation—its kingdoms, its governments, its wealth, its technologies, its powers—will eventually perish, this was an invitation not to cling too dearly to the world at the expense of the Hereafter. Many classical scholars have linked the discourse on the End of Times with the theme of zuhd and preparation for one’s meeting with Allah, for both ultimately rest upon the same awareness: this world is transient, and what endures is only what one brings before Him.Two Extremes to Be AvoidedIn their approach to the traditions of the End of Times, Muslims frequently find themselves drawn to one of two equally mistaken poles. Understanding both is essential to adopting a sound position.The first extreme is speculative obsession. A considerable number of people expend a great deal of time and energy on fixing the year of al-Mahdī’s emergence, accusing particular contemporary figures of being the Dajjāl, or drawing equivalences between every political development and a prophetic narration. Social media is saturated with such content, often packaged with dramatic effect. Yet scholars of the stature of Imam al-Nawawī, Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, and Ibn Kathīr have stated plainly that the signs of the Final Hour are matters to be believed, not instruments of groundless speculation. The Companions of the Prophet—who lived closest to the age of prophethood—were not preoccupied with such guesswork. They busied themselves with knowledge, worship, calling people to Islam, refinement of character, and building their communities.The second extreme is dismissiveness. At the opposite end, some regard the traditions of the End of Times as irrelevant or unworthy of attention. This too is mistaken, for the Prophet ﷺ conveyed them with a clear intention: that the Muslim community might recognise and prepare for the trials that lie ahead. To disregard these warnings is akin to entering perilous terrain without provisions.The More Important Question: “What Have You Prepared?”There is a brief exchange preserved in both Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that may well be the most eloquent response to the entirety of this discussion. A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked:“When will the Final Hour come?”Rather than answering with a time, the Prophet ﷺ replied with a question of his own:“What have you prepared for it?”— Recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ MuslimThis response is remarkable for the way it redirects attention from the question of timing to the question of personal readiness. For most human beings, their personal “final hour”—death—arrives long before the great eschatological events. What is therefore most pressing is not knowing when al-Mahdī will emerge or when the Dajjāl will appear. What is most pressing is this: whether one’s prayers are sound, whether one’s heart is free from its hidden maladies, whether one has repented from accumulated sins, whether one has discharged the rights owed to others, and whether one’s provisions for meeting Allah are sufficient.A Productive Response: From the Individual to SocietyTranslated into concrete action, the approach of the mainstream Sunnī scholarly tradition to the traditions of the End of Times produces an agenda that is strikingly immediate—rooted not in the realm of speculation, but in the fabric of everyday life.At the individual level, the priorities are clear: to rectify one’s creed and purge it of deviation, to maintain and improve the quality of one’s prayer, to seek repentance frequently, to pursue sound religious knowledge, and to continually refine one’s character. At the level of the family, the focus shifts to raising children upon a firm religious foundation, guarding the household from the moral tribulations that press upon it from all sides, and cultivating an atmosphere of Qur’ānic recitation and remembrance of Allah within the home. At the level of society, the responsibilities extend to upholding justice, defending the vulnerable, combating corruption and oppression, and spreading both knowledge and moral refinement.None of this is an agenda that awaits the coming of al-Mahdī to be set in motion. It is an agenda that can—and must—be commenced today, by anyone, wherever they may be.ConclusionHaving traced the various dimensions of the prophetic traditions on the End of Times, the answer to the question posed in this essay’s title becomes considerably clearer. Awaiting al-Mahdī and setting one’s own house in order are not mutually exclusive. Yet if one must identify the primary orientation, the scholars of the Ahl al-Sunnah have answered without equivocation: it is self-reform.For al-Mahdī—should Allah ordain his appearance—will not come to those who have done nothing but wait. He will arrive into a particular moment in history, and those fortunate enough to be counted amongst his companions will be those who had already prepared themselves: whose creed was sound, whose deeds were consistent, whose character was noble, and whose contribution to their communities was real.The practical message bequeathed by generations of scholars from the entire treasury of these prophetic traditions may be distilled into a single sentence: be a servant of Allah who is ready should al-Mahdī arrive, and equally ready should you depart this world before he does.For in the end, what will be asked of us before Allah is not how accurate our analysis of the signs of the Final Hour was. What will be asked is: what did you prepare?Bibliography
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