The short answer
The time of the Hour is known only to Allah: "Its knowledge is only with my Lord" (7:187). The Prophet ﷺ described two kinds of signs. The minor signs are many and spread over a long time, such as the loss of trust, the spread of ignorance and shepherds competing in tall buildings. The ten major signs come close to the end, one after another: the smoke, the Dajjal, the beast, the sun rising from the west, the descent of Isa, Yajuj and Majuj, three landslides, and a fire that drives people to their gathering place.1
فَهَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا ٱلسَّاعَةَ أَن تَأْتِيَهُم بَغْتَةًۭ ۖ فَقَدْ جَآءَ أَشْرَاطُهَا ۚ فَأَنَّىٰ لَهُمْ إِذَا جَآءَتْهُمْ ذِكْرَىٰهُمْ ﴿١٨﴾
Fahal yanzuroona illas Saa'ata an taatiyahum baghtatan faqad jaaa'a ashraatuhaa; fa-annnaa lahum izaa jaaa'at hum zikraahum
Then do they await except that the Hour should come upon them unexpectedly? But already there have come [some of] its indications. Then what good to them, when it has come, will be their remembrance?
Quran 47:18 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Muhammad
Minor signs of the Day of Judgement
These are some of the minor signs reported in authentic hadith. We have listed only reports graded sahih, with their collection. Many of them have already happened, and some are still unfolding.
| Sign | What the hadith says | Source | Grading |
|---|---|---|---|
| The sending of the Prophet ﷺ | He held up two fingers and said: "I and the Hour have been sent like these two." | Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Anas and Sahl ibn Sad | Grading: Sahih |
| The splitting of the moon | "The Hour has come near, and the moon has split" (54:1). The companions saw it split in the time of the Prophet ﷺ. | Quran 54:1; Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Ibn Masud | Grading: Sahih |
| Shepherds competing in tall buildings | "...that the slave woman gives birth to her mistress, and that you see the barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds competing in constructing tall buildings." | Sahih Muslim 8, the hadith of Jibril | Grading: Sahih |
| Trust is lost | "When trust is lost, then wait for the Hour." He was asked how it is lost and said: "When authority is given to those who are not fit for it." | Sahih al-Bukhari 59, from Abu Hurayrah | Grading: Sahih |
| Knowledge is taken away | Religious knowledge is taken away and ignorance spreads, zina and drinking wine become widespread, men become few and women many. | Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Anas ibn Malik | Grading: Sahih |
| Time passes quickly and killing increases | Knowledge is taken away, earthquakes increase, time passes quickly, trials appear, and al-harj (killing) increases. | Sahih al-Bukhari, from Abu Hurayrah | Grading: Sahih |
| False prophets | About thirty lying impostors will appear, each claiming to be a messenger of Allah. | Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah | Grading: Sahih |
| Wealth overflows | Wealth becomes so plentiful that a man worries who will accept his charity, and the one offered it says he has no need of it. | Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah | Grading: Sahih |
| A fire in the Hijaz | A fire comes out of the land of the Hijaz that lights up the necks of the camels in Busra. Al-Nawawi and others said it appeared near Madinah in 654 AH. | Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah | Grading: Sahih |
| The Euphrates uncovers gold | The Euphrates uncovers a mountain of gold, and people fight over it. The Prophet ﷺ told whoever is present not to take any of it. | Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah | Grading: Sahih |
| Arabia turns green | The land of the Arabs returns to being meadows and rivers. | Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah | Grading: Sahih |
| Showing off in masjids | People compete with each other in the grandeur of masjids. | Sunan Abi Dawud and Sunan Ibn Majah, from Anas | Grading: Graded sahih by al-Albani and others |
Popular lists online often add signs from weak or fabricated reports, or match signs to particular modern events and people. We have left those out. Where a hadith number is not given here, the hadith is in the collection named, and our scholars will add the number on review.
The ten major signs
Hudhayfah ibn Asid said the Prophet ﷺ came upon them while they were discussing, and asked what they were discussing. They said the Hour. He said: "It will not come until you see ten signs before it", and he mentioned the smoke, the Dajjal, the beast, the rising of the sun from its west, the descent of Isa son of Maryam, Yajuj and Majuj, and three landslides, one in the east, one in the west and one in the Arabian Peninsula, and the last of that is a fire that comes out of Yemen and drives people to their gathering place.
Sahih Muslim 2901
1. The Dajjal
The greatest trial from the creation of Adam to the Hour. The Prophet ﷺ said he is blind in one eye, and that between his eyes is written "kafir", which every believer can read.2 He stays on earth forty days: one day like a year, one like a month, one like a week, and the rest like our days.3 He will not enter Makkah or Madinah.4 For protection, the Prophet ﷺ taught us to memorise the first ten ayat of Surah Al-Kahf,5 and to seek refuge from his trial in every prayer before the salam.6
2. The descent of Isa son of Maryam
Isa descends at the white minaret in the east of Damascus, finds the Dajjal and kills him.3 "The son of Maryam will soon descend among you as a just ruler".7 See Prophet Isa.
3. Yajuj and Majuj
"Until when [the dam of] Gog and Magog has been opened and they, from every elevation, descend" (21:96). In the hadith of al-Nawwas, they are released after Isa has killed the Dajjal. Isa and the believers take refuge on Mount Tur, and Allah destroys Yajuj and Majuj.3 Their story with Dhul-Qarnayn and the barrier is in Surah Al-Kahf (18:94-99).
4. The smoke
"Then watch for the Day when the sky will bring a visible smoke" (44:10). Ibn Masud held that this verse referred to a famine that struck Makkah, while the hadith of Hudhayfah counts a smoke among the major signs still to come. Many scholars combined the two.
5. The sun rising from the west
When the sun rises from the west and people see it, they will all believe, but on that day "no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before" (6:158).8 After it, the door of repentance is closed.
6. The beast of the earth
"And when the word befalls them, We will bring forth for them a creature from the earth speaking to them, [saying] that the people were, of Our verses, not certain" (27:82). The Quran and sahih hadith do not describe its shape. Detailed descriptions in some books are from weak reports.
7 to 9. Three landslides
A sinking of the earth in the east, one in the west and one in the Arabian Peninsula.1
10. The fire that gathers people
The last of the major signs: a fire from Yemen that drives people to their place of gathering.1 Then the trumpet is blown, and "whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall dead except whom Allah wills" (39:68).
The Mahdi
Hadith in Sunan Abi Dawud and Jami at-Tirmidhi say that a man from the family of the Prophet ﷺ, with his name, will rule and fill the earth with justice as it had been filled with injustice. Many hadith scholars graded these reports hasan or sahih, and belief in the Mahdi is held by most Sunni scholars. They are not in Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim by that name, and many false claimants have appeared through history, so scholars warn against attaching the title to anyone.
In what order will the signs come?
No sahih text gives the full order of the ten major signs. Scholars arrange them from the different hadith: the Dajjal, then the descent of Isa, then Yajuj and Majuj, appear in sequence in the hadith of al-Nawwas ibn Siman. The Prophet ﷺ said that the first of the signs to appear will be the sun rising from the west and the beast coming out to the people in the forenoon, and whichever of the two comes first, the other will follow soon after.9 Scholars explain "first" here as the first signs that are not ordinary human events.
How to prepare for the Hour
A man asked the Prophet ﷺ: "When is the Hour?" He replied: "What have you prepared for it?" The man said he had not prepared much prayer, fasting or charity, but that he loved Allah and His Messenger. The Prophet ﷺ said: "You will be with those you love".10 The signs are a reminder to prepare, not a puzzle to solve. Guard the prayers, read Surah Al-Kahf on Fridays and memorise its first ten ayat, make the dua for refuge from the Dajjal in your prayer, and keep good company.
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن تَأْتِيَهُمُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِىَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِىَ بَعْضُ ءَايَٰتِ رَبِّكَ ۗ يَوْمَ يَأْتِى بَعْضُ ءَايَٰتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَٰنُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ ءَامَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِىٓ إِيمَٰنِهَا خَيْرًۭا ۗ قُلِ ٱنتَظِرُوٓا۟ إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ ﴿١٥٨﴾
hal yanzuroona illaaa an taatiyahumul malaaa'ikatu aw yaatiya Rabbuka aw yaatiya ba'du Aayaati Rabbik; yawma yaatee ba'du Aayaati Rabbika laa yanfa'u nafsan eemaanuhaa lam takun aamanat min qablu aw kasabat feee eemaanihaa khairaa; qulin tazirooo innaa muntaziroon
Do they [then] wait for anything except that the angels should come to them or your Lord should come or that there come some of the signs of your Lord? The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good. Say, "Wait. Indeed, we [also] are waiting."
Quran 6:158 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Al-Anam
Questions
What are the 10 major signs of the Day of Judgement?
The smoke, the Dajjal, the beast of the earth, the sun rising from the west, the descent of Isa, Yajuj and Majuj, three landslides (east, west and Arabia), and a fire from Yemen that drives people to their gathering (Muslim 2901).
What are the minor signs of Qiyamah?
Signs spread over a long time, such as the sending of the Prophet ﷺ, loss of trust, spread of ignorance, increase in killing, false prophets, and shepherds competing in tall buildings. Many have already appeared.
Is the Day of Judgement near?
The Quran says "The Hour has come near" (54:1) and that its indications have already come (47:18). Its exact time is known only to Allah (7:187).
What protects from the Dajjal?
Memorising the first ten ayat of Surah Al-Kahf (Muslim 809), and seeking refuge with Allah from his trial in the last tashahhud of every prayer (Muslim 588).
Is the Dajjal mentioned in the Quran?
Not by name. Scholars say he is included in the signs referred to in 6:158, and the Prophet ﷺ described him in detail in authentic hadith.
Sources
- Sahih Muslim 2901, from Hudhayfah ibn Asid.
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Anas ibn Malik.
- Sahih Muslim 2937, from al-Nawwas ibn Siman.
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Anas and Abu Hurayrah.
- Sahih Muslim 809.
- Sahih Muslim 588.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3448; Sahih Muslim 155.
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah.
- Sahih Muslim, from Abdullah ibn Amr.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3688; Sahih Muslim 2639, from Anas.
- Minor signs: the sources are given in the table.
- Quran translation: Sahih International.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.