Our Prophet (saas) reports in one hadith that one of the great omens of Day of Judgment is the Sun rising in the West.
“The Sun will rise in the West, people will believe en masse, but the faith of those who had no faith before will benefit them nothing.” (Al-Tajrid al-Sarih Translation, XII 307; Muslim, Kitab al-Fitan, 118)
Said Nursi, the great mujaddid (reviver) of the Hijri 13th century, described in his Rays how this miraculous event might take place:
The sun rising in the west and the emergence from the earth of the Beast (Dabbat al-Ardh). The sun rising in the west will be a self-evident sign of the end of the world, and because it is self-evident, it will be a heavenly event which closes the door of repentance, which is tied to the will and reason. Its meaning is therefore clear, and is in no need of interpretation. One may just say the following:
Allah knows the truth, its apparent cause will be this: with the disappearance from the head of the earth of the Qur’an, which is like its intelligence, the earth will go mad. With Divine permission, on another planet colliding with it, its rotation will be reversed. Through Divine will, its journeying from west to east will be reversed to from east to west, and the sun will start to rise in the west. Yes, the Qur’an is ‘the firm cord of Allah’ which binds the earth to the sun, and the ground to the Divine Throne. If its gravity is broken, the string holding the earth would be undone, it would become dizzy and deranged, and with its reversed uncontrolled motion, the sun would rise in the west. There is another interpretation, which is that due to a collision, Day of Judgment would break forth at the Divine command. (The Rays / The Fifth Ray - Second Station, Twentieth Matter - p. 113)
Bearing in mind Said Nursi’s statements regarding the phenomenon described in the hadith, it appears that this great sign that will appear immediately before the Day of Judgment will probably arise as the result of a comet striking the Earth and causing it to change the direction of its rotation. Following this major change, there will be successive strong earthquakes and powerful storms and tsunami, gravity will be impaired, the atmosphere will be destroyed, the ozone layer will disappear and many other natural disasters will take place. As a result, all the harmful radiation in space will reach the Earth and many other such natural disasters will arise. That is in all likelihood how the Day of Judgment process will take place. Since it will be impossible to live in such an environment in which all the laws of physics have been suspended, THE TEST WILL ALSO COME TO A TOTAL END.Bediuzzaman described this major and glorious phenomenon as “a Divine phenomenon that closes the door of repentance,” thus indicating that the test will come to an end after the Sun has risen from the West.
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TO CLAIM THAT DAY OF JUDGMENT WILL TAKE PLACE 120 YEARS AFTER THE SUN RISES FROM THE WEST CONTRADICTS ALL THESE STATEMENTS.
Allah has created the Earth to be compatible with the test. Allah does not permit events to take place that might leave no more room for free will, because there would then be no need for the test. Allah produces the phenomena He creates miraculously in the world in such a way as to be explained in another way. As a result, Allah distinguishes between those people who believe in Him and can see the profundity, wisdom and fineness in the phenomena He creates from those who do not believe or who harbor doubts. Allah does not create events in such a way as to put true believers in the same position as those who lack sincerity and whose reason and faith are weak, in other words, in such a visible way as to oblige people to believe by eliminating all need of free will, independent thought and judgment.
The Sun rising in the West is a most miraculous phenomenon that will leave no room for independent judgment. Once this phenomenon takes place the test will come to an end, by Allah’s will there will be no more room for repentance and Day of Judgment will commence.
Master Said Nursi describes the wisdom in this in his Fifth Ray:
Since belief and accountability are a test, a trial, a competition within the bounds of man’s will, theoretical issues that are obscure, profound, and in need of careful study and experiment cannot be obvious. They should not be so compelling that everyone has to affirm them willy-nilly. For in this way the Abu Baqr’s may rise to the highest of the high and the Abu Jahl’s descend to the lowest of the low. If there is no will, there is no accountability. It is because of this mystery and wisdom that miracles are displayed only rarely, and in this realm of accountability, like some allegorical verses of the Qur’an, the signs of the end of the world, which will be visible and seen, are obscure and open to interpretation. SINCE WHEN THE SUN RISES IN THE WEST IT WILL BE SO CLEAR EVERYONE WILL BE COMPELLED TO AFFIRM IT, THE DOOR OF REPENTANCE WILL BE CLOSED AND REPENTANCE AND BELIEF WILL NO LONGER BE ACCEPTED.(The Rays / The Fifth Ray - p. 99)
The idea that life will survive for another 120 years after the Sun has risen in the West is clearly false in two regards. First, it is incompatible with the law of Allah for life to survive in an environment in which there is no test or repentance. Second, the phenomena of the Day of Judgment that will follow one another after the Sun has risen in the West will make life impossible.IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR LIFE TO SURVIVE 120 HOURS, LET ALONE 120 YEARS, IN AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH MAJOR EARTHQUAKES TAKE PLACE, THE SEAS ARE DIVIDED IN TWO, THERE ARE TSUNAMI AND SEVERE STORMS, IN WHICH NO ATMOSPHERE REMAINS, THE OZONE LAYER HAS DISAPPEARED AND IN WHICH MANY OTHER EXTRAORDINARY NATURAL DISASTERS TAKE PLACE. In such a devastating climate, in which Allah will also manifest His magnificent glory in such a wondrous way, LIFE WILL SURVIVE FOR 120 MINUTES AT MOST. BUT THE INTENSITY OF THESE PHENOMENA WILL MAKE THAT TIME FEEL LIKE 120 YEARS.
However Our Prophet’s (saas) reference to “the Sun rising in the West” can also be interpreted figuratively. then, it is also a reference to the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as). In this hadith, the Sun may refer to Hazrat Mahdi (as) himself. Just as Hazrat Mahdi (as) is likened to the Sun in another hadith related from our Prophet (saas).
HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) IS THE SUN WHO WILL ELIMINATE ALL GRIEFS AND CRUELTY. He is abundant rain in a time of blessing. (Muhammad Ibn Rasul Al Hussain Al Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 188)
The figurative meaning of the reference to the West in terms of the rising of the Sun can be clarified by examining this hadith in the light of other hadiths. Another hadith related from our Prophet (saas) does indeed speak of Hazrat Mahdi (as) appearing from the West:
In the hadith related by Hafidh Abu Nuaym, our Prophet (saas) said: “There will be (days of) disorder, CORRUPTION AND FEAR IN THE MAGHREB (west) (It is said that) at that time one who is descended from the revered daughter of our Prophet (saas), Fatima, will appear in the furthest region of the Maghreb (west). That person who will rise up in the End Times is Hazrat Mahdi (as). And the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) is the first of the portents of the Hour.” (Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 16)
The hadith says that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear “from the furthest of the countries of the West.” Turkey is the westernmost Islamic country. The information in the hadith suggests that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will come from Turkey. Bearing this hadith in mind, it is possible that the information in the hadith referring to the Sun rising in the West may also indicate that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will come from the West.
Therefore, if on the basis of other hadith of our Prophet (saas) we take the year Hijri 1400 as that of the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as), then the reference to the Day of Judgment beginning 120 years after the rising of the Sun in the West corresponds to the year 1520. Said Nursi says that in the years around 1520 Muslims will begin to weaken and that the system of disbelief will rule the whole world. According to Said Nursi’s account, the Day of Judgment may be anticipated 20-25 years after these years. (Allah knows the truth)
