References in the hadiths to the years 1997 and 1999

In one of the hadiths speaking of the portents of the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) the years 1997 and 1999 are indicated:

People will prosper until the ninety-fifth year, that is, their business will prosper. In the ninety-seventh and the ninety-ninth year, their possessions will go to waste... (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 54)

The term “the ninety-fifth year” in the hadith in all probability refers to the year 1995. Until 1995, people led relatively easy lives, and conditions were not that hard. But after that, various difficulties began arising. Various political problems arose in 1997. The earthquakes in the Marmara region and across Turkey in 1999 led to the worst loss of life and property of recent years.