“The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split.”
This Divine proclamation was revealed while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in Makkah, announcing that the Day of Judgement is near. Its sign was the miraculous splitting of the moon, a reminder that the end of this worldly life and the universe itself is approaching.
In the authentic narrations, the Prophet ﷺ joined his index and middle fingers together and said: “I and the Hour have been sent like these two.” His blessed mission, which occurred more than 1,400 years ago, is itself among the minor signs of the Last Day.
From a human perspective, this feels like a long time. If we assume an average lifespan of 70 years, then more than twenty generations have passed since his mission ﷺ until our present year (2025). But in the Divine scale, time is different: “A day with your Lord is like a thousand years of what you count” or even fifty thousand, as mentioned in the Qur’an.
Between Tradition and Popular Myth
Over centuries, people’s outlook on the future has been shaped by a mixture of authentic texts, fabricated reports, folklore, wishful thinking, and popular imagination — often wrapped in hope. Out of this blend, many constructed their vision of the “awaited tomorrow.”
Have you noticed the rising wave of voices — on social media, in mosques, in family gatherings — connecting today’s tragedies, especially the massacres and starvation in Gaza over the last two years, with the major signs of the Last Hour?
Do you hear people bringing narrations — some authentic, others weak, and others fabricated — and applying them directly to the present? This tendency is growing in our “trending” age, where human nature inclines to chase the unknown and explore what lies ahead.
Hope Amid Hardship
“Life would be unbearable without the space of hope.”
During the first Intifada, under the weight of occupation, political shifts, and talk of so-called “peace” with Israel, a book appeared in Palestine: “Al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl: A Political Reading in the Origins of the Major Religions” by the Egyptian writer Sa‘īd Ayyūb (1989). It spread widely, filling people with excitement, while others preferred to listen to its ideas secondhand.
Later, as global politics changed — the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, George Bush Sr.’s announcement of a “New World Order,” and the humiliating ascendancy of Israel with American support — people returned to this book seeking light in the darkness.
Although built on questionable sources, folklore, and speculations, its style of weaving events with prophecy captured hearts. Readers longed for freedom from occupation, an end to American hegemony, justice instead of tyranny, and prosperity instead of poverty. Inevitably, some began projecting contemporary figures onto ancient characters: Saddam Hussein as “the Assyrian,” others as the “Sufyani,” and of course the awaited Dajjal, whose eventual appearance is established in authentic hadiths.
The problem was not belief in the Dajjal himself — which is certain — but in tying his emergence to specific years, contexts, or sudden appearances, inflated by endless repetition.
Thus, books of mixed value, myths, and wishful thinking created a worldview both hopeful and misleading. Hope gave people strength, but illusions carried the risk of despair.
The “End of Israel 2022” Prediction
Among the most well-known speculations was that of Shaykh Bassam Jarrar, who in 1992 suggested — based on numerical calculations (ḥisāb al-jumal) — that Israel would collapse in 2022. His idea, reinforced by some Israeli statements at the time, gained widespread attention and was even revisited here on Sunna Files in 2022.
For decades, this prediction kept the spirit of hope alive. Many Muslims, even those who rejected numerology, still clung to the possibility. We would ask each other: “How old will we be in 2022? How will the world look then?”
But the years passed. 2022 came and went. Israel did not vanish. On the contrary, it escalated its oppression and waged unprecedented barbarity against Gaza. Some admirers of the Shaykh insisted the process of Israel’s decline had “begun” in 2022. Yet the reality before everyone’s eyes remains: Al-Aqsa is still under threat, Palestine is still occupied, and the people of Gaza are still suffering under the most savage aggression.
Nevertheless, without such doses of hope, entire generations might not have endured the struggle. Those who placed the cause of Palestine above their personal lives survived these decades only by clinging to faith, patience, and the possibility of Divine justice.
Separating Myth from Certainty
To protect future generations from disillusionment, we must distinguish between speculative theories and established certainty. Predictions tied to specific years may inspire temporarily, but they risk weakening faith when unmet.
What is certain — without doubt or date — is that Allah ﷻ will remove this trial. Al-Aqsa and Palestine will return to the Muslims. Surah Al-Isrā’ and authentic hadiths assure us of this destiny. But assigning exact timelines, even with the phrase “And Allah knows best,” must stop, for it can shake faith and misguide hearts.
So we pray:
O Allah, grant us certainty, patience, and victory.
