“That is the sound of a rock which has been rolling down hill for seventy years and has at this moment come to rest in the very pit of Hell.”7 Five minutes after he made this strange announcement, someone came and said: “Such-and-such a dissembler has died. He was seventy years old, and has gone to Hell,” showing the meaning of the Prophet’s eloquent words.

NOTE: Minor future events not included among the truths of belief were considered unimportant by the Prophet (PBUH).

The Third Point consists of two ‘Points’:

The First: Because in the course of time ordinary people attached literal meanings to some Hadiths which had been narrated in the form of comparisons and allegories, such Hadiths are apparently not conformable with reality. Although they are pure truth, they appear not to be so. For example, two angels called Thawr and Hut,8 who are among the bearers of the earth and as though the bearers of the Throne, were conceived of as a huge ox and a gigantic fish.

The Second: Some Hadiths refer to the majority of Muslims, or to the Islamic State, or to the centre of the Caliphate, but they were understood to refer to all the people in the world. Although being particular in some respect, they were supposed to be universal and general. For instance, it says in a narration: “A time will come when no one remains who says: Allah! Allah!”9 That is, “The places where God’s name is mentioned will be closed, and the call to prayer and iqama will be recited in Turkish.”

Fourth Point: Just as for numerous reasons and instances of wisdom hidden matters of ‘the Unseen’ like death and the appointed hour remain secret, so the end of the world, which is its death and the appointed hour of mankind and that of the animal kingdom, has been left secret for many good reasons.