I t   m a y   t h e n  b e   a s k e d :  “What was the wisdom in the awesome and bloody dissension that was visited on blessed Islam and the luminous Age of Bliss, and what aspect of mercy was there in it, for they did not deserve such distress?

T h e   A n  s w e  r :  Just  as a heavy spring  rainstorm  stirs  into  action  the potentialities  of  all  the  varieties  of  plants,  seeds,  and  trees,  and  causes  them  to develop, so each blossoms in its particular way and performs the duties inherent in its nature; so too, the dissension visited on the Companions and their successors stirred their potentialities into action, which were all different and like seeds; it spurred them on. Exclaiming, “Islam is in danger! Fire! Fire!”, it put fear into all the groups and made them hasten to protect Islam. According to its abilities, each of the groups shouldered one of the numerous different duties of the Islamic community and strove in utmost earnestness. Some working for the preservation of the prophetic Hadiths, some for the preservation of the Shari‘a, some for the preservation of the truths of belief, some for the preservation of the Qur’an, and so on; each group undertook a particular duty. They strove to perform the duties of Islam. Numerous multicoloured flowers opened. Through the storm, seeds were cast to all the corners of the extensive world of Islam; half the earth was transformed into a rose-garden. But sadly, together with the roses, the thorns of the deviant sects appeared in the garden.

It was as if the Hand  of Power had shaken that era in wrath,  rotated  it with intense vigour, and electrified the men of zeal. Through the centrifugal force of that movement, a great many enlightened interpreters of the Law, luminous scholars of Hadith, holy memorizers of the Qur’an, gifted scholars, men of purity, and poles of sainthood were flung off and caused to emigrate to the remote corners of the world of Islam.  It  fired  with  enthusiasm  all  the  people  of  Islam  from  East  to  West  and awakened them to the treasures of the Qur’an. Now we return to our subject.

There  are thousands  of events  that  God’s  Noble  Messenger  (Upon  whom  be blessings  and  peace)  predicted  and  that  happened  as  he  foretold.  Here  we  shall mention a few of them. The majority of those we will cite are agreed upon by the six well-known, most authentic books of Hadith, particularly Bukhari and Muslim. There is a ‘consensus in meaning’ concerning the reports, while others, on account of being verified by meticulous researchers, may also be considered to have this certainty.