Page 136 - Signs of the End Times in Surat Al-Kahf

SIGNS OF THE END TIMES IN SURAT AL-KAHF

As for those who do not believe, I will punish them with a harsh
punishment in this world and the Hereafter. They will have no
helpers. (Surah Al `Imran, 56)
This verse reveals that every transgressing nation will be punished in
both worlds. Surat al-Kahf calls this time a "promised time." When the
appointed time comes, all of the wrongdoers’ strength and numbers
will be destroyed and wiped out of existence, because this is Allah’s law.
In addition, the Qur’an says that if a nation is to be destroyed, there
will be an appointment between that nation’s Messenger and the angels
charged with carrying out this destruction. At this meeting, the angels
and the Messenger will clarify the time of the catastrophe destined for
that nation. The angels’ visit to Prophet Lut (as) is an example of this.
Lut (as) invited his people to belief over a long period of time and ad-
vised them to reform and abandon their prohibited lifestyles. But his na-
tion had made the denial of Allah’s verses and immorality a way of life,
and so continued to reject his calls and persist in their denial. Thus, they
deserved the decree of punishment, and the angels informed Lut (as) of
his people’s imminent destruction. Their visit is related in the following
verses:
When Our Messengers came to Lut, he was distressed on their
account, feeling incapable of protecting them. They said: "Do
not fear and do not grieve. We are going to rescue you and your
family—except for your wife; she will be one of those who stay
behind. We will bring down on the inhabitants of this city a
devastating punishment from Heaven because of their de-

viance." (Surat al-`Ankabut, 33-34)
When the Messengers came to the family of Lut, he [Lut] said:
"You are people we do not know." They said: "We have come to
you with that about which they had doubts. We have brought
you the truth, and we are certainly truthful men. Travel with
your family in the dead of night, following behind with them in

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