Page 143 - The Signs of Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) Second Coming

Signs of Jesus’ (pbuh)
Second Coming

14. The Emergence of Widespread Slaughter

The Mahdi will only appear at a time
when people are experiencing great

fear and are afflicted by distur-
bances, civil war, and other disas-
ters. (Narrated by Abu Ja`'far

Muhammad ibn `Ali)

Most painful situations and grievous sights will be seen. Strife
will go on and on… It will kill mothers, fathers, daughters,
men, and everyone… Among these will be strife, violence, de-
struction, and looting. People will ask when it will end, but it
will still go on. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-
Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 36)
Most hadiths about the Mahdi's advent focus on the prophecy
that turmoil, insecurity, and disorder will rule the world before his
coming. Massacre, war, and conflict are some of the major features of
such a period. In addition, the hadith draws attention to the fact that
massacres will occur all over the world.
During the two world wars of the twentieth century, an esti-
mated 65 million people were killed. The number of civilians slaugh-
tered for political reasons during the same century is estimated to be
well over 180 million. This is an extraordinarily high figure when

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