In Muslim’s Kitab al-Fitan wa Ashrat as-Sa‘ah (The Book of Tribulations and the Signs of the Hour), in the chapter titled Bab fi al-Ayat allati takunu qabla as-Sa‘ah (Chapter: The Signs That Precede the Hour), these two narratives detail ten signs of the imminence of the Day of Judgment:
عن حذيفة بن اسيد الغفاري، قال: اطلع النبي صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم علينا ونحن نتذاكر، فقال: ما تذاكرون؟ قالوا: نذكر الساعة، قال: إنها لن تقوم حتى ترون قبلها عشر آيات، فذكر الدخان، والدجال، والدابة، وطلوع الشمس من مغربها، ونزول عيسى ابن مريم صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم، وياجوج وماجوج، وثلاثة خسوف خسف بالمشرق، وخسف بالمغرب، وخسف بجزيرة العرب، وآخر ذلك نار تخرج من اليمن تطرد الناس إلى محشرهم.
Hudhayfah ibn Asid al-Ghifari narrates: We were conversing when the Prophet (PBUH) appeared before us. He asked, ‘What are you discussing?’ They replied, ‘We are speaking of the Hour.’ He said, ‘Indeed, it will not come until you see before it ten signs,’ and he mentioned the smoke, the Dajjal, the Beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus son of Mary (PBUH), Gog and Magog, three landslides: one in the east, one in the west, and one in the Arabian Peninsula, and last of them a fire that will emerge from Yemen that will drive people to their place of assembly.[66] (Muslim No. 7285)
عن ابي سريحة حذيفة بن اسيد، قال: كان النبي صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم في غرفة، ونحن اسفل منه، فاطلع إلينا، فقال: ما تذكرون؟ قلنا: الساعة، قال: إن الساعة لا تكون حتى تكون عشر آيات خسف بالمشرق، وخسف بالمغرب، وخسف في جزيرة العرب، والدخان، والدجال، ودابة الارض، وياجوج وماجوج، وطلوع الشمس من مغربها، ونار تخرج من قعرة عدن ترحل الناس.
قال شعبة: وحدثني عبدالعزيز بن رفيع، عن ابي الطفيل، عن ابي سريحة، مثل ذلك. لا يذكر النبي صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم. وقال احدهما في العاشرة نزول عيسى ابن مريم صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم، وقال الآخر: وريح تلقي الناس في البحر.
Abu Sarihah Hudhayfah bin Asid (RA) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was in an upper room while we were sitting below. He came to us and asked, ‘What are you discussing?’ We replied, ‘We are discussing the Day of Judgment.’ The Prophet (PBUH) said, ‘The Day of Judgment will not come until ten signs appear: the land sinking in the east, the land sinking in the west, the land sinking in the Arabian Peninsula, smoke, the Dajjal, the beast of the earth, Gog and Magog, the sun rising from the west, a fire emerging from the edge of Aden that will drive people forward.’
Shu'bah says that Abdul Aziz bin Rafi‘ narrated to me from Abu Tufail, who received a similar narration from Abu Sarihah (RA). They did not mention the Prophet (PBUH) (meaning they narrated a Mawquf hadith), and one of my narrators (Furat and Abdul Aziz) mentioned the descent of Jesus, son of Mary (PBUH) as the tenth sign. The other narrator stated that the tenth sign would be a wind that will carry people off and throw them into the sea. (Muslim No. 7286)
This is a single hadith that has reached Imam Muslim through two chains:
1. Imam Muslim - Sufyan bin Uyainah - Furat al-Qazaz (tabi‘ al-tabi‘īn) - Abu Tufail (tabi‘ī) - Hudhayfah ibn Asid (Companion) - the Messenger of Allah (PBUH).
2. Imam Muslim - Ubaidullah bin Ma’d - Ma’d al-Anbari - Sha’bah - Furat al-Qazaz - Abu Tufail - Hudhayfah ibn Asid (Companion) - the Messenger of Allah (PBUH).
If we consider both chains, it becomes apparent that these are different versions of the same narrative. The evidence is that they recount the same subject of ten signs of the Day of Judgment, the same Companion Hudhayfah ibn Asid narrates, and the same Successor Abu Tufail transmits. Thereafter, different individuals report the narration further down the chain, meaning that it remains the same up to Abu Tufail, but diverse narrators have transmitted it beyond him. Furat and Sha’bah have relayed it further from Abu Tufail. Consequently, as Imam Muslim received this single hadith, it emerged through these two chains.
According to the report reaching through Sufyan bin Uyainah from Furat al-Qazaz, these ten signs of the Day of Judgment are recounted as follows:
1. The Smoke
2. The Dajjal’s appearance
3. The Beast of the Earth
4. The sun rising from the west
5. The Second Coming of Jesus
6. Gog and Magog
7. The earth sinking in the east
8. The earth sinking in the west
9. The earth sinking in the Arabian Peninsula
10. A fire that will emerge from Yemen driving people forward
In the report reaching through Sha‘bah from Furat al-Qazaz, nine signs are mentioned:
1. The Smoke
2. The Dajjal’s appearance
3. The Beast of the Earth
4. The sun rising from the west
5. Gog and Magog
6. The earth sinking in the east
7. The earth sinking in the west
8. The earth sinking in the Arabian Peninsula
9. A fire that will emerge from Yemen driving people forward
In the report reaching through Sha‘bah from Furat al-Qazaz, nine signs are mentioned and the Second Coming of Jesus is not included among them. Sha‘bah’s report concludes with the mention of these nine signs. However, given that the narration begins with the mention of ten signs, all ten should be accounted for. To address this, Sha‘bah quotes two different narrators conveying two distinct tenth signs:
The analysis of the hadith presents two issues:
First, if an event has ten signs and one of them is extraordinarily prominent, how is it possible for a narrator to mention the other nine and omit that one? Normally, it is the less significant details that tend to be forgotten or overlooked. It seems implausible that all other matters would be reported, yet the most critical sign would be disregarded. Moreover, when seeking to determine the tenth sign by consulting two other narrators, if one of them suggests a different sign rather than the vitally important one, it raises concerns. This exact issue arises in the narration where only nine signs are mentioned in the original report, and the notably significant sign of the Second Coming of Jesus is absent. When inquiring about the tenth sign, another narrator offers that a wind will appear, which will lift people and throw them into the sea.
This same narration from Sufyan ibn Uyainah has also been reported by Imam Tirmidhi. It does not mention the descent of Jesus. That is, the narration from Sufyan bin Uyainah that reached Imam Muslim mentions the sign of the descent of Jesus, but the narration reported by Tirmidhi from the same Sufyan ibn Uyainah does not mention the Second Coming of Jesus. The narrative reads:
عن حذيفة بن اسيد، قال: اشرف علينا رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم من غرفة، ونحن نتذاكر الساعة فقال النبي صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم: لا تقوم الساعة حتى تروا عشر آيات: طلوع الشمس من مغربها، وياجوج وماجوج، والدابة، وثلاثة خسوف: خسف بالمشرق، وخسف بالمغرب، وخسف بجزيرة العرب، ونار تخرج من قعر عدن تسوق الناس او تحشر الناس، فتبيت معهم حيث باتوا، وتقيل معهم حيث قالوا.
Hudhayfah bin Asid (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, turned towards us from his room. At that time, we were discussing the Day of Judgment. He said: The Day of Judgement will not be established until you witness ten signs. The sun rising from the west, Gog and Magog, the beast of the Earth, and the Earth sinking three times—once in the east, once in the west, and once in the Arabian Peninsula—a fire that will emerge from within Aden which will herd people together, lodging where they lodge and resting where they take their midday nap. (Hadith No. 2183)