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The Golden Age
by Harun Yahya
In hadiths transmitted from our Prophet (saas),
signs exist which indicate a period characterized by the domination of
Quran'ic morals. This period of domination is spoken of as "End Times." As
revealed by the hadiths, the era, also known as the "Golden Age," will
last for more than half a century and will be much the same as ‘Time of
Happiness’ of the principal attributes of this period can be mentioned
here: an abundance of crops and goods of every type; safety; trust and
justice; peace and happiness; and the utilization of all technological
developments for the comfort, ease, joy and peace of all mankind. There
will be no one in need; the needy will receive much more than they demand.
The hadiths concerning "the cessation of arms" in this era herald a world
filled with peace. In the "Golden Age," societies which formerly
experienced hostilities will establish strong ties of fraternity; peace
and amity will replace every dispute.
At this phase of "End Times," technological
development will reach a peak and people will benefit from all its favours
to the utmost. Remarkable progress will be made in the fields of medicine,
agriculture, communication, industrial technology, and transportation. The
world will continuously witness new inventions; every new invention will
be the initiator of another and, in this way, developments will proceed at
great speed.
Considerable improvements will also be
achieved in the field of art. Works of diverse charm will be presented in
music, theatre and painting. Attributes acquired through faith, such as a
broad intellectual perspective and deep thinking, will cause all forms of
art to flourish. According to a hadith, people will be so contented with
their lives that they will not recognise how time passes and will pray to
Allah to prolong their lives that they might receive more benefits from
these graces. In another saying of our Prophet (saas), the setting in "End
Times" is described as the following:
…The younger ones wish they were
grown-ups, while the adults wish they were younger…The good become even
more good and the wicked ones are treated good.
(Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman,
p. 17)
There will be unprecedented
abundance
The "Golden Age" will be a period of great
abundance and fertility. In this period, the needy person will be given
much more than he demands; depression, poverty and hunger will not exist
at all. The earth will be bountiful and, thanks to the newly developed
agriculture technologies, the amount of the crop produced will be more
than ever.
Those who believe and serve the way of
Allah, will get the reward of every good deed they engage in multiplied,
both in this world and in the hereafter. The abundance and wealth that is
apparent in every facet of life will be a grace granted by Allah to the
believers who obey the Qur'an. Every good act they perform will turn into
an enormous fortune for them. In one of His verses, Allah mentions the
fertility that Muslims will attain as a compensation for their spending
for His pleasure.
The parable of those who spend their
property in the way of Allah is as the parable of a grain growing
seven ears (with) a hundred grains in every ear; and Allah
multiplies for whom He pleases; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.
(Surat al-Baqara: 261)
It is communicated in many hadiths that, in
this period, there will be abundance in crops and goods such as never had
been seen before and that these goods would be distributed without limit
to everyone who came with a demand:
...and my Ummah will be blessed in him
with a blessing the like of which they will have never heard. The earth
will give its produce and nothing of it will be stored, and wealth on
that day will be in heaps…
(Sünen-i İbni Mace, 10-347/ Ramuz el
Ahadis, s. 508/ İbni Mace-Tabarani'nin Kebiri)
Prophet Muhammad (saas) said: "In the
last of times there will be such a khalifa who will distribute wealth
without even counting it."
(Müslim)
Then, the inhabitants of the heavens and
earth, all the wild animals, birds, even the fish in the oceans, will
cherish his caliphate. At his time, even the water of running rivers
will increase.
(El-Kavlu'l Muhtasar Fi Alamet-il
Mehdiyy-il Muntazar, p. 31)
Technological developments
will provide abundance in the Golden Age
Someone sowing a measure of wheat will
find seven hundred in return... ….A person will scatter a few handfuls
of seeds but reap 700 handfuls … Despite an abundance of rain, not a
drop will go waste.
(Signs of the Judgment Day, p. 164 / El-Kavlu'l
Muhtasar Fi Alamatil Mehdiyy-il Muntazar, p. 24)
This saying draws attention to the progress
towards modern agriculture in "End Times:" the development of new
production techniques; seed improvement; and the utilization of rainwater
by constructing new barrages and ponds.
In fact, remarkable improvements are being
experienced in technology nowadays and this has resulted in a significant
increase in the quality and amount of the crops. This enormous
agricultural revolution is the result of high-paced improvements achieved,
particularly in genetics, as well as in other types of technology.
Certainly, this fertility will gradually increase and reach its peak in
the "Golden Age." All these technological developments which are still in
experimental phases, and applied to very limited fields, will definitely
contribute to the attainment of abundance and fertility in "End Times."
Thanks to these developments, available opportunities will be taken
advantage of in the best way and extravagance and the workforce will be
reduced to a minimum. Furthermore, people will have the opportunity to
have durable and abundant products of high quality. In the "Golden Age,"
this technology will be used for the benefit of people throughout the
world and there will be justice in sharing favours between all people.
There will be no discrimination between countries, races and communities.
Equal distribution and just governance will dominate nations that are many
kilometres away from each other or totally different in culture. What will
provide such heavenly ambience in the world is the practice of the morals
of the Qur'an in its true sense. Just governance of the Muslims, who fear
Allah and turn to Him in every act they perform, will establish an
atmosphere of high trust, peace and prosperity.
Another technological development that
points to prosperity in the End Times is the greening of the deserts. If
one takes into account the fact that forty three percent of the land on
earth consists of deserts, it will be easier to understand how essential
this subject is to agricultural technology.
Nowadays, thanks to water supplied to these
infertile desert soils, more efficient production is within reach even in
the most arid areas. If such high technology is implemented for every
desert on earth, many countries which are at the threshold of famine will
acquire fields which can be cultivated in a highly productive way. In
order to enable agriculture in desert regions, the problem of a water
supply must be solved and soil suitable for farming must be provided.
Through the use of this technology, water flow can be directly conducted
to the roots of plants and the extravagant waste of even one drop of water
is prevented. The purification and use of all kinds of water supplies play
a significant role in desert agriculture. In this context, the rapid
utilization of flood and seawater constitutes a basis for agricultural
technology. The vast water supply to be obtained in this way will provide
considerable support to national economies. Our Prophet (saas) has also
drawn our attention to the highly effective utilization of water in his
hadiths:
...Both the good and the evil of the Ummah will be blessed with a blessing the like of which they will have
never heard. Despite the abundance of rain, not a drop will go waste,
the earth will become fruitful without a single seed.
(El-Kavlu'l Muhtasar Fi Alamatil
Mehdiyy-il Muntazar, p. 23)
The High Cost of Living and
Years of Poverty Will End
The "Golden Age" will be an era of great
wealth and prosperity. The needy will receive much more than they demand;
nothing will be counted and measured. The characteristic feature of the
former period is that these were years of a high cost of living, a
struggle to make a living and poverty. In this period, the poor became
poorer whereas the wealthy increased their riches manyfold. Such
characteristics of the End Times are emphasised in hadiths:
Poverty will increase.
(Death-Resurrection-The Hereafter and the
Signs of the End Times, p. 457)
Allah brings calamities such as hunger and
poverty as a warning to those who alienate themselves from religion.
However, if those people undergoing great difficulties and distress had
had faith in Allah, they would have arrived at ease after those problems.
Truly, Allah grants a life of enormous wealth, prosperity and felicity to
Muslims who have faith in Him, work for Him and serve eagerly on His way.
In contrast, those who do not believe are given a life of misery because
of their disbelief. At the times of ungratefulness, Allah takes away the
blessings that He formerly granted them and tests them with hunger and
fear. Allah describes the real cause underlying the "narrowed down" life
that He grants to disbelievers as below:
"But whosoever turns away from My
Message, verily for him is a life narrowed down…"
(Surah Ta-ha: 124)
The communities who did not take heed to
the words of the Messengers and took a firm stand on disbelief have always
encountered extremely grave troubles in return. However, as communicated
in the hadiths and informed in Qur'anic verses, Muslims are rewarded with
substantial blessings in response to their faith. Furthermore, our Prophet
(saas) has communicated that, during the last period of his community, in
"End Times," Muslims will live in great prosperity:
...A time will come when a person, with
his golden alms in his hand, will go around, finding no one (in need)
who is willing to receive the alms.
(Death-Resurrection-The Hereafter and the
Signs of the End Times, p. 462)
The Latest Technology will be
available for all people
The last quarter of the 20th
century has been scene to an unprecedented pace in the world history of
technological development. Technological instruments, unknown 100 years
ago, have become essential parts of our lives. Moreover, a look at the
technological developments of the last decade, when compared to those of
previous periods, can only be defined as "unimaginable". Recent
developments are signs of great significance in regard to the advancements
to be attained in the "Golden Age."
In the "Golden Age," this technological
progress will provide people with great comfort and ease. Innovations,
once considered as only imaginable, will play a part in every aspect of
life thanks to advancing technology. People will enjoy superior facilities
in houses, offices and schools together with comfortable, amusing and
pleasant environments. Home computers will enable people to perform more
efficiently. Shopping, heavy work, security, heating, ventilation,
electricity and emergency systems will be controlled through computers;
robots will replace the human work force in most tasks. Thanks to robots,
people will be capable of finishing their work by automatic operations.
Primary problems which scientists aim at finding remedies for by using
active microchips are house cleaning, the fixing of broken appliances and
the complete removal of home dust and mites. These projects will be
entirely realized in the "Golden Age;" time consuming tasks will be will
be accomplished by technological devices. Technology will reveal the art
and knowledge of the world and provide visits in three dimensional
environments by the use of cyber-television. Through this medium, people
will also be able to attend entertainments and engage in intellect
improving games. They will have the opportunity to gain experience without
practice, remedy their failings and generally improve themselves.
Developments and wide-range use of computer and internet technology will
bring about fundamental changes in the educational system.
There will be a great leap
forward in transportation technology in the "Golden Age"
People will be assured of
ease, safety and comfort, and time loss will be minimized, thanks to
developments in transportation technology.. With the newly built roads and
vehicles, all measures will be taken to reduce accident risk to a minimum.
The "underground" system will be the most preferred method of
transportation and, in this context, the slightest detail that is visually
offensive will be eliminated. In this way, not only will the problem of
heavy traffic be solved, but also a more delightful and aesthetic scene
will emerge. Solar or wind power, or electricity, as renewable fuels, will
replace the air-polluting fuels that are used in transportation at the
present time. Thus, the resultant discomforts will cease. Jets exceeding
the speed of sound, trains, and other highly advanced transportation
vehicles, will be furnished with every possible luxury that one might
need. In the "Golden Age," access to technological developments will no
longer be restricted to high income groups but instead will be at the
service of humanity. In this era, in which Islamic morals are practised,
favours and opportunities will be equally distributed and discrimination
will be totally eliminated.
The developments in the
communications sector will be in service communication and will be another
field of improvement in the "Golden Age"
In this era, extremely rapid
communication and information exchange among people from all around the
world will be possible. Everyone will have the chance to benefit from the
facilities provided by satellites and this will result in speedier
communication. Voice communication will be replaced by holographic phones
which project both the voice and the 3-dimensional images of the parties
involved.
Computer and Internet
Technology Will Bring Prosperity to Earth
Computers provide great comfort and ease in
many aspects of human life. They bring increased speed into daily and
professional life, medicine, communication and art. In the "Golden Age,"
computer technology will improve to further serve humanity. The Internet,
which is considered to be among the leading developments of the 20th
century, has defined a new epoch. The World Wide Web has enabled people
from all over the world to reach each other in seconds, in order to share
information, chat, talk, and, in brief, communicate in every way. Now it
only takes a few minutes to find information: to make a search in the
inventory of a library; to examine the reports of an international
organization; to learn about events in the world and technological
developments; and to access comments on any subject. Thus, information
that people have accumulated after years of research and investigation is
now accessible for the use of humanity. Thanks to the Internet, barriers
that once prevented the sharing of information among people have been
completely removed. All the developments in the world are now transmitted
to all nations. Internet technology, continuing to develop, will surely
reach a much more advanced stage in the future.
At this time, it is appropriate to draw
attention to a significant point. Examination of world history reveals
that no such developments have ever been achieved in any era of humanity.
Technological advancements, which progressed throughout the 20th century
in particular, can be defined as unique. It is beyond any doubt that,
given a cross-section of today's world, a person living merely 100 years
ago would be utterly confused. There is even no need to go back so far. As
recently as 15-20 years ago, internet technology would be considered as a
development to be barely attained in a highly distant future of 100 years.
The ongoing developments are indications that the approaching periods will
be of great significance. At this point, it is apparent that the "Golden
Age" will be a glorious period in which technology will be used to the
highest degree and when thousands of benefits will be introduced for the
service of humanity.
There will be a Heaven-like
Environment in the "Golden Age"
The longing of believers for Heaven leads
them to transform their surroundings into Heaven-like places. Certainly,
Heaven is a place which contains works of art far beyond the imagination
of anyone today, and perfect views that no one can attain in this world.
However, the Qur'anic viewpoint exhorts us to use every means to make this
world as much like Heaven as possible.
First of all, the believers will apply the
understanding of cleanliness communicated by the Qur'an to their
environment. All the dwellings, roads, places of worship, entertainment
sites and offices, in short, everywhere, will be extremely clean. Allah,
in one of His verses, commands the believers to "Purify your clothes.
Shun all filth" (Surat al-Muddaththir: 4-5) In the "Golden
Age," in accordance with this verse, the clothes of the believers will be
unprecedentedly clean. The cleansing materials necessary to fulfill this
condition will be provided to all people.. In addition to people's
clothing and dwellings, the utmost importance will be given to
environmental cleansing. Environmental pollution will be prevented in
population centres; every problem resulting in air pollution will be
solved. In addition, all comforts will be readily offered in places that
serve for collective use. For example, all the places of worship will be
supplied with continuously running hot and cold water; comfortable travel
while using mass transportation will be available to everyone. Systems
which will prevent people from hours of mistreatment in filthy,
ill-smelling and crowded conditions will be established. Moreover, with
the complete elimination of these places, people will no longer recall
those difficulties undergone in the past.
Consequently, in this era, people will
strive to form Heaven-like art, aesthetics and beauty. Allah describes the
setting in Heaven, in Surat al-Insan as follows:
"And will reward them for their
steadfastness with a Garden and with silk. Reclining in it on
couches, they will experience there neither burning sun nor bitter
cold. Its shading branches will droop down over them, its ripe fruit
hanging ready to be picked. Vessels of silver and goblets of pure
crystal will be passed round among them, crystalline silver, they
have measured them very exactly. They will be given there a cup to
drink mixed with the warmth of ginger. In it there is a flowing
spring called Salsabil. Ageless youths will circulate among them,
serving them, seeing them you would think them scattered pearls.
Seeing them, you see delight and a great kingdom."
(Surat al-Insan:
12-20)
Precisely, the "Golden Age" will be an era
in which Allah will present people with the most splendid beauties and
blessings possible in the world. In order to envisage the environment in
the "Golden Age," it is sufficient to pay heed to the verses describing
the setting in Heaven.
Living with the details of the
Qur’an is a feature of the "Golden Age"
In societies where the morals of Islam are
ignored, people are prone to every type of immorality. The reason why a
person of faith abstains from immorality is from having a fear of Allah
and knowing that Allah knows the secret; and furthermore, He knows what is
hidden and one is conscious that he will be judged of all his deeds on the
Day of Judgement. For this reason, he does not display any wicked deeds or
engage in any unlawful actions. If he does, family life, economic life,
politics and human relations will go through a very speedy degeneration.
Because, in a life lacking the fear of Allah, there are neither limits nor
rules. Limits are determined in accordance with the pleasures and
ambitions of the soul (nafs). Along with the deterioration discerned in
the family structure, as a natural consequence of this degeneration,
dislocations arise in the essential structure of the society.
In societies where the morals of the Qur'an
are ignored, no one is interested in each other's well-being, health,
comfort and security. Everyone is selfishly concerned only about his own
interests; the goal is to earn more money, derive more benefits, and to
have more property. Seeing people in hunger, he does not think of helping
them but carries on spending extravagantly. He is aware of the people
mistreated by his unjust earnings, but this does not stop him from such
practices. People show tolerance to each other only when it is to their
benefit.
Theft, bribary, suicide, abuse, and social
injustice disregard the morals of the Qur'an by their very essence.
However, one who grasps the morals of the Qur'an pays regard to justice
and wants to attain the good pleasure of Allah and the eternal abode of
the Hereafter by continuously engaging in good deeds.
Also, a person who has a fear of Allah does
not make the slightest concession from his justice, tolerance, patience
and good morals, despite what his conditions and environment might be.
Allah describes people practicing the morals of the Qur'an as follows:
Those who fulfill Allah's contract
and do not break their agreement; those who join what Allah has
commanded to be joined and are afraid of their Lord and fear an evil
Reckoning; those who are steadfast in seeking the face of their
Lord, and establish salat and give from the provision We have given
them, secretly and openly, and stave off evil with good, it is they
who will have the Ultimate Abode.
(Surat ar-Rad: 20-22)
In this blissful era that draws near,
people of superior morals who will maintain justice, practice the moral of
the Qur'an meticulously and proclaim it to people will live. One of the
most important causes of the attainment of a setting in which all the
people are provided with considerable peace, security and comfort in the
"Golden Age," will be the good morals of the Muslims.
The Earth will be filled with
Justice
As stated by the hadiths of our Prophet (saas),
before the "Golden Age," very serious corruption and injustice will
prevail in society. Theft, forgery and fraudulence will increase to the
utmost and those in need will not be protected; only a very small group
will lead a life of prosperity. In the era in which the morals of the
Qur'an dominate, the "Golden Age, "an atmosphere of justice, peace and
security in a real sense will be attained in every segment of society. As
an outcome of this environment full of justice, people will not commit any
forgery, wickedness or other forbidden acts. The environment full of
justice in "End Times" is mentioned in the hadiths as follows:
...Just as how the surface of the earth
has filled with violence and cruelty, he will make it replete with
righteousness and justice.
(Süneni-i Ebu Davut, 5/93)
He will distribute wealth evenly among
people. His justice will permeate everywhere. The earth, replete with
violence and wickedness, will overflow with justice with his arrival…
During the time of Mahdi, the justice will prevail to such an extent
that every possession taken by force will be returned to his owner;
furthermore, some other person's thing, even it rests within one's
teeth, is given back to its owner…Security will permeate all over the
earth and even, a few ladies will be able to fulfil their hajj, without
the company of man.
(El-Kavlu'l Muhtasar Fi alamatil
Mehdiyy-il Muntazar, p. 23)
He (the Mahdi) will seize the earth and
make it, which was formerly filled with violence and oppression, fill
with justice. if you find that time, take bait from him even if you have
to crawl on snow to reach him, surely he would be Mahdi.
(Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman,
p. 14)
...In his time, the good will be more
good, even the wicked are treated good.
(Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman,
p. 17)
Harun Yahya
is a prominent Turkish intellectual.
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