It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon a time will come upon people in which a man will be made to choose between helplessness and sinfulness. So whoever among you lives to see that time should prefer 'ajz (helplessness) over fujur (sinfulness)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "After me, tribulations like pieces of the dark night will cover my Ummah. In them a man will be a believer in the morning and a disbeliever in the evening, and a believer in the evening and become a disbeliever by the morning. People will sell their religion for a small amount of worldly goods." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it. Its supporting narration (shahid) is the hadith that makes the reality of this text clear.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Before the Hour there will be tribulations like pieces of the dark night. In them a man will be a believer in the morning and become a disbeliever by the evening, and will be a believer in the evening and become a disbeliever by the morning. People will sell their religion for (a small amount of) worldly goods."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: "O people! We used to know you when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was among us and revelation was coming down, and it used to inform us of your news. Now that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has departed and revelation has ended, we will know you only by what I am telling you. Beware! Whoever of you shows good (outwardly), we will think well of him and love him for it; and whoever shows an evil deed, we will think ill of him and hate him for it. Your hidden matters are between you and your Lord. Beware! There was a time when I thought that whoever recited the Qur'an recited it only for Allah and the reward that is with Him; but lately it has seemed to me that some people recite the Qur'an for the sake of what is with people (wealth and status). So seek only the pleasure of Allah through your recitation and your deeds. Beware! By Allah, I do not send my agents (governors) to flay your skins and seize your wealth; rather I send them to teach you your religion and your Sunnahs, to judge justly between you, and to distribute among you your fay' (the wealth of the public treasury). Beware! Whoever has anything done to him contrary to this, let him bring his case to me. By the One in whose Hand is the soul of Umar! I will surely take retaliation (qisas) from him." At this, Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) leapt up and said: O Commander of the Believers! Do you mean that if some Muslim (governor) is in charge of his subjects and punishes one of his subjects (by way of discipline), you would take retaliation from him too? He said: "Why would I not take retaliation from him, when I myself saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) giving retaliation against himself? Beware! Do not beat them (the subjects) and so humiliate them, nor withhold their rights and so drive them to kufr (that is, rebellion and despair), nor compel them (to anything) and so put them into tribulation, nor settle them in dense thickets (dangerous places) and so bring them to ruin." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Woe to the Arabs because of an evil that has drawn near. If you are able, embrace death (to escape the tribulations)." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it in their books.

It is narrated from Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) that when the tribulation broke out, not even forty men out of the ten thousand Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took (an active) part in it, while with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) there were two hundred and forty-some men from the people of Badr, among them Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub, Sahl bin Hunayf and Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with them).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Matters will only increase in severity, and wealth will only increase in abundance, and the Hour will be established only upon the worst of Allah's creation." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Ahead of you are tribulations like pieces of the dark night, in which a man will be a believer in the morning and a disbeliever in the evening, and a believer in the evening and become a disbeliever by the morning. In these tribulations the one sitting will be better than the one standing, the one standing will be better than the one walking, and the one walking will be better than the one running." The Companions said: What do you command us? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Be the ahlas of your houses (the mats spread in houses, that is, stay secluded at home)." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it. Likewise, Abu Bakrah al-Ansari and Sa'd bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with them both) have also narrated it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Beware! Soon there will be tribulations; then there will be a tribulation in which the one sitting will be better than the one standing, the one standing will be better than the one walking, and the one walking will be better than the one running towards it. So when those tribulations descend, whoever has camels should go off to his camels, whoever has goats should go off to his goats, and whoever has land should go off to his land." A man said: O Messenger of Allah! What if someone has neither camels, nor goats, nor land? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He should take a stone and strike the edge of his sword with it (so that it becomes blunt), then let him escape if he is able to escape." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said three times: "O Allah! Have I conveyed the message?" A man said: O Messenger of Allah! If I am forcibly taken (during the tribulation) to one of the ranks or groups, and someone shoots me with an arrow or strikes me with a sword and kills me, what will become of me? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said three times: "He (the killer) will return bearing his own sin and your sin, and he will be among the people of Hell."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon there will be a tribulation in which the one sitting will be better than the one standing, the one standing will be better than the one walking, the one walking will be better than the one running, the one running will be better than the one riding, and the one riding will be better than the one who spurs his mount on." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it. This has become a large chapter which the two Shaykhs did not record, whereas Imam Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (may Allah have mercy on him) recorded it in his "Sunan", which is sahih according to his condition, and Abu Dawud is one of the imams of this science.