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: "Affairs will only increase in hardship, the religion will only increase in turning away (receding), the people will only increase in miserliness and greed, the Hour will be established only upon the worst of people, and there is no (perfect) Mahdi except Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him)." This hadith is counted among the solitary narrations of Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), but that is not so, because others besides him have also narrated it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Affairs will only increase in hardship, the people will only increase in miserliness, the Hour will be established only upon the worst of people, and there is no (perfect) Mahdi except Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him)." Samit bin Mu'adh says: I travelled a distance of two days from San'a and reached al-Janad. I went to one of their hadith scholars and asked for this hadith, and I found it with him through the chain of Muhammad bin Khalid al-Jandi, from Aban bin Abi Ayyash, from al-Hasan, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in the same way.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Time will only increase in hardship, the people will only increase in miserliness, and the Hour will be established only upon the worst of people." I have mentioned the hidden defect ('illah) of this hadith that reached me by way of wonder, not as a supplement to the two Shaykhs based on it, because more worthy of mention at this place than this hadith is the hadith of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The days and nights will not come to an end until a man from my household becomes ruler; his name will match my name and his father's name will match my father's name. He will fill the earth with justice and equity just as it had been filled with oppression and tyranny."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "A time will come upon the people when they will gather (in large numbers) in the mosques, yet not a single one of them will be a believer." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on a journey. When we returned, some people hurried ahead and entered Madinah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked about them and was told that they had hurried to Madinah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon they will leave it when it is in its best condition. If only I knew when that fire will come out from the mountain of al-Warraq by whose light the necks of the Bactrian camels kneeling in Busra will shine as if in the light of day." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Rafi' bin Bishr al-Sulami narrates from his father that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A fire will come out from Hibs Sayal which will move at a very slow pace. It will halt by night and move by day; it will travel morning and evening. It will be called out: 'O people! The fire has set out in the morning, so you too set out; the fire has stopped for its midday rest, so you too take your midday rest; the fire has set out in the evening, so you too set out in the evening.' Whoever it overtakes, it will devour."

Sayyiduna Abu al-Baddah bin Asim al-Ansari narrates from his father that he said: Shortly after his arrival (in Madinah), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked us: "Where is Hibs Sayal?" We said: We do not know. Then a man from the tribe of Banu Sulaym passed by me, and I asked: "Where have you come from?" He said: From Hibs Sayal. I immediately called for my sandals and hurried down to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! You asked us about Hibs Sayal and we did not know about it; now this man has passed by me and he says that his family lives there. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: "Where is your family?" He said: In Hibs Sayal. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Move your family away from there, for soon a fire will come out from there which will light up the necks of the camels in Busra." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) 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: "The Hour will not be established until a fire comes out from the land of the Hijaz which will light up the necks of the camels in Busra."

It is narrated from Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: It was said to Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him): "Will you not fight? You are one of the members of the Shura, and you are more entitled to this matter (the caliphate) than others." He said: "I will not fight until you bring me a sword that has two eyes, a tongue and two lips, which can distinguish the disbeliever from the believer. I have fought in jihad and I know what jihad is, and I will not destroy myself if someone else is better than me." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

Sahl bin Mu'adh bin Anas narrates from his father, Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This Ummah will remain upon the (correct) Shari'ah as long as three things do not appear among them: as long as knowledge is not taken away from among them, as long as the children of fornication (illegitimate children) do not become numerous among them, and as long as the Saqqarun do not appear among them." The Companions said: O Messenger of Allah! Who are these Saqqarun? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They will be people who will come at the end of time, whose greeting (salam) to one another when they meet will be cursing one another (that is, instead of greeting they will curse)." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but neither of them recorded it in their books.