It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Mahdi will be in my Ummah. If his term is short, it will be seven years, otherwise nine years. In that era my Ummah will enjoy such prosperity and blessings as it never enjoyed before. The earth will yield all its produce and will withhold nothing from them. In that time wealth will be (lying) in heaps. A man will stand up and say: O Mahdi! Give to me. And he will say: Take." [End of the Book of Tribulations] Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: To the best of my knowledge, I have narrated, in accordance with the conditions of this book and with suitable chains, all the narrations concerning the tribulations of the end of time that were reported from the blessed tongue of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the two Shaykhs, they mentioned the terrors of the Resurrection and the Gathering incidentally within the chapter on tribulations, whereas in this matter I have followed the method chosen by Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Khuzaymah (may Allah be pleased with him) of presenting these terrors separately and independently from the worldly tribulations. It is Allah alone who grants success in what I have chosen; He is sufficient for me, and He is the best Disposer of affairs. [The Book of Terrors, that is, the account of the terrors of the Day of Resurrection] Allah Almighty has said: "And the Day the Trumpet will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will be terrified, except whom Allah wills, and all will come to Him humbled. And you see the mountains, thinking them rigid" [Surah al-Naml: 87 - 88] . And Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: "And the Trumpet will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall dead, except whom Allah wills. Then it will be blown again, and at once they will be standing, looking on" [Surah al-Zumar: 68] .

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: "Ever since the angel of the Trumpet was appointed to it, he has been fully ready, and out of fear that he may be commanded before he can blink, his gaze is fixed constantly upon the Throne, as though his two eyes were two shining, brilliant stars." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), concerning the saying of Allah Almighty: "Then when the Trumpet is blown" [Surah al-Mu'minun: 101] , that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How can I live at ease when the angel of the Trumpet has taken the Trumpet into his mouth, bowed his forehead and inclined his ear (waiting for when the command will come)!" The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Messenger of Allah! What should we say? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Say: 'Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal-wakil, 'ala Allahi tawakkalna' (Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best Disposer of affairs; in Allah we have put our trust)." The basis of this hadith rests on Atiyyah bin Sa'd al-Awfi (may Allah have mercy on him), and he holds a high rank among his contemporaries of the Tabi'in, but the two Shaykhs did not narrate from him in their two Sahihs.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How can I be at ease and content when the angel of the Trumpet has taken (the Trumpet) into his mouth, inclined his ears (towards the divine command) and bowed his forehead, waiting for when he will be commanded to blow the Trumpet!" The Muslims said: O Messenger of Allah! What should we say? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Say: 'Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal-wakil, 'ala Allahi tawakkalna' (Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best Disposer of affairs; in Allah we have put our trust)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How can I live at ease when the one of the Trumpet has taken the Trumpet into his mouth, bowed his forehead and inclined his ear, waiting for when he will be commanded so that he blows the Trumpet!" We said: O Messenger of Allah! What should we say? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Say: 'Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal-wakil, tawakkalna 'ala Allah' (Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best Disposer of affairs; in Allah we have put our trust)." We have not written this hadith through al-A'mash from Abu Salih from Abu Sa'id by any route other than this chain, and were it not for Abu Yahya al-Taymi being in its chain, I would have judged this hadith to be sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no morning but two angels call out in it. One of them says: O Allah, give the one who spends a replacement. And the other says: O Allah, bring ruin upon the wealth of the one who withholds. And two angels are appointed over the Trumpet, waiting for when they will be commanded so that they blow the Trumpet. And two angels call out saying: Woe to men because of women, and woe to women because of men." Kharijah bin Mus'ab is alone in narrating this hadith from Zayd bin Aslam.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a Bedouin came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him about the "Trumpet" (al-Sur). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is a horn (-like instrument) that will be blown into." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Aws bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, among the best of your days is Friday. On it Adam (peace be upon him) was created, on it his soul was taken, on it the Trumpet will be blown, and on it everyone will fall senseless (from the terror of the Trumpet). So send abundant blessings (salawat) upon me on that day, for your blessings are presented to me." The Companions said: How will our blessings be presented to you (after your death) when your blessed body will have mingled with the earth and decayed? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the Prophets." 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 Razin al-Uqayli (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: O Messenger of Allah! Will all of us see our Lord (on the Day of Resurrection)? And what is the sign of that among His creation? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Does not each one of you look at the moon while it is on its own?" They said: Certainly (we do). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then Allah is far greater in majesty than that." He (again) said: O Messenger of Allah! How will Allah Almighty bring the dead to life, and what is the sign of that among His creation? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Have you ever passed by a valley of your tribe that was dry and barren?" He said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then did you pass by it again when it was swaying (after rain) and green?" He said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In the same way Allah Almighty will bring the dead to life, and this is the sign (of resurrection) among His creation." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Laqit bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a delegation, and with him was Nahik bin Asim bin Malik bin al-Muntafiq. He said: We reached Madinah at the end of Rajab and prayed the Fajr prayer with him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up among the people to deliver a sermon and said: "O people! I have held back my voice for four days so that I could make you hear (today). Is there any man whose people sent him saying: Find out for us what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says? Then perhaps the thoughts of his own heart, or the talk of his companion, distract him, or misguidance distracts him? Listen! I will be asked (on the Day of Resurrection) whether I conveyed the message. Listen, and listen attentively so that you may live (on); listen, and listen so that you may live; listen, and sit down." So the people sat down, and my companion and I remained standing. Until, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us his full attention and gaze, I said: O Messenger of Allah! I am asking you about a need (question) of mine, so do not be hasty with me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Ask whatever you wish." I said: O Messenger of Allah! Do you have any knowledge of the unseen? By Allah! He (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed and shook his head, and he knew that I was searching for some slip of his. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Your Lord has kept to Himself the keys of five matters of the unseen, which no one knows except Allah." And he gestured with his hand. I said: O Messenger of Allah! What are they? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Knowledge of death: He knows when the death of any one of you will come, while you do not know. And knowledge of the day of rainfall: He looks upon you while you are drought-stricken and despairing, and He keeps laughing, for He knows that the time for your state to change is near." Laqit said: I said: O Messenger of Allah! We will never be deprived of good from a Lord who laughs. (He said:) "And knowledge of what will happen tomorrow: He knows what you will eat tomorrow, while you do not know. And knowledge of the Day of the Hour." The narrator said: And I think he also mentioned what is in the wombs. He said: Then we said: O Messenger of Allah! Teach us what people know and what we (do not) know, for we belong to a tribe such that none of those near us, the tribe of Madhhij, our neighbouring tribe Khath'am, and our own clan to which we belong, will affirm you as we do. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will remain for as long as you remain (that is, you will live), then your Prophet will pass away, then you will remain for as long as you remain, then a Blast (the Trumpet) will be sent. By your God! It will not leave anything on the surface of the earth without it dying, and the angels who are with your Lord will also die. So the earth will become empty. Then your Lord will send rain from the sky from beneath the Throne, and by your God! No place where a slain man fell and no grave of a dead person will remain on the surface of the earth without the grave being split open from above him, until He creates him (anew) from the side of his head, and he will sit up straight. Your Lord will say: What is your state? He will say: O my Lord! (It seems I died) yesterday. Because of his nearness to life, he will think it a fresh matter (of separation) from his family." I said: O Messenger of Allah! When the winds, decay and wild beasts have torn us apart and scattered us, how will He gather us?! He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I will tell you of an example of this from the signs of Allah. You come upon a land that is (barren) like decayed clods, and you say: This will never come to life (be cultivated). Then your Lord sends rain upon it from the sky, and only a few days pass before you look at it and it is watered and green. By your God! He is more capable of gathering you by (this life-giving) water than He is of growing the vegetation of the earth. So you will come out of your resting-places and graves, you will look at Him (your Lord) for a moment, and He will look at you." The narrator said: I said: O Messenger of Allah! How is this possible when He is One, and we are as many as would fill the whole earth (countless), that we will look at Him and He will look at us?! He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I will give you an example from the signs of Allah. The sun and the moon are a small sign of His. You see them both at one time and they see you, and you have no difficulty in seeing them. By your God! He is more capable of seeing you and of your seeing Him than they are of seeing you and of your seeing them." I said: O Messenger of Allah! Then what will our Lord do with us when we meet Him? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will be presented before Him with your faces exposed before Him, and nothing hidden of yours will remain concealed from Him. Then your Lord will take a handful of water in His Hand and sprinkle it towards you, and by your God! That water will not miss the face of a single one of you. As for the believer, it will make his face bright like a white sheet; and as for the disbeliever, it will mark his face with something like black charcoal. Then your Prophet will turn back and the righteous will follow behind him (or he said: the righteous will turn back behind him)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then they will walk over a bridge of fire. One of you will step on a burning coal and say: Ouch (I am burnt)! And your Lord will say: Now is its time." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then they will arrive at the Pool of the Messenger like the thirstiest camels coming to water that, by Allah, I have ever seen. By your God! None of you will stretch out his hand (or he said: let down his hand) without a cup falling upon it which will purify him of excrement, urine and filth. And the sun and the moon will be done away with (or he said: the sun and the moon will be withheld), so you will not see either of them." I said: O Messenger of Allah! Then how will we see on that day? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Just as you are seeing at this moment, and that will be on a day when the earth will be illuminated and the mountains levelled." I said: O Messenger of Allah! What recompense will we receive for our evil deeds and our good deeds? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A good deed will be rewarded as ten like it, and an evil deed as one like it, or else it will be forgiven." I said: O Messenger of Allah! What are Paradise and Hell? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By your God! Paradise has [eight] gates, and between any two of them is a distance of seventy years' journey for a rider. And Hell has seven gates, and between any two of them is a distance of seventy years' journey for a rider." I said: O Messenger of Allah! What will be seen in Paradise? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Rivers of pure honey, rivers of milk whose taste does not change, rivers of wine that causes neither headache nor regret, and rivers of water that does not become foul. And by your God! Fruits that you know, and fruits better than them, and along with that, purified spouses." I said: O Messenger of Allah! Will there be righteous wives for us there? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Righteous women for righteous men. You will take pleasure in them like the pleasures of this world, and they will take pleasure in you, except that there will be no procreation (no children born)." I said: O Messenger of Allah! Is this the final destination that we are to reach? I (also) said: O Messenger of Allah! On what shall I pledge allegiance to you? He (peace and blessings be upon him) stretched out his hand and said: "On establishing the prayer, giving zakah, and avoiding shirk, that you will not associate anything with Allah (or he said: that you will not take any other god besides Allah)." I said: And will the land between the East and the West be (free) for us? He (peace and blessings be upon him) closed his fingers and then spread them out; he thought that perhaps I was stipulating a condition that he could not grant me. So I said: We may settle in it wherever we wish, and no person will be held responsible for (the crime of) anyone other than himself. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is yours; settle wherever you wish, and the burden (of your crime) will be upon you alone." So we pledged allegiance to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and then returned. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Listen! These two (he said it three times) are among the people who are most truthful in speech, because they are the most God-fearing of people in this world and the Hereafter." Then a man from the tribe of Banu Bakr bin Kilab, Ka'b bin so-and-so, said: O Messenger of Allah! Who are they? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They are Banu al-Muntafiq." Then I turned towards him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! Is there any good for those of us who passed away in the Jahiliyyah? A man from the edge of Quraysh said: "Your father al-Muntafiq is in the Fire." (On hearing this) I felt as though fire had broken out between the skin and the flesh of my face, because of what he had said about my father in front of all the people. I intended to say: "O Messenger of Allah! And your father?" Then I reflected, and the other statement seemed more fitting to me, so I said: "O Messenger of Allah! And your family?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And my family too (are in the Fire). By Allah! Whenever you pass by the grave of a polytheist of Quraysh or of Banu Amir, say to him: Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has sent me to you; receive the tidings of your evil end: you will be dragged into the Fire on your face and your belly." I said: O Messenger of Allah! Why should I do this to them, when they were upon a practice which they thought to be right, and they considered themselves righteous?! He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is because Allah Almighty sent a Prophet at the end of every seven nations; whoever obeyed his Prophet was rightly guided, and whoever disobeyed his Prophet went astray." This is a comprehensive hadith on this topic. Its chain is sahih (authentic), all its narrators are Madinans, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.