Naked People…Making Buildings?!?!? (pictures below)

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We see them all the time, practically every single day. I even saw some walking to class this morning. Most people stop, look for a little, and are shocked at what they see. The scary thing is that most people wish it was a lot more common and could see even more. A lot of Muslims would say that this is more common in ultra liberal societies in the “West”, but I would argue that it is just as prevalent in the “Muslim world”.

You know exactly what I’m talking about….tall and fancy buildings, I mean really tall and fancy buildings being constructed all over the place. Normally when people see these structures they are really impressed, as am I when I initially see them. However, I get a sense of fear any time I see something like that. It reminds me that the Day of Judgment is very near and that we are unmindful of the reality we are living in. Recently I got an email from my cousin in which it had several pictures and descriptions of the AMAZING continuous growth in Dubai in a matter of a few years. The growing influence and global power that Dubai has been gaining is astonishing. It’s becoming a leader in the corporate world, medical research, and obviously tourism. I would have to say I am thoroughly impressed and definitely want to visit, and maybe even live in Dubai. At the same time, Allahualum, when I saw them I honestly thought that what we are currently seeing in Dubai was specifically foretold by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a sign of the Day of Judgement.

It’s important to note that I feel that progress is important and that I am not against building out of necessity or even comfort. Although it is a sign of the Day of Judgment, it isn’t a prohibition.

Hadith of Jibril:

Also from ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, there is that he said, “While we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless with him and grant him peace, one day a man came up to us whose clothes were extremely white, whose hair was extremely black, upon whom traces of traveling could not be seen, and whom none of us knew, until he sat down close to the Prophet, may Allah bless with him and grant him peace, so that he rested his knees upon his knees and placed his two hands upon his thighs and said, ‘Muhammad, tell me about Islam.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless with him and grant him peace, said, ‘Islam is that you witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and you establish the prayer, and you give the Zakat, and you fast Ramadan, and you perform the hajj of the House if you are able to take a way to it.’ He said, ‘You have told the truth,’ and we were amazed at him asking him and [then] telling him that he told the truth. He said, ‘Tell me about iman.’ He said, ‘That you affirm Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and that you affirm the Decree, the good of it and the bad of it.’ He said, ‘You have told the truth.’ He said, ‘Tell me about ihsan.’ He said, ‘That you worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you don’t see Him then truly He sees you.’ He said, ‘Tell me about the Hour.’ He said, ‘The one asked about it knows no more than the one asking.’ He said, ‘Then tell me about its tokens.’ He said, ‘That the female slave should give birth to her mistress, and you see poor, naked, barefoot shepherds of sheep and goats competing in making tall buildings.’ He went away, and I remained some time. Then he asked, ‘Umar, do you know who the questioner was?’ I said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said, ‘He was Jibril who came to you to teach you your deen’.” [Muslim]

***“poor, naked, barefoot shepherds” refers to Arabs, and in other narrations is mentioned that these “shepherds” will become the leaders of men***

More explanation of this sign of the Day of Judgement:

-’Abdullah ibn ‘Ata narrated this hadith from ‘Abdullah ibn Buraydah and he said in it, “And that you see deaf, dumb, blind, barefoot shepherds of sheep competing with each other in building as if the kings of people.” He said, “So the man [Jibril] stood up and left, and we asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, who are these you describe?” He answered, “They are the Arabs.”

-In the hadith of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, there is mention of three signs, of which there is that naked barefoot people will be the top people, and of which there is that the shepherds of sheep will compete in building.

-In “that you see poor, naked, barefoot…” what is meant by the poor (‘aalah) is needy people as in His words, exalted is He, “Did He not find you impoverished (‘aa’ilan) and enrich you?.” (Surat ad-Duha: 8).

-His words, “…shepherds of sheep and goats competing in raising tall buildings” are thus narrated in the hadith of ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. What is meant is that the least of the people will become their leaders with a great deal of wealth, to such an extent that they will boastfully compete in a great deal of building, and in decorating and bringing it to perfection.

Click on the pictures below to see the massive competition and wealth that is going on in Dubai. What?!? You really thought there were pictures of naked people here?!? AstagfurAllah, get you mind out of the gutter

Dubai in 1990 prior to the craziness

The same street in 2003

Last Year

The madness. Dubai is said to have 15%-25% of the world’s cranes

The Dubai Waterfront. When completed it will become the largest waterfront development in the world.

All of this was built in the last 5 years, including that island that looks like a palm tree.

The Palm Islands in Dubai . New Dutch dredging technology was used to create these massive man made islands. They are the largest artificial islands in the world and can be seen from space. Three of these Palms will be made with the last one being the largest of them all.

Upon completion, the resort will have 2,000 villas, 40 luxury hotels, shopping centers, movie theaters, and many other facilities. It is expected to support a population of approximately 500,000 people. It is advertised as being visible from the moon.

The World Islands. 300 artificially created islands in the shape of the world. Each island will have an estimated cost of $25-30 million.

The Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai. The worlds tallest hotel. Considered the only ‘7 star’ hotel and the most luxurious hotel in the world. It stands on an artificial island in the sea.

Hydropolis, the world’s first underwater hotel. Entirely built in Germany and then assembled in Dubai, it is scheduled to be completed by 2009 after many delays.

The Burj Dubai. Construction began in 2005 and is expected to be complete by 2008. At an estimated height of over 800 meters, it will easily be world’s tallest building when finished. It will be almost 40% taller than the the current tallest building, the Yaipei 101.

This is what downtown Dubai will look like around 2008-2009. More than 140 stories of the Burj Dubai have already been completed. It is already the worlds tallest man made structure and it is still not scheduled to be completed for at least another year.

The Al Burj. This will be the centerpiece of the Dubai Waterfront. Once completed it will take over the title of the tallest structure in the world from the Burj Dubai.

Recently it was announced that the final height of this tower will be 1200 meters. That would make it more than 30% taller than the Burj Dubai and three times as tall as the Empire State Building.

The Burj al Alam, or The World Tower . Upon completion it will rank as the world’s highest hotel. It is expected to be finished by 2009. At 480 meters it will only be 28 meters shorter than theTaipei 101. The Trump International Hotel & Tower, which will be the centerpiece of one of the palm islands, The Palm Jumeirah.

Dubailand. Currently, the largest amusement park collection in the world is Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando , which is also the largest single-site employer in the United states with 58,000 employees. Dubailand will be twice the size.

Dubailand will be built on 3 billion square feet (107 miles^2) at an estimated $20 billion price tag. The site will include a purported 45 mega projects and 200 hundred other smaller projects.

Currently, the Walt Disney World Resort is the #1 tourist destination in the world. Once fully completed, Dubailand will easily take over that title since it is expected to attract 200,000 visitors daily.

Dubai Sports City. A huge collection of sports arenas located in Dubailand.

The Dubai Marina is an entirely man made development that will contain over 200 highrise buildings when finished. It will be home to some of the tallest residential structures in the world. The completed first phase of the project is shown.
Most of the other high rise buildings will be finished by 2009-2010. The Dubai Mall will be the largest shopping mall in the world with over 9 million square feet of shopping and around 1000 stores. It will be completed in 2008.

Ski Dubai , which is already open, is the largest indoor skiing facility in the world. This is a rendered image of another future indoor skiing facility that is being planned.

Some of the tallest buildings in the world, such as Ocean Heights and The Princess Tower , which will be the largest residential building in the world at over a 100 stories, will line the DubaiMarina. The UAE Spaceport would be the first spaceport in the world if construction ever gets under way. The Dubai Metro system, once completed, will become the largest fully automated rail system in the world. The Dubai World Central International Airport will become the largest airport in size when it is completed. It will also eventually become the busiest airport in the world, based on passenger volume. There are more construction workers in Dubai than there are actual citizens.

 

In addition, I vividly recall when I performed Hajj the sights of some of the amazing buildings that have been built, and are currently under construction, around the Kaba. Before the Hajj actually began I was sitting close to the Kaba waiting for the Jummah Khutbah to begin and looked up at two massive buildings towering over the Haram Sherif. I told my close friend sitting next to me, who was also the Imam and leader of our Hajj group, to look at the buildings. He said it seems very impressive to many people, but is nothing more than a sign that the Day of Judgment is very close.

Five Towers to Overshadow Kabaa

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Tags: Dubai, Hadith of Jibril, Signs of the Day of Judgement