Q. for Abuz-Zubayr: re. hadith "fitnatul-ahlas, fitnatus-sarra', fitnatud-duhayma'"

[Abu_Abdillah2000]

Assalamu 'alaykum brother Abuz-Zubayr,

I have a question about the following hadith:

From 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, radhiyallahu 'anhu, who said: "We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wa-sallam, and he mentioned the fitan, and mentioned many of them, until he mentioned the fitnah of al-Ahlas. So someone said: "O Messenger of Allah, and what is the fitnah of al-Ahlas?" He said: "It is fleeing and plunder. Then the fitnah of as-Sarra', its corruption will from under the feet of a man from my household, who claims to be from me, but he is not from me, for my allies are only the pious. Then the people will unite on the leadership of a man like a hip-bone on a rib. Then the fitnah of ad-Duhayma', which will not leave a single one from this Ummah without giving him a slap. Whenever it is said that it has finished, it will continue longer. A man during it will be a mu'min in the morning and a kafir in the evening, until the people become two camps, a camp of faith with no hypocrisy, and a camp of hypocrisy with no faith. When that happens, then await the Dajjal on that day or the next." Narrated by Abu Dawud, kitab al-fitan.

My question is not related to the general explanation of the hadith, as I am already familiar with the sharh in 'Awn al-Ma'bud.

My question is: Have any of the 'ulama, to your knowledge, identified any of the things mentioned in the above hadith with any past or present historical events? Specifically, the events of the "fitnah of al-Ahlas", the "fitnah of as-Sarra'" and the reference to the people uniting upon the leadership of a man "like a hip-bone on a rib"?

If you know, or if you could find out for me, it would be very much appreciated, and may Allah reward you for it.

[Abdullah al-Shishani]

it would be interesting to know. in the meantime, could you share with us what you know already ya akhee? just a summary would do. jzk Allahu khair.

[Abuz Zubair]

I couldn't find anything of interest regarding the hadeeth, bro

[Abu_Abdillah2000]

it would be interesting to know. in the meantime, could you share with us what you know already ya akhee? just a summary would do. jzk Allahu khair.

Basically, the meaning of the hadith according to the sharh of Abu Dawud is that there will be (among the many fitnahs in this Ummah) 3 fitnahs, called in this hadith "al-ahlas" (a seemingly obscure reference to a dark-coloured mat that is placed under the saddle of a horse or camel, or alternatively the cloth or carpet laid out on the floor in a house), "as-sarra" (meaning luxury or ease), and "ad-duhayma" (meaning dark and black).

The fitnah of al-ahlas is so-called either because of its dark and black nature (the same colour as al-ahlas) or because it will stay for a long time (like a carpet does in a house). A feature of this fitnah is fleeing (harab with a soft "ha") and plunder (harab or harb with a hard "ha"). Harb might also refer to war (as the wordcan have both meanings).

Then the fitnah of as-sarra', the confusion and tribulation of it will be caused by a man from the Ahl al-Bayt (Banu Hashim), which includes not only the descendents of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa-sallam, but those of al-'Abbas. This hashimi man will be an evil or heretical man, and because of this, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa-sallam, has disowned him in the hadith.

Then the people will unite under the rule of a man "like a hip-bone on a rib". This strange expression refers to a rule without stability or order, or a man who is weak or otherwise unfit to rule.

Then the fitnah of ad-duhayma, which will last for a very long time, until people no longer even realise that they are in this fitnah, because perhaps it will become normal for them. It will affect everyone in the Ummah, and people will very quickly shift between iman and kufr due to the confusions and misguidances that are around. This long fitnah will sort out the true believers from the hypocrites, until towards the end they will be in two distinct camps, and that (i.e. the appearance of the two distinct camps) will be close to the time of the Mahdi and the Dajjal and the final Malahim between the Muslims and the Christians and Jews.

This is the basic meaning of the hadith in summary, as for the exact things to which it refers, Allahu a'lam... I have a feeling after a long period of reading and reflection about this hadith that the first fitnah (al-ahlas) might refer to the fitnah that began after the murder of 'Uthman, radhiyallahu 'anhu, and the subsequent conflicts that followed it (between 'Ali and Mu'awiyah, radhiyallahu 'anhuma)... and that the fitnah of as-sarra' could be a reference to the 'Abbasiyyun, because their early rule was considered the "golden age" of the materialistic side of the Islamic civilisation, the fitnah being that people became corrupted by wealth, and to top it all of we saw the opening up of Dar al-Himah and the influx of the philosophies and ideas of the kuffar, then the mihnah in the time of al-Ma'mun...

The man like a "hip on a rib" could refer to al-Ma'mun himself or the other weak 'Abbasi rulers after him (who became puppets in the hands of their Turkish mercenary armies), and the fitnah of ad-duhayma' would most likely refer to the decline that began during the mihnah, the spread of bida' and heretical sects, and their pre-dominance in many lands of the Muslim. This could mean that we are still in this very very long fitnah of ad-duhayma, and that it has actually been getting worse and worse over the centuries, and "mutating" into different heresies and calamities within the Ummah, particularly after the disaster of the Mongol invasion (which more or less marks the beginning of the steep decline of the Ummah into the situation that it eventually got into today). And a look at history pretty much indicates that. Brother Abuz-Zubayr's articles and comments have I think shown us that the bid'ah of the jahmiyyah and mu'tazilah which became predominant during the time of al-Ma'mun still continued to this day in the guise of the asha'irah and maturidiyyah, and remember that the rafidhah also are not far off from the mu'tazilah either.

Until today, we seem to have sunk literally to the bottom, until there is almost no trace of Islam left in some Muslim countries that used to be the centres of Islamic civilisation! There are whole countries in which masses of the so-called Muslim population commit ash-shirk al-akbar, and so on and so on...

Anyway, this is just my personal reflections or observations on the hadith along with my readings of history, and I might be right or wrong, Allahu a'lam... but I think it seems a very realistic and reasonable explanation compared to some of the other strange interpretations of this hadith that you can find if you look hard enough on the internet!