Has time contracted at the end of time?

- Time has passed very quickly recently.
- Is it a contraction in the sense that we understand? Is it concrete?
- Will you explain the wisdom behind Allah’s contracting time?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The words "qaruba-taqaraba" derived from "QRB" mentioned in hadiths were translated as "contraction" in our opinion. In fact, this word means "closeness/being near".

The Prophet (pbuh) states the following in a hadith:

"When the end of time draws near, hardly any believer will see a false dream, and the ones who see the truest dreams will be the ones who are truest in speech. And the dream of the believer is one of the forty-six parts of prophecy." (Ibn Majah, Ruya, 9)

The scholars interpret the phrase "the end of time draws near" in the hadith as time approaching the Day of Judgment, its closeness to the Day of Judgment and time approaching its end since it is close to the Day of Judgment.

Another hadith regarding the issue is as follows:

"Time will pass rapidly, good deeds (in another narration, knowledge) will decrease, and miserliness will be thrown (in the hearts of the people), and the Harj (killing/murdering) will increase." (Bukhari, Adab, 39; Fitan, 25; Muslim, Ilm, 11-12).

Scholars interpret “taqarub (drawing near/passing) of time” mentioned in the hadith differently.

Some interpret it as "time when day and night will always be equal". We do not think this view is very healthy. If something like that happens, it will mean the solar system will follow an irregular course. In that sense, Doomsday will be about to strike. However, the mischief of end of time is mentioned in the hadith.

We can summarize the best view, which Ibn Hajar also confirms, as follows:

What is meant by it is the approaching of Doomsday. In the mischief at the end of time when Doomsday is close, abundance (blessing) will disappear and time will lack abundance. Day and night will pass quickly. That is something about which people complain nowadays.

This meaning is observed clearly in a hadith:

"Time will draw near. One year will pass as fast as a month, a month as fast as a week, a week as fast as a day and a day as fast as an hour; an hour will pass as fast as a date branch burning down at once. Besides, the levels of the people living at that time will generally approach one another. People will share the same level by not doing good deeds and committing bad deeds." (Ibn Hajar, 13/16)

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