At the first place what is Burj-Khalifa?
Burj Khalifa “Khalifa Tower”, formerly known as Burj Dubai, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009 and the building officially opened on 4 January 2010.
Stretching over half a mile high, the skyscraper literally towers above the previous record holder, Taiwan’s 508 meter tall Taipei 101. The 818 meter tall spike of steel and glass now piercing the skyline is the centerpiece of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s plans to transform Dubai into the Middle East’s premier business hub. Will this be a reality?
Now I invite you to have a look on the latest wonder of the world, The Burj-Khalifa or Burj-Dubai.
But my dear readers, what is the significant of this building? Why waste money unnecessarily when there are so many critical and noble things to do? What is the use or who cares for such world records? UAE already boasted big buildings like the biggest or most expensive hotel etc. It's all for competition- now someone else will go one better and this reminds me of the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when he stated that one of the signs for the day of judgement (minor) would be the constructing of high buildings (for competition purposes).
A sign of the advanced technology of the age in which we live and which The Prophet (pbuh) has mentioned is the construction of tall buildings.
“There will be no Judgment—until very tall buildings are constructed”. (Reported by Abu Hurairah)
“The Hour will not be established—till the people compete with one another in constructing high buildings”. (Bukhari)
This is so true and it is happening before our own eyes! If we look at the history of architecture and engineering, we see that multi-storied buildings began to be constructed only towards the end of the nineteenth century. Technological developments, the growing use of steel and the use of elevators accelerated the construction of structures called skyscrapers. Skyscrapers have become an important part of the architecture of the twentieth and twentyfirst centuries, and have today become a symbol of prestige. What the hadith says has come true: people do compete in the construction of tall buildings, and nations compete with one another in building the tallest skyscrapers. Nauzubillah.
In another famous Hadith of Jibril which we often hear, what we don't usually know is that in the same hadith the Prophet actually prophesied about the appearance of tall buildings at the end of time. See the full hadith below:
`Umar ibn Khattab (Allah be well pleased with him) said: “As we were sitting one day before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), a man suddenly appeared. He wore pure white clothes and his hair was dark black—yet there were no signs of travel on him, and none of us knew him. He came and sat down in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), placing his knees against his, and his hands on his thighs. He said, “O Muhammad! Tell me about Islam.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Islam is to bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and to perform the prayer; pay zakat; fast Ramadan; and to perform Hajj to the House if you are able.”
The man said, “You have spoken the truth,” and we were surprised that he asked and then confirmed the answer. Then, he asked, “Tell me about belief (iman).”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to believe in Allah; His Angels; His Books; His Messengers; the Last Day; and in destiny—its good and bad.”
The man said, “You have spoken the truth. Now, tell me about spiritual excellence (ihsan).”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to serve Allah as though you behold Him; and if you don't behold him, (know that) He surely sees you.”
“Now, tell me of the Last Hour,” asked the man.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “The one asked knows no more of it than the one asking.”
“Then tell me about its signs,” said the man.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “That slave women give birth to their mistresses; and that you see barefoot, unclothed, beginning shepherds competing in the construction of tall buildings.”
Then the visitor left, and I waited a long time. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me, “Do you know, Umar, who the questioner was?” I replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”He said (Allah bless him and give him peace), “It was Jibril. He came to you to teach you your religion.” [Sahih Muslim]
So let's ponder whether this is necessary or not when we know that Dubai economy is not in a good shape. To understand better about Dubai, read Dubai in debt crisis: Now British banks face fresh crisis after investing billions.
yes, that is so true….
salam..very good article..please let me share this article with my friends ya..
@faizal
@syeikhuislam
Thanks for reading and yes share it with your friends and link back to this article. Share with all your friends, by all means.
Wassalam.
salam..
saye nk tanye tntng menyambut hari tahun baru..
btul ke yg saye dengar kalau kite sambut murtad..
n yang xtahu akan dapat dosa besa..
sye musykil la..
Burj Khalifa, the human technologies… wow
salam…what a great article….
ehm…as said in hadith of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when he stated that one of the signs for the day of judgement (minor) would be the constructing of high buildings (for competition purposes).
so…why not they use the money for helping other muslims.
that is such of waste product..
thnks…
wassalam…
salam..wow i dont think so that KLCC is not hight…but has 3 more tower is hightest than that
This is just an ostentation.It is a shame that so many chidren go to bed without eating and these people are doing this just to compete with the occident
@hank..certainly it is an act of ostentation or in a simple word, “show-off”.
As mentioned by Al-Siuti in “AI Laiali AI-Masnu’ah” who related that Ibn Hibban said that it is false and has no reference, you intended other than pleasing Allah. Beware of ostentation, it is the lesser shirk (polytheism); On the Day of Judgment, the ostentatious will be called at the presence of all creatures by four names: O Ostentatious, O traitors, O corrupt, O loser; what you did is wasted and your reward is nullified. We will not reward you, go and get your reward from whomever you acted to deceive?”
A wise man was asked, “Who is the sincere one?” He replied, “It is he who hides his good deeds as he does with his bad deeds.” Someone asked, “What is the good of sincerity?” He said, “When you dislike to be praised by people.”
Al-Fudail Ibn Eiad, may Allah be pleased with him said, “To refrain from an action for the sake of people is ostentation. To do something for their sake is shirk (polytheism). But sincerity is to be aware of them. O Allah! Let us be away from them and forgive us.
I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s not nations that are competing with their high rise skyscrapers. It’s wealthy people. Maybe there’s no difference in religious terms, but there’s a big difference in today’s society. This era of building the biggest is just a symbol of the arrogance of man, not nations of people.
Really a Legend is made by Dubai……
Would you mind providing the complete reference for the hadith you mentioned from Sahih Bukhari? You see, I don’t think there is such a hadith but if you wouldn’t mind perhaps you can prove me wrong and provide the hadith number, you know, volume and number, etc.
Maybe you’ll gain a divine reward from Allah if the “authentic” hadith leads me to Islam
Thanks.
Here is the reference of the hadith saying about the end of the world:
Sahih Bukhari Book 88. Afflictions and the End of the War
Narrated By Abu Huraira : Allah’s Apostle said, “The Hour will not be established (1) till two big groups fight each other whereupon there will be a great number of casualties on both sides and they will be following one and the same religious doctrine, (2) till about thirty Dajjals (liars) appear, and each one of them will claim that he is Allah’s Apostle, (3) till the religious knowledge is taken away (by the death of Religious scholars) (4) earthquakes will increase in number (5) time will pass quickly, (6) afflictions will appear, (7) Al-Harj, (i.e., killing) will increase, (8) till wealth will be in abundance… so abundant that a wealthy person will worry lest nobody should accept his Zakat, and whenever he will present it to someone, that person (to whom it will be offered) will say, ‘I am not in need of it, (9) till the people compete with one another in constructing high buildings, (10) till a man when passing by a grave of someone will say, ‘Would that I were in his place (11) and till the sun rises from the West. So when the sun will rise and the people will see it (rising from the West) they will all believe (embrace Islam) but that will be the time when: (As Allah said,) ‘No good will it do to a soul to believe then, if it believed not before, nor earned good (by deeds of righteousness) through its Faith.’ (6.158) And the Hour will be established while two men spreading a garment in front of them but they will not be able to sell it, nor fold it up; and the Hour will be established when a man has milked his she-camel and has taken away the milk but he will not be able to drink it; and the Hour will be established before a man repairing a tank (for his livestock) is able to water (his animals) in it; and the Hour will be established when a person has raised a morsel (of food) to his mouth but will not be able to eat it.”
Reference: http://www.hadithcollection.com/sahihbukhari/121-Sahih%20Bukhari%20Book%2088.%20Afflictions%20and%20the%20End%20of%20the%20War/7811-sahih-bukhari-volume-009-book-088-hadith-number-237.html
From Shahih Muslim:
Sahih Muslim Book 01. Faith
Print
Chapter : Not known.
It is narrated on the authority of Yahya b. Ya’mur that the first man who discussed about Qadr(Divine Decree) in Basra was Ma’bad al-Juhani. I along with Humaid b. ‘Abdur-Rahman Himyari set out for pilgrimage or for ‘Umrah and said: Should it so happen that we come into contact with one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) we shall ask him a bout what is talked about Taqdir (Division Decree). Accidentally we came across Abdullah Ibn Umar Ibn al-Khattab, while he was entering the mosque.
My companion and I surrounded him. One of us (stood) on his right and the other stood on his left. I expected that my companion would authorize me to speak. I therefore said: Abu Abdur Rahman! there have appeared some people in our land who recite the Holy Qur’an and pursue knowledge. And then after talking about their affairs, added: They (such people) claim that there is no such thing as Divine Decree and events are not predestined. He (Abdullah Ibn Umar) said: When you happen to meet such people tell them that I have nothing to do with them and they have nothing to do with me. And verily they are in no way responsible for my (belief).
Abdullah Ibn Umar swore by Him (the Lord) (and said): If any one of them (who does not believe in the Divine Decree) had with him gold equal to the bulk of (the mountain) Uhud and then, it (in the way of Allah), Allah would not accept it unless he affirmed his faith in Divine Decree. He further said: My father, Umar Ibn al-Khattab, told me: One day we were sitting in the company of Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. There were no signs of travel on him. None amongst us recognized him. At last he sat with the Apostle (peace be upon him) He knelt before him placed his palms on his thighs and said: Muhammad, inform me about al-Islam.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Al-Islam implies that you testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and you establish prayer, pay Zakat, observe the fast of Ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the (House) if you are solvent enough (to bear the expense of) the journey. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (Umar Ibn al-Khattab) said: It amazed us that he would put the question and then he would himself verify the truth. He (the inquirer) said: Inform me about Iman (faith). He (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (the inquirer) again said: Inform me about al-Ihsan (performance of good deeds). He (the Holy Prophet) said: That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, for though you don’t see Him, He, verily, sees you. He (the enquirer) again said: Inform me about the hour (of the Doom). He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: One who is asked knows no more than the one who is inquiring (about it). He (the inquirer) said: Tell me some of its indications. He (the Holy Prophet) said: That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and master, that you will find barefooted, destitute goat-herds vying with one another in the construction of magnificent buildings. He (the narrator, Umar Ibn al-Khattab) said: Then he (the inquirer) went on his way but I stayed with him (the Holy Prophet) for a long while. He then, said to me: Umar, do you know who this inquirer was? I replied: Allah and His Apostle knows best. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: He was Gabriel (the angel). He came to you in order to instruct you in matters of religion.
http://hadithcollection.com/sahihmuslim/129-Sahih%20Muslim%20Book%2001.%20Faith/8783-sahih-muslim-book-001-hadith-number-0001.html
This is wrong to use those quotes from the Hadith, people have been building tall houses since the time of Prophet Muhammad and he was referring to that. Just look at the buildings in Sana’s in Yamen. That is the inspiration he spoke from not these modern buildings.
True but it is the sign of akhir zaman. So we need to renew our iman before it is too late. Umat nowadays are already far from the deen of Islam. It is our duty now to bring back the glory of Islam as in time of Nabi and Sahabahs. Now is not the time to think about dunia but it is the time to think about akhirat.