By: Moulana Aneesur Rahman Nadvi

Another important prophecy has been mentioned in the hadiths according to which pandemics will spread on the planet earth near the doomsday which will lead to the deaths of people on an unprecedented scale. The narrations in this regard are as follow:

Salma bin Nufail al Sakooni narrates that Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) said: “Prior to the doomsday ….. there will be severe pandemic and then years of earthquakes will follow.” 1

Another hadith states that there will be a widespread wave of epidemic among human beings prior to the doomsday similar to the cattle plague:

Aof ibn Malik narrates from Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) he said: “At the end of time, there will be pandemic ‘mutan’, and you will be killed like cattle (Quas ul Ghanum).” 2

The Arabic word ‘mutan’ used in these hadiths denotes a type of plague, and this word is generally used for epidemic:

“Mutan is name of a plague.” 3

“Mutan is the abundantly occurring death.” 4

Similary, the word mentioned in the second hadith ‘Quas’ is used for quickly occurring death.

“Quas is the instant death. ‘Quas of sheeps’ has been derived from it. It means death of sheep.” 5

The sings of doomsday described in the above hadiths may be summarized in the following points: 1- At the End Time, there will be severe global pandemic, 2- Due to this pandemic, people will die on large and unprecedented levels globally like the death of sheep due to epidemic. We will discuss the possibilities of emergence of these signs in the light of modern scientific researches.

In previous pages, we have discussed various signs of doomsday described in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith, where it was clearly demonstrated that all these signs are related to the current climate change of the planet earth in one way or the other. The sign of doomsday under discussion, i.e., spread of pandemic too, in the same way, is related to the current climate change. Scientists predict that severer the increase in global warming and climate change the severe will be the threat of spread of global pandemic, causing loss of human life on unimaginable levels. According to Scientists, a number of factors will be responsible for spread of such epidemics and human deaths on such a large scale. Important among them are:

1- Increase in global warming
2- Spread of epidemics and harmful diseases
3- Hazards related to ozone depletion
4- Diseases hidden in permafrost
5- Contamination of fresh water and its scarcity

1- Increase in Global Warming
The increase in global warming and extreme weather in itself is a symptom of unstable climate which creates a lot of health related problems. In particular, a slight increase in the average temperature of a region causes human deaths on a large scale. Over the past few decades, there have been numerous occasions when slight rise in the average temperature in many parts of the earth killed human beings on a large scale. For example, in a developed continent like Europe, about 70 thousand deaths were recorded due to the big heat wave in 2003. In 2010, almost 10,000 people died due to heat in Moscow alone. In 1995, 700 people died in just a few days from the heat wave in Chicago. Given these statistics, now the scale of loss of human life can be imagined if the earth’s temperature rose to 8-10 degrees Celsius as it is being predicted to happen by the scientists in the next few decades. According to a new research, currently one third of the world’s population is facing heat waves due to the global warming. Scientists have warned that more than half the world population may have to face heat waves within a few decades.6

2- Spread of epidemics and harmful diseases
Global warming and changing climate are resulting in extreme weather patterns which have brought about an increase of infectious diseases – both new and re-emerging. These extreme weather patterns are creating extended rainy seasons in some areas, and extended periods of drought in others, and introducing new climates in different regions as well. These extended seasons are creating climates that are able to sustain vectors for longer periods of time, allowing them to multiply rapidly, and also creating climates that are allowing the introduction and survival of new vectors. Extreme weather pattern is often responsible for increased precipitation, resulting in increased hurricanes which will in turn cause flooding, creating a more promising breeding ground for a plethora of vectors that both carry and cause infectious diseases. Extreme weather also means stronger winds. These winds can carry vectors tens of thousands of kilometers, resulting in an introduction of new infectious agents to regions that have never seen them before, making the humans in these regions even more susceptible. A report of WHO with regard to spread of infectious diseases is of utmost importance which bring the severity of the spreading of infectious diseases to light due to global warming:

“Due to climate change diseases like malaria, dengue, chikungunya, cholera, and diarrhea are spreading more and more. The WHO says that the quality of air has become very bad, and due to this, the respiratory diseases are spreading faster. The heat waves will be more intense and prolonged, due to which the children and the elderly population will be more affected. They may get affected by heat wave followed by heart attack. According to this institution, there may be six major impacts of climate change on human health: respiratory disease, mosquito-stricken malaria and dengue, the diseases caused by contamination of water, diarrhea and cholera, malnutrition, and psychological pressure. Due to the increase in the temperature of the earth, there will be increase in the breeding of mosquitoes in the world, and malaria, dengue and chikungunya will spread to the new areas. Dengue hemorrhagic fever was limited to only seven countries in 1960, it spread to 37 countries in 1998, and in 2007 it spread further to 60 countries. This is all the result of the rise in temperature.” 7

According to a study, 60 to 80 million people will suffer from malaria by 2050, while 15 to 20 million people will suffer from dengue fever. 8 According to a report of WWF, with the increase in the average temperature of the earth by 2 degrees, 9 to 20 million people will get affected with malaria and other food and water related diseases. While with the increase in temperature by 3 degrees instead of 2, more than 30 crore people will suffer from these diseases and five to six billion people will suffer from dengue and water shortage. Similarly, approximately 3.2 billion will be at risk from malaria (almost half of the world’s population). One can imagine how frightening and scary are the estimates of spread of epidemics on global scale due to the climate change on planet earth as a result of initial increase in the global warming, and what will be the magnitude of global pandemic with the future projections of temperature rise. Therefore, it is easy to assess from these projections that a time will come when infectious diseases and epidemics will be so widespread due to the increased global warming that people will start dying like cattle plague, as it has been described in the hadiths.

Other Diseases Associated with Climate Change
Rise in global temperatures and the consequential climate change are attributed to emergence of hundreds of deadly and fatal diseases. Some of them are as follow:

The frequency and severity of heat waves are increasing due to the increase in global warming. In addition to dehydration and heat stroke, these heat waves have also resulted in epidemics of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Recent studies have shown that prolonged heat exposure, physical exertion, and dehydration are sufficient factors to developing CKD. These cases are occurring across the world congruently with heat stress nephropathy. Other diseases on the rise due to extreme weather include hantavirus, schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis (river blindness), and tuberculosis. It also causes the rise in hay fever.

The warming oceans are becoming a breeding ground for toxic algal blooms (also known as red tides) and cholera. As the nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the oceans increase, the cholera bacteria that live within zooplankton emerge from their dormant state. The changing winds and changing ocean currents push the zooplankton towards the coastline, carrying the cholera bacteria, which then contaminate the drinking water, causing cholera outbreaks. As flooding increases there is also an increase in cholera epidemics as the flood waters carrying the bacteria are infiltrating the drinking water supply. Similarly toxic algal blooms will have fatal and destructive effects on sea animals including humans. The spread of algal blooms will pose grave danger to all forms of small and large oceanic life endangering the whole oceanic food chain. The consumption of these contaminated oceanic animals may even cause human deaths. Similarly, the chemicals secreted by algal blooms are considered so poisonous that it will be difficult to breath in the surrounding air. We have discussed this phenomenon in detail in previous pages.

According to experts, the rise in global warming will also have adverse effects on mental health of human beings. According to them, this will happen due to devastating events like earthquakes, volcanoes, cyclones, hurricanes, floods, heat waves and forest fires caused by global warming and climate change (we have discussed these phenomena in details in previous pages). Among the causes of deterioration of mental health of people are destruction of economic source, falling income, and the migration of people globally from one place to another place. One of the major causes of mental illness is the deterioration of people’s physical health too. According to experts, the more the people suffer from physical health issues, the higher will be their mental disorders and physiological trauma.

Another disease caused due to the impact of global warming on human health is the disease erythromelalgia. This is a vascular disease that is commonly triggered by the involvement of change in temperature, which leads to syndromes including (first and second degree) burning pain, increased temperature, erythema and swelling hands and feet that are mainly affected. This disease is quite common in China. Among the other diseases caused by global warming are heart diseases, respiratory diseases and asthma. The heat wave of Europe of 2003 in which around 70,000 people were killed, most of them were killed by these diseases. These diseases are poised to increase due to increase in global warming.

According to the World Health Organization, the effects of global warming on human health have started appearing due to which millions of people are dying globally. Annually 35 lakh people are dying from malnutrition, 18 lakh from diarrhea, and 10 lakh from malaria. 9

3- Hazards related to ozone depletion
Another major health hazard arising due to the rising temperatures is emerging in the form of ozone depletion. As described above, the ozone layer protects humans and other forms of life on earth from ultraviolet radiation and other celestial hazards. But due to the large scale accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the ozone layer has depleted globally, and huge holes have appeared in the ozone layer particularly in the South Pole. As a result the ultraviolet rays have penetrated into the atmosphere in these regions, and people in these areas have started suffering from dangerous cancers. According to a 2008 report, depletion of ozone layer is not only affecting the earth’s Polar Regions, but even the equatorial regions where densely populated cities are located are developing various types of health related problems and hazards.

The exposure to sun’s ultraviolet rays have led to the increase in occurrence of cancerous diseases of skin like basal, squamous and malignant melanoma. The latter disease is especially spreading rapidly in Chile. Similarly, the disease of cortical cataract which causes loss of eyesight is spreading rapidly in the affected countries. Experts predict that, millions of people are likely to get affected by this disease in the coming decades, due to further thinning of ozone layer. Similarly the exposure to U.V. radiations is also leading to genetic disorders and diseases which cause weakening of human immune system.

Ozone gas which protects life on earth from ultraviolet radiation in the upper layers of the atmosphere, its concentration may also increase on the surface of the earth due to the increase in global warming, which will have devastating effects on human life. As a result, asthma, lung diseases, chest pain and headache etc. may develop in the human beings.10

4- Diseases Hidden in Permafrost
According to scientists, the humanity might have to face some sort of unknown and mysterious diseases in addition to the hundreds of above mentioned diseases due to the global warming. These unknown and mysterious diseases are the viruses and bacteria which have stranded due to freezing of permafrost millions of years ago. Frozen permafrost soil is the perfect place for bacteria to remain alive for very long periods of time, perhaps as long as a million years. That means melting ice could potentially open a Pandora’s Box of diseases. But due to increasing global warming now, the danger of reviving of these long-dormant bacteria and viruses emerging as a result of melting of permafrost is looming largely. Scientists are warning that this could spell in the form of spread of global pandemic that could kill humans and animals on global scale. Anthrax is one such disease which originates from bacteria and viruses present in the permafrost, which killed more than a million reindeer in the early 20th Century alone. In recent years, scientists have discovered millions of years old bacteria and viruses from beneath the thick glaciers. Consequently, scientists warn that potential release of these harmful bacteria and viruses in future may prove to be detrimental for humans and animals. 11

Spread of Paralysis
In some hadiths, it has been specifically stated that paralysis will be a common disease near the doomsday. One of the hadiths in this regards is as follows:

Anas bin Malik narrates that Prophet Mohammed pbuh said: Among the signs of doomsday are the spread of paralysis and occurrence of sudden death. 12

One of the major diseases caused by climate change is paralysis too. According to a survey conducted in the United States, paralysis found to be one of the main diseases poised to spread as a result of increasing global warming. Two types of paralysis is spreading in USA due to global warming: 1- paresis (partial paralysis) 2- paralysis (complete paralysis). Both these types of paralysis occur in human beings due to the spread of specific types of viruses caused due to the increase in the global warming. 13

Other important cause that could help in the spread of paralysis could be the specific bacteria found in the permafrost:

“Other bacteria that can form spores, and so could survive in permafrost, include tetanus and Clostridium botulinum, the pathogen responsible for botulism: a rare illness that can cause paralysis and even prove fatal.” 14

5. Scarcity and Contamination of Fresh Water
The biggest threat due to the global warming is emerging in the form of scarcity of fresh and potable water which will have its direct adverse effects on human health. The ice sheets and mountains glaciers of planet earth are poised to dry out and disappear in next few decades due to global warming on the one hand, and on the other the level of ground water is falling down very fast. New researches in this regard reveal that the annual groundwater level is falling by 3-4 feet globally. In addition, mixing of ground water with saline sea water in the coastal areas due to rising sea level and intrusion of sea water into continental areas will further lead to lose of fresh water in large and densely populated coastal areas of the world. According to scientists, billions of people will face crises of shortage of fresh water in next few decades. This on the one hand will help in the spread of epidemics and viral diseases on global scale, and on the other it will force billions of people to migrate leading to global chaos and anarchy. We have dealt with a number of these scenarios in the previous pages.

Other Dangers of Global Warming and Risks to Human Health
Immense increase in human deaths will not be the result of global warming induced viruses and epidemics alone, but a number of other destructive factors will also contribute immensely to the misery of human beings. Among them are earthquakes, volcanoes, events of subsidence, frequency of cyclones and floods, increasing precipitation and particularly acid rain, forest fires, oceanic fluctuations like increase in the acidity of ocean water, spread of algal blooms, depletion of ozone layer and dozens of other natural hazards which are predicted to intensify with the increase in the global warming and can cause human deaths on large scale. These phenomena have been discussed in detail in previous pages and some other phenomena will be discussed later.

Occurrence of Sudden Death
In a nutshell, rise in global warming and climate change are proving to be a death blow to all life forms on planet earth including human beings, because not only human beings but the very structure of life supporting system of planet itself is under threat from climate change. It is continuously disintegrating with the gradual intensification of global warming and climate change. Hence scientists predict that the pace of human deaths will speed up as climate intensifies. Some hadiths have depicted this situation in the words that a time will come when people on earth start to die suddenly. Some of these hadiths are as follow:

Ibn Abi Shaiba narrates from Sha’bi, he said: It is said that among the signs of nearing of doomsday is the sudden death “maut ul faj’ah”. 15

Sha’bi narrates that Prophet Mohammed pbuh said: Among the signs of doomsday is the sudden death ‘maut ul faj’ah’. 16

Linguistically faj’ah means sudden and unexpected. Hence maut ul faj’ah means the death which occurs suddenly and unexpectedly, meaning that good and healthy people will start to die suddenly. In some hadiths the word ‘bidar’ has been used instead:

Ibn Abi Shaibah narrated from Mujahid that he said: “Among the signs of doomsday is the quick death ‘maut ul bidar’. 17

Bidar is the verbal noun of the verb badara, which mean ‘to hurry’ and ‘speed up’. 18 Hence ‘maut ul bidar’ means the ‘quickly happening death’.

Scientists predict that the scale of human deaths will be so large and substantial in the coming decades that the relatives and kin of the deceased will face certain type of psychological and mental health problems. Their psychological and mental illness will be due to both current loses as well as uncertainty about the future risks. 19

Scientific Marvel of Hadiths
In a nutshell, the various kinds of diseases and the causes of human deaths which have been predicted in the hadiths to happen to human beings near the doomsday have been predicted by the scientists to happen in the pretext of current global warming on planet earth. There exists complete agreement and harmony between hadiths and modern science with regard to the occurrence of this phenomenon. What is more interesting here is that we are getting this information from hadiths not Qur’an, which goes on to prove the veracity of Islamic concept of the universe on one hand, and establishes hadiths as an authentic and divine source of knowledge scientifically on the other.

References:
1- Musnad Ahmed, Sunnan al-Darimi, Sahih Ibn Hibban, Mustadrak Hakim, Musnad Abu Yala.
2- Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 3, P. 1159; Mustadrak Hakim, V. 3, P. 630; Sunan al-Baihaqi, V. 9, P. 223.
3- Fathul Bari, V. 1, P. 191.
4- Al Nihaya fi Gharibil Asar, V. 3, P. 370.
5- Fathul Bari, V. 3, P. 137.
6- The Guardian, June 19, 2017.
7- http://www.who.int/media
centre/news/releases/2008/pr11/en/index.html
8- Martens, P. 1998. Climate Change and Health. (Earthscan, London).
9- http://www.who.int
10- http://www.climate.org/2002
/topics/health/index.shtml
11- http://www.bbc.com/earth/
story/20170504-there-are-diseases-hidden-in-ice-and-they-are-waking-up
12- Al Mujalasa Wa Jawahirul Ilm, Abu Bakr Ahmed bin Marwan, Hadith No. 3176.
13- THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON PATTERNS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE IN THE UNITED STATES: http://www.ciesin.org/docs/001-488/001-488.html
14- http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170504-there-are-diseases-hidden-in-ice-and-they-are-waking-up
15- Musnnaf Ibn Abi Shaiba, V. 3, P. 48, Hadith No. 12004.
16- Al Sunan Al Warida Fil Fitan, V. 1, P. 463, Hadith No. 397.
17- Musnnaf Ibn Abi Shaiba, V. 3, P. 48, Hadith No. 12008.
18- Lisan ul Arab, V. 4, P. 28.
19- Lorna, Bowlby-West.”The impact of death on the family system”. Wiley Online Library.Journal of Family Therapy.