Question: What are the major signs of Doomsday?
ANSWER
In a hadith-i sharif quoted by Muslim, Ibn Maja, Abu Dawud, Nasai, Tirmidhi, Imam-i Ahmad, Tabarani, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn Hibban, it is stated that these ten signs will occur before Doomsday:

1. Hadrat Mahdi will come
It was stated in hadith-i sharifs:

(Before Doomsday, Allahu ta’ala will create one of my descendants, whose name and father’s name will be the same as those of mine. The earth, which will have been filled with cruelty before him, will be filled with justice during his time.) [Tirmidhi]

(There will be a cloud just above Mahdi’s head. An angel from the cloud will say, “This is Mahdi. Follow what he says.”) [Abu Nu’aym]

2. Dajjal will come
It was stated in a hadith-i sharif:
(Dajjal will appear and will claim that he is a god. He who believes in his divinity will be a disbeliever.) [Ibn Abi Shayba]

3. Hadrat ‘Isa (Jesus) will descend from the sky
It is declared in the Qur’an al-karim:

(We cursed Jews because of their saying, “We murdered ‘Isa, son of Maryam, the Messenger of Allah.” They did not murder him, nor did they crucify him. The murdered one was made to appear to them like ‘Isa.) [Surat-un-Nisa’ 157]

Hadrat ‘Isa has been raised to the sky. (Surat-un-Nisa’ 158)

(It [Hadrat ‘Isa’s descending from the sky in the time period close to Doomsday] is surely knowledge which shows the approach of Doomsday. Have no doubt about it.) [Surat-uz-Zukhruf 61, Baydawi]

Also, it is declared in hadith-i sharifs:

(‘Isa will descend from the sky as a just judge. He will break the cross [he will wipe out Christianity], kill pigs [he will forbid pork], and prohibit everything other than Islam.) [Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Abi Shayba]

(With the descent of ‘Isa, peace and security will prevail everywhere so much so that lambs will wander with wolves freely; children will play with snakes.) [Abu Dawud]

(Doomsday will not come before 10 presages appear. One of them is ‘Isa’s descent from the sky.) [Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja, Nasai, Imam-i Ahmad, Tabarani, Ibn Hibban, Ibn Jarir]

4. Dabbat-ul-ard will emerge
Of the hadith-i sharifs on this topic, one purports as follows:
(Dabbat-ul-ard will touch a Believer with the staff of Musa. Then “He is destined for Paradise” will be written on his forehead, and his face will glitter. It will hit a disbeliever with the seal of Sulaiman. Then “He is destined for Hell” will be written on his forehead, and his face will blacken.) [Tirmidhi]

The Qur’an al-karim, too, makes a reference to this beast. (Surat-un-Naml 82)

5. Gog and Magog will appear
It is declared in the Qur’an al-karim:
(The wall will collapse; Gog and Magog will rush down from every hill.) [Surat-ul-Anbiya 96]

It is stated in a hadith-i sharif:
(Gog and Magog are one of the first signs of Doomsday.) [Ibn Jarir]

6. The Smoke will issue
It is purported in the Qur’an al-karim
(Be on the watch for a day when Smoke issues from the sky.) [Surat-ud-Dukhan 10]

Furthermore, a hadith-i sharif states:
(The effect of the Smoke for a Believer will be like catching a cold, while it will be very severe for a disbeliever.) [Abu Dawud]

7. The sun will rise in the west
It was stated in a hadith-i sharif:
(Doomsday will not come to pass until the sun rises in the west. All people will believe then, but their faith will be of no use to them.) [Bukhari, Muslim]

It is purported in the Qur’an al-karim:
(On the day when some of the signs of your Lord come, believing then will be of no avail to a person who did not believe before, or who did not earn some good through his faith.) [Surat-ul-An’am 158]

Islamic scholars stated that one of the signs that is referred to in this verse is the sun’s rising in the west. In fact, the hadith-i sharif above clearly proclaims this fact.

8. The Fire will break out
It was stated in a hadith-i sharif:
(The fire breaking out in Hejaz will illuminate the necks of the camels in Basra.) [Muslim]

9. The ground will cave in
It was said in a hadith-i sharif:
(The caving in of the ground will be witnessed: one in the east, one in the west, and one in the Arabian Peninsula.) [Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja]

10. The Ka’ba will be destroyed
It was stated in a hadith-i sharif:
(An Abyssinian will destroy the Ka’ba. Now I see him pulling out the stones of Ka’ba one by one with his black hands.) [Bukhari, Muslim]