4. Sinking of the Earth

The sinking of the earth could be an earthquake that is so violent that part of the earth is swallowed. In this hadith in Muslim, which mentions the ten signs of the Day of Judgment, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “Three sinkings of the earth. One in the east, one in the west and one in the Arabian Peninsula.”

These are major earthquakes. It could take entire parts of the world off of the face of the earth. For example, the continental divide is a very dangerous/unstable place. These events don’t just happen like that, like most people think. They are predestined by Allah. Allah is testing the people; it is punishment for their sins.

Once there was an earthquake in Madinah. Then there was a second and third. They were very small earthquakes. ’Umar ibn AlKhattab stood on the mimbar and said to the people of Madinah, “Either you stop sinning or I will leave Madinah.” ‘Umar understood that this was because of the sins of the people. If it happened now, people would say that the second and third were aftershocks. ‘Umar was saying it was because of their sins. Once the mountain of Uhud shook, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Don’t move because on top of you is a nabiy, a siddiq and two shuhadaa`.”