As'salamo Alaikum dear brothers and sisters,
When Jibril asked Prophet (ﷺ) to tell him about the sign of the hour, He said: "when you see the barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds competing in constructing tall buildings - وَأَنْ تَرَى الْحُفَاةَ الْعُرَاةَ الْعَالَةَ رِعَاءَ الشَّاءِ يَتَطَاوَلُونَ فِي الْبُنْيَانِ "
I am thinking that Muslims misunderstood this Hadeeth, because they only attributed it to the Arab in the Gulf i.e. the Arab of the desert were poor, working as shepherd, and then they became rich and constructed tall buildings. I think that this Hadeeth has different meaning!
1) The Hadeeth began with (when you see the barefoot and naked), Prophet (ﷺ) didn't say (those who were barefoot and naked i.e. in the past). Thus, this means that we MUST see them in our naked eyes. As we see today, mankind (men/women) from all walks of life wear bikini in Egypt, Dubai, Lebanon, Jordan, Europe, China, India, and so on. We also see them in public half naked. If the Prophet (ﷺ) meant with (naked, barefoot, shepherd) as "poor" i.e. couldn't afford the cost of dress, he could have simply said (al-masakeen or al-fokra'a / المساكين او الفقراء).
2) (رِعَاءَ الشَّاءِ is translated to shepherds) and in another Hadeeth, it says, (رِعَاءَ الْبَهْمِ which is translated to herdsmen), but if we read this Hadeeth (كُلُّكُمْ رَاعٍ، وَكُلُّكُمْ مَسْؤولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ - All of you are shepherds (guardians) and each of you is responsible for his flock), then (رِعَاءَ الشَّاءِ) could mean "guardians of the beast i.e. those who have no brain).
3) Then, he said (competing in constructing tall buildings), which we see today all over the earth.
Therefore, the meaning of the Hadeeth will be: "you will see the barefoot, the naked, the destitute, the guardians of the beast constructing tall buildings". I think Prophet (ﷺ) described mankind in this Hadeeth as (beast - الْبَهْمِ). The scary question is, does this include "those who think that they are Muslims because WE ALL think that we are Muslims but Allah alone knows this)?
If my thoughts are correct, then Allah yostar! because the Prophet (ﷺ) also said: The people will soon summon one another to attack you as people when eating invite others to share their dish. Someone asked: Will that be because of our small numbers at that time? He replied: No, you will be numerous at that time: but you will be scum and rubbish like that carried down by a torrent, and Allah will take fear of you from the breasts of your enemy and last enervation into your hearts. Someone asked: What is wahn (enervation). Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): He replied: Love of the world and dislike of death.
I decided to share with you my thoughts to solicit your feedback. Please feel free to brainstorm.
Jazakom Allah Khair,
