The Rise of a Comet
 

A star with a luminous tail will rise from the East before the Mahdi emerges. (Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha‘ah li-ashrat al-sa‘ah, p. 200)

  

 

A comet will be appearing in the East, giving out illumination before he arrives. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 53)

 

 

The rise of that star will occur after the eclipse of the Sun and the Moon. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 32)

 

 

"... A comet appears when kings go on the pilgrimage to Mecca for travel, the wealthy for commerce, the poor for rest, the hafiz to show off. (Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p.123)

 

As referred to by the hadiths,

In 1986 (Hijri 1406), Halley's comet passed by Earth. The comet is a bright, shining star that travels from East to West. This happened after the lunar and solar eclipses of 1981 and 1982 (Hijri 1401-1402).

The concurrence of this star's rise with other signs of the Mahdi's emergence indicates that Halley's comet is the star pointed to in the hadith.

Imam Rabbani provides the following information about the comet which is one of the signs of Mahdi:

 

A tailed star will be born from the East and spread its light. Its daily direction will be from East to West. (Imam Rabbani, Letters of Rabbani, 2-1170)

 

Throughout history, the appearances of comets have been the times of very important developments happened for Muslims. Indeed, some of these developments became milestones in Islamic history. Some of these occurrences were narrated by the people around the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace):

 

When this comet first appeared;
The people of the Prophet Noah (pbuh) perished.
The Prophet Abraham (pbuh) was cast into fire.
Pharaoh and his people who fought against the Prophet Moses (pbuh) perished.
The Prophet Yahya (pbuh) passed away.
When you see that comet, take refuge in God from the evil of fitnah (tribulation).
(Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi' 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 32)

  

Other important occurrences that are said to have happened with the appearance of this comet are as follows:

  • Jesus (pbuh) was born.
  • Our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) started to receive the first revelation.
  • The Ottoman Empire emerged.
  • Constantinople (Istanbul) was conquered by Sultan Mehmed II.

Some interesting figures about Halley, the comet

It is interesting that some figures pertaining to the comet is the multiples of number “19.”

The newspapers in 1986 revealed the first photographs of the comet Halley and its icy nucleus taken by the Soviet Vega 1 space ship when it came as close as 5500 miles to it. Cronicle March 20, 1986, p.1278
Halley appears every 76 years;76 = 19 x 4

This comet was last seen in 1406 (according to the Islamic calendar) 1406 = 19 x 74

The following is also interesting: as we calculated above, 1406 is 74 times of 19. "74" is also the surah number of the Surat al-Muddaththir, the surah which refers to the miracle of 19 in the Qur'an.

The 30th verse of Surat al-Muddaththir (surah number: 74) reveals that the number "19" is a means of mercy for believers and fitnah (tribulation) for disbelievers.

This striking relation of Halley with the number 19 may indicate a fitnah (tribulation) upon disbelievers and a mercy on believers.

The 1st and 2nd verses of the Surat al-Muddaththir is, God commands to our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) "You who are enveloped in your cloak! Arise and warn." The meaning of these verses are explicit. Yet, these verses may also have a second covered meaning that refer to the End Times. The word, "(the one) enveloped in cloak" may well refer to the Mahdi who is from our Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) descent and whose appearance will be signaled by the rise of the Halley in 1406 (the Islamic calendar).

Al-Muddaththir (Surah 74)

74/1 You who are enveloped in your cloak!

74/2 Arise and warn.

Muddaththir: someone who conceals, hides himself

A last great miraculous and sign of Halley: the appearance of Halley in 1986 (Hijri 1406 according to the Islamic calendar) is its 19th appearance since 607 BC, the year when the Prophet Mohammed (may God bless him and grant him peace) was honored with prophecy.