Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 2929
sahih

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The Hour will not be established till you fight with people wearing shoes made of hair. And the Hour will not be established till you fight with people whose faces look like shields coated with leather. " (Abu Huraira added, "They will be) small-eyed, flat nosed, and their faces will look like shields coated with leather.")

حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، قَالَ الزُّهْرِيُّ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏"‏ لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى تُقَاتِلُوا قَوْمًا نِعَالُهُمُ الشَّعَرُ، وَلاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى تُقَاتِلُوا قَوْمًا كَأَنَّ وُجُوهَهُمُ الْمَجَانُّ الْمُطَرَّقَةُ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ سُفْيَانُ وَزَادَ فِيهِ أَبُو الزِّنَادِ عَنِ الأَعْرَجِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، رِوَايَةً ‏"‏ صِغَارَ الأَعْيُنِ، ذُلْفَ الأُنُوفِ، كَأَنَّ وُجُوهَهُمُ الْمَجَانُّ الْمُطْرَقَةُ ‏"‏‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 56, Hadith 142
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 180 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Prophet ﷺ explained on many occasions the signs of the Last Hour and the horrors that will take place before the Day of Resurrection, so that Muslims should take the needed precautions, prepare themselves for those (harsh) times, and increase their faith and certitude in their Prophet ﷺ and his truthfulness. In this hadeeth, the Prophet ﷺ informed us of some signs indicating the approach of the Last Hour, one of which will be that Muslims shall fight against people wearing shoes made of hair. It could also mean that they shall lengthen their hair so much that it would reach their shoes! Another description of such people is that their faces shall look like shields coated with leather used to protect the fighters from sword strikes on the battlefield. The meaning is that these people’s faces are large, round, and fat. The hadeeth also underlined that these people are small-eyed and have long noses, meaning that their noses are short, with thick and flat tips. Perhaps these descriptions applied to the Tatars and the Mongols, who swept the Muslim world in the middle of the seventh century A.H., because of the precise physical descriptions that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave in this hadeeth (matching their physical description); they fought against Muslims and their onslaught swept many countries, instilling fear and terror in people’s hearts, as if they were Yajooj and Majooj (Gog and Magog). It is noteworthy that many of the Tatars and the Mongols embraced Islam afterwards. The hadeeth highlights a sign proving the prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ..
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