“The Hour will not be established until the happiest of people with the worldly life is Lukaʿ ibn Lukaʿ.”
Narrated by Aḥmad (No. 23303), al-Tirmidhī (No. 2209), and al-Bayhaqī in Dalā’il al-Nubuwwah (6/392), from the ḥadīth of Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān, may Allah be pleased with him.
Authenticated in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmi‘ (No. 7431) and Hidāyat al-Ruwāh (No. 5294).
Brief Explanation of the Hadith
Among the signs of the Hour is the inversion of the scales, so that those who are unfit in the measure of the Sharī‘ah are given precedence, and the worldly gains fall to those who have no weight in the balance of divine law. Among this is His saying, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him: “The Hour will not be established until the happiest of people in the world…” That is, the happiest in worldly life—through ease of living, abundance of wealth, high social status, authority, and influence—will be one who has no weight in the balance of the Sharī‘ah. He is “Luka‘ ibn Luka‘,” a wording that indicates baseness and meanness. It is applied to the vile one, who has no praiseworthy lineage and no commendable character. Its repetition emphasizes the description, meaning: a despicable one, son of a despicable one, vile in origin and upbringing.
In the ḥadīth there is a report of the inversion of the scales in the Last Days, and a condemnation of the world, for it will favor those who have no weight with Allah. It serves as consolation for the believers when they witness the advancement of the undeserving, an implicit warning against being deceived by the adornments of the world and its people, and a caution against following the base and vile. It also makes clear that true worth is not in the abundance of wealth or the elevation of position, but in piety.