Tall Buildings Prophecy

Hadith records that Muhammad was asked about the signs of the “Last Hour” and amongst other things, said:

“When you see barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds competing in constructing tall buildings.”

وَأَنْ تَرَى الْحُفَاةَ الْعُرَاةَ الْعَالَةَ رِعَاءَ الشَّاءِ يَتَطَاوَلُونَ فِي الْبِنَاءِ

Muslims claim this is a very precise & specific prediction prophesying the phenomena we observe today in the oil rich nations of the Arabian peninsula, competing with each other to build tall buildings. Therefore it predicts something only God could have known.

However as I often say, there are 3 minimum requirements that must be met before a claim to miraculous knowledge can be entertained.

A) The knowledge didn’t exist. B) There’s no possible alternative meaning. C) The statements are precise & accurate.

This claim meets none of these conditions. Here are the reasons why:

Firstly the claim that this prophecy is precise & specific, is false.

How one defines “tall buildings” is subjective and differs depending on time period and location and as the narration from Ibn Hajar I quoted at the end of this article shows, the Arabs of the area were already competing in building tall buildings. But more importantly the prophecy is not precise because today’s tall buildings are not being built by barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds, but by well heeled, wealthy royalty & businessmen. For example the person behind the construction of Burj Khalifa — Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum — was was never a “barefoot, naked, destitute shepherd” but a member of Dubai’s royal family and the son of Sheikh Rashid the second prime minister of the UAE. Likewise, none of those behind the building of Arabia’s tall buildings were ever; “barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds.”

If the claim is that Muhammad meant their progeny, then why didn’t he say so? All he had to say was: “There will emerge from the progeny of… ” It’s not difficult to say! In fact he said exactly that in a this hadith about a man who questioned the prophet’s fairness.

“There will emerge from the progeny of this (man) a people who will pierce through (ie leave) the religion.” (Bukhari.)

‏يَخْرُجُ مِنْ ضِئْضِئِ هَذَا قَوْمٌ يَمْرُقُونَ مِنَ الدِّينِ‏‏‏

Secondly, even if one were to accept that it means the progeny of barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds, one would have to prove that today’s builders of tall buildings in the Middle East are only descended from barefoot, naked, destitute sheep-herders and not descended from urban dwellers who made their living as merchants, artisans, shopkeepers, fishermen or various other occupations.

Thirdly, throughout history nations have risen from humble beginnings and competed in advertising their power through tall buildings. There is no reason to believe such a prediction could only have come from God.

Fourthly, at the time of Muhammad there were already people competing in constructing tall buildings who matched this prophecy.

Ibn Hajar relates in Fath al-Bari that this sign happened around the time of Muhammad’s prophethood:

تقدم في كتاب الإيمان من وجه آخر عن أبي هريرة في سؤال جبريل عن الإيمان قوله في أشراط الساعة ويتطاول الناس في البنيان ، وهي من العلامات التي وقعت عن قرب في زمن النبوة

“It has been related previously in the “Book of Faith” through another chain, from Abu Hurairah regarding Gabriel’s question about faith, his saying (Abu Hurairah’s) regarding the signs of the Hour and the competing in constructing tall buildings: “And this is amongst the signs that happened close to the time of (Muhammad’s) prophethood.””

This certainly corresponds with other hadith that predicted the “Last Hour” as something that would occur very soon and in the lifetime of some of those alive at Muhammad’s time, rather than 1400 years in the future.

For example this hadith:

“A person asked Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ): When would the Last Hour come? Thereupon Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) kept quiet for a while. Then looked at a young boy in his presence belonging to the tribe of Azd Shanu’a and he said: If this boy lives he would not grow very old till the Last Hour would come to you. Anas said that this young boy was of our age during those days.

Of course the “Last Hour” didn’t come in the lifetime of the boy Muhammad referred to. Like all prophecies throughout history that predicted the imminent advent of the “Last Hour,” they have turned out to be false.