Imam Ibn kathir (r.a) in his chronological arrangement of Ahadith about the end of times placed the following Ahadith with the Great trials that would befall this Ummah before the time of the Mahdi.
Abu Nadhrah reported: “We were sitting in the company of Jabir bin Abdullah (r.a.) when he said: It May Happen that the People of Iraq may not send their Qafiz and Dirhams. We said, “Who would be responsible for it?” He Said, “The Non-Arabs would prevent them.” He again said, “There is the possibility that the people of Shaam (Syria) may not send their Dinar and Mudd.” We said, “Who would be responsible for it? He said, “Prevention would be made by the Romans.” He (Jabir b Abdulah) Kept Quiet for a while and then reported Allah’s Messenger (saws) having said: “There would be a caliph in the last (period) of my Ummah who would freely give out handfuls of wealth to the people without counting it”. I said to Abu Nadra and Abu al-Ala, “Do you mean ‘Umar bin Abd al Aziz?” They said “No (he would be al Mahdi)”. (Muslim, Book41, Number 6961)
Abu Nadhrah reported: “We were sitting in the company of Jabir bin Abdullah (r.a.) when he said: Soon the people of Iraq will neither receive any food (grain) nor any money.’” We asked, “Why would such a thing happen?” He replied, “Because of the non-Arabs.” He then said: “Soon the people of Shaam (Syria) will neither receive any money nor grain.” We asked as to why this would happen. He replied: “Because of the Romans.” And in the narration of al-Hakim there is the following addition: “Then he said: “By He in Whose Hand is my soul, the matter will return as it began. All Iman will return to al-Madinah, as it began from there, until all Iman will be in al-Madinah.” (Muslim, Volume 2, page 395, the book of tribulations and signs of the final hour)
After describing these events, Jabir (r.a.) then brought the saying of the Messenger of Allah (saws): “There will be in my Ummah a khalifah who will give out wealth in heaps, without counting it.”
Abu Hurairah related that the Messenger of Allah said, “Iraq will be prevented from its dirham (a currency) and its (Qifaz) measurement; Sham will be prevented from its (Mudd) measurement and its Dinar (a currency) and Egypt will be prevented from its Irdab (measurement) and its Dinar (currency). You will recoil to that position from were you started and you will recoil to that position from were you started, the bones and the flesh of Abu Huraira would bear testimony to it” (Muslim, Book 41 Hadith 6923)
Imam An-Nawawee said that this is referring to when the Romans (Europeans) will conquer these countries at the end of time and prevent Muslims from their wealth.
The Muslim World changed after the Dynastic Khalifah’s came to an end, previously these lands were strong holds of Islam having the strongest military in the world, it was unheard of in those times that Christians, who were mainly in Europe on the other side of the Map, could successfully place sanctions on so many Islamic lands.
It was only in out time that sanctions where placed on Iraq after it’s invasion of Kuwait, and they lasted through out the 90’s, the Non Arabs (U.N, U.S and the coalition) stopped trade and food from entering the country and during this period the Iraqi currency was de-evaluated so they couldn’t trade with it, “Iraq will neither receive any food (grain) nor any money.”
“It May Happen that the People of Iraq may not send their Qafiz and Dirhams”; A Dirham is a currency, 1 Dinar = 4.45 grams of gold and 1 Dirham = 0.7 Dinar. While a Qafiz is a measure of Oil, the word Qafiz has been used throughout history around the world for a measure of Oil, because of Arab influence over southern Italy which borrowed some words from Arabic, one word in the Sicilian language is “Cafisu” or a “Cafiso” a measure of Oil, usually used in reference to Olive Oil.
The Hadith specified that the sanctions imposed on Iraq would be about Money and Oil, the prophet (saws) mentioned this long before Oil had any significance in the world and is exactly what occurred when sanctions were placed on Iraq, which tells us the exact timing of this hadith, Iraq could not sell it’s oil and weas only allowed to trade it for food, this was called “The food for Oil program”.
The prophet (saws) said a time will come when the liver of the earth will vomit forth, it will be like pillars of gold and silver. (referring to the wars over this he said) The one who kills for it on the day of judgment, he will come and say this is the reason i was killed for ? and the one who was killed will come and say this is the reason i was killed ?
The liver’s main role is the processing of products we digest and turning it into substances useful to the body, it also neutralizes harmful substances in the blood, the earth’s liver is essentially it’s process of turning dead forests million of years old, along with other hydrocarbons, into oil, a useful product for man. The prophet (saws) mentioned the liver as a metaphor because oil is the product of hydrocarbons that have gone threw a process underground like the liver performs for the body, the terms gold and silver are simile’s for how precious this resource would be.
Oil is referred to as pillars of gold and silver because it jets out of the earth in pillars due to pressure and it is essentially a currency being sold by the barrel, in other words, the liver of the earth will spew out pillars of oil that will create wealth like flowing pillars of gold and silver.
These sanctions have now been lifted and the conflict is over because the non Muslims have officially pulled out of the country, but we are now living through the initial stages of the Syrian conflict and eventually we will see that country go through something similar to Iraq followed by Egypt and when war reaches Egypt that will be the beginning of the Great Wars.
“Syria would withhold it’s Mudd and Dinar”; Mudd is a measure of wheat or generally speaking food such as rice, barley, bread, etc. One Mudd equals 3/4 of a kilogram or 708 grams. A Mudd is also a measure translated in today’s language as a “Bushel”. The sanctions on Syria according to the Hadith will then be about Food and Money, different from the sanctions placed on Iraq. The Prophet (saws) indicated to us some 1400 years ago that Iraq would produce Oil over which sanctions would be placed on it.
Egypt will withhold it Irdab and Dinar, the word in the Hadith Irdab is a measurement specific to Egypt, 1 Irdab = 73Kg (of wheat), when referring to grain, Irdab means wheat free from dirt, rubbish and husks. More generally Irdab also refers to fruit in their dried state like dried dates and raisins. Therefor the sanctions on Egypt will impact the dinar (money) and the import of wheat and dried fruits. The measure of Irdab (73Kg) may indicate that the sanctions placed on Egypt will be more severe than those placed on Syria due to its larger Quantity.
The Ahadith also specify that it will be two different groups of people who will impose these sanctions on the Muslims, the non-Arabs (U.N, U.S and the coalition) who oppressed Iraq and the Romans (Europeans) who will oppress Syria, this indicates that soon we may see a change in power around the world to Europe, the Euro being the dominant currency in the world today replacing the U.S dollar. This is also indicated by the fact that Al Malhama al Qubra (The Great War, Armageddon) will be fought with the Romans (Europeans) and not America, this rise in power of Europe is also indicated in the scriptures of the monotheistic faiths, said to occur before the return of Isa (as).