Natural Signs & Rivers
The Golden Mountain of the Euphrates
What the Prophet ﷺ said
Abu Hurairah (RA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ spoke about the Euphrates, the great river that runs through Turkey, Syria and Iraq. Both Bukhari and Muslim record it.
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الْكِنْدِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عُقْبَةُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ، عَنْ خُبَيْبِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، حَفْصِ بْنِ عَاصِمٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " يُوشِكُ الْفُرَاتُ أَنْ يَحْسِرَ عَنْ كَنْزٍ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ، فَمَنْ حَضَرَهُ فَلاَ يَأْخُذْ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا ". قَالَ عُقْبَةُ وَحَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الزِّنَادِ، عَنِ الأَعْرَجِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِثْلَهُ إِلاَّ أَنَّهُ قَالَ " يَحْسِرُ عَنْ جَبَلٍ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ ".
Narrated Abu Huraira:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Soon the river "Euphrates" will disclose the treasure (the mountain) of gold, so whoever will be present at that time should not take anything of it." Al-A'raj narrated from Abu Huraira that the Prophet (ﷺ) said the same but he said, "It (Euphrates) will uncover a mountain of gold (under it)
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْقَارِيَّ - عَنْ سُهَيْلٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يَحْسِرَ الْفُرَاتُ عَنْ جَبَلٍ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ يَقْتَتِلُ النَّاسُ عَلَيْهِ فَيُقْتَلُ مِنْ كُلِّ مِائَةٍ تِسْعَةٌ وَتِسْعُونَ وَيَقُولُ كُلُّ رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِّي أَكُونُ أَنَا الَّذِي أَنْجُو " .
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:The Last Hour would not come before the Euphrates uncovers a mountain of gold, for which people would fight. Ninety-nine out of each one hundred would die but every man amongst them would say that perhaps he would be the one who would be saved (and thus possess this gold)
What the words say
Read slowly, the hadith gives four things.
- A river that uncoversThe Euphrates uncovers something that was hidden.
- GoldMuslim 2894a says a mountain of gold. Other narrations say a treasure of gold. We quote both and do not choose one.
- A fightPeople fight over it, and ninety-nine out of every hundred are killed. Each one says: maybe I will be the one who lives.
- A commandWhoever is present should take nothing from it.
The same report appears in Muslim 2894 with several wordings, and also in Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah. We show the Bukhari and Muslim wordings.
Why the Prophet ﷺ said: take none
Hadith scholars point to two reasons behind this command.
- It stops greedA person who sees endless gold thinks: a little for me will do no harm. But that same pull drags him into a deadly fight.
- It tests the believerA true believer does not enter a bloody fight for worldly wealth. Holding back is the test.
What we cannot say
The hadith gives no date, no year and no place along the river. It does not say how the water will go.
You will read news about dams, low water and dry riverbeds on the Euphrates. That is news, not hadith. No source on this page links any dam, drought or country to this report, so we do not either.
We show no countdown. The hadith is a warning about greed. It is not a clock.
What the Prophet ﷺ told us to do
- Memorise the opening of al-Kahf"Whoever memorises ten verses from the beginning of Surat al-Kahf will be protected from the Dajjal."Muslim 809a
- Seek refuge in every prayerاللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ وَمِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ وَمِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَاتِ وَمِنْ شَرِّ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِAfter the final tashahhud: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Hell, the punishment of the grave, the trials of life and death, and the evil of the trial of the Messiah al-Dajjal."Muslim 588a