Sinkholes, Disfigurement, and Stones from the Sky (Khasf, Maskh, Qadhf)
In brief
The warning of three punitive portents in this Ummah before the Hour: sinkholes/swallowing by the earth (khasf), disfigurement (maskh), and stones pelted from the sky (qadhf).
In Jami' at-Tirmidhi (2185, 2212) and Sunan Ibn Majah (4060), the Prophet ﷺ warned: 'In this Ummah there will be swallowing by the earth (khasf), disfigurement (maskh), and pelting from the sky (qadhf).' When asked when that would be, he replied: 'When singing women and musical instruments appear and intoxicants are drunk.'
Among the minor signs tied to the spread of open sin; distinct from—though prefiguring—the three great landslides (in the East, West, and Arabia) among the ten major signs.
Enjoin good, forbid evil, and turn to Allah in repentance whenever natural calamities strike.
Draft brief, not yet checked by the scholar board. The full texts are in the Sources tab and the scholars' views in their own tab.
Where it sits in the sequence
Phase 2 · Signs that spread among people
The narrations do not put these in order, and many of them overlap. Sahih al-Bukhari 7121 lists several together.
What scholars have said
Scholars cite it in part, or differ
Draft attributions: each must be checked against the named book before publication.
al-Qurtubi & Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Note that localized sinkholes (khasf), pelting from the sky (qadhf), and moral/physical disfigurement (maskh) are warned against when open sin, musical instruments, and wine are declared lawful, prefiguring the three great landslides of the major signs.
al-Tadhkirah; Fath al-Bari, on Kitab al-Fitan
No historical or present-day data has been entered for this sign yet. Each figure will carry its source and an as-of date.