The Concise Article : On the Knowledge of the Fourth Pillar of the Religion and an Explanation of the Intermediate, Minor, and Major Signs of the Last Hour. From the Introduction : '' This is a concise study of the fourth pillar of the religion. I have compiled this work for the beginner seekers of the Fatherly Prophetic Sacred Knowledge (al-‘ilm al-abawi al-nabawi al-shar‘i), male and female. It concerns the fourth pillar of the religion, which encompasses the intermediate, minor, and major signs of the Last Hour. It also contains all the necessary means to know and study the science of fiqh al-tahawwulat and its prophetic traditions known as sunna al-mawaqif and sunna al-dalala. [I intend] to make this a service for the renewal of the science of calling to Allah with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and also for the protection, scholarly restoration, and preservation of the thawabit (the constants) among the fundamentals of the sacred law and its vessels (aw‘iya) who are the just and credible carriers [of sacred knowledge] (al-‘udul). And they shake their heads at you and say, “When will it be?” Say, “It might well be near.” [Qur’an 17:51]. This is in an era dominated by turmoil and disputation, where the pens and tongues of the ruwaybida and those who incite disaffection use the scale of their thoughts and opinions to measure important issues and matters – specifically among those who place their faith solely in the theoretical sciences and give them more care and invest in them more trust than they give to the message of the infallible [Prophet] (ma‘sum), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or among those who disregarded the distinctiveness of Islam in their dealings with the pre-emptive events described in the sacred texts related to the signs of time. It is our hope that by the will of Allah the Exalted all will benefit from this Concise Article and that it will be for us and them a service, intellectually and practically, that will renew the methodology of the blessed Islamic da‘wa (calling to Allah). Amin, Allahumma Amin.''
