سورة الأعراف

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Isa (peace be upon him) asked Jibra'il (peace be upon him): "When will the Hour be established?" When Jibra'il heard the name of the Hour, he began to tremble and fainted. When he came round, he said: "O Ruh Allah, the one asked knows no more about the matter of the Hour than the one asking." Then he recited the noble verse: وَ لَهُ مَنْ فِی السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ لا تَأْتِیکُمْ إِلَّا بَغْتَةً [And to Him belong those who are in the heavens and the earth; it will not come upon you except suddenly].

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) answered the questions of the Quraysh on this matter, they said: "Only one question remains, and that is that you tell us when the Hour will be established." Then Allah the Mighty and Majestic sent down this verse: یَسْئَلُونَکَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَیَّانَ مُرْساها؛ قُلْ إِنَّما عِلْمُها عِنْدَ رَبِّی ... وَ لکِنَّ أَکْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا یَعْلَمُونَ [They ask you about the Hour, when will be its taking place? Say: The knowledge of it is only with my Lord ... but most people do not know].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Usama narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) who said: My father said to me: "Shall I inform you of five things about which Allah has not made any of His creation aware?" I said: "Please tell." He said: Knowledge of the time of the establishment of the Hour is exclusive to Allah, and it is He who sends down the rain, and knows what is in the wombs (of mothers), and no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. Indeed Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware! (Luqman/34)

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Hasan ibn Ali (peace be upon him) said: I said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): "O Messenger of Allah, when then will our Qa'im of the Ahl al-Bayt come forth?" He said: "His likeness is the likeness of the Hour — this matter has weighed heavily upon the heavens and the earth, and it will come upon you suddenly."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was asked: "When will the Qa'im, who is from your lineage, appear?" He said: "His coming is like the coming of the Day of Resurrection, of which Allah says in the Quran: لا یُجَلِّیها لِوَقْتِها إِلَّا هُوَ ثَقُلَتْ فِی السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ لا تَأْتِیکُمْ إِلَّا بَغْتَةً [None but He shall manifest it at its time; it will be momentous in the heavens and the earth; it will not come on you but of a sudden]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal ibn Umar said: I asked my master Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Does the mission of the awaited Mahdi have a fixed time that people should know when it will be?" He said: "Far be it from Allah that He should fix the time of his appearance in such a way that our Shia would know it." I said: "My master, why is that?" He said: "Because the time of his appearance is the very Hour of which Allah says: یَسْئَلُونَکَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَیَّانَ مُرْساها؛ قُلْ إِنَّما عِلْمُها عِنْدَ رَبِّی لا یُجَلِّیها لِوَقْتِها إِلَّا هُوَ ثَقُلَتْ فِی السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ [They ask you about the Hour, when will be its taking place? Say: The knowledge of it is only with my Lord; none but He shall manifest it at its time; it will be momentous in the heavens and the earth] ... And it is also the same Hour of which Allah has said: یَسْئَلُونَکَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَیَّانَ مُرْساها [They ask you about the Hour, when will be its taking place], and He also said: إِنَّ اللهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ [Indeed with Allah is the knowledge of the Hour], and He did not say that it is with anyone else."