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Fatwa CenterExplanation of the Hadeeth: 'The summit of unbelief is towards the East…'
Question
what is the meaning of this hadith? It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) remarked: The summit of unbelief is towards the East and the pride and conceitedness is found among the owners of horses and camels who are rude and uncivil, people of the tents, and tranquillity is found among those who rear goats and sheep. (Kitab Al-Iman)' of Sahih Muslim.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
As for the explanation of the Hadeeth, we shall summarize what the scholars said concerning its interpretation:
1. The words of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam “The summit of unbelief…”: Scholars said that it means most unbelief and its worst form, given that the unbelief of the people of the East was the worst because they did not believe in any Prophet, Messenger, divine scripture or divine law and did not adhere to any religion that Allaah, The Exalted, accepted from His slaves.
2. The words “…towards the East” refer to the Magian people of Persia. Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar 
said: “The Hadeeth refers to the utter unbelief of the Magians because Persia and its affiliated Arab tribes who followed them were to the east of Madeenah. They were known for their extreme cruelty, arrogance, and tyranny, to the extent that their king tore the letter of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as shall be explained later. Fitnah (sedition) continued to emerge from this part of the world as shall be demonstrated later on.” [Fat-h Al-Baari]
Ibn As-Salah and An-Nawawi 
asserted that this was at the time when the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said this Hadeeth, and it will also be when the Dajjaal emerges in the East. The East will then be the first place for extreme sedition to emerge and the uproar of the extremely aggressive and strong Turks.
3. The words “…pride and conceitedness…” refer to their pride in boasting of their past glory, and conceitedness means their arrogance and disdain of other people.
4. The words “…owners of horses and camels who are rude and uncivil, people of the tents…” mean that the harsh Bedouins of the desert are the people of pride and conceitedness due to their great wealth.
5. The words “…tranquility is found among those who rear goats and sheep,” mean that tranquility, reassurance, calmness, and modesty are associated with shepherds who tend to sheep and goats because they are mostly less wealthy and abundant than the owners of camels. It is also said that this part refers to the people of Yemen because most of their livestock were sheep, unlike the tribes of Rabee‘ah and Mudhar who mostly herded camels.
Allaah Knows best.
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