Sayyadi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,

‘A Yemeni Shaikh has written a book about the coming of Imam Mahdi, our master Esa (peace from Allah be upon them) and The Day of Judgment. Using the verses of the Holy Quran and the science of abjad (numerical values of the alphabets) he has come up with 2024 to be the year of these happenings. He requested me to write an introduction to this book.

I read the book with much interest and wrote a detailed introduction. In it I appreciated the marvel and excellence of Quranic sciences, the uniqueness of the scholar’s idea and his excellent application of the abstruse science of abjad.

However, at the same time I cautioned the readers about these sort of prophecies. Their reliability can not be guaranteed. They are at their best, guesstimates of an intelligent observer.  If people develop firm faith in them then two catastrophic things are possible. Firstly, they may postpone repentance from sins and commission of good actions till that date. Secondly, if this incident did not happen then they might loose faith or life like the Adventists’ ‘Great Disappointment’ of 1844.

In summary, we can enjoy a good read but in regards to coming of qiyamah the best thing  is to improve our condition. Repent from sins. Mend our ways and do good actions, both physical and spiritual.’

Makkah Towers#2, 3rd January 2012, after esha