The Sun Rising from the West

طلوع الشمس من مغربها

The sun rising from the west is one of the major signs of the Hour in Qur'an and Sunnah: when the darkness of the grave is dispelled and people are raised, the sun will rise from the west as a trial after which the Hour is near.

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At a glance

Region
Global / Diaspora

Afterlife and eschatology

Summary

The sun rising from the west is a major sign of the Hour that no Muslim can miss: God mentions in Surat al-Anbiya the coming of the smoke and other portents, and the sound hadith state that the sun will rise from the west among the greatest signs, after which little of the world remains. Some scholars hold it occurs in the Hereafter rather than this world, but the apparent meaning of the texts places it in this world before the Hour.

People and things also explored

The Gates of Paradise· The terrors of the Day· Islamic eschatology· The display and standing before God· Al-barzakh· The Beast of the Earth· The Smoke· The Greatest Terror

Sources

  • Tanzil Project, Qur'an text v1.1
  • Sahih Muslim
  • Jami' al-Tirmidhi
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Sun Rising from the West”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-shams-tashriq/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-11.

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Related

The Gates of Paradise

Paradise has eight gates, as the Sahih reports, each with its people of deed: a gate of prayer for the people of prayer, a gate of jihad, a gate of al-Rayyan reserved for the fasting, and a gate of charity. The Prophet said: «Whoever spends a pair in the way of God is called at the gates of Paradise: O servant of God, this is good — whoever was of the people of prayer is called from the gate of prayer».