The Construction of Tall Buildings

	There will be no [Day of] Judgment until very tall buildings are constructed. (Narrated by Abu Hurayra)

	When the shepherds would vie with one another in constructing buildings, it is one the signs of the Last Hour. (Sahih Muslim)

Multistoried buildings began to be constructed only toward the end of the nineteenth century. Technological developments, the growing use of steel and elevators accelerated the construction of skyscrapers, which became an important part of architecture during the last 100 years. Today, they are symbols of prestige for some people. Some of the tallest buildings are as follows:

CNN Tower (Canada) - 555 m.
Oriental Pearl TV Tower (China) - 467 m.
Petronas Tower 1 & 2 (Malaysia) - 449 m.
Sears Tower (Chicago) - 443 m.39

This hadith has been fulfilled, for people now compete in building tall buildings, and nations compete in building the tallest skyscrapers. It is surely a miracle that our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) informed us that this would be an important sign that we are living in the End Times, the period before Doomsday.

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39) 1. 59. 2003 World Almanac, 263.

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