Muslim preachers today are doing nonstop propaganda that the land of Arabia is “becoming green” after a few rainfalls, presenting it as a miraculous fulfillment of a hadith prophecy. But this claim collapses completely when we read the hadiths in their full context and compare them with actual scientific data.
The Sequence of Events in the Hadith
According to authentic narrations, the transformation of Arabia into meadows and rivers is not an isolated event. It is part of a series of apocalyptic occurrences that have not yet taken place.
Let’s look at the sequence as described in the hadiths:
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First: There will be a catastrophic great battle known as Al-Malhama al-Kubra (the Great Slaughter). In modern terms, this could only correspond to a global nuclear war or world-scale destruction.
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Next: Jesus (ʿĪsa ibn Maryam) will descend and rule with justice, bringing a long era of peace and prosperity.
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Then: During this reign of Jesus, the land of Arabia will become meadows and rivers.
Sahih Muslim (Hadith 157c) says:
Abu Huraira reported: Allah’s Messenger said, “The Last Hour will not come before wealth becomes abundant and overflowing, so much so that a man takes zakat out of his property and cannot find anyone to accept it, and till the land of Arabia becomes meadows and rivers.”
This clearly links the greening of Arabia after the arrival of Jesus and during a time of worldwide prosperity.
Bukhari (Hadith 2476) gives the same sequence:
Allah’s Messenger said, “The Hour will not be established until the son of Mary (Jesus) descends among you as a just ruler. He will break the cross, kill the pigs, and abolish the jizya tax. Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it.”
So, the greening of Arabia is supposed to happen ONLY after Jesus’ return, in a world overflowing with wealth and peace.
How can then today’s Islamic preachers jump directly to the “green Arabia” stage, when none of the earlier signs have happened?
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There has been no great apocalyptic war.
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Jesus has not appeared.
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The world has not entered an era of overflowing wealth and justice.
Instead, we see wars, inequality, and climate crises. Yet, some preachers isolate one phrase (i.e. “Arabia becoming green”) and claim that a few patches of vegetation in Saudi Arabia fulfill the prophecy.
This is not only dishonest but also ignores the natural explanation: temporary weather variations caused by climate fluctuations, not a divine sign.
The Reality: Arabia Is Becoming More Arid, Not Greener
Recent research shows that, overall, aridity is increasing throughout the Middle East, including most parts of Saudi Arabia.
“Only one area of eastern Saudi Arabia is showing a relative increase in rainfall compared to past decades, while most other regions are experiencing reduced precipitation.”
(Reference: Springer Climate Study, Fig. 9)
This means the so-called “green miracle” is limited and temporary, not a long-term transformation into meadows and rivers.
In fact, researchers warn that many parts of Saudi Arabia are losing biodiversity due to declining rainfall and desertification.
(Reference: ResearchGate study on Saudi plant biodiversity)
Another study published in the Iraqi Journal of Agricultural Sciences states:
“There is a necessity of activating water-harvesting projects to make the most of varying rainfall rates and rationalize water consumption.”
(IASJ article link)
Such urgent measures for water scarcity clearly contradict any idea of Arabia turning into a lush paradise with “rivers and meadows.”
The Nuclear War Scenario
If we take the hadith sequence literally, then before Arabia becomes green, there will be a massive global war. In that case, any vegetation currently appearing in Saudi Arabia will be destroyed. A nuclear conflict would make the region uninhabitable for thousands of years, not green and fertile.
So even if one believes the hadith literally, the present situation cannot possibly fulfill it. The conditions described are entirely different and belong to an imagined apocalyptic future, not to today’s climate changes.
How Modern Islamic Apologists Manipulated Translation of this Hadith to Create a Fake “Scientific Miracle”
Present-day Muslims have also done some Tehrif (Distortion) in translating this Hadith. They translated the word تَعُودَ as "revert" (i.e. ... till the land of Arabia REVERTS meadows and rivers). By changing this translation, they want to prove a Prophetic Miracle, i.e. modern science showed that the land or Arabia was green several thousand years ago and nobody knew about it. Thus, they claim that it was a miracle of the Prophet and he know about the past state of Arabia through revelation).
Modern Muslim apologists love to present this as evidence that Muhammad somehow knew about prehistoric Arabia’s greener past, a fact only discovered by modern satellite and geological studies. But when we examine the historical interpretation of this hadith, the linguistics of the Arabic word, and the modern manipulation of translations, the entire miracle claim collapses.
The Arabic phrase is:
حَتَّى تَعُودَ أَرْضُ الْعَرَبِ مَرَاجِعَ وَأَنْهَارًا
The key word is تَعُودُ (ta‘ūd), from the root عَوْد (‘awd).
According to the most authoritative dictionaries of Classical Arabic:
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Lane’s Lexicon defines it as:
“He or it came to such a thing or state or condition; at first, or for the first time, or originally; and also, a second time, or again.”
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Hans Wehr defines it as:
“to return, come back (to); to flow back, go back; to become, grow (into), turn into.”
So, the verb can mean either “to return” or “to become.” The meaning depends entirely on context, not on a fixed English equivalent.
In other words, “تعود أرض العرب مروجا وأنهارا” could mean:
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“The land of Arabia becomes meadows and rivers,” or
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“The land of Arabia returns to being meadows and rivers.”
The question is: which meaning did early Muslim scholars understand?
When we turn to the great classical scholars, those who lived centuries before modern geology or paleoclimatology, we find no trace of the “return” interpretation.
Let’s look at their own words.
a. Imam al-Nawawi (d. 676 AH)
In his famous Sharh Sahih Muslim, al-Nawawi wrote:
“معناه والله أعلم أنهم يتركونها ويعرضون عنها فتبقى مهملة لا تزرع ولا تسقى من مياهها وذلك لقلة الرجال وكثرة الحروب وتراكم الفتن...”
“Its meaning, and Allah knows best, is that people will abandon the land and neglect it, so it will remain unused, not cultivated, nor watered; due to the shortage of men, the increase of wars, and the spread of turmoil.”
For al-Nawawi, this hadith was not a prophecy about Arabia “returning” to some ancient lush state. He saw it as a future social transformation, the land becoming fertile because people will stop fighting and start cultivating again. There is not a single word in his explanation suggesting that Arabia was once green and will revert to that condition.
b. Al-Qurtubi (d. 671 AH)
The great Andalusian scholar al-Qurtubi, in al-Tadhkira, wrote:
“تنصرف دواعي العرب عن مقتضى عاداتهم من انتجاع الغيث، والارتحال في المواطن للحروب والغارات، ومن نخوة النفوس العربية الكريمة الأبية إلى أن يتقاعدوا عن ذلك، فينشغلوا بغراسة الأرض، وعمارتها، وإجراء مياهها.”
“The Arabs will abandon their old habits of seeking rain and moving around for wars and raids, and will turn away from their proud and rebellious temperaments. Instead, they will occupy themselves with planting the land, cultivating it, and directing water through it.”
Again, this is clearly about human behavior changing, not climate reversal. Al-Qurtubi interpreted “ta‘ūd” as “becomes,” not “returns.” To him, Arabia becomes fertile because people will start irrigation and agriculture, not because some cosmic miracle turns deserts into rivers.
What About Other Early Scholars?
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Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 852 AH) briefly cited this hadith in Fath al-Bari but gave no comment suggesting any link to an ancient green Arabia.
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Al-Mubarakfuri (d. 1353 AH) in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi explained it simply as an abundance of resources near the end times.
The consensus among early scholars is therefore clear:
The hadith refers to Arabia becoming fertile again; a social or agricultural change, not returning to its ancient state.
Centuries later, in the late 20th century, scientific research revealed that Arabia indeed had ancient rivers and lakes tens of thousands of years ago. Satellite imagery and geological studies confirmed that vast portions of the Arabian Peninsula were once green.
Modern Islamic preachers seized on this discovery and rushed to claim that Muhammad had miraculously predicted it. To make the hadith fit this narrative, they began emphasizing the “return” meaning, even though no early scholar ever explained it that way. This is how a hadith about social and agricultural change was rebranded as a scientific miracle.
For decades, English readers relied on the translation of Sahih Muslim by Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, a respected 20th-century scholar.
His original translation reads:
“... till the land of Arabia becomes meadows and rivers.”
This translation appeared in published volumes and online on sites such as theonlyquran.com and even Sunnah.com itself, until 2020.
Then, quietly and without any notice, Sunnah.com changed the wording:
“... till the land of Arabia reverts to meadows and rivers.”
The difference is subtle but crucial:
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“Becomes” means turns into for the first time.
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“Reverts” means goes back, implying a previous state.
This change conveniently aligns with the “scientific miracle” propaganda.
And here is the most revealing part: When you check older snapshots of Sunnah.com through the Wayback Machine, every version before April 2020 used the original word “becomes.” The change occurred right after the book Forbidden Prophecies (2019) popularized the “green Arabia” claim, and people began fact-checking it online.
It is not a coincidence; it is a deliberate revision to strengthen a fabricated miracle narrative.
Hassan Radwan