Šayḫ Aḥmad's dream, known as the Ruʾuya Ḥamil Mafatiḥ al Ḥaram, the "Meccan letter", or the "snowball letter" is a chain letter of a purported apocalyptic vision of the prophet related by an alleged Šayḫ Aḥmad styled as custodian of the prophet's mosque/tomb. With the promise of salvation if disseminated and damnation if withheld, this chain letter took a life of its own, pulling at the heartstrings of that which speaks the most to the religious masses and has remained a staple of the collective Islamic apocalyptic conversation for nearly 2 centuries. This chain letter's earliest available versions are dated to the early 19th century with some iterations making an appearance and playing an active role in fomenting dissent across East Africa, Indonesia, Arabia, amongst the ranks of Indian Sepoys in the British colonial army in France, and in Egypt. In the early stages of the 'Urabi revolution In 1877 Lord Hussey Crespigny Vivian British Consul general to Egypt (1834-1893) and Ottoman Khedive (Viceroy) Ismai'il (1830-1895) expressed concern at the circulation of this particular missive posted in june of the same year. A telegram containing this message was posted in the Arab quarters of Cairo in a time of rising political and religious militancy amongst the local arab Muslim population. These tensions are those that eventually culminated in what is known as the 'Urabi revolt. The purpose of this study is to look into the 'Urabi nationalist uprising in the Khedivate of Egypt from 1879 to 1882 and the apocalyptic narratives that animated it, with a particular focus on the role of this missive in shaping these narratives.