The Greatest Calamity: Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal

As delivered in Ramadan Daily Dose @ Sunday, 17th May 2020 (24 Ramadhan 1441 AH):

Outline

Introduction

1. Importance of This Story

2. Source: Hadith

3. His Name: Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal

4. Before His Arrival – famine, severe hunger

5. Emergence

6. Description of Dajjal

7. Trials & Tribulations wrought forth

8. Encountering Dajjal

9. Safe Haven: Makkah and Madinah

10. Duration of Fitnah

11. The Greatest Martyr, the Best of Men

12. Jesus (Al-Masih ibn Maryam) Descends

13. Dajjal Killed: Victory for the Ummah

14. Discussion

15. Solutions: Protection Against Dajjal

16. Closing Remarks

APPENDIX A: Reference Hadith

APPENDIX B: Other Major References

APPENDIX C: Miscellaneous Narrations Regarding Dajjal

Introduction

Normally when we narrate stories, we narrate stories of the past – for example in previous sessions we shared on the story of Prophet Yusuf from the Qur’an. But for this episode, we will do something completely different –

1. Story will not be from the Qur’an. Rather it is a story that is compiled purely from authentic hadith of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

2. This is a story of the future – among the prophecies of our Prophet ﷺ. Something in which the Prophet ﷺ described in great detail to prepare his ummah.

And that is the story of The Greatest Calamity: Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal.

The Prophet ﷺ said that it is the greatest calamity humanity will ever face.

مَا بَيْنَ خَلْقِ آدَمَ إِلَى قِيَامِ السَّاعَةِ خَلْقٌ أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الدَّجَّالِ

“There would be no creation (creating more trouble) than the Dajjal right from the creation of Adam to the Last Hour.” (Muslim)

So bear in mind this hadith is not highlighting that this is the worst calamity of the ummah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in particular– rather, it is the greatest calamity in the history of all of mankind.

As we speak right now, we are living through times of calamities and disaster with this coronavirus pandemic.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) completely took the world by surprise and caught many countries and their leaders completely off-guard on how to handle them. This pandemic also stirred up a level of fear and anxiety on a scale which has never been seen in our modern era.

But rest assured - the worst is yet to come.

Throughout human history, pandemics, diseases have come and gone, massive wars have been fought, won and lost, the Muslim ummah has suffered terrible losses in war.

In spite of that, none of that will be as terrible as the great calamity of the Dajjal.

And as we go along these narrations and descriptions of the situation of the Dajjal, I want us to make a reflection of our own selves - how have we been behaving in these times of physical trials and difficulties facing us today – especially knowing that, as terrible as this coronavirus situation is, it is still nothing in comparison to the trial of Dajjal?

How ready are we to face this Greatest Calamity when it actually comes?

It may come to us. It may come to our children. Or our children’s children. Or their children. But it will come.

The question is how prepared are we for that day?

How will we behave once he actually emerges and unleashes his terror upon the Earth?

With the calamity of Dajjal, the good news for us though, is that we KNOW this calamity is coming - and our Prophet has given us very vivid details on what will happen, and how we can protect ourselves.

1. Importance of This Story

Why should we even talk about ad-Dajjal? What is so important about it?

Firstly, Because the Prophet ﷺ himself time and time again warned his companions about the Dajjal. That alone should be sufficient justification. Imagine if you had a teacher who emphasized the importance of something again and again – like a subject or chapter before an upcoming exam. You won’t just ignore and dismiss it.

But it doesn’t stop there. He ﷺ emphasized that every single Prophet warned his followers about the Dajjal.

Narrated Ibn `Umar: Once Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) stood amongst the people, glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and then mentioned the Dajjal saying,

إِنِّي لأُنْذِرُكُمُوهُ، وَمَا مِنْ نَبِيٍّ إِلاَّ أَنْذَرَهُ قَوْمَهُ، لَقَدْ أَنْذَرَ نُوحٌ قَوْمَهُ، وَلَكِنِّي أَقُولُ لَكُمْ فِيهِ قَوْلاً لَمْ يَقُلْهُ نَبِيٌّ لِقَوْمِهِ، تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ أَعْوَرُ، وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ

"l warn you against him (i.e. the Dajjal) and there was no prophet but warned his nation against him. No doubt, Nuh warned his nation against him but I tell you about him something of which no prophet told his nation before me. You should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed."

(Al-Bukhari)

Every single Prophet warned of his nation of the Dajjal: Even Nuh, the very first Messenger of mankind warned his people. And therefore so did the subsequent prophets sent by Allah – every one of them – including Ibrahim, Ismail, Yunus, Yusuf, Zakaria, Isa, and finally Muhammad ﷺ.

The good news is that because we are the nation who will finally be witnessing his emergence, we have been given intricate details about him which other prophets before Prophet Muhammad ﷺ did not inform their followers.

If you look on the ten major signs of the Day of Judgment, the only sign that was spoken about in great detail was this, of Ad-Dajjal – very elaborate. And the reason it is elaborate is to educate us to prepare for this terrible calamity and adversity which would be a real trial to our religion and our adherence to it; the other major signs will appear in quick succession one after another. And once these signs have appeared, it would have been too late to repent to Allah. Only those who had iman before that, their iman will benefit them. The Prophet ﷺ said:

ثَلاَثٌ إِذَا خَرَجْنَ لاَ يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا طُلُوعُ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا وَالدَّجَّالُ وَدَابَّةُ الأَرْضِ

“When three things appear, iman (faith) will not benefit one who has not previously believed or has derived no good from his faith:

the rising of the sun in its place of setting,

the (emergence of) Dajjal, and

the beast of the earth.”

(Muslim)

The companion النَّوَّاسَ بْنَ سَمْعَانَ An-Nawwas bin Sam’an narrated some very lengthy and detailed narrations about the Dajjal which are recorded in Sahih Muslim. He described that the way the Prophet ﷺ would tell the companions about the Dajjal, in which would warn them multiple times, in multiple different occasions about this same subject matter, to highlight the gravity and importance of it all. An-Nawwas said,

ذَكَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم الدَّجَّالَ ذَاتَ غَدَاةٍ فَخَفَّضَ فِيهِ وَرَفَّعَ حَتَّى ظَنَنَّاهُ فِي طَائِفَةِ النَّخْلِ

"Sometimes described him to be insignificant and sometimes described (his turmoil) as very significant (and we felt) as if he were in the cluster of the date-palm trees."

(Part of Hadith in Sahih Muslim, refer: REFERENCE #2 below)

Interesting point though: Why the contrast in the tones?

Because on one hand, as we previously mentioned, it is the worst calamity of mankind, and so we must be warned of those difficult times and make our preparations

On the other hand, the Prophet described him as insignificant, because the Prophet ﷺ wanted to strengthen the aqidah of his ummah: to reassure the ummah that Dajjal is just another creature of Allah. Do not fear Dajjal, fear Allah.

Allah created him and Allah can destroy him. What matters at the end of the day is that you die upon tauhid, worshipping Allah who is the true source of all ability and might, Al-Qadir, Al-Qayiy, the Lord of the Universe. So don’t be deceived by his apparent power.

The Prophet ﷺ said to the companion, Mughirah bin Shu’bah,

‏"‏ أَىْ بُنَىَّ وَمَا يُنْصِبُكَ مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ لَنْ يَضُرَّكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ إِنَّهُمْ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّ مَعَهُ أَنْهَارَ الْمَاءِ وَجِبَالَ الْخُبْزِ ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ هُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

“O, my son, why are you worried because of him? He will not harm you.”

Mughirah said: “The people think that he would have with him rivers of water and mountains of bread!”,

whereupon he said:

He would be more insignificant in the sight of Allah than all these things (belonging to him).

(Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

The Prophet ﷺ emphasized,

غَيْرُ الدَّجَّالِ أَخْوَفُنِي عَلَيْكُمْ

“There are things I fear for you MORE than Dajjal”

(Part of Hadith in Sahih Muslim, refer: REFERENCE #2 below)

And among those matters are that of Riyaa’ (showing off our good deeds to be praised by others):

عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَنَحْنُ نَتَذَاكَرُ الْمَسِيحَ الدَّجَّالَ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ أَلاَ أُخْبِرُكُمْ بِمَا هُوَ أَخْوَفُ عَلَيْكُمْ عِنْدِي مِنَ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْنَا بَلَى ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ الشِّرْكُ الْخَفِيُّ أَنْ يَقُومَ الرَّجُلُ يُصَلِّي فَيُزَيِّنُ صَلاَتَهُ لِمَا يَرَى مِنْ نَظَرِ رَجُلٍ ‏"‏

Abu Sa’eed said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out to us when we were discussing Dajjal (False Christ) and said: ‘Shall I not tell you of that which I fear more for you than Dajjal?’ We said: ‘Yes.’

He said: ‘Hidden shirk (Riyaa), when a man stands to pray and makes it look good because he sees a man looking at him.’”

(Narrated by Ibnu Majah)

When the Prophet described him as insignificant, this is the main lesson:

Do not fear Dajjal, fear Allah.

Do not fear Dajjal. Fear your own iman, and how you will handle yourself if you were to encounter Dajjal.

Fear your own incapability to fight off the temptations of dunya – such as seeking praise for your acts of worship – because these can destroy you regardless of whether or not you were to encounter Dajjal.

This story that i am about to share to you is not a "feel good" story. It is a cautionary tale of things to come, of a sure calamity that will happen in the future, to drive us into action - and the terrible consequences that will occur if we do not prepare ourselves. A story to push us to be more proactive to change and to turn to Allah.

To ensure we have strong iman and taqwa to be facing the difficult times ahead – knowing that the worst is yet to come.

2. Source: Hadith

For this Story, we will narrate the story of Dajjal based on authentic hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. And therefore I was very careful about preparing for this – I made it a strict obligation to be absolutely certain that these hadith are authentic – either sahih or hasan.

Everything we relate to about Dajjal – is a matter of the unseen, something that will happen in the future – and therefore we cannot narrate ANYTHING of the unseen unless it is delivered to us by clear cut revelation from Allah.

What if there are gaps in the details? We don’t fill in those gaps or add spice to the story – whatever that’s in the hadith, that’s it. We leave it at that, and we tell it as it is.

What I have done is, for the benefit of smoother storytelling structure, because the details of this story are scattered throughout the different books and narrations of hadith, I have rearranged the different authentic narrations and try to compile them into a more cohesive, structure for us to get a clearer picture on the story.

Question: Why collect the story of Dajjal from Hadith? Why not Qur’an? Isn’t the Qur’an the number one source of knowledge for human beings?

The answer is: Dajjal is not mentioned in the Qur’an at all. There are ayat that “hint” about him, but none that actually mention Dajjal explicitly.

Scholars actually discussed this: why isn’t Dajjal mentioned in the Qur’an?
One of the reasons stated is to belittle him. So to not puff up his pride that he is mentioned in the book of Allah.

The only source of information we get about him is from the hadith of the Prophet. However having said that, the narrations regarding the Dajjal are of the highest degree of authenticity, reaching the levels of Mutawatir – widespread, many many narrators sharing them and therefore it is impossible to refute their authenticity.

It is befitting therefore to remind us to put our trust in Allah: Allah will never leave his ummah without protection. Everything that we need to know, Allah has preserved it for us. Everything we need to know about defending ourselves against the fitnah of Dajjal, is all perfectly encapsulated within the sunnah.

The entire story of Dajjal – his description, the signs of his arrival, the solutions on how to protect yourself and your family, the real truth behind his false claims are all within the hadith of the Prophet. As detailed as the stories are about ad-Dajjal, the Prophet ﷺ also ensured us that he gave us the SOLUTION to be confronting these difficult times.

The very nature of this also highlights an important point: The fact that the narrations of Dajjal are only in hadith of the Prophet is a form of a test for us. How much do you adhere to the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ for the solutions in your daily lives, right now as we speak?

During these times when he emerges, our iman will really be put to the test: how strongly and how firmly do you stick with the Sunnah? And how much effort do you put into actually learning it?

If we don’t take the initiative to learn them ourselves, or teach it to our children, who will?

One of the signs of his arrival is that he is continuously forgotten amongst the ummah. In an authentic hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said that

لا يَخرُجُ الدَّجَّالُ حتى يَذهَلَ الناسُ عن ذِكرِه ، وحتى يَترُكَ الأئمَّةُ ذِكرَه على المنابِرِ

“The Dajjāl will not come until a time when people have forgotten about him and the Imāms no longer mention him on the pulpits (minbar or the masjid)”

الراوي : الصعب بن جثامة | المحدث : ابن السكن | المصدر : تهذيب التهذيب | الصفحة أو الرقم : 4/421 | خلاصة حكم المحدث : صالح الإسناد

الراوي : الصعب بن جثامة | المحدث : ابن كثير | المصدر : جامع المسانيد والسنن | الصفحة أو الرقم : 5261 | خلاصة حكم المحدث : لا بأس بإسناده

(Narrated by Ahmad, with a good chain of narrators)

How few of us are aware, let alone share these authentic ahadith of the Dajjal, despite the fact that in our times, it is so easy to access them and so readily attainable?

Do we leave it to Hollywood to paint a picture about this dajjal? There is even a Netflix fictional series that supposedly makes a mockery of this and it’s making Muslims go berserk?

There is even a very popular documentary made about ten years ago that compiles all sorts of insane conspiracy theories which are totally contradictory to the authentic hadith of the Prophet ﷺ and Muslims are going crazy over it (I won’t even mention the title because I don’t want to promote that garbage).

They mention of really absurd theories that go obviously in contradiction with the hadith of our Prophet ﷺ - and yet so many Muslims, when they watch it, they are convinced, they are afraid.

But what happened? It got millions of views online. And it’s only towards much later episodes that they reveal that they are just shi’ah propaganda to follow their 12 imams. But too late: the damage is done! By that point, so many young Muslims were already influenced by this stuff and seemingly completely unaware of the true authentic hadith on descriptions of Dajjal. Therefore their fears and anxieties were all based off shi’ah propaganda.

This is a worrying trend! Because of the “popularity” of these mainstream narrations, perhaps the Muslim ummah today knows more about these false stories instead of the true, established authentic hadith of Dajjal told by our Prophet!

SubhanAllah even a documentary like this can negatively influence so many Muslims when we have authentic hadith in our midst, it makes you think how easily can the real Dajjal fool the people in a time of deseparation, drought and famine and he will have abilities to provide food and water.

So let’s own up to our responsibility and tell this story as it should be done

Remember: Dajjal could ascend among us, in our times, or it could be our children, or our children’s children.

I remind myself once again: if we don’t take up the ownership to tell this to our youth, to our ummah, who will? How will they know how to fend for themselves?

One of my biggest intention behind choosing this topic is so I can study it in detail so I can warn my own son, Muawiyah. He is only two years old right now and he doesn't understand yet, but as a parent with deep concern for his future, I need to be proactive about the knowledge of the matter – so that when he has reached the age of understanding, I can narrate it to him with confidence, to safeguard him. Because Dajjal may not emerge in my time, it might emerge in his time. Or his children, his children's children, etc.

So with that in mind, let us narrate to us the story of the Greatest Calamity in the history of mankind: Al-Masih ad-Dajjal.

3. His Name: Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal

The name Dajjal - Meaning of the word Dajjaal

The root word, "dajala" means to mix. In the context of the usage of the word for dajjal, the word dajala is used to mean deliberately confusing matters and being vague and ambiguous.

In a general literal term, a "dajjal" can mean one who is a habitual liar and habitually deceives others. The Prophet ﷺ said,

لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يُبْعَثَ دَجَّالُونَ كَذَّابُونَ قَرِيبٌ مِنْ ثَلاَثِينَ كُلُّهُمْ يَزْعُمُ أَنَّهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ

“The Last Hour would not come until there would arise about thirty Dajjals (impostors), liars, and each one of them would claim that he is a messenger of Allah.”

(Muslim)

That is the word "Dajjal" in a general sense. The specific term, “الدَّجَّالُ” / “Ad-Dajjaal” (with alif lam, the specific Dajjal) refers specifically the lying, one-eyed, false messiah Al-Masih who will be coming towards the End of Times, as one of the major signs of the Day of Judgment.

The Dajjaal is so called because he will conceal his kufur from the people by lying to them, deceiving them and confusing them.

The name “Al-Masih”

The Prophet ﷺ refers to the Dajjal as Al-Masih : الْمَسِيحَ الدَّجَّالَ

At the same time, the Qur’an refers to Prophet Jesus (Isa bin Maryam) as Al-Masih as well:

إِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَا مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِنْهُ اسْمُهُ الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَجِيهًا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَمِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ

(Remember) when the angels said: "O Maryam (Mary)! Verily, Allah gives you the glad tidings of a Word ["Be!" - and he was!] from Him,

his name will be the Messiah 'Iesa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), held in honour in this world and in the Hereafter, and will be one of those who are near to Allah."

(Surah Ali Imran, 45)

Allah has created two messiahs, who are opposites of one another.

Why is this same name – Al-Masih, or in English we say “messiah” – referring to Dajjal, and Jesus (Prophet Isa) at the same time?

This is quite a complicated subject in which our scholars discussed this at length. Sheikh Sallih Al-Munajjid at IslamQ&A highlights that there are fifty opinions on the true meaning of this term al-masih; so it is quite a complicated matter.

Ala kulli hal, we won’t be spending time on this name and the different opinions – just know that this name applies for both as per the Sunnah, just the meaning and application differs.

For purposes of this discussion we will stick to one opinion.

(Quote):
The scholars said that the reason why the Dajjaal is called maseeh (a “messiah”) is because one of his eyes is mamsooh (lit. “wiped”; smooth or abraded, i.e., he will be blind or defective in one eye) because of what was said in the hadeeth narrated by Muslim (no. 5221) from Anas ibn Maalik, who said:

الدَّجَّالُ مَمْسُوحُ الْعَيْنِ مَكْتُوبٌ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ كَافِرٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ تَهَجَّاهَا ك ف ر ‏"‏ يَقْرَؤُهُ كُلُّ مُسْلِمٍ

“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The Dajjaal will be blind (mamsooh) in one eye, and between his eyes will be written ‘kaafir’…’”.

(End Quote)
Source: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/8806/who-is-the-dajjaal

4. Before His Arrival – famine, severe hunger

The Prophet ﷺ described the situation before the emergence of Dajjal.

It will be a time of desperation, hunger, famine.

قَالَ ‏"‏ تُحْرَثُ الأَرْضُ كُلُّهَا وَإِنَّ قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ الدَّجَّالِ ثَلاَثَ سَنَوَاتٍ شِدَادٍ يُصِيبُ النَّاسَ فِيهَا جُوعٌ شَدِيدٌ يَأْمُرُ اللَّهُ السَّمَاءَ فِي السَّنَةِ الأُولَى أَنْ تَحْبِسَ ثُلُثَ مَطَرِهَا وَيَأْمُرُ الأَرْضَ فَتَحْبِسُ ثُلُثَ نَبَاتِهَا ثُمَّ يَأْمُرُ السَّمَاءَ فِي السَّنَةِ الثَّانِيَةِ فَتَحْبِسُ ثُلُثَىْ مَطَرِهَا وَيَأْمُرُ الأَرْضَ فَتَحْبِسُ ثُلُثَىْ نَبَاتِهَا ثُمَّ يَأْمُرُ اللَّهُ السَّمَاءَ فِي السَّنَةِ الثَّالِثَةِ فَتَحْبِسُ مَطَرَهَا كُلَّهُ فَلاَ تَقْطُرُ قَطْرَةٌ وَيَأْمُرُ الأَرْضَ فَتَحْبِسُ نَبَاتَهَا كُلَّهُ فَلاَ تُنْبِتُ خَضْرَاءَ فَلاَ تَبْقَى ذَاتُ ظِلْفٍ إِلاَّ هَلَكَتْ إِلاَّ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ‏"‏

“Before Dajjal appears there will be three difficult years in which the people will suffer severe famine.

In the first year, Allah will command the sky to withhold one third of its rain and the earth to withhold one third of its produce.

In the second year, He will command the sky to withhold two thirds of its rain and the earth to withhold two-thirds of its produce.

In the third year, he will command the sky to withhold all of its rain, and not a single drop will fall, and the earth to withhold all of its produce, and nothing will grow.

All cloven-hoofed animals (cows, sheep, goat, deers, gazelles) will die, except those that Allah wills.'

(Reference #1: Portion of Hadith Narrated by Ibn Mājah 4077, Ibn Khuzaymah in At-Tawheed 2/458, Al-Hākim in Al-Mustadrak 8620. Authenticated by Al-Albāni in Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ 7875)

SubhanAllah when I read this hadith, I ponder and reflect upon the situation with us here, today - the panic buying we witness around us.

Today, Alhamdulillah we still have an abundance of food, yet even before the government announced the restricted movement order, people are going beserk and buying truckloads of stuff, to the point where our government has to keep reassuring our people “Makanan masih cukup!”, i.e. we still have sufficient food!

But during the time of dajjal, it will be a genuine state of desperation and depravity. How will we behave during those times?

So how will one survive during this extended famine and drought?

The solution is narrated in a hadith narrated by ibn Majah,

‏.‏ قِيلَ فَمَا يُعِيشُ النَّاسَ فِي ذَلِكَ الزَّمَانِ قَالَ ‏"‏ التَّهْلِيلُ وَالتَّكْبِيرُ وَالتَّسْبِيحُ وَالتَّحْمِيدُ وَيُجْرَى ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ مَجْرَى الطَّعَامِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ الطَّنَافِسِيَّ يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ الْمُحَارِبِيَّ يَقُولُ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُدْفَعَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ إِلَى الْمُؤَدِّبِ حَتَّى يُعَلِّمَهُ الصِّبْيَانَ فِي الْكُتَّابِ

It was asked to the Prophet ﷺ: “What will the people live on during those times?”

The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Tahlil, Takbir, Tasbih and Tahmid. (i.e. to say, “laa ilaaha illAllah”, “Allahu Akbar”, “SubhanAllah”, “Alhamdulillah”)

Those will take the place of food (nourishment) for them.'"

Abu 'Abdullah (Ibn Majah) said: "I heard Abul-Hasan Tanafisi say: 'I heard 'Abdur-Rahman Al-Muharibi say: "This Hadith should be sent to every teacher so that they can teach it to the children in the schools."

(ibn Majah REFERENCE #1)

How will this sustenance work?

How will our bellies be “filled” with zikir?

Allah knows best, all we say is - we believe in Allah and His Messenger.

All we can say is that Allah will nourish us this way in a way He Knows Best.

This is what our Prophet ﷺ said, and we believe in it. This will be a time of great miraculous events. And as we mentioned earlier, imagine here how our iman will really be put to the test.

The sub-narrators of this hadith emphasized that we should teach this to all the children in every school! Yet how many of us know of this solution?

Because once this happens, zikir isn’t just a “Sunnah” deed anymore. It’s actually our means of survival!

5. Emergence

Just before the Dajjal emerges, there will be a major war with the Romans.

Now bear in mind the term “Romans” in these times actually refers to an entire race – of what we call today as “caucasians”.

Allahu A’lam (Allah Knows best) who exactly it will consist of – which countries will be involved in this coalition of Romans? – so we will not dwelve into theories as to who these enemies will be or instigate any hatred amongst any specific group of people. We just know it’s the Romans, and we leave it at that.

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

لا تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يَنْزِلَ الرُّومُ بِالأَعْمَاقِ أَوْ بِدَابِقَ فَيَخْرُجُ إِلَيْهِمْ جَيْشٌ مِنَ الْمَدِينَةِ مِنْ خِيَارِ أَهْلِ الأَرْضِ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَإِذَا تَصَافُّوا قَالَتِ الرُّومُ خَلُّوا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ الَّذِينَ سَبَوْا مِنَّا نُقَاتِلْهُمْ ‏.‏ فَيَقُولُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ لاَ وَاللَّهِ لاَ نُخَلِّي بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَ إِخْوَانِنَا ‏.‏ فَيُقَاتِلُونَهُمْ فَيَنْهَزِمُ ثُلُثٌ لاَ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَبَدًا وَيُقْتَلُ ثُلُثُهُمْ أَفْضَلُ الشُّهَدَاءِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَيَفْتَتِحُ الثُّلُثُ لاَ يُفْتَنُونَ أَبَدًا فَيَفْتَتِحُونَ قُسْطُنْطِينِيَّةَ فَبَيْنَمَا هُمْ يَقْتَسِمُونَ الْغَنَائِمَ قَدْ عَلَّقُوا سُيُوفَهُمْ بِالزَّيْتُونِ إِذْ صَاحَ فِيهِمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِنَّ الْمَسِيحَ قَدْ خَلَفَكُمْ فِي أَهْلِيكُمْ ‏.‏ فَيَخْرُجُونَ وَذَلِكَ بَاطِلٌ فَإِذَا جَاءُوا الشَّأْمَ خَرَجَ فَبَيْنَمَا هُمْ يُعِدُّونَ لِلْقِتَالِ يُسَوُّونَ الصُّفُوفَ

The Last Hour would not come until the Romans would land at al-A'maq or in Dabiq. An army consisting of the best (soldiers) of the people of the earth at that time will come from Medina (to counteract them). When they will arrange themselves in ranks, the Romans would say: Do not stand between us and those (Muslims) who took prisoners from amongst us. Let us fight with them; and the Muslims would say: Nay, by Allah, we would never get aside from you and from our brethren that you may fight them.

They will then fight and a third (part) of the army would run away, whom Allah will never forgive. A third (part of the army) which would be constituted of (أَفْضَلُ الشُّهَدَاءِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ) the best of martyrs in sight of Allah's eye, would be killed and the third who would never be put to trial would win and they would be conquerors of Constantinople.

And as they would be busy in distributing the spoils of war (amongst themselves) after hanging their swords by the olive trees, Shaitan would cry: The Dajjal has taken your place among your family. They would then come out, but it would be of no avail. And when they would come to Syria, he would come out while they would be still preparing themselves for battle drawing up the ranks.

(Muslim)

Dajjal will come during a time when the Muslim ummah will be very much unprepared after their best army just won a fierce battle, and they will be attacked by Dajjal’s army.

Abu Bakr Siddiq said "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told us:

أَنَّ الدَّجَّالَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَرْضٍ بِالْمَشْرِقِ يُقَالُ لَهَا خُرَاسَانُ يَتْبَعُهُ أَقْوَامٌ كَأَنَّ وُجُوهَهُمُ الْمَجَانُّ الْمُطْرَقَةُ

'Dajjal will emerge in a land in the east called Khurasan (iran), and will be followed by people with faces like hammered shields.'"

(ibnu Majah, hasan)

يَتْبَعُ الدَّجَّالَ مِنْ يَهُودِ أَصْبَهَانَ سَبْعُونَ أَلْفًا عَلَيْهِمُ الطَّيَالِسَةُ

“The Dajjal would be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing Persian shawls.”

(Muslim)

Immediately he will have a large following.

This reminds us do not be deceived by large numbers of followers – that is not an indicator for truth.

6. Description of Dajjal

Prophet ﷺ gave a detailed description of the Dajjal. The summary of his description are as follows:

First and foremost, he is a young man, a child of Adam

It is important for us to learn from these signs – today it is being propagated that Dajjal is a symbol, a metaphor, a secret society, television, mobile phone, etc – when in reality all of these are clearly in contradiction of the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. But what is sad is that these theories are so widespread and firmly believed amongst the Muslim ummah.
And this is a huge red flag – a serious sign of danger for us – if we aren’t learning from the authentic of the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ and taking lessons from them and rather resort to juicy conspiracy stories, then how are we going to rely on his guidance to save us from this greatest calamity?
In fact the Prophet, after giving a few physical descriptions, even named a person who looks like Dajjal – the Prophet said he looks like a man called Abdul Uzza bin Qatan (عَبْدِ الْعُزَّى بْنِ قَطَنٍ) from the Banu Mustaliq tribe

Other Descriptions:

He has skin of red complexion,
Big body, well built
Curly hair
Short in stature
Hen-toed, meaning his feet will be bent / crooked
Between his eyes is written "disbeliever”. In one narration in Muslim, He then spelled the word ك ف ر , which every believer will read, whether he is literate or illiterate.

· “So the believer will see this with his insight, even if he is illiterate, and the kaafir will not be able to see it, even if he is literate.” (ibnu Hajar)

Blind of one eye
One of his eye would be like a floating grape.
Another narration: blind in his left eye

· Reconciling the difference between left and right eye –

· Qadhi Iyad: Al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad said (agreed by Imam An-Nawawi) : “Both eyes of the Dajjaal will be defective, because all the reports are saheeh. His right eye will be the one that is abraded (mamsooh) and dull, unable to see, as stated in the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar. And his left eye will be the one that is covered with a thick fold of skin, and will also be defective.” So he will have a defect in both his right eye and his left eye; each of them will be blind, i.e., defective, because the Arabic word used in the hadeeth, a’war, is used to describe anything that is defective and is especially used to describe the eyes of they are impaired. One eye will be non-functional and the other will be defective.”

It is important to note that these descriptions are important for us to objectively identify who he is, avoid him, protect our family members from him.

It is not for us to read these signs into people and start speculating that this is Dajjal. We have all seen so many messages where people speculate that this one eyed baby is Dajjal, this sai baba has curly hair like Dajjal, etc.

Also, do not joke about these descriptions. We know Dajjal is curly hair, and next thing we know we have friends who have an "afro" hairdo and we call him Dajjal. Perhaps we know of someone who works out and goes to the gym, is well built masha Allah and then we say “this guy is trying to be Dajjal”. This is NOT Islamic, and is not laughing matter.

The Prophet gave very detailed explanations so when we merge all these descriptions together, there will be no mistake and room for speculation.

But it’s not up to us to just pickup these diferent pieces of information in isolation and start labelling here and there to instigate fear and panic.

Reference Hadith for this section:

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Dajjal is blind of one eye (mamsuh) and there is written between his eyes the word" Kafir". He then spelled the word as k. f. r., which every Muslim would be able to read.

(Muslim)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ ‏.‏ أَلاَ وَإِنَّ الْمَسِيحَ الدَّجَّالَ أَعْوَرُ الْعَيْنِ الْيُمْنَى كَأَنَّ عَيْنَهُ عِنَبَةٌ طَافِئَةٌ

Ibn Umar reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) made a mention of Dajjal in the presence of the people and said:

Allah is not one-eyed and behold that Dajjal is blind of the right eye and his eye would be like a floating grape.

(Muslim)

إِنَّهُ شَابٌّ قَطَطٌ عَيْنُهُ طَافِئَةٌ كَأَنِّي أُشَبِّهُهُ بِعَبْدِ الْعُزَّى بْنِ قَطَنٍ

He (Dajjal) would be a young man with twisted, contracted hair, and a blind eye. I compare him to `Abd-ul-`Uzza b. Qatan.

(Muslim – Refer REFERENCE #2 for complete narration)

Abdullah bin `Umar: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said,

فَإِذَا رَجُلٌ أَحْمَرُ جَسِيمٌ جَعْدُ الرَّأْسِ أَعْوَرُ الْعَيْنِ الْيُمْنَى، كَأَنَّ عَيْنَهُ عِنَبَةٌ طَافِيَةٌ، قُلْتُ مَنْ هَذَا قَالُوا هَذَا الدَّجَّالُ‏.‏ أَقْرَبُ النَّاسِ بِهِ شَبَهًا ابْنُ قَطَنٍ

"While I was sleeping, I saw myself performing the Tawaf of the Ka`ba. Behold, there I saw a whitish-red lank-haired man (holding himself) between two men with water dropping from his hair. I asked, 'Who is this?' The people replied, 'He is (Jesus / Isa), the son of Mary.' Then I turned my face to see another man with red complexion, big body, curly hair, and blind in the right eye which looked like a protruding out grape. I asked, 'Who is he?' They replied, 'He is Ad-Dajjal.' Ibn Qatan resembles him more than anybody else among the people and Ibn Qatan was a man from Bani Al-Mustaliq from Khuza`a."

(Al-Bukhari)

Hudhaifa reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:

الدَّجَّالُ أَعْوَرُ الْعَيْنِ الْيُسْرَى جُفَالُ الشَّعَرِ مَعَهُ جَنَّةٌ وَنَارٌ فَنَارُهُ جَنَّةٌ وَجَنَّتُهُ نَارٌ

“Dajjal is blind of left eye with thick hair and there would be a paradise and fire with him, and his fire would be a paradise and his paradise would be fire.”

(Muslim)

RECONCILIATION: WHICH EYE WILL BE BLIND?

Al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad said: “Both eyes of the Dajjaal will be defective, because all the reports are saheeh. His right eye will be the one that is abraded (mamsooh) and dull, unable to see, as stated in the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar. And his left eye will be the one that is covered with a thick fold of skin, and will also be defective.” So he will have a defect in both his right eye and his left eye; each of them will be blind, i.e., defective, because the Arabic word used in the hadeeth, a’war, is used to describe anything that is defective and is especially used to describe the eyes of they are impaired. One eye will be non-functional and the other will be defective.”

Al-Nawawi agreed with this reconciliation suggested by al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad, and al-Qurtubi also approved of it.

The Prophet ﷺ said,

إِنِّي قَدْ حَدَّثْتُكُمْ عَنِ الدَّجَّالِ حَتَّى خَشِيتُ أَنْ لاَ تَعْقِلُوا إِنَّ مَسِيحَ الدَّجَّالِ رَجُلٌ قَصِيرٌ أَفْحَجُ جَعْدٌ أَعْوَرُ مَطْمُوسُ الْعَيْنِ لَيْسَ بِنَاتِئَةٍ وَلاَ جَحْرَاءَ فَإِنْ أُلْبِسَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ

“I have told you so much about the Dajjal (Antichrist) that I am afraid you may not understand. The Dajjal is short, hen-toed, woolly-haired, one-eyed, an eye-sightless, and neither protruding nor deep-seated. If you are confused about him, know that your Lord is not one-eyed”

(Abu Daud, graded sahih by Al-Albani)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

أَنَا أَعْلَمُ بِمَا مَعَ الدَّجَّالِ مِنْهُ مَعَهُ نَهْرَانِ يَجْرِيَانِ أَحَدُهُمَا رَأْىَ الْعَيْنِ مَاءٌ أَبْيَضُ وَالآخَرُ رَأْىَ الْعَيْنِ نَارٌ تَأَجَّجُ فَإِمَّا أَدْرَكَنَّ أَحَدٌ فَلْيَأْتِ النَّهْرَ الَّذِي يَرَاهُ نَارًا وَلْيُغَمِّضْ ثُمَّ لْيُطَأْطِئْ رَأْسَهُ فَيَشْرَبَ مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مَاءٌ بَارِدٌ وَإِنَّ الدَّجَّالَ مَمْسُوحُ الْعَيْنِ عَلَيْهَا ظَفَرَةٌ غَلِيظَةٌ مَكْتُوبٌ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ كَافِرٌ يَقْرَؤُهُ كُلُّ مُؤْمِنٍ كَاتِبٍ وَغَيْرِ كَاتِبٍ

“I know what the Dajjal will have with him. He will have two flowing rivers, one that appears to the eye to be clear water, and one that appears to the eye to be flaming fire. If anyone sees that, let him go to the river which he thinks is fire and close his eyes, then lower his head and drink from it, for it is cool water. The Dajjal has one blind eye, with a layer of thick skin over it, and between his eyes is written "disbeliever," which every believer will read, whether he is literate or illiterate.'

(Muslim)

“Dajjal is blind of one eye and there is written between his eyes the word" Kafir". He then spelled the word as k. f. r., which every Muslim would be able to read.” (Muslim)

مَا بَعَثَ اللَّهُ مِنْ نَبِيٍّ إِلاَّ أَنْذَرَ قَوْمَهُ الأَعْوَرَ الْكَذَّابَ، إِنَّهُ أَعْوَرُ، وَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ، مَكْتُوبٌ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ كَافِرٌ

"Allah did not send any prophet but that he warned his nation of the one-eyed liar (Ad-Dajjal). He is one-eyed while your Lord is not one-eyed, The word 'Kafir' (unbeliever) is written between his two eyes." (Al-Bukhari)

7. Trials & Tribulations wrought forth

The Prophet said,

إِنَّهُ خَارِجٌ خَلَّةً بَيْنَ الشَّأْمِ وَالْعِرَاقِ فَعَاثَ يَمِينًا وَعَاثَ شِمَالاً يَا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ فَاثْبُتُوا

“He would appear on the way between Syria and Iraq and would spread mischief right and left. O slaves of Allah! Be steadfast!”

(Sahih Muslim: Refer REFERENCE #2 below for full narration)

He will first claim he is a prophet (i.e. one who receives revelation), then claim he is “God”:

فَإِنِّي سَأَصِفُهُ لَكُمْ صِفَةً لَمْ يَصِفْهَا إِيَّاهُ نَبِيٌّ قَبْلِي إِنَّهُ يَبْدَأُ فَيَقُولُ أَنَا نَبِيٌّ وَلاَ نَبِيَّ بَعْدِي ثُمَّ يُثَنِّي فَيَقُولُ أَنَا رَبُّكُمْ ‏.‏ وَلاَ تَرَوْنَ رَبَّكُمْ حَتَّى تَمُوتُوا

“I will describe him to you in a manner in which none of the Prophets has described him before me. He will start by saying "I am a Prophet," and there is no Prophet after me. Then a second time he will say: "I am your Lord." But you will not see your Lord until you die.”

(ibnu Majah: Refer REFERENCE #1)

In case the descriptions of the Dajjal were not enough, the Prophet ﷺ is once again reminding us that we won’t see Allah in this life. This signifies that these times will be so confusing, so difficult that we need to remember this.

فَيَأْتِي عَلَى الْقَوْمِ فَيَدْعُوهُمْ فَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَجِيبُونَ لَهُ فَيَأْمُرُ السَّمَاءَ فَتُمْطِرُ وَالأَرْضَ فَتُنْبِتُ فَتَرُوحُ عَلَيْهِمْ سَارِحَتُهُمْ أَطْوَلَ مَا كَانَتْ ذُرًا وَأَسْبَغَهُ ضُرُوعًا وَأَمَدَّهُ خَوَاصِرَ ثُمَّ يَأْتِي الْقَوْمَ فَيَدْعُوهُمْ فَيَرُدُّونَ عَلَيْهِ قَوْلَهُ فَيَنْصَرِفُ عَنْهُمْ فَيُصْبِحُونَ مُمْحِلِينَ لَيْسَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ شَىْءٌ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَيَمُرُّ بِالْخَرِبَةِ فَيَقُولُ لَهَا أَخْرِجِي كُنُوزَكِ ‏

“He would come to the people and invite them (to worship) and they would affirm their faith in him and respond to him.

He would then (reward them, and) give command to the sky and there would be rainfall upon the earth and it would grow crops. Then in the evening, their pasturing animals would come to them with their humps very high and their udders full of milk and their flanks stretched. (crops, animals, agriculture becomes very fertile)

He would then come to another people and invite them (to worship him). But they would reject him and (as a punishment) he would walk away from them and there would be drought for them and nothing would be left with them in the form of wealth.

He would then walk through the waste land and say to it: Bring forth your treasures, and the treasures would come out and collect (themselves) before him like the swarm of bees.”

(Muslim – REFERENCE #2)

During these times preceded by those long years of drought wherein humanity will be desperate, Dajjal will bring with him mountains of bread and rivers of water that will seemingly provide sustenance for those who believe in him.

عَنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ، بْنِ شُعْبَةَ قَالَ مَا سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَحَدٌ عَنِ الدَّجَّالِ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْهُ فَقَالَ لِي ‏"‏ أَىْ بُنَىَّ وَمَا يُنْصِبُكَ مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ لَنْ يَضُرَّكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ إِنَّهُمْ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّ مَعَهُ أَنْهَارَ الْمَاءِ وَجِبَالَ الْخُبْزِ ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ هُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Mughira b. Shu'ba reported that none else had asked more questions from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about the Dajjal than I, but he simply said in a slight mood):

O, my son, why are you worried because of him? He will not harm you. I said: The people think that he would have with him rivers of water and mountains of bread, whereupon he said: He would be more insignificant in the sight of Allah than all these things (belonging to him).

(Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

I once read an online article that empathizes with Dajjal, having sympathy for him, making a mockery of these narrations, in a pseudo-intellectual attempt at assessing the "enemy within our own selves".

Make no mistake: there is no good in a person who claims he is god, and invites people to worship him.

Among his abilities of deception is that he will command two devils (shaytan amongst the jinn) to take the shape of one’s deceased parents, to deceive them to worship him:

وَإِنَّ مِنْ فِتْنَتِهِ أَنْ يَقُولَ لأَعْرَابِيٍّ أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ بَعَثْتُ لَكَ أَبَاكَ وَأُمَّكَ أَتَشْهَدُ أَنِّي رَبُّكَ فَيَقُولُ نَعَمْ ‏.‏ فَيَتَمَثَّلُ لَهُ شَيْطَانَانِ فِي صُورَةِ أَبِيهِ وَأُمِّهِ فَيَقُولاَنِ يَا بُنَىَّ اتَّبِعْهُ فَإِنَّهُ رَبُّكَ

Part of his Fitnah will be that he will say to a Bedouin: "What do you think, if I resurrect your father and mother for you, will you bear witness that I am your Lord?" He will say: "Yes."

Then two devils will appear to him in the form of his father and mother and will say: "O my son, follow him, for he is your Lord."

(ibnu Majah, Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani, Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, hadeeth 7752)

Imagine if your own parents were to tell you to worship someone. Imagine if these parents have long been deceased.. people who are close to your heart, whom you miss dearly, coming to you while you are in a state of desperation, hunger, difficulty – and convincing you that the solution is to worship this man. How will you feel?

When you combine all these narrations together, one can see that the Dajjal will have all the abilities to be manipulating and toying with our rationale, our emotions, our iman to manipulate the people to worship him.

SubhanAllah if we observe people today, when they see a few people who do acts of magic with the jinn, a few cheap parlor tricks and they are deceived, and they follow these false idols.
Look at the cults and heretic followings that appear in our times - such as the one led by Jim Jones - all it takes is for one charismatic leader (who didn't even have any supernatural abilities, so to speak) to convince hundreds of people to commit mass-murder-suicide in 1978.

If this was the state of the people in our times, imagine then the influence Dajjal will have if our iman was so weak.

May Allah protect us.

8. Encountering Dajjal

So how will the state of the Muslims be, when encountering the Dajjal?

إِنْ يَخْرُجْ وَأَنَا فِيكُمْ فَأَنَا حَجِيجُهُ دُونَكُمْ وَإِنْ يَخْرُجْ وَلَسْتُ فِيكُمْ فَامْرُؤٌ حَجِيجُ نَفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ خَلِيفَتِي عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ

“If he comes forth while I am among you, I shall contend with him on your behalf, but if he comes forth while I am not amongst you, a man must contend on his own behalf and Allah would take care of every Muslim on my behalf (and safeguard him against his evil).”

(Sahih Muslim: REFERENCE #2)

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ gave assurance that he will protect the companions of Dajjal emerges while he ﷺ is intheir midst. However, if he isn’t, observe his advice: he said, every man defend himself, and Allah will take care of the Muslims.

Now, think about this statement of the Prophet ﷺ:

Firstly, this shows that even he doesn’t know when Dajjal is going to emerge – whether it’s in his lifetime or after his passing. Important: if there are people out there – anyone at all, no mater how “knowledgeable” they may appear to be – who claims to know when Dajjal will come (before he actually emerges), then bear witness that they are liars.

Secondly, the fact that prophet told us to defend ourselves. The Prophet highlighted here that “every man must contend on his own behalf”. Every man defends for themselves.

Now, as a rule, without the fitnah of Dajjal, we are instructed to stick to a jamaah of other Muslims, so we strengthen our iman and help each other in righteousness. But once the Dajjal appears, matters will be so confusing that the Prophet ﷺ did not even encourage us to find other jamaah – because so many people will be tricked into following him to the point where you will have no idea who is upon the truth anymore. People will be disoriented because so many masses will be worshipping him, perhaps people you trust, you think are great Muslims.

It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stick to the Muslims – indeed we need to be sticking together in a jamaah; after all it is this jamaah that will be fighting alongside Isa and the Mahdi against the forces of Dajjal.

However no jamaah is inherently “safe” from Dajjal’s deceptions – the deception may be so great that you might trust a group, only for them to turn to him later. And therefore every individual man makes the right judgment call in accordance to his/her own iman subhanAllah.

Avoid him at all costs!

Don’t even challenge him or “test your iman power”. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

مَنْ سَمِعَ بِالدَّجَّالِ فَلْيَنْأَ عَنْهُ فَوَاللَّهِ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَأْتِيهِ وَهْوَ يَحْسِبُ أَنَّهُ مُؤْمِنٌ فَيَتَّبِعُهُ مِمَّا يُبْعَثُ بِهِ مِنَ الشُّبُهَاتِ أَوْ لِمَا يُبْعَثُ بِهِ مِنَ الشُّبُهَاتِ

“Let him who hears of the Dajjal (Antichrist) go far from him for I swear by Allah that a man will come to him thinking he is a believer and follow him because of confused ideas roused in him by him.”

(Abu Daud, graded sahih by Al-Albani)

This is an important lesson for us also in our times. Do not expose yourself to fitnah - to temptations or trials - if this can result you falling into sins or into misguidance.

For example, if you have an inclination towards other non-mahrams of the opposite gender, then you need to be disciplined enough to avoid social media avenues that can lead you down that path.

In the topic of religion, if you know that a person is deviant and delivering misguided deviant teachings, do not expose yourself or listen to him. Because you might be fooled by his beautiful words which mask his true intent.

A friend of mine once said that he purposely attended the lecture at a masjid, which was delivered by a person who was very well known to be a deviant and against ahlus-sunnah.
I asked him, “Why do you even waste your time? There are so many more beneficial things you could have done with your time and proper knowledgeable people to learn from. In fact, you watching TV at home is even better than attending this deviant’s classes”

He replied, “Oh, I just wanted to test my understanding and aqidah, just to convince myself that these guy’s teachings are foolish and false”

Oh, my friend. That is the wrong mindset! This is precisely what the scholars warned from, and precisely the principle derived of what the Prophet ﷺ himself warned of with regards to Dajjal. You never know the outcome! These deviants are very charismatic, very skillful. You don’t want to put your iman to the test, give that person the “benefit of doubt” and suddenly you find yourself drowned in his convincing stories.

Do not be over confident and gamble your iman.

The Believer Encountering Dajjal

So back to the story of Dajjal. What should we do, if were to encounter him?

The Prophet ﷺ said,

فَمَنْ أَدْرَكَهُ مِنْكُمْ فَلْيَقْرَأْ عَلَيْهِ فَوَاتِحَ سُورَةِ الْكَهْفِ

“He who amongst you would survive to see him should recite over him the opening verses of Surah Kahf.”

(Sahih Muslim: REFERENCE #2)

This is to strengthen our resolve and iman through these very confusing times where our iman will be really put to the test to see through his illusions, to endure through the hardship, hunger and difficulties he will bring forth

Every Muslim, every Mukmin (believer) will be able to recognize that he is Dajjal:

Dajjal is blind of one eye and there is written between his eyes the word" Kafir". He then spelled the word as k. f. r., which every Muslim would be able to read. (Muslim)

مَكْتُوبٌ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ كَافِرٌ يَقْرَؤُهُ كُلُّ مُؤْمِنٍ كَاتِبٍ وَغَيْرِ كَاتِبٍ

between his eyes is written "disbeliever," which every believer will read, whether he is literate or illiterate.'

(Muslim)

The Shafi’ee scholar Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani states:

“This is because Allah causes people to understand something when looking at it, as He wills and when He wills. So the believer will see this with his insight, even if he is illiterate, and the kafir (disbeliever) will not be able to see it, even if he is literate.

By the same token, the believer will see with his insight evidence that the kafir will not see. Allah will enable the believer to understand without him being literate, because at that time, extraordinary things will be happening.”

(Fath al-Baari by Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallaani, 13/100)

Remember, only a true mu’min will be able to see the “ka fa ra” on the dajjal face, between his eyes. What if someone in your own household cannot recognize it? Your spouse? Your parents? What if you cannot recognize it?

What if: someone in our household will be pushing us to just make sujood to him, just to feed us for one day. Out of “necessity”. SubhanAllah.

Remember

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا

"O You who believe! Save yourselves and your family members from the Hellfire!" (Surah At-Tahrim, 6)

Two Rivers: The Illusion

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

(Muslim)

Part of his fitnah is that he will have an illusion of two rivers: one of fire and one of cool water with him. The Prophet ﷺ gave us guidelines that we should not be deceived this apparent appearance: the cooling water is actually Fire (of Hell); and the burning flames is actually a coolness. So remember: when meeting Dajjal, choose the Fire.

Remember also: this will not be an easy choice. Even today, Hollywood’s special effects – as fake as they are – are extremely convincing. If you go to Universal Studios they even have a ride that simulates “disasters”, and it feels incredibly real, yet are only illusions. But what Dajjal will have with him will be very much more real than that. So it is only our iman in the Sunnah of the Prophet that will give us the steadfastness and strength to make the right choice.

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said,

أَلاَ أُحَدِّثُكُمْ حَدِيثًا عَنِ الدَّجَّالِ مَا حَدَّثَ بِهِ نَبِيٌّ قَوْمَهُ، إِنَّهُ أَعْوَرُ، وَإِنَّهُ يَجِيءُ مَعَهُ بِمِثَالِ الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ، فَالَّتِي يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا الْجَنَّةُ‏.‏ هِيَ النَّارُ، وَإِنِّي أُنْذِرُكُمْ كَمَا أَنْذَرَ بِهِ نُوحٌ قَوْمَهُ

"Shall I not tell you about the Dajjal a story of which no prophet told his nation? The Dajjall is one-eyed and will bring with him what will resemble Hell and Paradise, and what he will call Paradise will be actually Hell; so I warn you (against him) as Noah warned his nation against him."

(Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

9. Safe Haven: Makkah and Madinah

Dajjal will be wreacking havoc across the entire Earth in every corner of the globe, travelling extremely fast and reaching every corner of the globe except Makkah and Madinah –

كَالْغَيْثِ اسْتَدْبَرَتْهُ الرِّيحُ

“Like cloud driven by the wind.”

(Muslim – REFERENCE #2)

Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:

لَيْسَ مِنْ بَلَدٍ إِلاَّ سَيَطَؤُهُ الدَّجَّالُ إِلاَّ مَكَّةَ وَالْمَدِينَةَ وَلَيْسَ نَقْبٌ مِنْ أَنْقَابِهَا إِلاَّ عَلَيْهِ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ صَافِّينَ تَحْرُسُهَا فَيَنْزِلُ بِالسَّبَخَةِ فَتَرْجُفُ الْمَدِينَةُ ثَلاَثَ رَجَفَاتٍ يَخْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْهَا كُلُّ كَافِرٍ وَمُنَافِقٍ

“There will be no land which would not be covered by the Dajjal except for Makah and Madinah, and there would no passage out of the passages leading to them which would not be guarded by angels arranged in rows.

Then he (the Dajjal) would appear in a barren place adjacent to Medina and it would rock three times that every unbeliever and hypocrite would get out of it towards him.”

(Muslim)

Now it’s interesting to note on some perspective with regards to these descriptions. When the Prophet ﷺ told his to his companions 1400 years ago, it may be difficult or seemingly “out of the ordinary” to imagine how a person could travel like the wind and reach every corner of the globe in such a short amount of time.

With the advent of technology in our times in the 21^st century, it’s not all that difficult to imagine how this is possible. Today we have jet planes that can cross huge distances in a very short duration. We can cross continents within minutes. And the fastest aircraft today can move at Mach 6: six times the speed of sound. Cross continents within minutes.

And on how Dajjal’s influence can be spread like wildfire to the entire world, we can see these days with digital technology and social media, we can see how so many trends can become “overnight sensations”, go viral and impact hundreds of millions literally overnight in social media and on youtube – sometimes for really ridiculous things. Without even setting foot to those regions.

And subhanAllah I imagined what were to happen given the context of our technology today. If the situation during these times is that of severe drought, famine, and what if, here comes this man bringing riches, wealth, food supplies, in the midst of this desperation and complete chaos.
Perhaps people will be sharing, re-tweeting, uploading their own story of their miracles with dajjal. Maybe you’ll see some random YouTube of an uncle whose life was transformed and saved by this one eyed miracle. Some short Tik Tok video showing how this one-eyed man destroyed the lands of those who disbelieved in him. Or perhaps, some religious figure whose life was impacted so deeply that he begins preaching to the rest of the world that this one eyed person is indeed “god” on his multi-million-follower social media page.

One would imagine, that such kinds of posts will get a lot of viral propagation without breaking a sweat.

During this time, the Prophet ﷺ told us of the two safest places to be, which are the only two places in the world cannot enter: Makkah and Madinah.

Narrated Abu Bakra: The Prophet (ﷺ) said,

لاَ يَدْخُلُ الْمَدِينَةَ رُعْبُ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ، وَلَهَا يَوْمَئِذٍ سَبْعَةُ أَبْوَابٍ، عَلَى كُلِّ باب مَلَكَانِ

"The terror caused by Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal will not enter Medina and at that time Medina will have seven gates and there will be two angels at each gate (guarding them).”

(Al-Bukhari)

Reflection: On the surface, this may sound like an “easy” solution. Just to go Makkah and Madinah, khalas, you are safe, right?

Remember: we do not know the condition of Makkah and Madinah at the time. Maybe the place is safe from Dajjal, but we don’t know the other logistics? Food, supplies, medicine? Over population? Perhaps all the Muslims who know of these hadith of the Prophet would be fleeing there at this time.

Unhappy of this restriction, Dajjal will then go to the outskirts of Madinah, and “call out” the people from inside to come out to him, and he will do so by striking the ground three times, causing an earthquake, At this point, those with no iman will say “I’ve had enough”. And it is at this point that as the Prophet described, the disbelievers and hypocrites will go out towards him to seek shelter

Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:

“There will be no land which would not be covered by the Dajjal but Mecca and Medina, and there would no passage out of the passages leading to them which would not be guarded by angels arranged in rows.

Then he (the Dajjal) would appear in a barren place adjacent to Medina and it would rock three times that every unbeliever and hypocrite would get out of it towards him.”

(Muslim)

Abdullah ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said

عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَنْزِلُ الدَّجَّالُ فِي هَذِهِ السَّبَخَةِ بِمَرِّقَنَاةَ فَيَكُونُ أَكْثَرَ مَنْ يَخْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ النِّسَاءُ حَتَّى إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَرْجِعُ إِلَى حَمِيمِهِ وَإِلَى أُمِّهِ وَابْنَتِهِ وَأُخْتِهِ وَعَمَّتِهِ فَيُوثِقُهَا رِبَاطًا مَخَافَةَ أَنْ تَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِ

5330 مسند أحمد بن حنبل

7/190 المحدث أحمد شاكر خلاصة حكم المحدث إسناده صحيح في مسند أحمد

“The False Messiah will come upon this marsh of Marriqanat (near Medina). Most of those who go out to him will be women.
Until a man will return to his wife, his mother, his daughter, his sister, and his aunt to shackle them tightly (i.e. tie them up in their homes), out of fear that they would go out to Dajjal.”

(Source: Musnad Ahmad 5330; Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Ahmad Shakir)

10. Duration of Fitnah

How long will his reign of terror be?

قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا لَبْثُهُ فِي الأَرْضِ قَالَ ‏"‏ أَرْبَعُونَ يَوْمًا يَوْمٌ كَسَنَةٍ وَيَوْمٌ كَشَهْرٍ وَيَوْمٌ كَجُمُعَةٍ وَسَائِرُ أَيَّامِهِ كَأَيَّامِكُمْ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

We said: Allah's Messenger, how long would he stay on the earth?

He (ﷺ) said: For forty days, one day like a year and one day like a month and one day like a week and the rest of the days would be like your days.

(Muslim: REFERENCE #2)

The perception of time will be completely distorted, somehow. Somehow in the first day, one day, 24 hours will become like a whole year, 300+ days. How will that happen? Allahu a’lam.

But imagine if you had to ensure an entire year of this madness. Of drought, deseperation, deception, confusion. The pressing need to survive, inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un.

What will be your major concern?

Personally, I will be asking things like:

How will we find food to survive the famine? How will we fight his army? What strategies shall we employ? How can we protect our families?

In the narration of An-Nawwas bin Sam’an in Sahih Muslim, when the Prophet described this time to the companions, the companions asked a question. What was the question?

قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَذَلِكَ الْيَوْمُ الَّذِي كَسَنَةٍ أَتَكْفِينَا فِيهِ صَلاَةُ يَوْمٍ قَالَ ‏"‏ لاَ اقْدُرُوا لَهُ قَدْرَهُ ‏"‏

We said: Allah's Messenger, if one day will be like a year, would one day's prayer suffice for the prayers of day equal to one year?

Thereupon he (ﷺ) said: No, but you must make an estimate of time (and then observe prayer).

(Muslim – Reference #2)

The companions only concern was: “How should we pray?”

The companions understood – that no matter how terrible calamities can get. No matter how crazy, confusing, how widespread the corruption, the shirik, the disbelief gets, no matter how desperate things get, no matter how bad the calamity, no matter how bad the coronavirus pandemic gets, at the end of the day, we are going to die, we are going to meet Allah, we still need to pray.

At the end of the day, this dunia is just dunia, and it will end anyway.

And at the end of the day, the FIRST DEED that will be evaluated is our solah – regardless of what happens in this dunia.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يُحَاسَبُ بِهِ الْعَبْدُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ صَلَاتُهُ. فَإِنْ صَلُحَتْ فَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ وَأَنْجَحَ، وَإِنْ فَسَدَتْ فَقَدْ خَابَ وَخَسِرَ، فَإِنْ انْتَقَصَ مِنْ فَرِيضَتِهِ شَيْءٌ، قَالَ الرَّبُّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: انْظُرُوا هَلْ لِعَبْدِي مِنْ تَطَوُّعٍ فَيُكَمَّلَ بِهَا مَا انْتَقَصَ مِنْ الْفَرِيضَةِ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ سَائِرُ عَمَلِهِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ

Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion.

(Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Ahmad)

SubhanAllah what an amazing mindset the companions had!

Therefore I want us to ask ourselves this question: How has our performance of our solah been throughout the Coronavirus pandemic? Of staying indoors, in isolation, and under lockdown?

How has our prayer been when we go through any other trials, tribulations and difficulties in life? I remember a friend of mine – a good practicing Muslim – when he lost his job and was going through a family conflict, he stopped praying altogether because he told me he had negative thoughts on Allah. He cannot fathom why is this happening to him.

SubhanAllah! Difficulties should make us turn to Allah even more – not run away from Him!

But it got me thinking… if, even in these calamities and tragedies of our lives – which are nothing in comparison to the calamity of Dajjal – are already making us abandon our prayer, or slack off in them and perform so poorly in them, then how will we be when the Dajjal actually comes?

Alhamdulillah we still have time to turn the ship around and rectify ourselves. But our past performance should be a personal cautionary reminder to ourselves on the state of our iman, and how we should improve ourselves even more before Dajjal emerges.

The Prophet gave the principle and the method.. and that is, to “estimate” the time. This hadith is used as a fiqh principle to evaluate prayer and fasting times for places that have issues on having no sunlight, or having no nighttime at all – such as some parts in the world today.

11. The Greatest Martyr

But there is a glimmer of hope. It is in these times of insane trials as well that a man will rise up from the Muslim ummah – whom the prophet described as the Best of Men, the greatest or martyrs.

Summary of hadith narrated by Muslim and Al-Bukhari:

This man – a mu’min – will come forward, and he will challenge Dajjal.
The followers of Dajjal will decide, kill him. And then they will say “your God has prohibited you from killing anyone.” So they will bring this Muslim to Dajjal
While being dragged to Dajjal, this man will tell the people يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ هَذَا الدَّجَّالُ الَّذِي ذَكَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ayuhan-nas! This is the Dajjal which was mentioned by Rasulullah ﷺ!”
This shows us the Importance of Knowledge of the Sunnah!! This man was well aware of the hadith narrated regarding Dajjal, and this also shows us that even up to these times, the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ will still be alive then, and thus he will remind the rest.
He will attempt to convince the people to snap out of it. He will give da’wah to them. Don’t be fooled by this impostor, this false messiah, this faker
Dajjal will order him to be killed – then they will strike him in the back and in his stomach
And out of his arrogance, then he will ask “now, do you believe?”
And the believing man will say أَنْتَ الْمَسِيحُ الْكَذَّابُ “You are the Lying Masih!”
He will then take a saw, and saw this man into half
Once this man has been chopped into two pieces from his head to toe. Then Dajjal will walk in between these two pieces, and bring these two pieces back together
Then he will command “stand” and will ask “NOW do you believe?”
And the man will say, “This hasn’t increased me in anything except my confidence of your lies! O people! After this, he won’t be able to harm anyone among you”
Exposing the fallacy of Dajjal
Again, showing his deep concern of the people’s guidance
Dajjal will grow impatient and angry. So he will order this man to be killed
And when they are about to cut off his neck, Allah will make his neck of copper, and therefore they will not be able to kill him
Now even more frustrated, Dajjal will seize this man by his hand, and feet, and throw him away
The Prophet described "أَنَّمَا قَذَفَهُ إِلَى النَّارِ وَإِنَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ" - "They would perceive that this man is thrown into the Fire - when in reality, he is thrown into Paradise"
And finally, the Prophet said," هَذَا أَعْظَمُ النَّاسِ شَهَادَةً عِنْدَ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ": "This is the greatest of martyrs amongst mankind, in the right of (Allah), the Lord of the Universe"

So yes, the worst is yet to come, but this hadith also tells us – the BEST is yet to come. Best of martyrs.

We need to learn from this hadith.

If we aspire to be like this man, this greatest of martyrs or train our children to be like this greatest syahid, then we need to really develop two major characteristics, beyond the obvious ones, which is knowledge and steadfastness to hold on to our principles during times of trials.

1) Courage to speak up against tyranny and oppression.

In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said,

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ أَفْضَلُ الْجِهَادِ كَلِمَةُ عَدْلٍ عِنْدَ سُلْطَانٍ جَائِرٍ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ أَوْ ‏"‏ أَمِيرٍ جَائِرٍ

“The greatest Jihad is a word of justice against an oppressing tyrant or oppressive leader”

(Narrated by Abu Daud, An-Nasa’ee, ibn Majah- At-Tirmidzi. Graded sahih by Al-Albani in Sahih sunan ibn Majah)

We need to train ourselves to stick true to our principles by developing the courage to speak up against the face of injustice – whether it’s in our workplace, against our unethical bosses, or society at large.

If even at this, we are still failing, then how would we be able to speak up against Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal?

2) The deep concern to guide other people.

To convince them to snap out of the disbelief that they are in. Not to be people who just enter Jannah by ourselves, remind them a few times, and then give up on them – throw up our hands in the air, and say “if you want to go to hell, then whatever lah”.

Rather, we need to have the sincere compassion to save others from misguidance. The passion for da’wah. Not because it’s an obligation, but it’s because it’s who we are.

Just like Allah described the Prophet ﷺ in surah al-kahf, ayah 6:

فَلَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَفْسَكَ عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِمْ إِنْ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِهَٰذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَسَفًا

“Perhaps, you, would kill yourself (O Muhammad SAW) in grief, over their footsteps (for their turning away from you), because they believe not in this narration (the Quran).”

The Prophet ﷺ was so keen on people’s guidance, to the point that Allah describes that perhaps he might DIE out of grief because they refuse to believe.

This is the compassion we need to try and develop in our hearts.

Reference Hadith for this section:

عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ يَخْرُجُ الدَّجَّالُ فَيَتَوَجَّهُ قِبَلَهُ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَتَلْقَاهُ الْمَسَالِحُ مَسَالِحُ الدَّجَّالِ فَيَقُولُونَ لَهُ أَيْنَ تَعْمِدُ فَيَقُولُ أَعْمِدُ إِلَى هَذَا الَّذِي خَرَجَ - قَالَ - فَيَقُولُونَ لَهُ أَوَمَا تُؤْمِنُ بِرَبِّنَا فَيَقُولُ مَا بِرَبِّنَا خَفَاءٌ ‏.‏ فَيَقُولُونَ اقْتُلُوهُ ‏.‏ فَيَقُولُ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ أَلَيْسَ قَدْ نَهَاكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ أَنْ تَقْتُلُوا أَحَدًا دُونَهُ - قَالَ - فَيَنْطَلِقُونَ بِهِ إِلَى الدَّجَّالِ فَإِذَا رَآهُ الْمُؤْمِنُ قَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ هَذَا الدَّجَّالُ الَّذِي ذَكَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ فَيَأْمُرُ الدَّجَّالُ بِهِ فَيُشَبَّحُ فَيَقُولُ خُذُوهُ وَشُجُّوهُ ‏.‏ فَيُوسَعُ ظَهْرُهُ وَبَطْنُهُ ضَرْبًا - قَالَ - فَيَقُولُ أَوَمَا تُؤْمِنُ بِي قَالَ فَيَقُولُ أَنْتَ الْمَسِيحُ الْكَذَّابُ - قَالَ - فَيُؤْمَرُ بِهِ فَيُؤْشَرُ بِالْمِئْشَارِ مِنْ مَفْرِقِهِ حَتَّى يُفَرَّقَ بَيْنَ رِجْلَيْهِ - قَالَ - ثُمَّ يَمْشِي الدَّجَّالُ بَيْنَ الْقِطْعَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ يَقُولُ لَهُ قُمْ ‏.‏ فَيَسْتَوِي قَائِمًا - قَالَ - ثُمَّ يَقُولُ لَهُ أَتُؤْمِنُ بِي فَيَقُولُ مَا ازْدَدْتُ فِيكَ إِلاَّ بَصِيرَةً - قَالَ - ثُمَّ يَقُولُ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّهُ لاَ يَفْعَلُ بَعْدِي بِأَحَدٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ - قَالَ - فَيَأْخُذُهُ الدَّجَّالُ لِيَذْبَحَهُ فَيُجْعَلَ مَا بَيْنَ رَقَبَتِهِ إِلَى تَرْقُوَتِهِ نُحَاسًا فَلاَ يَسْتَطِيعُ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً - قَالَ - فَيَأْخُذُ بِيَدَيْهِ وَرِجْلَيْهِ فَيَقْذِفُ بِهِ فَيَحْسِبُ النَّاسُ أَنَّمَا قَذَفَهُ إِلَى النَّارِ وَإِنَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ هَذَا أَعْظَمُ النَّاسِ شَهَادَةً عِنْدَ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ‏"

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

The Dajjal would come forth and a person from amongst the believers would go towards him and the armed men of the Dajjal would meet him and they would say to him: “Where do you intend to go?”

He would say: “I intend to go to this one who is coming forth.”

They would say to him: “Don't you believe in our Lord?”

He would say: “There is nothing hidden about our Lord.”

They would say: “Kill him.”

Then some amongst them would say: “Has your master (Dajjal) not forbidden you to kill anyone without (his consent)?”

And so they would take him to the Dajjal and when the believer would see him, he would say:

“O people. he is the Dajjal about whom Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) has informed (us).”

The Dajjal would then order for breaking his head and utter (these words): Catch hold of him and break his head. He would be struck even on his back and on his stomach.

Then the Dajjal would ask him: “Don't you believe in me?”

He would say: “You are the lying al-Masih!”

He would then order him to be torn (into pieces) with a saw from the parting of his hair up to his legs. After that the Dajjal would walk between the two pieces. He would then say to him: “Stand”, and he would stand erect (still alive).

He would then say to him: “Don't you believe in me?”

And the person would say: “It has only added to my insight concerning you (that you are really the Dajjal)!”

He (the believing man) would then say: “O people, he would not behave with anyone amongst people (in such a manner) after me.”

The Dajjal would try to catch hold of him so that he should kill him (again). The space between his neck and collar bone would be turned into copper and he would find no means to kill him. So he would catch hold of him by his hand and feet and throw him (into the air) and the people would think as if he had been thrown in the Hell-Fire whereas he would be thrown in Paradise.

Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:

هَذَا أَعْظَمُ النَّاسِ شَهَادَةً عِنْدَ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“He would be the greatest of martyrs amongst mankind in the sight of the Lord of the world.”

(Muslim)

Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri:

يَأْتِي الدَّجَّالُ ـ وَهُوَ مُحَرَّمٌ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ نِقَابَ الْمَدِينَةِ ـ بَعْضَ السِّبَاخِ الَّتِي بِالْمَدِينَةِ، فَيَخْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ يَوْمَئِذٍ رَجُلٌ، هُوَ خَيْرُ النَّاسِ ـ أَوْ مِنْ خَيْرِ النَّاسِ ـ فَيَقُولُ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ الدَّجَّالُ، الَّذِي حَدَّثَنَا عَنْكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَدِيثَهُ، فَيَقُولُ الدَّجَّالُ أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ قَتَلْتُ هَذَا ثُمَّ أَحْيَيْتُهُ، هَلْ تَشُكُّونَ فِي الأَمْرِ فَيَقُولُونَ لاَ‏.‏ فَيَقْتُلُهُ، ثُمَّ يُحْيِيهِ فَيَقُولُ حِينَ يُحْيِيهِ وَاللَّهِ مَا كُنْتُ قَطُّ أَشَدَّ بَصِيرَةً مِنِّي الْيَوْمَ، فَيَقُولُ الدَّجَّالُ أَقْتُلُهُ فَلاَ أُسَلَّطُ عَلَيْهِ

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) told us a long narrative about Ad-Dajjal, and among the many things he mentioned, was his saying, "Ad-Dajjal will come and it will be forbidden for him to pass through the entrances of Medina. He will land in some of the salty barren areas (outside) Medina; on that day the best man or one of the best men will come up to him and say, 'I testify that you are the same Dajjal whose description was given to us by Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) .' Ad-Dajjal will say to the people, 'If I kill this man and bring him back to life again, will you doubt my claim?' They will say, 'No.' Then Ad-Dajjal will kill that man and bring him back to life. That man will say, 'Now I know your reality better than before.' Ad-Dajjal will say, 'I want to kill him but I cannot.

(Al-Bukhari)

12. Jesus (Al-Masih ibn Maryam) Descends

So coming back to the story of Dajjal, at this point the battle between the forces of iman and the forces of Dajjal will be at its climax. The peak of his reign within this forty day disaster.

It is at this time, when the Muslim ummah is led by Al-Mahdi, that isa will descend upon mankind. The sequents of events will be as follows:

During the time of fajr prayers (in the morning) to be led by al-Mahdi. The following is a brief summary of the characteristics of Al-Mahdi
Of the ahlul bait (the household of the Prophet ﷺ) through the lineage of Fatimah
He will have a broad forehead and prominent sharp nose
His name will be Muhammad and his father’s name will be Abdullah
Allah will rectify his affairs in a night – meaning, maybe he was a sinner, less practicing, state, but over a short period he will change and become the leader he needs to be
He will rule for a period of seven or eight years, will rule with justice after a period of tyranny
At a white minaret, eastern side of Damascus (Dimashq) in Syria, two angels will bring down Jesus (Al-Masih Isa bin Maryam) descending from the heavens
The Prophet described him as having long hair to his shoulders, with droplets of water falling like beads of pearls from his head
He is a medium-statured man with white and red complexion, and he resembled the companion Urwa bin Mas’ud
When Jesus descends, the leader, Al-Mahdi will tell him to instruct the prayer
But Al-Masih bin Maryam will turn down that request, and will say "لاَ ‏.‏ إِنَّ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ أُمَرَاءُ ‏.‏ تَكْرِمَةَ اللَّهِ هَذِهِ الأُمَّةَ", "No. Verily, you are leaders of your own selves. This is an honor of Allah upon this ummah"
Jesus (Isa Alayhissalam) will not be sent as a Prophet to this nation; rather, he will be following the shari’ah of Prophet Muhammad, and in fact Prophet Isa will be praying behind an imam from our ummah at the time
Allah will grant Isa (alayhissalam) with the ability to defeat Dajjal and his army: Any disbeliever who smells Isa will would die, and his breath would reach as far as he would be able to see.
Isa (alayhissalam) with the powers in such a way that if Dajjal were to see him, Dajjal will begin to disintegrate, as the Prophet described he will melt, just as salt melts in water. And so upon encountering him, Dajjal will immediately run away from Isa.
Isa will go after him, catch him and will say: "I have only one strike for you, which you will not be able to escape!" He will catch up with him at the eastern gate of Ludd, and will kill him.
Instead of using his abilities to disintegrate Dajjal, Isa (alayhissalam) will choose to kill Dajjal to show to the people that he has spilled the blood of Dajjal, to prove that this self-proclaimed “god” is a fake. Is just a man.

Reference Hadith for this section:

Note: For further informationon the Mahdi, refer to APPENDIX A, Reference #3: Additional Hadith regarding the Mahdi

and it would be at this very time that Allah would send Jesus, son of Mary, and he will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damascus wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he would lower his head, there would fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he would raise it up, beads like pearls would scatter from it.

(Muslim – REFERENCE #2)

Physical description of Jesus:

قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ ذَكَرَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَوْمًا بَيْنَ ظَهْرَىِ النَّاسِ الْمَسِيحَ الدَّجَّالَ، فَقَالَ ‏"‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ، أَلاَ إِنَّ الْمَسِيحَ الدَّجَّالَ أَعْوَرُ الْعَيْنِ الْيُمْنَى، كَأَنَّ عَيْنَهُ عِنَبَةٌ طَافِيَةٌ ‏"‏‏.‏ ‏"‏ وَأَرَانِي اللَّيْلَةَ عِنْدَ الْكَعْبَةِ فِي الْمَنَامِ، فَإِذَا رَجُلٌ آدَمُ كَأَحْسَنِ مَا يُرَى مِنْ أُدْمِ الرِّجَالِ، تَضْرِبُ لِمَّتُهُ بَيْنَ مَنْكِبَيْهِ، رَجِلُ الشَّعَرِ، يَقْطُرُ رَأْسُهُ مَاءً، وَاضِعًا يَدَيْهِ عَلَى مَنْكِبَىْ رَجُلَيْنِ وَهْوَ يَطُوفُ بِالْبَيْتِ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ مَنْ هَذَا فَقَالُوا هَذَا الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ‏.‏ ثُمَّ رَأَيْتُ رَجُلاً وَرَاءَهُ جَعْدًا قَطَطًا أَعْوَرَ عَيْنِ الْيُمْنَى كَأَشْبَهِ مَنْ رَأَيْتُ بِابْنِ قَطَنٍ، وَاضِعًا يَدَيْهِ عَلَى مَنْكِبَىْ رَجُلٍ، يَطُوفُ بِالْبَيْتِ، فَقُلْتُ مَنْ هَذَا قَالُوا الْمَسِيحُ الدَّجَّالُ ‏"‏‏.‏ تَابَعَهُ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ عَنْ نَافِعٍ‏.

Narrated `Abdullah:

“The Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned the Masih Ad-Dajjal in front of the people saying, Allah is not one-eyed while Masih Ad-Dajjal is blind in the right eye and his eye looks like a bulging out grape. While sleeping near the Ka`ba last night, I saw in my dream a man of brown color the best one can see amongst brown color and his hair was long that it fell between his shoulders. His hair was lank and water was dribbling from his head and he was placing his hands on the shoulders of two men while circumambulating the Ka`ba. I asked, 'Who is this?' They replied, 'This is Jesus, son of Mary.'

Behind him I saw a man who had very curly hair and was blind in the right eye, resembling Ibn Qatan (i.e. an infidel) in appearance. He was placing his hands on the shoulders of a person while performing Tawaf around the Ka`ba. I asked, 'Who is this? 'They replied, 'The Masih, Ad-Dajjal.' "

(Al-Bukhari)

During the mi’raj, the Prophet ﷺ saw Jesus and described him as:

عِيسَى جَعْدٌ مَرْبُوعٌ

A well-built person having curly hair. (Muslim)

In another narration,

وَرَأَيْتُ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ مَرْبُوعَ الْخَلْقِ إِلَى الْحُمْرَةِ وَالْبَيَاضِ سَبِطَ الرَّأْسِ

and saw Jesus son of Mary as a medium-statured man with white and red complexion and crisp hair (Muslim)

كَأَنَّهُ عُرْوَةُ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ

“He resembles the looks of Urwa bin Mas’ud”

(Muslim)

So he will descend during the time of Fajr prayer

قيل : فأين العربُ يَوْمَئِذٍ ؟ قال : هم يَوْمَئِذٍ قليلٌ ، . . . وإمامُهم رجلٌ صالحٌ ، فبَيْنَما إمامُهم قد تَقَدَّم يُصَلِّي بهِمُ الصُّبْحَ ، إذ نزل عليهم عيسى ابنُ مريمَ الصُّبْحَ ، فرجع ذلك الإمامُ يَنْكُصُ يَمْشِي القَهْقَرَى ليتقدمَ عيسى ، فيضعُ عيسى يدَه بين كَتِفَيْهِ ، ثم يقولُ له : تَقَدَّمْ فَصَلِّ ؛ فإنها لك أُقِيمَتْ ، فيُصَلِّى بهم إمامُهم ، فإذا انصرف قال عيسى : افتَحوا البابَ ، فيَفْتَحُون ووراءَه الدَّجَّالُ ، معه سبعونَ ألفَ يهوديٍّ ، كلُّهم ذو سيفٍ مُحَلًّى وسَاجٍ ، فإذا نظر إليه الدَّجَّالُ ذاب كما يذوبُ المِلْحُ في الماءِ . وينطلقُ هاربًا ، … فيُدْرِكُه عند بابِ لُدٍّ الشرقيِّ ، فيقتلُه ، فيَهْزِمُ اللهُ اليهودَ

It was asked: 'O Messenger of Allah, where will the Arabs be that day?'

He said: 'On that day they will be few, and most of them will be in Baitul-Maqdis (Jerusalem), and their leader will be a righteous man. When their leader has stepped forward to lead them in subh prayer, 'Eisa bin Maryam will come down to them. Their leader will step backwards so that 'Eisa can come forward and lead the people in prayer, but 'Eisa will place his hand between his shoulders and say to him: "Go forward and pray, for the Iqamah was given for you." Then their leader will lead them in prayer.

When he has finished, 'Eisa (as), will say: "Open the gate." So they will open it and behind it will be Dajjal with seventy thousand Jews, each of them carrying an adorned sword and wearing a greenish cloak.

When Dajjal looks at him, he will start to melt as salt melts in water. He will run away, and 'Eisa (as), will say: "I have only one blow for you, which you will not be able to escape!" He will catch up with him at the eastern gate of Ludd, and will kill him.

(Ibn Majah: REFERENCE #1)

لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي يُقَاتِلُونَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ - قَالَ - فَيَنْزِلُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَيَقُولُ أَمِيرُهُمْ تَعَالَ صَلِّ لَنَا ‏.‏ فَيَقُولُ لاَ ‏.‏ إِنَّ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ أُمَرَاءُ ‏.‏ تَكْرِمَةَ اللَّهِ هَذِهِ الأُمَّةَ

"A section of my people will not cease fighting for the Truth and will prevail till the Day of Resurrection. He said: Jesus son of Mary would then descend and their (Muslims') commander would invite him to come and lead them in prayer, but he would say: No, some amongst you are commanders over some (amongst you). This is the honour from Allah for this Ummah."

(Muslim)

In another narration by Imam Ahmad, it is explicitly mentioned that the one who will ask Isa to lead the prayer is the Mahdi himself. And therefore Isa will be praying behind this Mahdi.

ينزلُ عيسى ابنُ مريمَ فيقولُ أميرُهمُ المهديُّ تعالَ صلِّ بِنا فيقولُ لا إن بعضَهم أميرُ بعضٍ تَكرِمةُ اللهِ لهذه الأمةِ

الراوي : جابر بن عبدالله | المحدث : ابن القيم | المصدر : المنار المنيف | الصفحة أو الرقم : 114 | خلاصة حكم المحدث : إسناده جيد | التخريج :أخرجه الحارث في ((المسند)) كما في ((المنار المنيف)) لابن القيم (ص147) واللفظ له، وأبو يعلى كما في ((مجمع زوائد)) للهيثمي (7/291)، وأبو عوانة في ((المسند)) (317) باختلاف يسير

Jesus, the son of Mary, descends, and their leader, the Mahdi, says: Come, pray with us, and say, “No, some of them are leaders to each other; this is the honor of Allah on this ummah.”

(Narrated by Ahmad with a good chain of narration)

Allah will grant Prophet Isa with the ability that if the disbelievers would even smell Isa, they will fall dead, and that if Dajjal were to smell him, he would begin disintegrate and melt away, and thus will run away from Isa.

فَلاَ يَحِلُّ لِكَافِرٍ يَجِدُ رِيحَ نَفَسِهِ إِلاَّ مَاتَ

وَنَفَسُهُ يَنْتَهِي حَيْثُ يَنْتَهِي طَرْفُهُ فَيَطْلُبُهُ حَتَّى يُدْرِكَهُ بِبَابِ لُدٍّ

“Every non-believer who would smell the odor of his self would die and his breath would reach as far as he would be able to see. He would then search for him (Dajjal) until he would catch hold of him at the gate of Ludd and would kill him.”

إِذْ أُقِيمَتِ الصَّلاَةُ فَيَنْزِلُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ فَأَمَّهُمْ فَإِذَا رَآهُ عَدُوُّ اللَّهِ ذَابَ كَمَا يَذُوبُ الْمِلْحُ فِي الْمَاءِ فَلَوْ تَرَكَهُ لاَنْذَابَ حَتَّى يَهْلِكَ وَلَكِنْ يَقْتُلُهُ اللَّهُ بِيَدِهِ فَيُرِيهِمْ دَمَهُ فِي حَرْبَتِهِ

When the enemy of Allah would see him, it would (disintegrate / disappear) just as the salt dissolves itself in water and if he (Jesus) were not to confront them at all, even then it would dissolve completely, but Allah would kill them by his hand and he would show them their blood on his lance (the lance of Jesus Christ).

(Muslim REFERENCE #2)

13. Dajjal Killed: Victory for the Ummah

Finally, as Jesus kills Dajjal, Allah will restore peace and barakah on the entire Earth, as described by the Prophet:

فَيَطْلُبُهُ فَيُهْلِكُهُ ثُمَّ يَمْكُثُ النَّاسُ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ لَيْسَ بَيْنَ اثْنَيْنِ عَدَاوَةٌ
Then people would live for seven years that there would be no rancour between two persons.
(Narrated by Muslim)

فَيَكُونُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ فِي أُمَّتِي حَكَمًا عَدْلاً وَإِمَامًا مُقْسِطًا يَدُقُّ الصَّلِيبَ وَيَذْبَحُ الْخِنْزِيرَ وَيَضَعُ الْجِزْيَةَ وَيَتْرُكُ الصَّدَقَةَ فَلاَ يُسْعَى عَلَى شَاةٍ وَلاَ بَعِيرٍ وَتُرْفَعُ الشَّحْنَاءُ وَالتَّبَاغُضُ وَتُنْزَعُ حُمَةُ كُلِّ ذَاتِ حُمَةٍ حَتَّى يُدْخِلَ الْوَلِيدُ يَدَهُ فِي فِي الْحَيَّةِ فَلاَ تَضُرَّهُ وَتُفِرُّ الْوَلِيدَةُ الأَسَدَ فَلاَ يَضُرُّهَا وَيَكُونُ الذِّئْبُ فِي الْغَنَمِ كَأَنَّهُ كَلْبُهَا وَتُمْلأُ الأَرْضُ مِنَ السِّلْمِ كَمَا يُمْلأُ الإِنَاءُ مِنَ الْمَاءِ وَتَكُونُ الْكَلِمَةُ وَاحِدَةً فَلاَ يُعْبَدُ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَتَضَعُ الْحَرْبُ أَوْزَارَهَا وَتُسْلَبُ قُرَيْشٌ مُلْكَهَا وَتَكُونُ الأَرْضُ كَفَاثُورِ الْفِضَّةِ تُنْبِتُ نَبَاتَهَا بِعَهْدِ آدَمَ حَتَّى يَجْتَمِعَ النَّفَرُ عَلَى الْقِطْفِ مِنَ الْعِنَبِ فَيُشْبِعَهُمْ وَيَجْتَمِعَ النَّفَرُ عَلَى الرُّمَّانَةِ فَتُشْبِعَهُمْ وَيَكُونَ الثَّوْرُ بِكَذَا وَكَذَا مِنَ الْمَالِ وَتَكُونَ الْفَرَسُ بِالدُّرَيْهِمَاتِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا يُرْخِصُ الْفَرَسَ قَالَ ‏"‏ لاَ تُرْكَبُ لِحَرْبٍ أَبَدًا ‏"

"Eisa bin Maryam (alayhissalam), will be a just judge and a just ruler among my nation. He will break the cross, slaughter the pigs, abolish the Jizyah and charity will be left. No one will be appointed to (collect the Zakah of) sheep and camels.

Grudges and mutual hatred will disappear and the venom of every venomous creature will be removed, so that a baby boy will but his hand in a snake and it will not harm him, and a baby girl will make a lion run away, and it will not harm her; and the wolf will be among the sheep like their sheepdog.

The earth will be filled with peace just as a vessel is filled with water. The people will be united and none will be worshipped except Allah. War will cease and Quraish will no longer be in power. The earth will be like a silver platter, with its vegetation growing as it did at the time of Adam, until a group of people will gather around one bunch of grapes and it will suffice them, and a group will gather around a single pomegranate and it will suffice them. An ox will be sold for such and such amount of money, and a horse will be sold for a few Dirham.' They said: 'O Messenger of Allah, why will horses be so cheap?' He said: 'They will never be ridden in war again.'

(ibn Majah: REFERENCE #1)

And so with that, we conclude the story of Ad-Dajjal for now

14. Discussion

A. Why is Dajjal greatest trial? Isn’t Ya’juj and Ma’juj “worse”?

If we look to the continuation of the long hadith in Sahih Muslim, it is described that after Prophet Isa kills Dajjal, then the Ya’juj and Ma’juj (Gog and Magog) will emerge and will swarm down from every direction – it will be a fierce battle as they will be killing human beings, so brutal that even Prophet isa and his entire army – the one who defeated dajjal – cannot defeat them.

It’s only after Prophet Isa made du’aa to Allah and then finally Allah sends down insects to kill every single one of them.

فَيَقْتُلُهُ ثُمَّ يَأْتِي عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ قَوْمٌ قَدْ عَصَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْهُ فَيَمْسَحُ عَنْ وُجُوهِهِمْ وَيُحَدِّثُهُمْ بِدَرَجَاتِهِمْ فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَبَيْنَمَا هُوَ كَذَلِكَ إِذْ أَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَى عِيسَى إِنِّي قَدْ أَخْرَجْتُ عِبَادًا لِي لاَ يَدَانِ لأَحَدٍ بِقِتَالِهِمْ فَحَرِّزْ عِبَادِي إِلَى الطُّورِ ‏.

Then a people whom Allah had protected would come to Jesus, son of Mary, and he would wipe their faces and would inform them of their ranks in Paradise and it would be under such conditions that Allah would reveal to Jesus these words: I have brought forth from amongst My servants such people against whom none would be able to fight; you take these people safely to Tur.

(Muslim – REFERENCE #2)

A friend of mine once asked a very good question:

“Why is the Dajjal described by the Prophet ﷺ as the Worst calamity?

Technically, he would be killed by Prophet Isa. But Ya’juj dan Ma’juj, even he cannot defeat them! It seems here that the trial of Ya’juj and Ma’juj is worse, right?”

That's actually a very good question, because it seems here that the trial of Ya’juj and Ma’juj is worse, on the surface.

So why then did the Prophet say that the worst of calamity is from the time of Adam is Dajjal?

The answer to that is: there are things worse than death.

To die in shirik is far worse than to be killed. The trial of religion is more dangerous than the trial of life.

If you live during the time of ya'juj and ma'juj, if you are killed, alhamdulillah you die as a martyr, as a syahid.

Death will happen anyway. And if you can die in the best way, that is a blessing.

But to face Dajjal, is to be faced with the confusion of his abilities and potentially be fooled and follow his deceptions and fall into shirik. And if you die in that state, you will never be forgiven by Allah.

إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ

"Verily, Allah does NOT forgive shirik (i.e. that partners should be set up with him in worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases"

(Surah An-Nisa, 48)

إِنَّهُ مَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّـهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّـهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ

"Verily, whosoever commits shirik (sets up partners in worship with Allah, and dies in that state), then Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and the HellFire will be his abode."

(Surah Al-Maidah, 72)

This is actually a lesson we can extract from Surah Al-Kahf - which is the surah the Prophet recommended to protect against Dajjal.

In ayah 19 - Allah describes the People of the Cave, when they awoke from their slumber of 300 years, they wanted to purchase food. So they advised the party going out of the cave, don't let yourselves get discovered.

قَالُوا رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ فَابْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَٰذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَىٰ طَعَامًا فَلْيَأْتِكُمْ بِرِزْقٍ مِنْهُ وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا

They said: "Your Lord (Alone) knows best how long you have stayed (here). So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the town, and let him find out which is the good lawful food, and bring some of that to you. And let him be careful and let no man know of you.

So in ayah 20 - they say to the representative party,

إِنَّهُمْ إِنْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَيْكُمْ يَرْجُمُوكُمْ أَوْ يُعِيدُوكُمْ فِي مِلَّتِهِمْ وَلَنْ تُفْلِحُوا إِذًا أَبَدًا

"if they discover you, they will stone you, or they will force you to turn to the religion - and if that were to happen, you will NEVER be successful"

BEST case is you are killed because of your religion. Worst case is you give in to their pressures, their tortures, return to your religion and die in shirik - and then - if that happens - you will never ever be successful.

Same thing with Dajjal. If you meet him: Best case, you die a martyr. Worst case, you end up following him and worshipping him and die in shirik.

May Allah safeguard us.

B. "Where is the Mercy of Allah?"

Often when we narrate stories and talk about the Mercy of Allah, we always look about stories of the past, and try to extract the wisdoms from those incidents to reconcile that with the Mercy of Allah.

But here, we are talking about the future, and so it begs the question to ask, where is the Mercy of Allah in this situation?

For example, perhaps one may ask the question in foresight:

Why, after all those weeks of tribulations, only later did Allah send Prophet Isa? Why not just send him straight away?
Why only designate Makkah and Madinah as safe havens?
Why does Allah grant all these incredible abilities to Dajjal?
Why did Allah even send Dajjal in the first place?

On these points, we say, Allah Knows Best, His Wisdom in Decreeing all that He Decrees. These are matters of the unseen, to the wisdom only Known to Him, and we do not question them – we only put our trust in what He has informed us of it. After all, He says:

لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ

“He will not be questioned on what He did – but they will be questioned” (Surah Al-Anbiya, 23)

But with respect to us, right here, right now, here is how we can appreciate the Mercy of Allah. The mercy of Allah is this - the ahadith of the Prophet. That tells us in great details of the sequence of events, and the details of the solutions to prepare us for the incoming storm ahead.

And therefore the question back to us is this: How much are we learning and extracting lessons from them?

Are we grateful for these hadith that are made readily available to us?

As we mentioned in surah Yusuf - our deen is a gift, a great favor from Allah.

Another angle we have to understand of the Mercy of Allah here is that this cautionary tale of Dajjal creates a sense of urgency for us to change. So even if Dajjal doesn’t emerge during our lifetime, that very journey of driving us into action, developing our taqwa towards preparing ourselves in case we have to meet him, that in and of itself is something valuable for our success hereafter.

This is what has happened for generations of Muslims since 1400 years ago, and will continue to be as such until the day of Judgment.

But there is also a good news for us: listen up.

Allah will reward the believers in proportion to the difficulty.

عَنْ أَبِي أُمَيَّةَ الشَّعْبَانِيِّ، قَالَ أَتَيْتُ أَبَا ثَعْلَبَةَ الْخُشَنِيَّ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ كَيْفَ تَصْنَعُ فِي هَذِهِ الآيَةِ قَالَ أَيَّةُ آيَةٍ قُلْتُ قَوْلُهُ ‏:‏ ‏(‏ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ لاَ يَضُرُّكُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ ‏)‏ قَالَ أَمَا وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ سَأَلْتَ عَنْهَا خَبِيرًا سَأَلْتُ عَنْهَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ ‏"‏ بَلِ ائْتَمِرُوا بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنَاهَوْا عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ حَتَّى إِذَا رَأَيْتَ شُحًّا مُطَاعًا وَهَوًى مُتَّبَعًا وَدُنْيَا مُؤْثَرَةً وَإِعْجَابَ كُلِّ ذِي رَأْىٍ بِرَأْيِهِ فَعَلَيْكَ بِخَاصَّةِ نَفْسِكَ وَدَعِ الْعَوَامَّ فَإِنَّ مِنْ وَرَائِكُمْ أَيَّامًا الصَّبْرُ فِيهِنَّ مِثْلُ الْقَبْضِ عَلَى الْجَمْرِ لِلْعَامِلِ فِيهِنَّ مِثْلُ أَجْرِ خَمْسِينَ رَجُلاً يَعْمَلُونَ مِثْلَ عَمَلِكُمْ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ وَزَادَنِي غَيْرُ عُتْبَةَ قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَجْرُ خَمْسِينَ رَجُلاً مِنَّا أَوْ مِنْهُمْ قَالَ ‏"‏ لاَ بَلْ أَجْرُ خَمْسِينَ مِنْكُمْ ‏"

Narrated Abu Umayah Ash-Sha'bani:

"I went to Abu Tha'balah Al-Khushani and said to him: 'How do you deal with this Ayah?' He said: 'Which Ayah?' I said: 'Allah's saying: Take care of yourselves! If you follow the guidance no harm shall come to you (5:105).'

He said: 'Well, by Allah! I asked one well-informed about it, I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about it. [So] he said:

"Rather, comply with (and order) the good, and stay away from (and prohibit) the evil, until you see avarice obeyed, desires followed, and the world preferred, and everyone is amazed with his view. Then you should be worried about yourself in particular, and worry of the common folk.

Ahead of you are the days in which patience is like holding onto an ember, for the doer (of righteous deeds) during them is the like of the reward of fifty of those who do the like of what you do."

'Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak said: "It was added for me, by other than 'Utbah, that it was said: 'O Messenger of Allah! The reward of fifty men among us, or them?'

He said: 'No! Rather the reward of fifty men among you.'"

(Narrated by At-Tirmidzi)

Allah knows that to have iman in the end of times will be difficult. And He promises to reward us even more.

We all live in difficult times right now – islam is being attacked from all corners all over the world. Temptations to disobey Allah and to leave the deen are so abundant and so “easy”. Know this: Allah will recompense you even more in spite of those difficulties.

And this reward is no small matter.

Things will get gradually more and more difficult, to the point that towards the end of times, a mu’min will receive the reward equivalent to fifty companions! The likes of Abu Bakr, Umar, Bilal, Ibnu Abbas, Hudhaifah, and so on.

C. The Saved Sect

I often hear Muslims feeling "down" and "discouraged" from our ummah's lack of apparent power and authority in today's modern times: when it comes to the strength of the military, politics, economy and technology. To the point that there is despair that Islam "will never win".

If anything, these ahadith teach us one very important point: Be optimistic, and do not despair. Victory is definitely ours! We need to have Tawakkul in Allah, that he will NEVER forsake His believers. In fact, for us to think that Islam will "lose" goes against the prophecy of our Prophet.

But the heavy question we have to ask ourselves is: do we want to be a part of that victory?

Or do we just want to be bystanders, sit by the sidelines, and hope that by, some “stroke of luck”, that we will be with those victorious group?

لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ لاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ وَهُمْ كَذَلِكَ

“A group of people from my Umman will always remain triumphant on the right path and continue to be triumphant (against their opponents).

He who abandons them shall not be able to do them any harm.

They will remain in this position until Allah's Command is executed (i.e. Day of Judgment is established).”

(Muslim)

"‏ لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي يُقَاتِلُونَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ - قَالَ - فَيَنْزِلُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَيَقُولُ أَمِيرُهُمْ تَعَالَ صَلِّ لَنَا ‏.‏ فَيَقُولُ لاَ ‏.‏ إِنَّ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ أُمَرَاءُ ‏.‏ تَكْرِمَةَ اللَّهِ هَذِهِ الأُمَّةَ ‏"‏ ‏.

A section of my people will not cease fighting for the Truth and will prevail till the Day of Resurrection. He said: Jesus son of Mary would then descend and their (Muslims') commander would invite him to come and lead them in prayer, but he would say: No, some amongst you are commanders over some (amongst you). This is the honour from Allah for this Ummah.

(Muslim)

As described and repeatedly emphasized by the Prophet, he ﷺ gave a guarantee that no matter how bad things get, no matter how terrible the deception of dajjal and his followers, there will always be a minority group amongst the ummah who will be defending the truth. And it is this minority who will be rising up with Prophet Isa to fight the Dajjal

So the question here is – If the Dajjal appears in our midst today, are YOU part of that saved group?

How much have we prepared ourselves to be amongst this group defending the truth?

To be a part of this group is no accident or a random selection. It is demonstrated by your actions TODAY. How steadfast are you when it comes to the tests of this dunya? How committed are you to the Qur’an and the teachings of the Sunnah?

Did the Coronavirus pandemic increase in your iman, turned to Allah?

15. Solutions: Protection Against Dajjal

So herein comes the most important part of the discussion.

How do we protect ourselves from Dajjal? How do we prepare ourselves to be part of the Saved Sect, as described by Rasulullah ﷺ above?

1. In Every Prayer: Seek Refuge in Allah from Four Matters

Learn this du’aa by heart, and make sure we say them during our final tasyahud / tahiyyat before we end our prayer in Salams. And this applies for EVERY PRAYER – fardh (obligation) and Sunnah.

The Prophet ﷺ said,

إِذَا تَشَهَّدَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ أَرْبَعٍ يَقُولُ اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ وَمِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ وَمِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَاتِ وَمِنْ شَرِّ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ

“When any one of you utters tashahhud (in prayer) he must seek refuge with Allah from four (trials) and should thus say:" O Allah! I seek refuge with Thee from the torment of the Hell, from the torment of the grave, from the trial of life and death and from the evil of the trial of Masih al-Dajjal" (Antichrist).”

(Narrated by Muslim)

The Prophet instructed us to make this du’aa (supplication) at the end of every prayer.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ، وَمِنْ عَذَابِ النَّارِ، وَمِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَاتِ، وَمِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ

“O Allah! I seek refuge with you from the punishment in the grave and from the punishment in the Hell fire and from the afflictions of life and death, and the afflictions of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal.”

(Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ يُعَلِّمُهُمْ هَذَا الدُّعَاءَ كَمَا يُعَلِّمُهُمُ السُّورَةَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ

'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to teach us this supplication as he taught us the surah from the Qur'an.

(Narrated by At-Tirmidzi and Abu Daud, graded “sahih” by Al-Albani)

This du’aa is so important that when Tawoos – a tabi’I, who was a student of ibnu Abbas – when he found out that his son had prayed without reciting this du’aa, he instructed his son to repeat his solah!

2. First 10 verses of Surah Al-Kahf: Memorize and Learn

مَنْ حَفِظَ عَشْرَ آيَاتٍ مِنْ أَوَّلِ سُورَةِ الْكَهْفِ عُصِمَ مِنَ الدَّجَّالِ

Abu Darda' reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying:

If anyone learns by heart the first ten verses of the Surah al-Kahf, he will be protected from the Dajjal.

(Muslim)

بِهَذَا الإِسْنَادِ قَالَ شُعْبَةُ مِنْ آخِرِ الْكَهْفِ ‏.‏ وَقَالَ هَمَّامٌ مِنْ أَوَّلِ الْكَهْفِ كَمَا قَالَ هِشَامٌ.

Muslim (no. 1342) narrated from Abu’l-Dardaa’ that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever memorizes ten aayaat from the beginning of Soorat al-Kahf will be protected from the Dajjaal” – i.e., from his fitnah. Muslim said: “Shu’bah said, ‘from the end of al-Kahf.’ Hammaam said, ‘from the beginning of al-Kahf.’”

Al-Nawawi said: “The reason for this is because at the beginning of (this soorah), mention is made of wonders and signs, and whoever ponders them will not be deceived by the fitnah of the Dajjaal. And at the end of this soorah, Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Do then those who disbelieve think that they can take My slaves as awliyaa’ (lords etc.) besides Me?’ [al-Kahf 18:102].”

(Sharh Saheeh Muslim, 6/93).

3. Turn to Allah: NOW

Hasten your repentance, turn to Allah. Improve yourself right now. As we highlighted in Surah Yusuf, the victory isn’t about the physical victory. The victory isn’t just in Isa defeating Dajjal. Victory is iman and taqwa, obedience to Allah.

Therefore if you are doing that right now, in reality you are on the path to victory – with or without dajjal. Notice the use of the present tense when Allah says:

وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّـهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا

“Whomsoever is obeying Allah and His Messenger, he has truly attained a great success” (Surah Al-Ahzab, 71)

Therefore we have to really strengthen our iman now, in these times BEFORE these worst of times happen.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“When three things appear faith will not benefit one who has not previously believed or has derived no good from his faith: the rising of the sun in its place of setting, the Dajjal, and the beast of the earth.”

(Muslim)

Once these signs appear, it is too late to develop your iman. The trials will be so great to test your faith, to the point that if you try to develop iman during these times, it will be too weak to sustain through these times.

So if you have been procrastinating, putting off from turning to Allah, becoming better people, perhaps we might be caught unaware.

Remember this: You will die anyway. Whether it’s due to the fitnah of Dajjal, a virus, a cardiovascular disease, being hit by a car, getting shot in the street, drowning from shipwreck. It is going to happen. You might die one day before Dajjal comes.

Strength of iman necessary to fight off the temptations, survive through the hardship, see through the illusion.

The (scary) reality is this: it is not enough not to just KNOW something. But to have the taqwa, and subsequently the conviction and strength of iman to ACT upon the truth that they know.

How many people today “know” that 5-daily solah is an obligation, yet don’t actually do it? How many people “know” that alcohol is haram and yet they still drink regardless?

4. Constant Dzikir of Allah

Get into the habit of always making dzikir of Allah. In our times before Dajjal appears, it is already important.

But in the time of Dajjal it isn’t “important”, dzikir - tasbih, tahmid, tahlil, and takbir - is the only means of nourishment and survival.

قِيلَ فَمَا يُعِيشُ النَّاسَ فِي ذَلِكَ الزَّمَانِ قَالَ ‏"‏ التَّهْلِيلُ وَالتَّكْبِيرُ وَالتَّسْبِيحُ وَالتَّحْمِيدُ وَيُجْرَى ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ مَجْرَى الطَّعَامِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ الطَّنَافِسِيَّ يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ الْمُحَارِبِيَّ يَقُولُ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُدْفَعَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ إِلَى الْمُؤَدِّبِ حَتَّى يُعَلِّمَهُ الصِّبْيَانَ فِي الْكُتَّابِ

It was said: 'What will the people live on at that time?' He said: 'Tahlil, Takbir, Tasbih and Tahmid. That will take the place of food (nourishment) for them.'"

(Ibn Mājah 4077, Ibn Khuzaymah in At-Tawheed 2/458, Al-Hākim in Al-Mustadrak 8620. Authenticated by Al-Albāni in Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ 7875)

5. Be Proactive: Learn, Seek Knowledge

This is all bad news. But it’s good news too because we have so much vivid detail about it that we can prepare.

“The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has taught his ummah about that which will protect them against the fitnah of the false messiah (al-maseeh al-dajjaal). He left his ummah on a path that is clear, and no one deviates from it except the one who is doomed. He did not leave any good thing without pointing it out to his ummah, or any evil thing without warning them against it.”

(Sheikh Sallih Al-Munajjid, https://islamqa.info/en/answers/8806/who-is-the-dajjaal)

The best preparation we can make is to equip ourselves with knowledge – not just of Dajjal and his trials, but more importantly, to have a solid understanding of our deen with a clear insight to differentiate truth and have the strength to turn to it. Remember, as Ibn Hajar explained the hadith of the words “disbeliever” between the eyes of Dajjal, that the Muslim – the believer – sees with insight, even if he is illiterate. Likewise, in every aspect of our lives, a believer sees with insight of what Allah has Revealed.

You see, some of the solutions of Dajjal – as highlighted by the Sunnah of our Prophet ﷺ - on the surface, they are difficult to imagine or to rationalize from a “logical” or “rational” perspective. Some of them include:

When encountering this great disbeliever, recite specific ayat of Qur’an, namely opening ayat of surah Al-Kahf.
When you meet him and are forced to choose between a flowing river of cool water, and river of burning flames, choose the burning flames because that is actually cool river
When faced with severe famine or hunger, make lots of dzikir to Allah (Tasbih, Tahmid, Takbir, Tahlil) and this shall be your sustenance and nourishment
When you experience a day which is like a year, “estimate” the times of prayers
Seek Refuge in Makkah or Madinah, in spite of how terrible the situation might seem there – remember, we do not know the difficulty of those places at that time.
The “obvious” fact that he is dajjal (i.e. one-eyed, “disbeliever” written between his eyes, declaring himself as “god”), yet despite the obvious signs, he will have multitudes of followers amongst mankind – perhaps the vast majority among them

Where we stand right now, these may seem somewhat far-fetched and beyond what our rational minds are capable of processing. Therefore when these situations do happen, our iman will really be put to the test: do we truly BELIEVE and put our TRUST in the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ?

The lesson here for us today is this: Learn, have faith, and practice the Sunnah.

The solutions which the Prophet ﷺ will offer here will sound “simple” in theory but in practice may be very difficult. Some solutions will not “make sense” in fact may even be inconvenient on the surface, people who see it might think that’s even worse!

Our iman will be put to the test. The only thing that will have are these narrations. We have to put our trust in Allah that they will work. There won’t be government guidelines, or physical signs that our solutions are even working

And so the Question that I want you to ask yourselves, right here and right now: How much effort are we putting into learning the Sunnah?

And what we DO know, how firmly are we adhering to the Sunnah?

How much trust do you put in Allah, to firmly believe that the solutions He provided to us from the guidance of his Prophet ﷺ is something that can definitely assist us?

And sometimes it starts with a really small sunnah - for example, the strict adherence of eating and drinking only with your right hand.

To paraphrase what Dr. Bilal Philips emphasized in his lectures:

"People sometimes criticize whenever you mention "the sunnah", and they say, 'Brother, people are dying in Palestine, Muslims being killed and oppressed, and here you are emphasizing on such a simple sunnah such as eating with your right hand?'
Well, the point is this: if you can't even have the discipline to adhere to such a 'simple sunnah' of eating with your right hand, what makes you think you have the discipline to do anything more difficult? What makes you think you can stand up against oppression and murder that is happening in those places you mentioned?'

What makes you think you can implement the sunnah of the Prophet when you actually encounter that one-eyed deceptive liar?

Today so many solutions are being questioned. Even the hadith itself is being challenged. So there is a greater need to strengthen our knowledge in the area of hadith. We need to elevate ourselves so we can confidently stand on our own principles of iman.

Another piece of advice I would like to share – please don’t waste your time delving into conspiracy theories. I have been into them before, and yes, I know: they are really addictive. When they seemingly “put the pieces together”, though based on pseudo-evidences and educated guess-work, you really feel in on the whole mystery, like a cracking the code of an elaborate master plan, feeding into your paranoia and triggering feelings that the “pieces are starting to fall into place”. We spend hours unspinning the thread, jumping from one conspiracy to another. Subconsciously, shaytan plays tricks with our hearts and minds, feeds on that accumulated paranoia, building up the fear and anxiety, more than we fear Allah. Na’udzubillah.

Yet at the end of the day, all of this was built upon that: Educated guess-work. Not even based on substantial facts, and nothing which actually adds value or elevate our lives in any way.

Very few of these theories are founded on facts. These are all just ‘dzonn’ / conjectures / guesswork. Allah tells us:

إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ ۖ وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا

“They follow but a dzann (conjecture / guess), and verily, dzann is no substitute for the truth.” (Surah An-Najm, 28)

Conspiracy about Dajjal isn’t just a mere “waste of time”; some of them can be genuinely dangerous because it can harm our aqidah and our beliefs.

Stop putting fear that Jews or whatever sect are trying to bring Dajjal. If that is indeed that plan, well, we know it’s coming anyway! What’s the use talking about it or instilling fear about it?

What is useful: we prepare for the moment

6. Do Not Be Fooled: Differentiate Truth From Falsehood

Furthering the topic of seeking knowledge, we pay specific attention to be mindful of liars and those who deceive the masses of people in the name of religion.

Today our dunia is filled with people with false misinformation of the religion, and so many even from within the folds of islam – hypocrites – who are challenging the hadith. And if you look at their arguments, they are in fact very weak and so easy to deconstruct. But because Muslims themselves are so weak in the basic knowledge of hadith, they also sometimes get swayed away by these deviant writings.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَنْزِعُ الْعِلْمَ بَعْدَ أَنْ أَعْطَاهُمُوهُ انْتِزَاعًا، وَلَكِنْ يَنْتَزِعُهُ مِنْهُمْ مَعَ قَبْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِعِلْمِهِمْ، فَيَبْقَى نَاسٌ جُهَّالٌ يُسْتَفْتَوْنَ فَيُفْتُونَ بِرَأْيِهِمْ، فَيُضِلُّونَ وَيَضِلُّونَ

"Allah will not deprive you of knowledge after he has given it to you, but it will be taken away through the death of the religious learned men with their knowledge.

Then there will remain ignorant people who, when consulted, will give verdicts according to their opinions whereby they will mislead others and go astray."
(Al-Bukhari)

In this hadith, the Prophet describes the people as “the blind following the blind” – people are ignorant, and follow ignorant people. And bear in mind, these “ignorant” people may very well be “famous” people with vast influence and authority, which is another matter warned by our Prophet ﷺ when he said:

‏"‏ إِنَّمَا أَخَافُ عَلَى أُمَّتِي الأَئِمَّةَ الْمُضِلِّينَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ لاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ يَخْذُلُهُمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ

"I only fear for my Ummah from the misguiding A'immah (leaders/ people of authority)"

He said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "There will never cease to be a group from my Ummah manifest upon the truth, they will not be harmed by those who forsake them until Allah's Decree comes."

(Narrated by At-Tirmidzi who graded it hasan sahih)

As we mentioned earlier, the Prophet ﷺ said,

“The Last Hour would not come until there would arise about thirty Dajjals (impostors), liars, and each one of them would claim that he is a messenger of Allah.”

(Muslim)

One of the greatest fears of the Prophet ﷺ are the leaders of the people who misguide others. Because the word used here is ‘aimmah’ (imams) – these may include people of authority or even literal imams, i.e. people of religious influence.

And I see this happening right before our eyes today, as we speak. Without getting into any specifics, it is blatantly spread out across our media today: People who appear on television, under the guise of religiousness, just because they have a turban, a kufi, big beard, yet are spreading falsehood, propagating lies upon the name of the Prophet ﷺ in the form of fabricated hadith, spreading ideologies contradicting the clear-cut aqidah of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaah yet still claiming to be Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaah – and the sad thing is that the masses of people follow them.

At the end of the day, again, it all comes back to our knowledge. How solid is our footing on our religion, and how adequately will this equip us to differentiate truth from falsehood on the times of trials when we need it the most.

16. Closing Remarks

Pass on The Message

Last but not least, pass on this message. Share it to people. Let them know the truth.

Remember the hadith: The Dajjāl will not come until a time when people have forgotten about him and the Imāms no longer mention him on the pulpits (minbar or the masjid).

The mimbars may have stopped mentioning them, but it doesn’t mean we should.

We can be an agent of change: to bring awareness to the people in our circles of influence, so that at least we can trigger them to change.

Do not get complacent

This is a reminder to myself and to all of us – remain vigilant, be steadfast and do not get weak in our iman after Ramadhan, and even after this coronavirus pandemic is over insha Allah when it is over.

Because again, remember the worst is yet to come. Remember per the hadith, that the Dajjal will come at a time when people are completely unprepared. In fact, just moments upon achieving a great victory against the Romans, even before they get to pack up their weapons – that is when Dajjal will emerge.

Remember that life is short: we just have to be patient that bit longer and hope that by the time Malakal maut – the angel of death – comes, we are in a state of iman, and submitting in tauhid of Allah.

- سؤل الإمام أحمد:"متى يجد العبد طعم الراحة؟"، قال: "عند أول قدم يضعها في الجنة" (المقصد الأرشد [2/398])

Imam Ahmad was asked: when can we finally rest?

He said, "when we take our first step in Paradise"

(al-Maqasid al-irshad)

People are speaking about “the new normal”.

Let us all have an aspiration of a new normal ourselves – a newnormal of taqwa, amal soleh. A new normal that is istiqamah after Ramadhan – A new normal that has an active, ongoing healthy relationship with the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

May Allah accept all of our good deeds grant barakah to them.

May Allah make us amongst those who are consistent on them, and continue to act upon khayr even after Ramadhan has passed, even after these dark days of this coronavirus pandemic, may Allah make us amongst those who are proactive in improving ourselves before Dajjal emerges.

BarakAllahu fikum.

END ARTICLE.

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ

Please do let me know if you have any feedback or any corrections to any of the points mentioned above. Thank you, jazakumUllahu khayran

APPENDIX A: Reference Hadith

Reference #1

Hadith Narrated by Ibn Mājah 4077, Ibn Khuzaymah in At-Tawheed 2/458, Al-Hākim in Al-Mustadrak 8620. Authenticated by Al-Albāni in Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ 7875 :

HADITH IBNU MAJAH

يا أَيُّها الناسُ ! إنها لم تكن فتنةٌ على وجهِ الأرضِ ، منذُ ذَرَأَ اللهُ ذُرِّيَّةَ آدمَ أَعْظَمَ من فتنةِ الدَّجَّالِ ، وإنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وجَلَّ لم يَبْعَثْ نبيًّا إلا حَذَّرَ أُمَّتَه الدَّجَّالَ ، وأنا آخِرُ الأنبياءِ ، وأنتم آخِرُ الأُمَمِ ، وهو خارجٌ فيكم لا مَحالةَ ، فإن يخرجْ وأنا بين أَظْهُرِكم ، فأنا حَجِيجٌ لكلِّ مسلمٍ ، وإن يخرجْ من بَعْدِي ، فكلٌّ حَجِيجُ نفسِه ، واللهُ خَلِيفَتِي على كلِّ مسلمٍ ، وإنه يخرجُ من خُلَّةٍ بين الشامِ والعراقِ . فيَعِيثُ يمينًا وشمالًا ، يا عبادَ اللهِ ! أَيُّها الناسُ ! فاثبُتوا فإني سأَصِفُه لكم صفةً لم يَصِفْها إياه قبلي نبيٌّ ، … يقولُ : أنا ربُّكم ، ولا تَرَوْنَ ربَّكم حتى تَمُوتُوا ، وإنه أَعْوَرُ ، وإنَّ ربَّكم ليس بأَعْوَرَ ، وإنه مكتوبٌ بين عَيْنَيْهِ : كافرٌ ، يقرؤُه كلُّ مؤمنٍ ، كاتِبٌ أو غيرُ كاتِبٍ . وإنَّ من فتنتِه أنَّ معه جَنَّةً ونارًا ، فنارُه جنةٌ ، وجنتُه نارٌ ، فمَن ابتُلِيَ بنارِه فلْيَسْتَغِثْ باللهِ ، ولْيَقْرَأْ فواتِحَ الكهفِ… وإنَّ من فتنتِه أن يقولَ للأعرابيِّ : أرأيتَ إن بَعَثْتُ لك أباك وأمَّك أَتَشْهَدُ أني ربُّك ؟ فيقولُ : نعم ، فيتمثلُ له شيطانانِ في صورةِ أبيه وأمِّه ، فيقولانِ : يا بُنَيَّ اتَّبِعْهُ ، فإنه ربُّك ، وإنَّ من فتنتِه أن يُسَلَّطَ على نفسٍ واحدةٍ فيَقْتُلُها ، يَنْشُرُها بالمِنْشارِ حتى تُلْقَى شِقَّيْنِ ، ثم يقولُ : انظُرُوا إلى عَبْدِي هذا ، فإني أَبْعَثُه ثم يَزْعُمُ أنَّ له ربًّا غيري ، فيبعثُه اللهُ ، ويقولُ له الخبيثُ : مَن ربُّك ؟ فيقولُ : رَبِّيَ اللهُ ، وأنت عَدُوُّ اللهِ ، أنت الدَّجَّالُ ، واللهِ ما كنتُ قَطُّ أَشَدُّ بصيرةً بك مِنِّي اليومَ . وإنَّ من فتنتِه أن يأمرَ السماءَ أن تُمْطِرَ ، فتُمْطِرُ ، ويأمرَ الأرضَ أن تُنْبِتَ ، فتُنْبِتُ . وإنِّ من فتنتِه أن يَمُرِّ بالحيِّ فيُكَذِّبونه ، فلا يَبْقَى لهم سائمةٌ إلا هَلَكَت . وإنَّ من فتنتِه أن يَمُرَّ بالحيِّ ، فيُصَدِّقونه ، فيأمرُ السماءَ أن تُمْطِرَ فتُمْطِرُ ، ويأمرُ الأرضَ أن تُنْبِتَ فتُنْبِتُ ، حتى تَرُوحَ مَواشِيهِم من يومِهِم ذلك أَسْمَنَ ما كانت ، وأَعْظَمَه ، وأَمَدَّه خَواصِرَ وأَدَرَّهُ ضُروعًا . وإنه لا يَبْقَى شيءٌ من الأرضِ إلا وَطِئَه وظَهَر عليه ، إلا مكةَ والمدينةَ ، لا يأتِيهِما من نَقَب من أنقابِهِما إلا لَقِيَتْهُ الملائكةُ بالسيوفِ صَلْتَةً ، حتى يَنْزِلَ عند الضَّرِيبِ الأحمرِ ، عند مُنْقَطَعِ السَّبَخةِ ، فتَرْجُفُ المدينةُ بأهلِها ثلاثَ رَجْفاتٍ ، فلا يَبْقَى فيها منافقٌ ولا منافقةٌ إلا خرج إليه ، فتَنْفِي الخبيثَ منها ، كما يَنْفِي الكيرُ خَبَثَ الحديدِ ، ويُدْعَى ذلك اليومُ يومَ الخَلَاصِ ، قيل : فأين العربُ يَوْمَئِذٍ ؟ قال : هم يَوْمَئِذٍ قليلٌ ، . . . وإمامُهم رجلٌ صالحٌ ، فبَيْنَما إمامُهم قد تَقَدَّم يُصَلِّي بهِمُ الصُّبْحَ ، إذ نزل عليهم عيسى ابنُ مريمَ الصُّبْحَ ، فرجع ذلك الإمامُ يَنْكُصُ يَمْشِي القَهْقَرَى ليتقدمَ عيسى ، فيضعُ عيسى يدَه بين كَتِفَيْهِ ، ثم يقولُ له : تَقَدَّمْ فَصَلِّ ؛ فإنها لك أُقِيمَتْ ، فيُصَلِّى بهم إمامُهم ، فإذا انصرف قال عيسى : افتَحوا البابَ ، فيَفْتَحُون ووراءَه الدَّجَّالُ ، معه سبعونَ ألفَ يهوديٍّ ، كلُّهم ذو سيفٍ مُحَلًّى وسَاجٍ ، فإذا نظر إليه الدَّجَّالُ ذاب كما يذوبُ المِلْحُ في الماءِ . وينطلقُ هاربًا ، … فيُدْرِكُه عند بابِ لُدٍّ الشرقيِّ ، فيقتلُه ، فيَهْزِمُ اللهُ اليهودَ ، فلا يَبْقَى شيءٌ مِمَّا خلق اللهُ عَزَّ وجَلَّ يَتَواقَى به يهوديٌّ ، إلا أَنْطَقَ اللهُ ذلك الشيءَ ، لا حَجَرٌ ولا شجرٌ ولا حائطٌ ولا دابةٌ ، إلا الغَرْقَدَةُ ، فإنها من شَجَرِهِم لا تَنْطِقُ ، إلا قال : يا عبدَ اللهِ المسلمَ هذا يهوديٌّ فتَعَالَ اقتُلْه . فيكونُ عيسى ابنُ مريمَ في أُمَّتِي حَكَمًا عَدْلًا ، وإمامًا مُقْسِطًا يَدُقُّ الصليبَ ، ويَذْبَحُ الخِنْزيرَ ، ويضعُ الجِزْيةَ ، ويتركُ الصدقةَ ، فلا يَسْعَى على شاةٍ ولا بعيرٍ ، وتُرْفَعُ الشحناءُ والتباغُضُ ، وتُنْزَعُ حِمَةُ كلِّ ذاتِ حِمَةٍ ، حتى يُدْخِلَ الوليدُ يدَه في فِيِّ الحَيَّةِ ، فلا تَضُرُّه ، وتَضُرُ الوليدةُ الأسدَ فلا يَضُرُّها ، ويكونُ الذئبُ في الغنمِ كأنه كلبُها ، وتُمْلَأُ الأرضُ من السِّلْمِ كما يُمْلَأُ الإناءُ من الماءِ ، وتكونُ الكلمةُ واحدةً ، فلا يُعْبَدُ إلا اللهُ ، وتضعُ الحربُ أوزارَها ، وتُسْلَبُ قريشٌ مُلْكَها ، وتكونُ الأرضُ كفاثورِ الفِضَّةِ ، تُنْبِتُ نباتَها بعَهْدِ آدمَ حتى يجتمعَ النَّفَرُ على القِطْفِ من العنبِ فيُشْبِعُهم ، ويجتمعُ النَّفَرُ على الرُّمَّانةِ فتُشْبِعُهم ، ويكونُ الثُّوْرُ بكذا وكذا وكذا من المالِ ، ويكونُ الفَرَسُ بالدُّرَيْهِماتِ ، … وإنَّ قبلَ خروجِ الدَّجَّالِ ثلاثَ سنواتٍ شِدادٍ ، يُصِيبُ الناسَ فيها جُوعٌ شديدٌ ، يأمرُ اللهُ السماءَ السنةَ الأولى أن تَحْبِسَ ثُلُثَ مَطَرِها ، ويأمرُ الأرضَ أن تَحْبِسَ ثُلُثَ نباتِها ، ثم يأمرُ السماءَ في السنةِ الثانيةِ فتَحْبِسُ ثُلُثَيْ مَطَرِها ، ويأمرُ الأرضُ فتَحْبِسُ ثُلُثَيْ نباتِها ، ثم يأمرُ السماءَ في السنةِ الثالثةِ فتَحْبِسُ مطرَها كلَّه ، فلا تَقْطُرُ قُطْرةً ، ويأمرُ الأرضَ فتَحْبِسُ نباتَها كلَّه فلا تُنْبِتُ خضراءَ ، فلا يَبْقَى ذاتُ ظِلْفٍ إلا هَلَكَت إلا ما شاء اللهُ ، قيل : فما يُعِيشُ الناسَ في ذلك الزمانِ ؟ قال : التهليلُ ، والتكبيرُ ، والتحميدُ ، ويُجْزِئُ ذلك عليهم مَجْزَأَةَ الطعامِ

English Translation

Note: for English translation, it is extracted from

https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah/36/152

Reference	: Sunan Ibn Majah 4077
In-book reference	: Book 36, Hadith 152
English translation	: Vol. 5, Book 36, Hadith 4077

This narration is slightly different than found at dorar.net above, however has many similarities and therefore is taken as reference

It was narrated that Abu Umamah Al-Bahili said:

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) addressed us, and most of his speech had to do with telling us about Dajjal. He warned about him, and among the things he said was: 'There will not be any tribulation on earth, since the time Allah created the offspring of Adam, that will be greater than the tribulation of Dajjal. Allah has not sent any Prophet but he warned his nation about Dajjal. I am the last of the Prophets, and you are the last of the nations. He will undoubtedly appear among you. If he appears while I am among you, I will contend with him on behalf of every Muslim, and if he appears while I am not among you, then each man must fend for himself and Allah will take care of every Muslim on my behalf. He will emerge from Al-Khallah, between Sham and Iraq, and will wreak havoc right and left. O slaves of Allah, remain steadfast. I will describe him to you in a manner in which none of the Prophets has described him before me. He will start by saying "I am a Prophet," and there is no Prophet after me. Then a second time he will say: "I am your Lord." But you will not see your Lord until you die. He is one-eyed, and your Lord is not one-eyed, and written between his eyes is Kafir. Every believer will read it, whether he is literate or illiterate. Part of his Fitnah will be that he will have with him Paradise and Hell, but his Hell will be a Paradise and his Paradise a Hell. Whoever is tested with his fire (hell), let him seek the help of Allah and recite the first Verses of Al-Kahf, then it will be cool and safe for him, as the fire was for Ibrahim. Part of his Fitnah will be that he will say to a Bedouin: "What do you think, if I resurrect your father and mother for you, will you bear witness that I am your Lord?" He will say: "Yes." Then two devils will appear to him in the form of his father and mother and will say: "O my son, follow him, for he is your Lord." And part of his Fitnah will be that he will overpower a single soul and kill him, then he will cut him with a saw until he falls in two pieces. Then he will say: "Look at this slave of mine; I will resurrect him now, then he will claim that he has a Lord other than me." Then Allah will resurrect him and the evil one will say to him: "Who is your Lord?" and he will say: "Allah is my Lord, and you are the enemy of Allah, you are Dajjal. By Allah, I have never had more insight about you than I have today." (An addition) Abul-Hasan Tanafisi said: "Muharibi told us: 'Ubaidullah bin al-Walid Al-Wassafi told us, from 'Atiyyah, that Abu Sa'eed said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'That man will be the highest in status in my nation in Paradise'" - He said: "Abu Sa'eed said: 'By Allah, we did not think that man would be anyone other than 'Umar bin Khattab, until he passed away. - Muharibi said: "Then we went back to the narration of Abu Rafi'." He said: - 'Part of his Fitnah will be that he will command the sky to rain, and it will rain, and he will command the earth to bring forth vegetation and it will do so. And part of his Fitnah will be that he will pass by a clan and they will disbelieve in him, so all their flocks will perish and none will be left. And part of his Fitnah will be that he will pass by a clan who will believe in him, so he will command the sky to rain, and it will rain, and he will command the earth to bring forth vegetation and it will do so, until their flocks will come back in the evening of that day, bigger and fatter than they have ever been, with their flanks stretched and their udders full of milk. There will be no part of the earth left that he does not enter and prevail over, except for Makkah and Al-Madinah, for he will not approach them on any of their mountain paths but he will be met by angels with unsheathed swords, until he will stop at the red hill at the end of the marsh. Then Al-Madinah will be shaken with its people three times, and no hypocrite, male or female, will be left, all will come out to him. Thus it will be cleansed of impurity just as the bellows cleanses the iron of dross. And that day will be called the Day of Deliverance.' "

Umm Sharik bint Abi 'akar said: 'O Messenger of Allah, where will the Arabs be that day?' He said: 'On that day they will be few, and most of them will be in Baitul-Maqdis (Jerusalem), and their leader will be a righteous man. When their leader has stepped forward to lead them in subh prayer, 'Eisa bin Maryam will come down to them. Their leader will step backwards so that 'Eisa can come forward and lead the people in prayer, but 'Eisa will place his hand between his shoulders and say to him: "Go forward and pray, for the Iqamah was given for you." Then their leader will lead them in prayer. When he has finished, 'Eisa (as), will say: "Open the gate." So they will open it and behind it will be Dajjal with seventy thousand Jews, each of them carrying an adorned sword and wearing a greenish cloak. When Dajjal looks at him, he will start to melt as salt melts in water. He will run away, and 'Eisa (as), will say: "I have only one blow for you, which you will not be able to escape!" He will catch up with him at the eastern gate of Ludd, and will kill him.

Then Allah will defeat the Jews, and there will be nothing left that Allah has created which the Jews will be able to hide behind, except that Allah will cause it to speak - no stone, no tree, no wall, no animal - except for Al-Gharqad (the box-thorn), for it is one of their trees, and will not speak - except that it will say: "O Muslim slave of Allah, here is a Jews, come and kill him!" "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'His (Dajjal's) days will number forty years: a year like half a year, a year like a month, a month like a week, and the rest of his days will be like sparks from a fire (i.e., they will pass quickly). One of you will enter the gate of Al-Madinah in the morning and not reach its other gate until evening comes.' It was said: 'O Messenger of Allah, how should we pray on those short days?' He said: 'Estimate (the times of) the prayer, as you do on these long days, then pray.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Eisa bin Maryam (as), will be a just judge and a just ruler among my nation. He will break the cross, slaughter the pigs, abolish the Jizyah and charity will be left. No one will be appointed to (collect the Zakah of) sheep and camels. Grudges and mutual hatred will disappear and the venom of every venomous creature will be removed, so that a baby boy will but his hand in a snake and it will not harm him, and a baby girl will make a lion run away, and it will not harm her; and the wolf will be among the sheep like their sheepdog. The earth will be filled with peace just as a vessel is filled with water. The people will be united and none will be worshipped except Allah. War will cease and Quraish will no longer be in power. The earth will be like a silver platter, with its vegetation growing as it did at the time of Adam, until a group of people will gather around one bunch of grapes and it will suffice them, and a group will gather around a single pomegranate and it will suffice them. An ox will be sold for such and such amount of money, and a horse will be sold for a few Dirham.' They said: 'O Messenger of Allah, why will horses be so cheap?' He said: 'They will never be ridden in war again.' It was said to him: 'Why will oxen be so expensive?' He said: 'Because all the land will be tilled. Before Dajjal appears there will be three difficult years in which the people will suffer severe famine. In the first year, Allah will command the sky to withhold one third of its rain and the earth to withhold one third of its produce. In the second year, He will command the sky to withhold two thirds of its rain and the earth to withhold two-thirds of its produce. In the third year, he will command the sky to withhold all of its rain, and not a single drop will fall, and the earth to withhold all of its produce, and nothing will grow. All cloven-hoofed animals will die, except those that Allah wills.' It was said: 'What will the people live on at that time?' He said: 'Tahlil, Takbir, Tasbih and Tahmid. That will take the place of food for them.'"

(Ibnu Majah)

Reference #2

Narrated by Muslim

https://sunnah.com/muslim/54/136

Reference	: Sahih Muslim 2937 a
In-book reference	: Book 54, Hadith 136
USC-MSA web (English) reference	: Book 41, Hadith 7015
(deprecated numbering scheme)

أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ النَّوَّاسَ بْنَ سَمْعَانَ الْكِلاَبِيَّ، ح وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مِهْرَانَ الرَّازِيُّ، - وَاللَّفْظُ لَهُ - حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ يَزِيدَ بْنِ جَابِرٍ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ جَابِرٍ الطَّائِيِّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ جُبَيْرِ بْنِ، نُفَيْرٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ، جُبَيْرِ بْنِ نُفَيْرٍ عَنِ النَّوَّاسِ بْنِ سَمْعَانَ، قَالَ ذَكَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم الدَّجَّالَ ذَاتَ غَدَاةٍ فَخَفَّضَ فِيهِ وَرَفَّعَ حَتَّى ظَنَنَّاهُ فِي طَائِفَةِ النَّخْلِ فَلَمَّا رُحْنَا إِلَيْهِ عَرَفَ ذَلِكَ فِينَا فَقَالَ ‏"‏ مَا شَأْنُكُمْ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ذَكَرْتَ الدَّجَّالَ غَدَاةً فَخَفَّضْتَ فِيهِ وَرَفَّعْتَ حَتَّى ظَنَنَّاهُ فِي طَائِفَةِ النَّخْلِ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ غَيْرُ الدَّجَّالِ أَخْوَفُنِي عَلَيْكُمْ إِنْ يَخْرُجْ وَأَنَا فِيكُمْ فَأَنَا حَجِيجُهُ دُونَكُمْ وَإِنْ يَخْرُجْ وَلَسْتُ فِيكُمْ فَامْرُؤٌ حَجِيجُ نَفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ خَلِيفَتِي عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ إِنَّهُ شَابٌّ قَطَطٌ عَيْنُهُ طَافِئَةٌ كَأَنِّي أُشَبِّهُهُ بِعَبْدِ الْعُزَّى بْنِ قَطَنٍ فَمَنْ أَدْرَكَهُ مِنْكُمْ فَلْيَقْرَأْ عَلَيْهِ فَوَاتِحَ سُورَةِ الْكَهْفِ إِنَّهُ خَارِجٌ خَلَّةً بَيْنَ الشَّأْمِ وَالْعِرَاقِ فَعَاثَ يَمِينًا وَعَاثَ شِمَالاً يَا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ فَاثْبُتُوا ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا لَبْثُهُ فِي الأَرْضِ قَالَ ‏"‏ أَرْبَعُونَ يَوْمًا يَوْمٌ كَسَنَةٍ وَيَوْمٌ كَشَهْرٍ وَيَوْمٌ كَجُمُعَةٍ وَسَائِرُ أَيَّامِهِ كَأَيَّامِكُمْ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَذَلِكَ الْيَوْمُ الَّذِي كَسَنَةٍ أَتَكْفِينَا فِيهِ صَلاَةُ يَوْمٍ قَالَ ‏"‏ لاَ اقْدُرُوا لَهُ قَدْرَهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا إِسْرَاعُهُ فِي الأَرْضِ قَالَ ‏"‏ كَالْغَيْثِ اسْتَدْبَرَتْهُ الرِّيحُ

‏ فَتَتْبَعُهُ كُنُوزُهَا كَيَعَاسِيبِ النَّحْلِ ثُمَّ يَدْعُو رَجُلاً مُمْتَلِئًا شَبَابًا فَيَضْرِبُهُ بِالسَّيْفِ فَيَقْطَعُهُ جَزْلَتَيْنِ رَمْيَةَ الْغَرَضِ ثُمَّ يَدْعُوهُ فَيُقْبِلُ وَيَتَهَلَّلُ وَجْهُهُ يَضْحَكُ

فَبَيْنَمَا هُوَ كَذَلِكَ إِذْ بَعَثَ اللَّهُ الْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ فَيَنْزِلُ عِنْدَ الْمَنَارَةِ الْبَيْضَاءِ شَرْقِيَّ دِمَشْقَ بَيْنَ مَهْرُودَتَيْنِ وَاضِعًا كَفَّيْهِ عَلَى أَجْنِحَةِ مَلَكَيْنِ إِذَا طَأْطَأَ رَأَسَهُ قَطَرَ وَإِذَا رَفَعَهُ تَحَدَّرَ مِنْهُ جُمَانٌ كَاللُّؤْلُؤِ فَلاَ يَحِلُّ لِكَافِرٍ يَجِدُ رِيحَ نَفَسِهِ إِلاَّ مَاتَ وَنَفَسُهُ يَنْتَهِي حَيْثُ يَنْتَهِي طَرْفُهُ فَيَطْلُبُهُ حَتَّى يُدْرِكَهُ بِبَابِ لُدٍّ فَيَقْتُلُهُ ثُمَّ يَأْتِي عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ قَوْمٌ قَدْ عَصَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْهُ فَيَمْسَحُ عَنْ وُجُوهِهِمْ وَيُحَدِّثُهُمْ بِدَرَجَاتِهِمْ فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَبَيْنَمَا هُوَ كَذَلِكَ إِذْ أَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَى عِيسَى إِنِّي قَدْ أَخْرَجْتُ عِبَادًا لِي لاَ يَدَانِ لأَحَدٍ بِقِتَالِهِمْ فَحَرِّزْ عِبَادِي إِلَى الطُّورِ ‏.‏

An-Nawwas b. Sam`an reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) made a mention of the Dajjal one day in the morning. He (ﷺ) sometimes described him to be insignificant and sometimes described (his turmoil) as very significant (and we felt) as if he were in the cluster of the date-palm trees. When we went to him (to the Holy Prophet) in the evening and he read (the signs of fear) in our faces, he (ﷺ) said:

What is the matter with you? We said: Allah's Messenger, you made a mention of the Dajjal in the morning (sometimes describing him) to be insignificant and sometimes very important, until we began to think as if he were present in some (near) part of the cluster of the date-palm trees. Thereupon he (ﷺ) said: I harbor fear in regard to you in so many other things besides the Dajjal.

If he comes forth while I am among you, I shall contend with him on your behalf, but if he comes forth while I am not amongst you, a man must contend on his own behalf and Allah would take care of every Muslim on my behalf (and safeguard him against his evil).

He (Dajjal) would be a young man with twisted, contracted hair, and a blind eye. I compare him to `Abd-ul-`Uzza b. Qatan. He who amongst you would survive to see him should recite over him the opening verses of Sura Kahf (xviii). He would appear on the way between Syria and Iraq and would spread mischief right and left. O servant of Allah! adhere (to the path of Truth).

We said: Allah's Messenger, how long would he stay on the earth? He (ﷺ) said: For forty days, one day like a year and one day like a month and one day like a week and the rest of the days would be like your days. We said: Allah's Messenger, would one day's prayer suffice for the prayers of day equal to one year? Thereupon he (ﷺ) said: No, but you must make an estimate of time (and then observe prayer).

We said: Allah's Messenger, how quickly would he walk upon the earth? Thereupon he (ﷺ) said: Like cloud driven by the wind.

He would come to the people and invite them (to a wrong religion) and they would affirm their faith in him and respond to him.

He would then give command to the sky and there would be rainfall upon the earth and it would grow crops. Then in the evening, their pasturing animals would come to them with their humps very high and their udders full of milk and their flanks stretched. He would then come to another people and invite them. But they would reject him and he would go away from them and there would be drought for them and nothing would be left with them in the form of wealth. He would then walk through the waste land and say to it: Bring forth your treasures, and the treasures would come out and collect (themselves) before him like the swarm of bees.

He would then call a person brimming with youth and strike him with the sword and cut him into two pieces and (make these pieces lie at a distance which is generally) between the archer and his target. He would then call (that young man) and he will come forward laughing with his face gleaming (with happiness)

He would then search for him (Dajjal) until he would catch hold of him at the gate of Ludd and would kill him. Then a people whom Allah had protected would come to Jesus, son of Mary, and he would wipe their faces and would inform them of their ranks in Paradise and it would be under such conditions that Allah would reveal to Jesus these words: I have brought forth from amongst My servants such people against whom none would be able to fight; you take these people safely to Tur.

(Muslim)

Reference #3: Additional Hadith regarding the Mahdi

"The ahaadeeth concerning the appearance of the Mahdi reach the level of Tawaatur in meaning (tawaatur refers to a hadeeth which was narrated by so many people through so many isnaads that it is inconceivable that they could all have agreed on a lie)."
(Sheikh Sallih Al-Munajjid)

Some of the marfu' authentic hadith regarding the Madhi are as follows:

الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنِّي أَجْلَى الْجَبْهَةِ أَقْنَى الأَنْفِ يَمْلأُ الأَرْضَ قِسْطًا وَعَدْلاً كَمَا مُلِئَتْ جَوْرًا وَظُلْمًا يَمْلِكُ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ

“The Mahdi will be of my stock (lineage), and will have a broad forehead a prominent nose. He will fill the earth will equity and justice as it was filled with oppression and tyranny, and he will rule for seven years.”

(Narrated by Abu Daud, hasan by Al-Albani)

الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنَّا أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ يُصْلِحُهُ اللَّهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ

"Mahdi is one of us, the people of the ahlal bayt (meaning, the Household of the Prophet). Allah will rectify him in a single night."

(Narrated by Ibn Majah)

الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنْ عِتْرَتِي مِنْ وَلَدِ فَاطِمَةَ

“The Mahdi will be of my family, of the descendants of Fatimah.”

(Narrated by Abu Daud, graded sahih @Al-Albani)

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏"‏ لَوْ لَمْ يَبْقَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا إِلاَّ يَوْمٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ زَائِدَةُ فِي حَدِيثِهِ ‏"‏ لَطَوَّلَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ اتَّفَقُوا ‏"‏ حَتَّى يَبْعَثَ فِيهِ رَجُلاً مِنِّي ‏"‏ ‏.‏ أَوْ ‏"‏ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِي يُوَاطِئُ اسْمُهُ اسْمِي وَاسْمُ أَبِيهِ اسْمَ أَبِي ‏"‏ ‏.‏ زَادَ فِي حَدِيثِ فِطْرٍ ‏"‏ يَمْلأُ الأَرْضَ قِسْطًا وَعَدْلاً كَمَا مُلِئَتْ ظُلْمًا وَجَوْرًا ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَقَالَ فِي حَدِيثِ سُفْيَانَ ‏"‏ لاَ تَذْهَبُ أَوْ لاَ تَنْقَضِي الدُّنْيَا حَتَّى يَمْلِكَ الْعَرَبَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِي يُوَاطِئُ اسْمُهُ اسْمِي ‏"‏

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If only one day of this world remained. Allah would lengthen that day (according to the version of Za'idah), till He raised up in it a man who belongs to me or to my family whose father's name is the same as my father's, who will fill the earth with equity and justice as it has been filled with oppression and tyranny (according to the version of Fitr). Sufyan's version says: The world will not pass away before the Arabs are ruled by a man of my family whose name will be the same as mine.

(Narrated by Abu Daud, graded hasan sahih by Al-Albani)

Abu Saeed al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allaah (Peace & Blessings of Allaah be upon Him) said:
"At the end of the time of my ummah, the Mahdi will appear. Allaah will grant him rain, the earth will bring forth its fruits, he will give a lot of money, cattle will increase and the ummah will become great. He will rule for seven or eight years."

(Mustadrak al-Haakim, 4/557-558; he said: this is a hadeeth whose isnaad is saheeh, although it was not reported by al-Bukhaari and Muslim. Al-Dhahabi agreed with him, and al-Albaani said: this is a saheeh sanad, and its men are thiqaat (trustworthy), Silsilat al-ahaadeeth al-saheehah, vol. 2, p. 336, hadeeth 771)

Abu Saeed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allaah (Peace & Blessings of Allaah be upon Him) said: "He is one of us, behind whom Eesaa ibn Maryam will pray." (Reported by Abi Naeem in Akhbaar al-Mahdi. Al-Albaani said it is saheeh; see al-Jaami al-Sagheer, 5/219, hadeeth 5796).

APPENDIX B: Other Major References

BAYAN LINNAS SIRI KE-161: DAJJAL: HAKIKAT DAN TANDA AKHIR ZAMAN (January 2019)

https://muftiwp.gov.my/artikel/bayan-linnas/2989-bayan-linnas-siri-ke-161-dajjal-hakikat-dan-tanda-akhir-zaman

IRSYAD AL-HADITH SIRI KE-132: MERUNGKAI PERSOALAN BERKAITAN DAJJAL

https://muftiwp.gov.my/en/artikel/irsyad-al-hadith/1450-irsyad-al-hadith-siri-ke-132-merungkai-persoalan-berkaitan-dajjal

IslamQ&A –

https://islamqa.info/en/answers/8806/who-is-the-dajjaal

https://islamqa.info/en/answers/1252/is-the-mahdi-real-or-not

https://islamqa.info/en/answers/43840/the-truth-about-the-mahdi-and-the-order-in-which-the-portents-of-the-hour-will-appear

APPENDIX C: Miscellaneous Narrations Regarding Dajjal

The following topics had to be cut off completely for the interest of time, and also because these were matters which may cause a lot of confusion since even the scholars had a lot of differences discussing them.

However, I did study them in case there were any questions popping up on them, and to make sure I did not have any mixup in understanding of the core ahadith of Dajjal narrated above.

These topics are:

· Hadith Narrated by Fatimah bint Qais which is known as the Hadith Al-Jassasah: the encounter of Tamim Ad-Dari

· Ibn Sayyad (or ibn Sa’id) – a boy who lived during the time of the Prophet ﷺ - and was hugely suspected that he himself was Dajjal

Hadith of Al-Jassasah

Narrated by Fatimah bint Qays, encounter of Tamim Ad-Dari

https://sunnah.com/muslim/54/149

Ibnu Sayyad: the boy who lived in the time of Rasulullah ﷺ and was suspected to be Dajjal

أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ انْطَلَقَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي رَهْطٍ قِبَلَ ابْنِ صَيَّادٍ حَتَّى وَجَدَهُ يَلْعَبُ مَعَ الصِّبْيَانِ عِنْدَ أُطُمِ بَنِي مَغَالَةَ وَقَدْ قَارَبَ ابْنُ صَيَّادٍ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحُلُمَ فَلَمْ يَشْعُرْ حَتَّى ضَرَبَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ظَهْرَهُ بِيَدِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لاِبْنِ صَيَّادٍ ‏"‏ أَتَشْهَدُ أَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ ابْنُ صَيَّادٍ فَقَالَ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ رَسُولُ الأُمِّيِّينَ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ابْنُ صَيَّادٍ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَتَشْهَدُ أَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ فَرَفَضَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَقَالَ ‏"‏ آمَنْتُ بِاللَّهِ وَبِرُسُلِهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ مَاذَا تَرَى ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ ابْنُ صَيَّادٍ يَأْتِينِي صَادِقٌ وَكَاذِبٌ فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ خُلِّطَ عَلَيْكَ الأَمْرُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ إِنِّي قَدْ خَبَأْتُ لَكَ خَبِيئًا ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ابْنُ صَيَّادٍ ‏"‏ هُوَ الدُّخُّ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ اخْسَأْ فَلَنْ تَعْدُوَ قَدْرَكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ ذَرْنِي يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَضْرِبْ عُنُقَهُ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ إِنْ يَكُنْهُ فَلَنْ تُسَلَّطَ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْهُ فَلاَ خَيْرَ لَكَ فِي قَتْلِهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَقَالَ سَالِمُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ، يَقُولُ انْطَلَقَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَأُبَىُّ بْنُ كَعْبٍ الأَنْصَارِيُّ إِلَى النَّخْلِ الَّتِي فِيهَا ابْنُ صَيَّادٍ حَتَّى إِذَا دَخَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم النَّخْلَ طَفِقَ يَتَّقِي بِجُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ وَهُوَ يَخْتِلُ أَنْ يَسْمَعَ مِنِ ابْنِ صَيَّادٍ شَيْئًا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَرَاهُ ابْنُ صَيَّادٍ فَرَآهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهُوَ مُضْطَجِعٌ عَلَى فِرَاشٍ فِي قَطِيفَةٍ لَهُ فِيهَا زَمْزَمَةٌ فَرَأَتْ أُمُّ ابْنِ صَيَّادٍ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهُوَ يَتَّقِي بِجُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ فَقَالَتْ لاِبْنِ صَيَّادٍ يَا صَافِ - وَهُوَ اسْمُ ابْنِ صَيَّادٍ - هَذَا مُحَمَّدٌ ‏.‏ فَثَارَ ابْنُ صَيَّادٍ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ لَوْ تَرَكَتْهُ بَيَّنَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ سَالِمٌ قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ فَقَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي النَّاسِ فَأَثْنَى عَلَى اللَّهِ بِمَا هُوَ أَهْلُهُ ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الدَّجَّالَ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ إِنِّي لأُنْذِرُكُمُوهُ مَا مِنْ نَبِيٍّ إِلاَّ وَقَدْ أَنْذَرَهُ قَوْمَهُ لَقَدْ أَنْذَرَهُ نُوحٌ قَوْمَهُ وَلَكِنْ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ فِيهِ قَوْلاً لَمْ يَقُلْهُ نَبِيٌّ لِقَوْمِهِ تَعَلَّمُوا أَنَّهُ أَعْوَرُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ ‏"

'Abdullah b. Umar reported:

'Umar b. Khattab went along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in the company of some persons to Ibn Sayyad that he found him playing with children near the battlement of Bani Maghala and Ibn Sayyad was at that time just at the threshold of adolescence and he did not perceive (the presence of Holy Prophet) until Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) struck his back with his hands. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Ibn Sayyad, don't you bear witness that I am the messenger of Allah? Ibn Sayyad looked toward him and he said: I bear witness to the fact that you the messenger of the unlettered. Ibn Sayyad said to the Allah's Messenger (ﷺ): Do you bear witness to the fact that I am the messenger of Allah? Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) rejected this and said: I affirm my faith in Allah and in His messengers. Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to him: What do you see? Ibn Sayyad said: It is a Dukh. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: May you be disgraced and dishonoured, you would not not be able to go beyond your rank. 'Umar b. Khattab said: Allah's Messenger, permit me that I should strike his neck. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: If he is the same (Dajjal) who would appear near the Last Hour, you would not be able to overpower him, and if he is not that there is no good for you to kill him.

'Abdullah b. 'Umar further narrated that after some time Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and Ubayy b. Ka'b went towards the palm trees where Ibn Sayyad was. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) went near the tree he hid himself behind a tree with the intention of hearing something from Ibn sayyad before Ibn Sayyad could see him, but Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saw him on a bed with a blanket around him from which a murmuring sound was being heard and Ibn Sayyad's mother saw Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) behind the trunk of the palm tree. She said to Ibn Sayyad: Saf (that being his name), here is Muhammad. Thereupon Ibn Sayyad jumped up murmuring and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: If she had left him alone he would have made things clear.

Abdullah b. Umar told that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) stood up amongst the people and lauded Allah as He deserved, then he made a mention of the Dajjal and said: I warn you of him and there is no Prophet who has not warned his people against the Dajjal. Even Noah warned (against him) but I am going to tell you a thing which no Prophet told his people. You must know that he (the Dajjal) is one-eyed and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, is not one-eyed.

(Muslim)

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ كُنَّا نَمْشِي مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَمَرَّ بِابْنِ صَيَّادٍ فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ قَدْ خَبَأْتُ لَكَ خَبِيئًا ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ دُخٌّ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ اخْسَأْ فَلَنْ تَعْدُوَ قَدْرَكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ دَعْنِي فَأَضْرِبَ عُنُقَهُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ دَعْهُ فَإِنْ يَكُنِ الَّذِي تَخَافُ لَنْ تَسْتَطِيعَ قَتْلَهُ ‏"‏

'Abdullah reported:

We were walking with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) that Ibn Sayyad happened to pass by him. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to him: I have concealed for you (something to test you, so tell me that). He said: It is Dukh. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to him: Be off. You cannot get farther than your rank, whereupon 'Umar said: Allah's Messenger, permit me to strike his neck. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Leave him; if he is that one (Dajjal) whom you apprehend, you will not be able to kill him.

(Muslim)

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَمَرَرْنَا بِصِبْيَانٍ فِيهِمُ ابْنُ صَيَّادٍ فَفَرَّ الصِّبْيَانُ وَجَلَسَ ابْنُ صَيَّادٍ فَكَأَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَرِهَ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ تَرِبَتْ يَدَاكَ أَتَشْهَدُ أَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لاَ ‏.‏ بَلْ تَشْهَدُ أَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ ذَرْنِي يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ حَتَّى أَقْتُلَهُ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ إِنْ يَكُنِ الَّذِي تَرَى فَلَنْ تَسْتَطِيعَ قَتْلَهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

'Abdullah reported:

We were along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) that we happened to pass by children amongst whom there was Ibn Sayyad. The children made their way but Ibn Sayyad kept sitting there (and it seemed) as if Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) did not like it (his sitting with the children) and said to him: May your nose he besmeared with dust, don't you bear testimony to the fact that I am the Messenger of Allah? Thereupon he said: No, but you should bear testimony that I am the messenger of Allah. Thereupon 'Umar b. Khattab said: Allah's Messenger, permit me that I should kill him. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: If he is that person who is in your mind (Dajjal ), you will not be able to kill him.

(Muslim)

عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ صَحِبْتُ ابْنَ صَائِدٍ إِلَى مَكَّةَ فَقَالَ لِي أَمَا قَدْ لَقِيتُ مِنَ النَّاسِ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنِّي الدَّجَّالُ أَلَسْتَ سَمِعْتَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏"‏ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُولَدُ لَهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ بَلَى ‏.‏ قَالَ فَقَدْ وُلِدَ لِي ‏.‏ أَوَلَيْسَ سَمِعْتَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏"‏ لاَ يَدْخُلُ الْمَدِينَةَ وَلاَ مَكَّةَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ بَلَى ‏.‏ قَالَ فَقَدْ وُلِدْتُ بِالْمَدِينَةِ وَهَذَا أَنَا أُرِيدُ مَكَّةَ - قَالَ - ثُمَّ قَالَ لِي فِي آخِرِ قَوْلِهِ أَمَا وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأَعْلَمُ مَوْلِدَهُ وَمَكَانَهُ وَأَيْنَ هُوَ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَلَبَسَنِي ‏

Abu Sa'id reported:

I accompanied Ibn Sayyad to Mecca and he said to me: What I have gathered from people is that they think that I am Dajjal. Have you not heard Allah's Messenger (may peace upon him) as saying: He will have no children, I said: Yes, of course. Thereupon he said: But I have children. Have you not heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He would not enter Mecca and Medina? I said: Yes, of course. Thereupon he said I have been once in Medina and now I intend to go to Mecca. And he said to me at the end of his talk: By Allah, I know his place of birth his abode where he is just now. He (Abu Sa'id) said: This caused confusion in my mind (in regard to his identity).

(Muslim 2927a)

عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ قَالَ لِيَ ابْنُ صَائِدٍ وَأَخَذَتْنِي مِنْهُ ذَمَامَةٌ هَذَا عَذَرْتُ النَّاسَ مَا لِي وَلَكُمْ يَا أَصْحَابَ مُحَمَّدٍ أَلَمْ يَقُلْ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ إِنَّهُ يَهُودِيٌّ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَقَدْ أَسْلَمْتُ ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ وَلاَ يُولَدُ لَهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَقَدْ وُلِدَ لِي ‏.‏ وَقَالَ ‏"‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ حَرَّمَ عَلَيْهِ مَكَّةَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَقَدْ حَجَجْتُ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَمَا زَالَ حَتَّى كَادَ أَنْ يَأْخُذَ فِيَّ قَوْلُهُ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَقَالَ لَهُ أَمَا وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأَعْلَمُ الآنَ حَيْثُ هُوَ وَأَعْرِفُ أَبَاهُ وَأُمَّهُ ‏.‏ قَالَ وَقِيلَ لَهُ أَيَسُرُّكَ أَنَّكَ ذَاكَ الرَّجُلُ قَالَ فَقَالَ لَوْ عُرِضَ عَلَىَّ مَا كَرِهْتُ ‏.

Abu Sa'id Khudri reported:

Ibn Sa'id said to me something for which I felt ashamed. He said: I can excuse others; but what has gone wrong with you, O Companions of Muhammad, that you take me as Dajjal? Has Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) not said that he would be a Jew whereas I am a Muslim and he also said that he would not have children, whereas I have children, and he also said: verily, Allah has prohibited him to enter Mecca whereas I have performed Pilgrimage, and he went on saying this that I was about to be impressed by his talk. He (however) said this also: I know where he (Dajjal) is and I know his father and mother, and it was said to him: Won't you feel pleased if you would be the same person? Thereupon he said: If this offer is made to me, I would not resent that.

(Muslim)

عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ خَرَجْنَا حُجَّاجًا أَوْ عُمَّارًا وَمَعَنَا ابْنُ صَائِدٍ - قَالَ - فَنَزَلْنَا مَنْزِلاً فَتَفَرَّقَ النَّاسُ وَبَقِيتُ أَنَا وَهُوَ فَاسْتَوْحَشْتُ مِنْهُ وَحْشَةً شَدِيدَةً مِمَّا يُقَالُ عَلَيْهِ - قَالَ - وَجَاءَ بِمَتَاعِهِ فَوَضَعَهُ مَعَ مَتَاعِي ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ إِنَّ الْحَرَّ شَدِيدٌ فَلَوْ وَضَعْتَهُ تَحْتَ تِلْكَ الشَّجَرَةِ - قَالَ - فَفَعَلَ - قَالَ - فَرُفِعَتْ لَنَا غَنَمٌ فَانْطَلَقَ فَجَاءَ بِعُسٍّ فَقَالَ اشْرَبْ أَبَا سَعِيدٍ ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ إِنَّ الْحَرَّ شَدِيدٌ وَاللَّبَنُ حَارٌّ ‏.‏ مَا بِي إِلاَّ أَنِّي أَكْرَهُ أَنْ أَشْرَبَ عَنْ يَدِهِ - أَوْ قَالَ آخُذَ عَنْ يَدِهِ - فَقَالَ أَبَا سَعِيدٍ لَقَدْ هَمَمْتُ أَنْ آخُذَ حَبْلاً فَأُعَلِّقَهُ بِشَجَرَةٍ ثُمَّ أَخْتَنِقَ مِمَّا يَقُولُ لِيَ النَّاسُ يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ مَنْ خَفِيَ عَلَيْهِ حَدِيثُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَا خَفِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَعْشَرَ الأَنْصَارِ أَلَسْتَ مِنْ أَعْلَمِ النَّاسِ بِحَدِيثِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَلَيْسَ قَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ هُوَ كَافِرٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَأَنَا مُسْلِمٌ أَوَلَيْسَ قَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ هُوَ عَقِيمٌ لاَ يُولَدُ لَهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَقَدْ تَرَكْتُ وَلَدِي بِالْمَدِينَةِ أَوَ لَيْسَ قَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ لاَ يَدْخُلُ الْمَدِينَةَ وَلاَ مَكَّةَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَقَدْ أَقْبَلْتُ مِنَ الْمَدِينَةِ وَأَنَا أُرِيدُ مَكَّةَ قَالَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيُّ حَتَّى كِدْتُ أَنْ أَعْذِرَهُ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَمَا وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأَعْرِفُهُ وَأَعْرِفُ مَوْلِدَهُ وَأَيْنَ هُوَ الآنَ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ لَهُ تَبًّا لَكَ سَائِرَ الْيَوْمِ ‏.‏

We came back after having performed Pilgrimage or `Umra and lbn Sa'id was along with us. And we encamped at a place and the people dispersed and I and he were left behind. I felt terribly frightend from him as it was said about him that he was the Dajjal. He brought his goods and placed them by my luggage and I said: It is intense heat. Would you not place that under that tree? And he did that. Then there appeared before us a flock of sheep. He went and brought a cup of milk and said: Abu Sa`id, drink that. I said it is intense heat and the milk is also hot (whereas the fact was) that I did not like to drink from his hands or to take it from his hand and he said: Abu Sa`id, I think that I should take a rope and suspend it by the tree and then commit suicide because of the talks of the people, and he further said. Abu Sa`id he who is ignorant of the saying of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (he is to be pardoned), but O people of Ansar, is this hadith of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) concealed from you whereas you have the best knowledge of the hadith of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) amongst people? Did Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) not say that he (Dajjal) would be a non believer whereas I am a believer? Did Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) not say he would be barren and no child would be born to him, whereas I have left my children in Medina? Did Allah's Messenger (may peace upon him) not say: He would not get into Medina and Mecca whereas I have been coming from Medina and now I intend to go to Mecca? Abu Sa`id said: I was about to accept the excuse put forward by him. Then he said: I know the place where he would be born and where he is now. So I said to him: May your whole day be spent.

(Muslim 2927c)

Saturday, May 30, 2020