Background information: The Moslem Anti-Christ Legend

Ad-Dajjal in the Muslim sources

This personality is not mentioned in the Qur'an, only in the Hadiths. This name is given in the Hadiths to religous imposters which are to appear in the world, equivalent to "anti-christs". The foremost of these anti-christs, is given the technical title, ad-Dajjal, also called al-Masihu ad-Dajjal, or the "lying Christ". He is supposed to appear before the Day of Resurrection and enticed people to believe in him. There is an odd hadith that gives the name Dajjal to the River Tigris (Sunan Abu Da'ud 37.4292).

There were many different speculations as to why the title "al-Masihu" was applied.

The compiler of the Qanus says there have been at least fifty reasons assigne for his being called al-Masih. Some say it is because he will have his eyes touched (masah) and be rendered blind; others, that the word is originally masikh, a "monster" (see Hujaju 'l-Kalimah, p. 401). Sale, in the preface to his translation of the Qur'an, says Muslim writers state that the Jews will give him the name of al-Masih, because they will mistake him for the true Messiah, who has come to restore the kingdom of Israel to them. (Hughe's Dictionary of Islam, p. 318).

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
Allah's Apostle 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 Apostle.' 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.' " (Sahih Bukhari 3.106)

Narrated Ibn Umar:
Once Allah's Apostle stood amongst the people, glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and then mentioned the Dajjal saying, "l warn you against him (i.e. the Dajjal) and there was no prophet but warned his nation against him. No doubt, Noah 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." (Sahih Bukkhari 4.553)

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "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." (Sahih Bukkhari 4.554)

Narrated Mujahid:
That when the people mentioned before Ibn 'Abbas that the Dajjal would have the word Kafir, (i.e. unbeliever) or the letters Kafir (the root of the Arabic verb 'disbelieve') written on his forehead, I heard Ibn 'Abbas saying, "I did not hear this, but the Prophet said, 'If you want to see Abraham, then look at your companion (i.e. the Prophet) but Moses was a curly-haired, brown man (who used to ride) a red camel, the reins of which was made of fires of date-palms. As if I were now looking down a valley." (Sahih Bukkhari 4.574)

Narrated Muhammad bin Al-Munkadir:
I saw Jabir bin 'Abdullah swearing by Allah that Ibn Sayyad was the Dajjal. I said to Jabir, "How can you swear by Allah?" Jabir said, "I have heard 'Umar swearing by Allah regarding this matter in the presence of the Prophet and the Prophet did not disapprove of it." (Sahih Bukhari 9.453)

Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) observed: 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. (Sahih Muslim 1.296)

Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to seek refuge from the torment of the grave, torment of Hell and the trial of Dajjal. (Sahih Muslim 4.1224)

Narrated AbudDarda:
Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone learns by heart the first ten verses of the Surah al-Kahf, he will be protected from the Dajjal. (Sahih Muslim 4.1776)

Narrated AbuHurayrah:
Allah's Messenger (peace_be_upon_him) said: Dajjal will come from the eastern side with the intention of attacking Medina until he will get down behind Uhud. Then the angels will turn his face towards Syria and there he will perish. Sahih Muslim 7.3187)

Narrated AbuHurayrah:
Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: The Last Hour will not come until the Romans land at al-A'maq or in Dabiq. An army consisting of the best (soldiers) of the people on Earth at that time will come from Medina (to oppose them).

When they arrange themselves in ranks, the Romans will say: Do not stand between us and those (Muslims) who took prisoners from among us. Let us fight them. The Muslims will say: Nay, by Allah, we shall never turn aside from you and from our brethren so that you may fight them.

They will then fight and a third (part) of the army, whom Allah will never forgive, will run away. A third (part of the army), which will be constituted of excellent martyrs in Allah's eyes, would be killed. The third who will never be put on trial will win and they will be the conquerors of Constantinople.

As they are busy in distributing the spoils of war (amongst themselves) after hanging their swords by the olive trees, Satan will cry: The Dajjal has taken your place among your families. They will then come out, but it will be of no avail. When they reach Syria, he will come out while they are still preparing themselves for battle, drawing up the ranks.

Certainly, the time of prayer will come and then Jesus (peace_be_upon_him), son of Mary, descend and will lead them in prayer. When the enemy of Allah see him, it will (disappear) just as salt dissolves in water and if he (Jesus) were not to confront them at all, even then it would dissolve completely. Allah would kill them by his hand and he would show them their blood on his lance (the lance of Jesus Christ). (Sahih Muslim 40.6924, also Mishkat, book 23, chap 2)

Narrated Hudhayfah ibn Usayd Ghifari:
Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy in a discussion) He said: What do you discuss about? (the Companions) said: We are discussing about the Last Hour.

Thereupon he said: It will not come until you see ten signs before and (in this connection) he made a mention of the smoke, Dajjal, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus son of Mary (Allah be pleased with him), The Gog and Magog, and landslides in three places, one in the east, one in the west and one in Arabia at the end of which fire would burn forth from the Yemen, and would drive people to the place of their assembly. (Sahih Muslim 40.6931)

Narrated AbuHurayrah:
Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: You have heard of the city, one side of which is inclined and the other is on the coast (Constantinople). They said: Yes, Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him). Thereupon he said: The Last Hour will not come until seventy thousand people from Banu Isra'il attack it. When they land there, they will neither fight with weapons nor shower arrows but will only say: "There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest," and one side of it will fall. Thawr (one of the narrators) said: I think that he said: The area on the coast. Then they will say for the second time: "There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest," and the other side will also fall. They will say: "There is no god but Allah is the Greatest," and the gates will be opened for them and they will enter. They will be collecting spoils of war and distributing them among themselves when a noise will be heard and it will be said: Verily, the Dajjal has come. Thus they will leave everything there and turn to (confront) him. (Sahih Muslim 50.6979)

Narrated An-Nawwas ibn Sam'an:
Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) mentioned of the Dajjal one day in the morning. He sometimes described him as insign described (his turmoil) as very sign 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) on our faces, he said: What is the matter with you? We said: Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) you mentioned the Dajjal this morning (sometimes describing him) as insign began to think he was present in some (nearly) part of the cluster of the date-palm trees.

So he said: I harbour 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 not among you, a man must contend on his own behalf and Allah will take care of every Muslim on my behalf (and safeguard him against his evil). He (the Dajjal) will be a young man with twisted, cropped hair, and a blind eye. I compare him with AbdulUzza ibn Qatan. He who among you will survive to see him should recite over him the opening verses of Surah al-Kahf (xviii). He will appear on the way between Syria and Iraq and will spread mischief right and left. O servant of Allah! Adhere (to the path of Truth).

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

We said: Allah's apostle (peace_be_upon_him) how quickly will he walk upon the earth? Thereupon he said: Like cloud driven by the wind. He will come to the people and invite them (to a wrong religion); they will affirm their faith in him and respond to him. He will then give a command to the sky: there will be rainfall upon the Earth and it will grow crops. Then in the evening, their pasturing animals will come to them with their humps very high, their udders full of milk and their flanks distended. He will then come to another people and invite them. But they will reject him so he will go away from them; they will have a drought and nothing will be left with them in the form of wealth.

He will then walk through the desert and say to it: Bring forth your treasures. The treasures will come out and gather before him like a swarm of bees. He will then call someone in the flush of youth, strike him with the sword, cut him into two pieces and (make these pieces lie at the distance which is generally between the archer and his target.

He will then call (that young man) and he will come forward laughing with his face gleaming (with happiness). It will at this very time that Allah will send Christ, son of Mary. He will descend at the white minaret on the eastern side of Damascus, wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he lowers his head, there will fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he raises it up, beads like pearls will scatter from it. Every non-believer who smells the odour of his body will die and his breath will reach as far as he is able to see. He will then search for him (Dajjal) until he catches hold of him at the gate of Ludd and kills him.

Then a people whom Allah had protected will come to Jesus, son of Mary, and he will wipe their faces and inform them of their ranks in Paradise. It will be under such conditions that Allah will reveal to Jesus these words: I have brought forth from among My servants such people against whom none will be able to fight; you take these people safely to Tur, and then Allah will send Gog and Magog and they will swarm down from every slope. The first of them will pass the lake of Tiberias and drink out of it. And when the last of them passes, he will say: There was once water there.

Jesus and his companions will then be besieged here (at Tur, and they will be so hard pressed) that the head of the ox will be dearer to them than one hundred dinars. Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him), Jesus, and his companions will supplicate Allah, Who will send to them insects (which will attack their necks) and in the morning they would perish as one single person. Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him), Jesus, and his companions, then come down to Earth and they will not find on Earth as much space as a single span that is not filled with putrefaction and stench. Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him), Jesus, and his companions will then beseech Allah who will send birds whose necks would be like those of Bactrian camels and they will carry them away and throw them where Allah wills.

Then Allah will send rain which no house of mud-bricks or (tent of) camel-hair will keep out and it will wash the Earth until it resembles a mirror. Then the Earth will be told to bring forth its fruit and restore its blessing and, as a result thereof, there will grow (such a big) pomegranate that a group of people will be able to eat it and seek shelter under its skin, a dairy cow will give so much milk that a whole party will be able to drink it. The milking camel will give such (a large quantity of) milk that the whole tribe will be able to drink from it, and the milking-sheep will give so much milk that the whole family will be able to drink from it. At that time Allah will send a pleasant wind which will soothe (people) even under their armpits. He will take the l will commit adultery like asses and the Last Hour would come to them. (Sahih Muslim 40.7015)

Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr:
Someone came to him and said: What is this hadith that you narrate that the Last Hour will come at a certain time? Thereupon he said: Hallowed be Allah, there is no god but Allah (or words to the same effect). I have decided that I shall not narrate anything to anyone now. I have only said that you will see after some time an important event: that the (sacred) House (Ka'bah) will be burnt and it definitely happen.

He then reported that Allah's Messenger (peace_be_upon_him) said: The Dajjal will appear in my Ummah and he will stay (in the world) for forty--I cannot say whether he meant forty days, forty months or forty years. Allah will then send Jesus, son of Mary, who will resemble Urwah ibn Mas'ud. He (Jesus Christ) will chase him and kill him. Then people will live for seven years, during which time there will be no rancour between any two persons. After that Allah will send a cold wind from the direction of Syria. None will survive on Earth, having a speck of good in him or faith in him: he will die. Even if some among you were to enter the innermost part of the mountain, this wind would reach that place also and cause your death.

I heard Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) as saying: Only the wicked people will survive and they will be as careless as birds with the characteristics of beasts. They will never appreciate good nor condemn evil. Then Satan will come to them, in human form, and would say: Don't you respond? They will say: What do you order us to do? He will command them to worship the idols but, in spite of this, they will have an abundance of sustenance and lead comfortable lives. Then the trumpet will be blown and he who hears it will bend his neck to one side and raise it from the other side. The first one to hear that trumpet will be the person who is busy in setting right the cistern meant for supplying water to the camels. He will faint and the other people will also faint. Then Allah will send or He will cause to be sent rain which will be like dew and there will grow out of it the bodies of people.

Then the second trumpet will be blown and they will stand up and begin to look (around). Then it will be said: O people, go to your Lord. They will be made to stand there and they will be questioned. Then it will be said: Bring out a group (of them) for the Hell-Fire. It will be asked: How much? It will be said: Nine hundred and ninety-nine out of one thousand for the Hell-Fire. That will be the day that will make the children old because of its terror and that will be the day about which it has been said: "On the day when the shank will be uncovered". (Sahih Muslim 40.7023)

Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As:
I committed to memory a hadith from Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) and I did not forget it after I had heard Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: The first sign (out of the signs of the appearance of the Dajjal) would be the appearance of the sun from the west, the appearance of the beast before the people in the forenoon and which of the two happens first, the second one would follow immediately after that. (Sahih Muslim 40.7025)

Narrated Fatimah, daughter of Qays and sister of ad-Dahhak ibn Qays:
....
Thereupon he said: If it is so that is better for them that they show obedience to him. I am going to tell you about myself. I am the Dajjal and will be soon permitted to leave. So I shall leave and travel in the land, and shall not spare any town where I shall not stay for forty nights except Mecca and Medina: these two (places) are prohibited (areas) for me and I shall not attempt to enter either of them. An angel with a sword in his hand will confront me and bar my way and there will be angels to guard every road leading to it. Then Allah's apostle (peace_be_upon_him) striking the pulpit with the help of the end of his staff said: This implies Tayba meaning Medina. Have I not told you an account (of the Dajjal) like this? The people said: Yes, and this account narrated by Tamim Dari was liked by me for it corroborates the account which I gave to you in regard to him (Dajjal) at Medina and Mecca. Behold he (Dajjal) is in the Syrian sea (Mediterranean) or the Yemen sea (Arabian sea). Nay, on the contrary, he is in the east, he is in the east, he is in the east, and he pointed with his hand towards the east. I (Fatimah bint Qays) said: I preserved it in my mind (this narration from Allah's Messenger (peace_be_upon_him). (Sahih Muslim 40.7028)

Narrated Anas ibn Malik:
Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: The Dajjal would be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing Persian shawls. (Sahih Muslim 40.7034)

Narrated AbuHurayrah:
Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: Hasten to do good deeds before six things happen: the rising of the sun from the west, the smoke, the Dajjal, the beast and (the death) of one you or the general turmoil. (Sahih Muslim 40.7039)

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar:
When we were sitting with the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), he talked about periods of trial (fitnahs), mentioning many of them.

When he mentioned the one when people should stay in their houses, some asked him: Apostle of Allah, what is the trial (fitnah) of staying at home?

He replied: It will be flight and plunder. Then will come a test which is pleasant. Its murkiness is due to the fact that it is produced by a man from the people of my house, who will assert that he belongs to me, whereas he does not, for my friends are only the God-fearing. Then the people will unite under a man who will be like a hip-bone on a rib. Then there will be the little black trial which will leave none of this community without giving him a slap, and when people say that it is finished, it will be extended. During it a man will be a believer in the morning and an infidel in the evening, so that the people will be in two camps: the camp of faith which will contain no hypocrisy, and the camp of hypocrisy which will contain no faith. When that happens, expect the Antichrist (Dajjal) that day or the next. (Sunan Abu Da'ud 35.4230)

Narrated Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman:

Subay' ibn Khalid said: I came to Kufah at the time when Tustar was conquered. I took some mules from it. When I entered the mosque (of Kufah), I found there some people of moderate stature, and among them was a man whom you could recognize when you saw him that he was from the people of Hijaz.

I asked: Who is he? The people frowned at me and said: Do you not recognize him? This is Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, the companion of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him).

Then Hudhayfah said: People used to ask the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) about good, and I used to ask him about evil. Then the people stared hard at him.

He said: I know the reason why you dislike it. I then asked: Apostle of Allah, will there be evil as there was before, after this good which Allah has bestowed on us?

He replied: Yes. I asked: Wherein does the protection from it lie? He replied: In the sword. I asked: Apostle of Allah, what will then happen?

He replied: If Allah has on Earth a caliph who flays your back and takes your property, obey him, otherwise die holding onto the stump of a tree.

I asked: What will come next? He replied: Then the Antichrist (Dajjal) will come forth accompanied by a river and fire. He who falls into his fire will certainly receive his reward, and have his load taken off him, but he who falls into his river will have his load retained and his reward taken off him.

I then asked: What will come next? He said: The Last Hour will come. (Sunan Abu Da'ud 35.4232)

Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The flourishing state of Jerusalem will be when Yathrib is in ruins, the ruined state of Yathrib will be when the great war comes, the outbreak of the great war will be at the conquest of Constantinople and the conquest of Constantinople when the Dajjal (Antichrist) comes forth. He (the Prophet) struck his thigh or his shoulder with his hand and said: This is as true as you are here or as you are sitting (meaning Mu'adh ibn Jabal). (Sunan Abu Da'ud 37.4281)

Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The greatest war, the conquest of Constantinople and the coming forth of the Dajjal (Antichrist) will take place within a period of seven months. (Sunan Abu Da'ud 37.4282)

Narrated Abdullah ibn Busr:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The time between the great war and the conquest of the city (Constantinople) will be six years, and the Dajjal (Antichrist) will come forth in the seventh. (Sunan Abu Da'ud 37.4283)

Narrated Ubadah ibn as-Samit:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: I have told you so much about the Dajjal (Antichrist) that I am afraid you may not understand. The Antichrist 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. (Sunan Abu Da'ud 37.4306)

Narrated Fatimah, daughter of Qays:

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) once delayed the congregational night prayer.

He came out and said: The talk of Tamim ad-Dari detained me. He transmitted it to me from a man who was on of of the islands of the sea. All of a sudden he found a woman who was trailing her hair. He asked: Who are you?

She said: I am the Jassasah. Go to that castle. So I came to it and found a man who was trailing his hair, chained in iron collars, and leaping between Heaven and Earth.

I asked: Who are you? He replied: I am the Dajjal (Antichrist). Has the Prophet of the unlettered people come forth now?

I replied: Yes. He said: Have they obeyed him or disobeyed him? I said: No, they have obeyed him. He said: That is better for them. (Sunan Abu Da'ud 37.4311)

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah:
Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir told that he saw Jabir ibn Abdullah swearing by Allah that Ibn as-Sa'id was the Dajjal (Antichrist). I expressed my surprise by saying: You swear by Allah! He said: I heard Umar swearing to that in the presence of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), but the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) did not make any objection to it. (Sunan Abu Da'ud 37.4317)

Narrated AbuUbaydah ibn al-Jarrah:
I heard the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) say: There has been no Prophet after Noah who has not warned his people about the antichrist (Dajjal), and I warn you of him. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) described him to us, saying: Perhaps some who have seen me and heard my words will live till his time. The people asked: Apostle of Allah! what will be the condition of our hearts on that day? Like what we are today? He replied: Or better. (Sunan Abu Da'ud 40.4738)

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