Dajjal The Antichrist

One may wonder; what is the significance of dajjal, when the Muslims world, today, is in the state of crisis. Where the non-Muslims have gathered to try to destroy the last remnants of Islam, then why dajjal?

First of all, Muhammad (pbuh) had said,

“There is no trial from the time of Adam’s creation until the last hour, greater than a dajjal.” (Narrated ibn Majah)

No matter how bad or how difficult times may seem to us, there is a time to come, which will be far greater than anything we can imagine.

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 al-Bukhari – Book #55, Hadith #553)

Then Since Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was to be the Last of the Prophets of Allaah, then his responsibility, in terms of informing us about dajjal, was much greater. For when we look into the Gospel of John, and in other writings, we find only few references to the Antichrist. When you read these writings, you find information which is very vague. So unclear that theologian Christians over the centuries has used Antichrist as a symbol of resistance to the church. For example, Martin Luther, led a revolt against Catholicism, naming the pope of that time as the head of the Antichrists, and the body of Catholicism as the body of that Antichrist.

Likewise if we look back in Judaism, in Daniel, it appears like somebody’s hallucination. It speaks about a beast with many heads and each head with many horns and a combination of a lion and a leopard etc. But like Christianity, they too use this beast as a symbol of those who oppose them. In reference to this phrase in Daniel 7:2-8, they elaborate that this beast represents the Roman Empire and that the 10 horns and little horns represent the emperors or kings and so on. But overall, in most of the other cultures/religions, Antichrist is merely a symbol for their enemy.

Speaking of pre-islamic times, there was still no clarity in the definition of the antichrist., until we come to the realm of Islamic teachings; where we find clarity and a detail elaboration of the antichrist. I will write about each and every detail that Islam teaches u; each one of them in separate articles following this introduction. Insha’Allaah.

People might still doubt the significance of this topic, but in fact, if we look at the Hadith in Sahih Muslim and Bukhari, we find many narrators that bring forth a common Hadith. The Prophet (pbuh) used to supplicate a Dua that was to seek refuge in Allaah from the Trial of Dajjal, and he made the companions to supplicate the same after every prayer they offered, and it was taught to the people as if it were a Surah of the Quran. So much so that it was considered compulsory, and as an essential part of their prayers.

True example of this comes from a student of Ibn Abbas, Tawus Ibn Kaysan. He, on one occasion, had asked his son whether he had sought refuge in Allaah from the trial of dajjal, and when his son said No, he told him to go and offer his Salaah (prayer) over again – and to do it (seek refuge).

Most importantly, our beloved Prophet (pbuh) had said that,

“The Dajjal will not appear until the people become negligent in talking about him, and until the Imams abandon talking about him on the Minbars (in their Khutba).” (Narrated in Majma Al-Zawaid)

This proves the significance of this topic and I will, Insha’Allaah, write about every detail which I feel is necessary.

What Will Dajjal Look Like?

He will be blind in the right eye, and that it would be like a floating grape, unstable in the socket.

The left eye will also be defective, but he sees through this eye, and it will have a thick film like that of a finger nail over it, and the color of it will be green like glass, it will reflect like a shining star. [Reported by Ali (ra)]

His complexion will be red&white. Meaning, White – with redness in it.
His forehead will be prominent, meaning Large and Protruding.
His neck would be wide, more like those of the bodybuilders. He will be powerfully built.
His back will tend to be curved, bent. Since his body will be powerfully built.
His feet wide set apart. Normally when people walk, their feet turn inwards; his will be wide set apart. Again, due to his powerfully built body.

He will have a lot of hair on his head, which will be curls and locks. Like small headed snakes coiled together.

He will be sterile, and will not have any children. (Implied from the hadith where dajjal is said to resembles Ibn Qatan – mentioned as follow.

He most resembles Abdul Uzza Ibn Qatan, from the al-Mustaliq tribe of Khuza’a (who died in the pre-Islamic times).

The term “Ka-fa-ra” will be written between his two eyes on his forehead. It would be visible to both Literate and the Illiterate believers.

References,

Sahih Bukhari: (Book #55, Hadith #649), (Book #55, Hadith #650), (Book #72, Hadith #789), (Book #87, Hadith #128), (Book #87, Hadith #153), (Book #93, Hadith #504), (Book #26, Hadith #626), (Book #55, Hadith #574),  (Book #72, Hadith #795), (Book #88, Hadith #245), (Book #93, Hadith #505), and Many other.

Sahih Muslim: (Book #001, Hadith #0323), (Book #001, Hadith #0324), (Book #001, Hadith #0320), (Book #041, Hadith #7009), (Book #041, Hadith #7000), (Book #041, Hadith #7008), and Many other
When Will Dajjal Appear?

First of all,

“The Dajjal will not appear until the people become negligent in talking about him, and until the Imams abandon talking about him on the Minbars (in their Khutba).” (Narrated in Majma Al-Zawaid)

If that happens, then the last signs of his emergence come from a hadith narrated by Hazrat Asman Bint Yazeed (ra). I will only quote a part of the hadith, which says that,

“The Prophet (pbuh) once came to my house and there he spoke about Dajjal. He said that before the emergence of Dajjal there will be three spells of drought. In one year the skies will withhold one third of its rains, causing the earth to withhold one third of its produce. In the second year the skies will withhold two thirds of its rains, causing the earth to withhold two thirds of its produce. In the third year, the skies will withhold all its water and there will be no crops that year. All animals, be they hoofed or toothed, will die as a result…”

Apparently, when all the produce shortens, dajjal will then emerge, and claim to be god by providing people with food and drink and above all, resurrect their camels and sheep etc.In fact, none can resurrect Allaah’s living creation, but we will talk about how he will seek this help from the Shaitan (Demons), to take over the body of the dead and make them appear as they live again.

Is Dajjal A System?

There are different interpretations of the Hadith about dajjal. Different scholars have a different perspective. But there are some perceptions that can easily be denied by considering some facts from the Hadith in Sahih Muslim and Bukhari.

I would like to quote a Hadith from Sahih Muslim,

It is narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah b. Umar that one day the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) mentioned in the presence of people about al-Masih al-Dajjal. He said: Verily Allah (hallowed be He and High) is not blind of one eye. Behold, but the Masih al-Dajjal is blind of right eye as if his eye is like a swollen grape, and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I was shown in a dream in the night that near the Ka’bah there was a man fair-complexioned, fine amongst the white-complexioned men that you ever saw, his locks of hair were falling on his shoulders. He was a man whose hair were neither too curly nor too straight, and water trickled down from his head. He was placing his bands on the shoulders of two persons and amidst them was making a circuit around the Ka’bah. I said: Who is he? They replied: Al-Masih son of Mary. And I saw behind him a man with intensely curly hair, blind of right eye. Amongst the persons I have ever seen ibn qatan has the greatest resemblance with him. He was making a circuit around the Ka’bah by placing both his hands on the shoulders of two persons. I said: Who is he? They said; It is al-Masih al-Dajjal. (Book #001, Hadith #0324)

Sahih Muslim: (Book #001, Hadith #0324) (Book #001, Hadith #0327)
Sahih Bukhari: (Book #55, Hadith #649) (Book #55, Hadith #650) (Book #87, Hadith #153) (Book #87, Hadith #153) (Book #88, Hadith #242)

This Hadith has been narrated in slightly different detail in all the other Sahih hadith I have referred above. But all of them have Abdul Uzza Ibn Qatan as a common reference.

Now, Who is Ibn Qatan? Abdul Uzza Ibn Qatan was a man from the al-Mustaliq tribe of Khuza’a, who died in the pre-Islamic times, and the Prophet (pbuh) referred to him as to have a greater resemblance with Dajjal. With this said, calling dajjal a system and interpreting blindness in one eye as spiritual blindess etc, are meaningless.

I would like to mention a few of those ideas which are commonly spread among people, about the Dajjal.

• Most people believe that Blind in One Eye means ‘Internal Blindness’
• Some people even say that Dajjal is in fact the Western Culture, i-e- Materialism
• Some people call the Television a Dajjal, seeing how it appears like a One-Eye, etc.

Whatever the issue may be, the above hadith clearly denies all of them. Dajjal will be a Being in Human Form, and Not a System.