Al-Masih ad-Dajjal

Dajjal (Arabic: المسيح الدجّال‎, romanized: Dajjāl, lit. 'the false messiah, liar, the deceiver'; Syriac: ܡܫܝܚܐ ܕܓܠܐ‎, romanized: Mšiha Daggala) (plural: Dajjals) is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology. He is said to have come from several different locations, but generally from the East, usually between Syria and Iran, comparable to Christian understanding of the appearance of the Antichrist in Christian eschatology.[1]

Name

Dajjāl (Arabic: دجال‎) is the superlative form of the root word dajl meaning "lie" or "deception".[2] It means "deceiver" and also appears in Classical Syriac: daggala‎ (ܕܓܠܐ).[3] The compound Al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl, with the definite article al- ("the"), refers to "the deceiving Messiah", a specific end times deceiver. The Dajjāl is an evil being who will seek to impersonate the true Messiah.

Characteristics

The Prophet (ﷺ) warns his companions of the Dajjal by detailing his characteristics. Most authentic sources describe him as a man[4] without delving into the possibility of a supernatural being or an "executive system" running the world as some groups claim. There's no indication that the words used to describe Dajjal connote anything more than the literal text.

In one such hadith, Abdullah ibn Umar reported the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: "Allah is not one-eyed and behold that Dajjal is blind of the right eye and his eye would be like a floating grape".[5] To clarify, most of the Ulama agree that the meaning of, ". . . Allah is not one-eyed . . ." explains the perfection of Allah and the deficiency of Dajjal as having only one eye is a flaw so he cannot be God as he so claims. Muslims affirm that the divine attributes mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah are to be affirmed without likening them to human qualities as Allah is above that.

In another narration, Hudaifah reports that The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'The Dajjal is blind in his left eye and has abundant hair . . ."[6]

Some Scholars have sought to reconcile these reports classing them both as authentic since they are not contradictory but rather supplement one another. 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 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.” Imam Al-Nawawi agreed with the suggested reconciliation by Al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad, and Imam al-Qurtubi also approved of it.[7]

Between his (Dajjal's) eyes the word "Kaafir" will be written in Arabic (ك ف ر ) and only the believers, whether literate or illiterate, will be able to read this.[8]

It was narrated, The Prophet (ﷺ) also mentioning a time he was sleeping. He saw a man of "brown complexion and lank hair" standing between two me. He called out asking the men who he was, the men replied "This is Jesus, son of Mary". He then turned around and saw another man of reddish complexion, large build and curly hair. He asked who this man was to which the reply was, "He is Ad-Dajjal". Dajjal was said to resemble Ibn Qatan, a man well known to the companions at the time. This comparison wasn't based on moral character but rather his appearance, to help to companions understand better.[9]

Hadith

According to hadith, Muhammad prophesied that the Masih ad-Dajjal would be the last of a series of thirty Dajjaals or "deceivers".[10][11]

• Al-nawwas b. Sim’an al-Kilabi said:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) mentioned the Dajjal (Antichrist) saying: If he comes forth while I am among you I shall be the one who will dispute with him on your behalf, but if he comes forth when I am not among you, a man must dispute on his own behalf, and Allah will take my place in looking after every Muslim. Those of you who live up to his time should recite over him the opening verses of Surat al–Kahf, for they are your protection from his trial. We asked: How long will he remain on the earth? He replied: Forty days, one like a year, one like a month, one like a week, and rest of his days like yours. We asked: Messenger of Allah, will one day's prayer suffice us in this day which will be like a year? He replied: No, you must make an estimate of its extent. Then prophet Isa son of Maryam will descend at the white minaret to the east of Damascus. He will then catch him up at the gate of Lod and kill him.[12]

• Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal:

The Prophet (ﷺ) 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).[13]

• Narrated Abu Huraira:[14]

Prophet Muhammad used to invoke (Allah): "Allahumma ini a'udhu bika min 'adhabi-l-Qabr, wa min 'adhabin-nar, wa min fitnati-l-mahya wa-lmamat, wa min fitnati-l-masih ad-dajjal. (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."[15]

— Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Funerals, no. 130

Eschatology

See also: Islamic eschatology, Mahdi, and Jesus in Islam

Sunni eschatology

The Minaret of 'Isa (Jesus) in the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria

Sunni Muslims believe that 'Isa (Jesus) will descend on the white Eastern Minaret of Damascus - Umayyad Mosque. He will descend from the heavens wearing two garments lightly died with saffron and his hands resting on the shoulders of two angels. When he lowers his head it will seem as if water is flowing from his hair, when he raises his head, it will appear as though his hair is beaded with silvery pearls. 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.[16]

Dajjal will then be chased to the gate of Lod where he'll be captured and killed by Isa ibn Maryam. He will then break the cross, kill the pig, abolish the jizya and establish peace among all nations. The rule of 'Isa will be just and all shall flock to him to enter the folds of the one true religion.[17] The breaking of the Cross is said to symbolize the declaration of Christianity as a false religion and end the veneration of Cross, which Christians believe he died on. The meaning behind the killing of the pig is disputed by scholars. Some take it literally, reasoning that swine goes against the teachings of the three Abrahamic faiths and that Christians, unlike the Jews and Muslims, deviated against the biblical rulings which forbade consuming pork. Other scholars claim the saying symbolizes corrupt practices which the Christian and Jewish followers didn't adhere after the message of Islam was revealed e.g. Usury, consumption of alcohol etc.

Ahmadiyya eschatology

Identification of the Dajjal

Prophecies concerning the emergence of the Dajjal are interpreted in Ahmadiyya teachings as designating a specific group of nations centred upon a false theology (or Christology) instead of an individual, with reference to the Dajjal in the singular indicating its unity as a system rather than its personal individuality. In particular, Ahmadis identify the Dajjal collectively with the missionary expansion and colonial dominance of European Christianity throughout the world, a development which had begun soon after the Muslim conquest of Constantinople, with the Age of Discovery in the 15th century and accelerated by the Industrial Revolution.[18][19][20][21][22] As with other eschatological themes, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement, wrote extensively on this topic.

The identification of the Dajjal, principally with colonial missionaries was drawn by Ghulam Ahmad through linking the hadith traditions about him with certain Quranic passages such as, inter alia, the description in the hadith of the emergence of the Dajjal as the greatest tribulation since the creation of Adam, taken in conjunction with the Quran's description of the deification of Jesus as the greatest abomination; the warning only against the putative lapses of the Jews and Christians in Al-Fatiha—the principal Islamic prayer—and the absence therein of any warning specifically against the Dajjal; a prophetic hadith which prescribed the recitation of the opening and closing ten verses of chapter eighteen of the Quran, (Al-Kahf) as a safeguard against the mischief of the Dajjal, the former of which speak of a people “who assign a son to God” and the latter, of those whose lives are entirely given to the pursuit and manufacture of material goods; and descriptions of the period of the Dajjal's reign as coinciding with the dominance of Christianity.[23][24] The attributes of the Dajjal as described in the hadith literature are thus taken as symbolic representations and interpreted in a way which would make them compatible with Quranic readings and not compromise the inimitable attributes of God in Islam. The Dajjal being blind in his right eye while being sharp and oversized in his left, for example, is indicative of being devoid of religious insight and spiritual understanding, but excellent in material and scientific attainment.[25] Similarly, the Dajjal not entering Mecca and Medina is interpreted with reference to the failure of colonial missionaries in reaching these two places.[26]

Defeat of the Dajjal

The defeat of the Dajjal in Ahmadi eschatology is to occur by force of argument and by the warding off of its mischief through the very advent of the Messiah rather than through physical warfare,[27][28] with the Dajjal's power and influence gradually disintegrating and ultimately allowing for the recognition and worship of God along Islamic ideals to prevail throughout the world in a period similar to the period of time it took for nascent Christianity to rise through the Roman Empire (see Seven Sleepers).[29] In particular, the teaching that Jesus was a mortal man who survived crucifixion and died a natural death, as propounded by Ghulam Ahmad, has been seen by some scholars as a move to neutralise Christian soteriologies of Jesus and to project the superior rationality of Islam.[30][31][32][33] The 'gate of Lud' (Bāb al-Ludd) spoken of in the hadith literature as the site where the Dajjal is to be slain (or captured)[34] is understood in this context as indicating the confutation of Christian proclaimants by way of disputative engagement in light of the Quran (19:97). The hadith has also been exteriorly linked with Ludgate in London, the westernmost point where Paul of Tarsus—widely believed by Muslims to be the principal corrupter of Jesus’ original teachings—is thought to have preached according to the Sonnini Manuscript of the Acts of the Apostles and other ecclesiastical works predating its discovery. Upon his arrival in London in 1924, Ghulam Ahmad's son and second Successor, Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud proceeded directly to this site and led a lengthy prayer outside the entrance of St Paul's Cathedral before laying the foundation for a mosque in London.[35][36]

See also

• Armilus
• Djall
• Hadith of Najd
• Sufyani

References

1. David Cook Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic The Darwin Press, Inc. Princeton, New Jersey ISBN 0878501428 p. 94
2. Wahiduddin Khan (2011). The Alarm of Doomsday. Goodword Books. p. 18.
3. David Cook Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic The Darwin Press, Inc. Princeton, New Jersey ISBN 0878501428 p. 93
4. b. Sam`an, An-Nawwas. "The Book of Tribulations and Portents of the Last Hour". Sunnah. He (Dajjal) would be a young man with twisted, contracted hair, and a blind eye.
5. "Hadith - The Book of Tribulations and Portents of the Last Hour - Sahih Muslim - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
6. "Hadith - Book of Tribulations - Sunan Ibn Majah - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
7. al-Munajjid, Sheikh Muhammad Salih. "The Dajjaal". IslamHouse. Islamic Propagation Office in Rabwah. pp. 9–10. Al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad said: “Both eyes of the Dajjaal will be defective . . .
8. "Hadith - The Book of Tribulations and Portents of the Last Hour - Sahih Muslim - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
9. "Hadith - Book of Prophets - Sahih al-Bukhari - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
10. "Sahih al-Bukhari 7121". sunnah.com. Retrieved 18 July 2020.; In-book reference: Book 92 (Afflictions and the End of the World ), Hadith 68; USC-MSA web (English) reference: Vol. 9, Book 88, Hadith 237
11. Hughes, Patrick T. (1996). A Dictionary of Islam. Laurier Books. p. 64. ISBN 9788120606722. Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
12. "Sunan Abi Dawud 4321". sunnah.com. Retrieved 17 July 2020.; In-book reference: Book 39 (Battles), Hadith 31; English translation: Book 38, Hadith 4307
13. "Sunan Abi Dawud 4294". sunnah.com. Retrieved 17 July 2020.; In-book reference: Book 39 ( Battles), Hadith 4; English translation: Book 38, Hadith 4281, Hasan
14. "who is Dajjal? dajjal signs, meaning, facts, FAQ & hadith - muslimgoogle". www.muslimgoogle.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
15. "Sahih al-Bukhari 1377". sunnah.com. Retrieved 17 July 2020.; In-book reference: Book 23 (Funerals), Hadith 130; USC-MSA web (English) reference: Vol. 2, Book 23, Hadith 459
16. "Hadith - The Book of Tribulations and Portents of the Last Hour - Sahih Muslim - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
17. "Hadith - Book of Tribulations - Sunan Ibn Majah - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
18. Glassé, Cyril; Smith, Huston (2003). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Altamira Press. p. 33. ISBN 0-7591-0190-6.
19. Jonker, Gerdien (2015). The Ahmadiyya Quest for Religious Progress: Missionizing Europe 1900-1965. Brill Publishers. p. 77. ISBN 978-90-04-30529-8.
20. Valentine, Simon (2008). Islam and the Ahmadiyya jamaʻat: history, belief, practice. Columbia University Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-231-70094-8.
21. Malik Ghulam Farid, et al. Al-Kahf, The Holy Quran with English Translation and Commentary Vol. III, p.1479
22. Muhammad Ali. (1992) The Antichrist and Gog and Magog Archived 1 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Ohio: Ahmadiyya Anjuman-i Ishāʿat-i Islām
23. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, (2005), The Essence of Islam, Vol. III Archived 11 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Tilford: Islam International, p.290
24. Muhammad Ali. (1992) The Antichrist and Gog and Magog Archived 1 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Ohio: Ahmadiyya Anjuman-i Ishāʿat-i Islām, pp.12-14
25. Muhammad Ali. (1992) The Antichrist and Gog and Magog Archived 1 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Ohio: Ahmadiyya Anjuman-i Ishāʿat-i Islām, pp.19-20
26. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, (2005), The Essence of Islam, Vol. III Archived 11 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Tilford: Islam International, p.290
27. Muhammad Ali. (1992) The Antichrist and Gog and Magog Archived 1 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Ohio: Ahmadiyya Anjuman-i Ishāʿat-i Islām, pp.57-60
28. Mirza Masroor Ahmad, (2006). Conditions of Bai'at and Responsibilities of an Ahmadi Archived 28 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Surrey: Islam International, p.184
29. Valentine, Simon (2008). Islam and the Ahmadiyya jamaʻat: history, belief, practice. Columbia University Press. pp. 148–9. ISBN 978-0-231-70094-8.
30. Francis Robinson.‘The British Empire and the Muslim World' in Judith Brown, Wm Roger Louis (ed) The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV: The Twentieth Century. Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 411. "At their most extreme religious strategies for dealing with the Christian presence might involve attacking Christian revelation at its heart, as did the Punjabi Muslim, Ghulam Ahmad (d. 1908), who founded the Ahmadiyya missionary sect. He claimed that he was the messiah of the Jewish and Muslim tradition; the figure known as Jesus of Nazareth had not died on the cross but survived to die in Kashmir."
31. Yohanan Friedmann. Prophecy Continuous: Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and its Medieval Background Oxford University Press, 2003, p. 114. "He [Ghulam Ahmad] realized the centrality of the crucifixion and of the doctrine of vicarious atonement in the Christian dogma, and understood that his attack on these two was an attack on the innermost core of Christianity "
32. Kambiz GhaneaBassiri. A History of Islam in America: From the New World to the New World Order Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 208. "Ghulam Ahmad denied the historicity of Jesus' crucifixion and claimed that Jesus had fled to India where he died a natural death in Kashmir. In this way, he sought to neutralize Christian soteriologies of Christ and to demonstrate the superior rationality of Islam."
33. Valentine, Simon (2008). Islam and the Ahmadiyya jamaʻat: history, belief, practice. Columbia University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-231-70094-8. "Proclaiming himself as reformer of Islam, and wanting to undermine the validity of Christianity, Ahmad went for the theological jugular, the foundational teachings of the Christian faith. 'The death of Jesus Christ' explained one of Ahmad's biographers ‘was to be the death-knell of the Christian onslaught against Islam'. As Ahmad argued, the idea of Jesus dying in old age, rather than death on a cross, as taught by the gospel writers, 'invalidates the divinity of Jesus and the doctrine of Atonement'."
34. 'Gate of Lud' Abul Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Qushayri al-Nishapuri. Sahih Muslim. Of the Turmoil & Portents of the Last Hour. No 7015
35. Geaves, Ron (2017). Islam and Britain: Muslim Mission in an Age of Empire. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-4742-7173-8.
36. Shahid, Dost Mohammad, Tarikh e Ahmadiyyat vol IV. Archived 7 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine p446.

External links

• Seeing with Both Eyes, transcript of a lecture on the Dajjal by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad (born Timothy Winter).
• Dajjal - Who? When? Where?, translation of the Urdu book DAJJAL by Mufti Abu Lubaba Shah Mansoor.
• Dajjal and Symbolism in Akhir al-Zaman, lecture by Shaykh Imran N. Hosein.