By Asma bint Shameem
The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam instructed us to read Surah al-Kahf every Friday.
And he also told us to memorize certain Aayaat of this Noble Surah to seek Allaah’s protection from the trial of the Dajjaal.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“Whoever memorizes ten verses from the beginning of Surah Al-Kahf will be protected from the False Messiah.”
In another narration, “…from the last ten verses of Surah Al-Kahf.” (Muslim)
And he Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
“Whoever among you sees him (the Dajjaal), let him recite against him the opening verses of Surah al-Kahf.” (Muslim).
So who is this Dajjaal after all?
What does he look like?
Where is he right now?
How to protect ourselves from his fitnah?
To answer all these questions, we must refer back ONLY to the Qur’aan and *authentic* ahaadeeth, since this is a matter of the Unseen.
And we can only say about the Unseen that which is revealed to us from the Qur’aan and authentic ahaadeeth.
So what does our Deen say about the Dajjaal?
The meaning of the word ad-Dajjaal
The scholars said:
“The root dajala means to mix. The word dajala is used to mean deliberately confusing matters and being vague and ambiguous.
The Dajjaal is the one who speaks in vagaries, who tells many lies and deceives many people.
The word “Dajjaal” became a title given to the lying, one-eyed, false messiah.
The Dajjaal is so called because he will conceal his kufr from the people by lying to them, deceiving them and confusing them.”
Also the word ad-dajal which means falsehood, because the Dajjaal is the one who is extreme in ad-dajal, falsehood, because he is a great liar to the extent that he will claim that he is Allaah.
The belief of Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama’ah about the Dajjaal:
Our belief as Muslims (Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah) is that the False Messiah, the Anti-Christ, the Maseeh ad-Dajjaal is REAL.
He is a human being and he exists as we speak.
He will emerge when Allaah allows him to emerge.
He is the biggest fitnah mankind will every face.
He will spread this fitnah (tribulation) across the earth and will cause great chaos, confusion and falsehood.
He will be one-eyed and the word ‘kaafir’ or the letters ‘ka’-‘fa’-‘ra’ will be written between his eyes.
He will claim Divinity.
Eesa Alaiyhis-Salaam will eventually kill him at Ludd (Lod).
The biggest trial for mankind
The greatest trial (fitnah) to hit mankind on earth is the fitnah of the False Messiah, ad-Dajjaal.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam warned us about him and every believer must equip and prepare himself against this evil with sound knowledge, correct aqeedah and strong faith.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“It is other than the Dajjaal that I fear for you. If he comes forth while I am among you, I shall contend with him on your behalf, but if he comes forth when I am not among you, each person must contend with him on his own behalf, and Allaah will take care in looking after every Muslim even after I have gone. Those of you who live up to his time should recite before him the opening verses of Surat al–Kahf, for they are your protection from his trial.” (Saheeh Muslim)
And he said:
“No Prophet was sent but he warned his people about the one-eyed liar. He is one-eyed, but your Lord is not one-eyed, and between his eyes will be written ‘kaafir.’” (al-Bukhaari)
The Description of ad-Dajjaal
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“I have told you so much about the Dajjaal that I fear you will not understand. The Dajjaal will be a short man, pigeon-toed, with curly hair. He will be one-eyed, with his eye neither prominent nor sunken. If you become confused about him, then remember that your Lord is not one-eyed.” (Abu Dawood — saheeh by al-Albaani)
And he said:
‘… as for the false messiah, he will be one-eyed, with a wide forehead and broad upper chest, and he will be hunchbacked…’” (Ahmad 7564)
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam also said:
‘The Dajjaal will be one-eyed, blind or defective in his left eye, with thick hair. He will have with him a paradise and a hell, but his hell will be a paradise and his paradise will be a hell.’” (Muslim)
“Written between his eyes will be ‘kaaf faa’ raa’.’” (Muslim)
Hudhayfah radhi Allaahu anhu reported:
“This will be read by every believer, literate or illiterate.” (Muslim)
And he said:
‘‘From the time of the creation of Adam until the Hour begins, there will never be a bigger creation than the Dajjaal.’” (Muslim, 5239).
The Dajjaal will not have any children:
Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri radhi Allaahu anhu described what happened between him and Ibn Sayyaad, who said to him: “Did you not hear the Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam say that he will have no children? …” Abu Sa’eed said, ‘I said, ‘Yes…’” (Muslim, no. 5209)
Where is the Dajjaal now?
The Dajjaal is very much alive and present on earth as we speak.
He’s been here for a while.
He was even present at the time of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam.
But where is he exactly right now?
All we know is that he’s at some island, according to the authentic hadeeth of Fatimah bint Qays and Tameem ad-Daari radhi Allaahu anhumaa. (Saheeh Muslim 2942)
But we don’t know “which specific island” he’s at.
There are lots of opinions about that but there’s nothing that can be said for sure as a solid proof.
All we know is that he’s at an island and he’s waiting for the time when Allaah will allow him to come out.
Faatimah bint Qays radhi Allaahu anhaa said that after the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam led the people in prayer, he said:
“By Allaah, I did not call you together for an exhortation or for a warning. I have called you together because Tameem al-Daari was a Christian and he came and swore allegiance and became Muslim, and told me something which agrees with what I was telling you about the Dajjaal (false messiah).
He told me that he sailed in a ship with thirty men of Lakhm and Judhaam and they were tossed by the waves of the sea for a month.
Then they came to an island at sunset. They sat in a small rowing-boat and landed on that island.
They were met by a beast with a great deal of hair and they could not distinguish his face from his back because he was so hairy.
They said:
‘Woe to you, what are you?’
It said:
‘I am al-Jassaasah.’
They said:
What is al-Jassaasah?’
It said:
‘O people, go to this man in the monastery for he keen to know about you.’
He (the narrator) said:
When it named a man for us we were afraid of it lest it be a devil.
Then we set off, rushing, until we came to that monastery, where we found the hugest man we had ever seen, bound strongly in chains with his hands tied to his neck and his legs bound from the knees to the ankles with iron shackles.
We said:
‘Woe to you, who are you?’
He said:
‘You will soon find out about me; tell me who you are.’
They said:
‘We are people from Arabia who embarked on a ship, but the sea became wild and the waves tossed us about for one month, then they brought us to this island of yours. We took to the rowing-boats and landed on this island. We were met by a beast with a great deal of hair and we could not tell his front from his back because he was so hairy.
We said:
Woe to you, what are you?
It said:
I am al-Jassaasah.
We said:
What is al-Jassaasah?
It said:
Go to this man in the monastery for he is keen to know about you.
So we came rushing to you and we fled from it because we could not be sure that it was not a devil.’
He (that chained person) said:
‘Tell me about the date-palm trees of Baysaan.’
We said:
‘What do you want to know about them?’
He said:
‘I am asking you whether these trees bear fruit.’
We said:
‘Yes.’
He said:
‘Soon they will not bear fruit.’
He said:
‘Tell me about the lake of Tabariyyah’
We said:
‘What do you want to know about it?’
He said:
‘Is there water in it?’
They said:
‘There is a great deal of water in it.’
He said:
‘Soon it will dry up.’
Then he said:
‘Tell me about the spring of Zughar (which is in the south of Syria).’
They said:
‘What do you want to know about it?’
He said:
‘Is there water in the spring and do the people grow crops with the water of the spring?’
We said to him:
‘Yes, there is plenty of water in it and the people grow crops with its water.’
He said:
‘Tell me about the Prophet if the unlettered; what has he done?’
We said:
‘He has left Makkah and has settled in Yathrib (Madeenah).’
He said:
‘Do the Arabs fight against him?’
We said:
‘Yes.’
He said:
‘How did he deal with them?’
We told him that he had prevailed over the Arabs in his vicinity and they had shown obedience to him.
He said to us:
‘Has it really happened?’
We said:
‘Yes.’
He said:
‘If it is so that is better for them that they show obedience to him.
Now I will tell you about myself.
I am the Dajjaal and soon I will be given permission to emerge.
So I will come out and travel in the land, and will not spare any town but I will stay for forty nights, except Makkah and Taybah (Madeenah).
They are both forbidden to me; every time I try to enter one of them,
I will be met by an angel with a sword in his hand, who will bar my way, and on every route there will be angels guarding it.’
She said:
Then the Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam struck the minbar with his staff and said:
“This is Taybah, this is Taybah, this is Taybah,” meaning Madeenah.
“Did I not tell you this before?”
The people said:
Yes.
[The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:]
“I liked the story of Tameem because it agrees with what I used to tell you about him and about Makkah and Madeenah.
But he is in the Syrian Sea (Mediterranean) or the Yemeni Sea (Arabian Sea).
No, rather he is in the east, he in the east, he is in the east,” and he pointed towards the east with his hand.
She said:
I memorized this from the Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam.”
[Saheeh Muslim (2942)]
From where will the Dajjaal appear?
The Dajjaal will appear from the east, from Khurasaan, from among the Jews of Isfahaan.
Faatimah bint Qays said that the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said concerning the Dajjaal:
“He will (emerge) from the direction of the Syrian sea or from the direction of the Yemeni sea… No, rather from the east…” – and he pointed towards the east. (Muslim, 5228).
Abu Bakr radhi Allaahu anhu said:
“The Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam told us:
“The Dajjaal will emerge from a land in the east called Khurasaan.” (al-Tirmidhi 2163; saheeh by al-Albaani, Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer 3398).
Anas radhi Allaahu anhu said:
“The Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said: ‘The Dajjaal will emerge from among the Jews of Isfahaan, and with him will be seventy thousand Jews, wearing crowns.’” (Narrated by Ahmad, no. 12865).
Places which the Dajjaal will never enter
The Dajjaal will travel quickly throughout the earth and enter every place EXCEPT Makkah or Madeenah.
From the hadeeth of Faatimah bint Qays radhi Allaahu anhaa:
The Dajjaal said:
‘I almost have permission to emerge. Then I will emerge and will travel throughout the earth for forty days, and I shall not leave any town without entering it, apart from Makkah and Madeenah, which I will be prevented from entering because every time I try to enter, there will be an angel with an unsheathed sword in his hand, preventing me from entering. On every gate there will be angels defending them.’” (Muslim 5228)
Who will follow ad-Dajjaal?
Most of the followers of the Dajjaal will be from the Jews, Persians and Turks, and WOMEN!
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“The followers of the Dajjaal from among the Jews of Isfahaan will number seventy thousand, wearing heavy, striped garments.” (Muslim 5237) “He will be followed by people with faces like burnished shields.” (al-Tirmidhi 2136).
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam also said:
“The Dajjaal will come to this pond in Marriqanaat – a valley in Madeenah – and most of those who go out to him will be women, until a man will come to his mother in law, his mother, his daughter, his sister and his aunt, and will tie them up strongly for fear that they will go out to him.” (Ahmad 5099)
The fitnah of the Dajjaal
The fitnah of the Dajjaal will be the greatest fitnah of all time; from the time of Adam Alaiyhis-Salaam until the day of Judgment.
That’s because the Dajjaal will cause such chaos and confusion due to the miracles he will be able to perform but that all will be nothing but deception and lies.
Allaah will enable him to perform such miracles as a test for the people and that will bedazzle and impress people so much so that they will even believe that he is Allaah.
The authentic ahaadeeth tell us that he will have a paradise and a hell with him, but his paradise will be his hell and his hell will be his paradise. He will have rivers of water and mountains of bread.
He will command the sky to send down rain, and it will rain, and he will command the earth to bring forth vegetation and it will do so.
The treasures of the earth will follow him, and he will travel rapidly, like clouds driven by the wind. And he will do other extraordinary feats.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
‘The Dajjaal will be one-eyed, blind in his left eye, and will have thick hair. He will have a paradise and a hell with him, but his paradise will be a hell and his hell will be a paradise.’” (Muslim 5222)
And he said:
‘I know what the Dajjaal will bring with him: he will have two rivers flowing.
One will clearly look like water and the other will clearly look like blazing fire. If any one of you sees that, let him choose the river which looks like fire, then let him close his eyes and lower his head and drink from it, for it will be cool water.’” (Muslim 5223)
“He will come to some people and call them, and they will believe in him and respond to him. Then he will command the sky to rain, and the earth to bring forth vegetation, and their cattle will come back to them in the evening, with their humps very high, and their udders full of milk, and their flanks stretched. Then he will come to another people and will call them, but they will reject him. So he will leave them and they will be stricken with famine, with none of their wealth in their hands. He will pass by ruins and will say, ‘Bring forth your treasure!’ – and the treasure will follow him like a swarm of bees. Then he will call a man who is brimming with youth, and will strike him with a sword and cut him in two, then (he will put the pieces apart from one another) the distance of an archer from his target. Then he will call him, and the young man will come forward smiling, with his face shining.” (Muslim 5228)
“Part of his fitnah will be that he will say to a Bedouin, Do you think that if I resurrect your father and mother for you that you will testify that I am your lord?’
He will say,
‘Yes.’
So two devils will appear to him in the image of his father and mother, saying, ‘O my son, follow him for he is your lord.’”
(Ibn Maajah 4067; saheeh by al-Albaani, Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, hadeeth 7752)
” The Dajjaal will say (to the people):
“What do you think – if I kill this man then bring him back to life, will you have any doubts?”
They will say, “No.”
So he will kill him, then bring him back to life.
Then he (the believing man) will say, “By Allaah, I have never been more sure about you than I am today.
The Dajjaal will want to kill him but will not be permitted to. “
(al-Bukhaari, no. 6599)
How long will the Dajjaal live for?
The Sahaabah said:
“O Messenger of Allaah, how long will he stay on the earth?”
He said:
“Forty days, a day like a year, a day like a month, a day like a week, and the rest of the days like your days.”
We said:
O Messenger of Allaah, on that day which is like a year, will the prayers of one day be sufficient for us?
He said:
“No. Work out the time (for prayer).” [Muslim (2937)]
That shows that the people at that time would have to calculate the times of the five daily prayers according to a regular 24 hour day.
And pray accordingly.
The Council of Senior Scholars said explaining the above hadeeth:
“He Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam did not regard that day that will be like a year as being a single day in which five prayers would be sufficient, rather he enjoined praying five prayers every twenty-four hours, and he commanded them to space them out during the time based on the times on an ordinary day in their country. “
[Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz (15/292/300)]
The death of the Dajjaal
The fitnah of the Dajjaal will be very severe and most of the people of the world will follow him except those whom Allaah will protect.
Then Allaah will bring down Eess Alaiyhis-Salaam from the heavens and he will kill the Dajjaal.
The scholars said:
“The Dajjaal will die at the hands of the Messiah ‘Eesa Alaiyhis-Salaam as is indicated by the saheeh ahaadeeth.
The Dajjaal will appear on earth and will gain many followers, spreading his fitnah far and wide. No one will escape his fitnah except a few of the believers.
At that point, ‘Eesa ibn Maryam will descend to the eastern minaret in Damascus, and the believing slaves of Allaah will gather around him. He will lead them towards the Dajjaal, who at the time of the descent of ‘Eesa will be heading for Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem).
‘Eesa will catch up with him at the gate of Ludd (Lod), a place in Palestine near Bayt al-Maqdis.
When the Dajjaal sees him, he will start to melt like salt melting in water, but ‘Eesa Alaiyhis-Salaam will say to him, “I have some business with you, you will not get away from me.”
Then he will catch up with him and will kill him with his spear.
His followers will flee, pursued by the Muslims, who will kill them, and trees and rocks will say, ‘O Muslim, O slave of Allaah, there is Jew behind me – come and kill him!” – apart from the gharqad (box thorn), for it is one of the trees of the Jews.”
(Islamqa Fatwa # 8806)
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“… Every kaafir who will smell the fragrance of (‘Eesa) will die, and his fragrance will reach as far as he will be able to see. He will then search for him (the Dajjaal) until he catches up with him at the gate of Ludd, where he will kill him.”
And he said:
“The Dajjaal will emerge at a time when religious commitment is low and knowledge has decreased… Then ‘Eesa ibn Maryam will descend just before dawn and will call people, saying, ‘O people, what is stopping you from coming out against this evil liar?’
They will say, ‘This man is a jinn’, then they will set out.
When they reach ‘Eesa ibn Maryam, the time for prayer will come the iqqamah will be given, and it will be said to him, ‘Go forward (to lead the prayer), O Spirit of Allaah.’
He will say,
‘Let your imaam go forward and lead you in prayer.’
When they have prayed fajr, they will go out to meet him (the Dajjaal) and when they see the liar, he will start to dissolve like salt in water. ‘Eesa will go to him and kill him.
Even the trees and rocks will call out, ‘O Spirit of Allaah, here is a Jew!’
And none of those who followed him will be left, they will all be killed.”
(Ahmad 14426).
How to protect yourself from the Dajjaal
1. Have CORRECT faith and sound knowledge about Islaam, including the correct understanding about the Dajjaal, Imaam Mahdi, Eesa Alaiyhis-Salaam and the signs before the Hour.
Follow only the authentic ahaadeeth and don’t fall for inauthentic narrations.
2. KNOW Allaah, your Rabb, His Beautiful Names and Perfect Attributes.
Know that the Dajjaal is a human being who will eat and drink, and that Allaah is far above that; the Dajjaal will be one-eyed but Allaah is not one-eyed; no one can see his Lord until he dies, but the Dajjaal will be seen by all people, believers and kaafirs alike, when he emerges.
3. LIVE the life of a practicing Muslim
Fear Allaah, pray on time, lead a life of uprightness and obedience to Allaah, fulfilling your faraa’idh (obligatory duties) and staying away from all haraam.
4. Make DUAA to Allaah to protect you from the fitnah of the Dajjaal, especially in your prayers.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
‘When any one of you says Tashahhud, let him seek refuge with Allaah from four things, and say:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ وَمِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ وَمِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَاتِ وَمِنْ شَرِّ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ
“Allaahumma inni a’oodhi bika min ‘adhaab jahannam wa min ‘adhaab al-qabri wa min fitnat il-mahyaa wa’l-mamaat wa min sharri fitnat al-maseeh al-dajjaal”
“O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from the torment of Hell, from the torment of the grave, from the trials of life and death, and from the evil of the fitnah of the Dajjaal).’” (Muslim 924)
5. Memorize aayaat from Soorat al-Kahf.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“Whoever among you sees him (the Dajjaal), let him recite against him the opening verses of Soorat al-Kahf.” (Muslim 5228).
And he 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.’” (Muslim 1342)
6. if you hear about the Dajjaal, KEEP AWAY from him
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“Whoever hears of the Dajjaal, let him keep far away from him, for a man will come to him and think that he is telling the truth because of the wonders that are sent with him.”
[Ahmad (19118), Abu Dawood (3762) and al-Haakim (4/31)]
I ask Allaah to protect us all from the trials of ad-Dajjaal and save us from his fitan. Ameen.
And Allaah knows best
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