Masih ad-Dajjal

Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (Arabic: الدجّال Al-Masīḥ المسيح ad-Dajjāl, “the false messiah"), is an evil figure in Islamiceschatology.[1] He is to appear pretending to be theMasih(i.e. the Messiah) at a time in the future, before Yawm al-Qiyamah (Day of Resurrection), and is comparable to theAntichrist and Armilus in Christian and medieval Jewisheschatology, respectively.

1 Name

Dajjāl is an adjective of Syriac origin.[2] It is also a com-mon Arabic word (دجال) whose root is dajl meaning “lie”or “deception”. Al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl, with the definite ar-ticle al- (“the”), refers to “the deceiving Messiah”, a spe-cific end-of times deceiver. The Dajjāl is an evil beingwho will seek to impersonate the true Messiah.The name Dajjal also is rooted in an Arabic word dajel,which means to gold plate or coat in gold.

2 Hadith

According to hadith, Muhammad is said to have prophe-sied that the Masih ad-Dajjal would be the last of a seriesof thirty Dajjal or “deceivers” .[3]

• Muhammad is reported to have said:

...Ad-Dajjal is blind in the right eye and hiseye looks like a bulging out grape.[4]

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: Allah’sApostle said. “While I was sleeping, I sawmyself (in a dream) performing Tawaf aroundthe Ka'ba. Behold, I saw a reddish-white manwith lank hair, and water was dropping fromhis head. I asked, “Who is this?' They replied,'The son of Mary.' Then I turned my face to seeanother man with a huge body, red complex-ion and curly hair and blind in one eye. His eyelooked like a protruding out grape. They said(to me), he is Ad-Dajjal.” The Prophet added,“The man he resembled most is Ibn Qatan, aman from the tribe of Khuza'a.”[5]

Narrated Ibn Umar: Once Allah’s Apostlestood amongst the people, glorified and praised

Allah as He deserved. Then, mentioning Daj-jal, he said, “I warn you against him (i.e. theDajjal) and there was no prophet but warnedhis nation against him. No doubt, Noah warnedhis nation against him but I tell you about himsomething of which no prophet told his nationbefore me. You should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed.”[6]

Ali was reported to have said:

His right eye will be punctured, and his lefteye would be raised to his forehead and will besparkling like a star. Only the believers will beable to read the word ‘Kafir’ [disbeliever], in-scribed in bold letters, on his forehead. Therewill be big mountains of smoke at both frontand backsides of his caravan. People will antic-ipate food within those mountains, during thesevere famine. All rivers, falling in his way,will become dry and he will call upon people ina loud voice, “O my friends come to me! I amyour lord who has made your limbs and givenyou sustenance.[7]

• Anas b. Malik reported that Allah’s Messenger said:There is never a prophet who has not warned theUmmah of that one-eyed liar; behold he is one-eyedand your Lord is not one-eyed. On his forehead arethe letters k. f. r. (Kafir).[8]

2.1 Signs of coming of Al-Masih ad-Dajjal

Hadith attributed to Muhammad give many signs of theappearance of the Dajjal, and exhorted his followers torecite the first and last ten verses of Sura Al-Kahf (chap-ter 18 in the Qur'an), as protection from the trials andmischief of the Dajjal.[7][8]

The following signs are ascribed to Ali in the coming ofDajjal:[7]

• People will stop offering the prayers

• Dishonesty will be the way of life

• Falsehood will become a virtue

• People will mortgage their faith for worldly gain

• Usury and bribery will become legitimate

1

2 4 AHMADIYYA BELIEFS

• There will be acute famine at the time

• There will be no shame amongst people

• Many people would worship Satan

• There would be no respect for elderly people

2.2 Other Traits of Dajjal

• He will be a man with powerful built, curly hair andonly a true believer can recognize him.

• He (Dajjal) will be followed by seventy thousandJews wearing black shawls from Isfahan.

• He will claim to be Creator/God and will challengemajor religious institutions of the world.

• He will traverse all the cities of the world, exceptMecca and Medina (as they are guarded by angels).

• He shall not have any children.

• He shall be a Jew.

• He would possibly be considered as Jesus (with pow-ers of God) by Christians and Messiah by Jews.[9]

2.3 Signs of emergence

• Drying up of Sea of Galilee.

• When date-palm trees of Baisan stop bearing fruit(Sahih Muslim English reference : Book 41, Hadith7028; Arabic reference : Book 55, Hadith 7573)[10]

• Worship of satan becomes common.

3 Eschatology

See also: Islamic eschatology, Mahdi and Jesus in Islam

It was narrated that Abu Bakr Siddiq said: “The Mes-senger of Allah (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) told us: 'Da-jjal will emerge in a land in the east called Khorasan,and will be followed by people with faces like hammeredshields.'"[11] and will travel the whole world preaching hisfalsehood, but will be unable to enter Mecca or Medina.[4]

Isa (Jesus) will return and the Dajjal will gather an armyof 70,000 Jews from Isfahan, of those he has deceivedand lead them in a war against Jesus who shall be ac-companied by an army of the righteous, along with ImamMahdi.

3.1 Differing views

3.1.1 Sunni beliefs

Sunni Muslims believe that Isa (Jesus) will descendon Mount Afeeq, on the white Eastern Minaret ofDamascus. He will descend from the heavens with hishands resting on the shoulders of two angels.[12] Hischeeks will be flat and his hair straight. When he low-ers his head it will seem as if water is flowing from hishair, when he raises his head, it will appear as thoughhis hair is beaded with silvery pearls.[13] He will descendduring Fajr (sunrise) and the leader of the Muslims willaddress him thus, “O' Prophet of God, lead the prayer.”Isa will decline with the words, “The virtue of this nationthat follows Islam is that they lead each other.” Implyingthat he will pray behind the imam (the man that leads theprayings (Mahdi)) as the word of God was completed af-ter revelation of Qur'an and Muhammad being the lastprophet of God.[13]

After the prayer, Isa will prepare himself to do battle andshall take up a sword. An army shall return from a cam-paign launched before the arrival of Isa. Isa shall set outin pursuit of Dajjal. All those who embraced the evilof Dajjal shall perish even as the breath of Isa touchesthem. The breath of Isa shall precede him as far as theeye can see. Dajjal will be captured at Lod. Dajjal shallbegin to melt, as salt dissolves in water. The spear ofIsa shall plunge into Dajjal’s chest, ending his dreadedreign.[14][15] The followers of Dajjal will be rooted out,for even the trees and rocks will speak out against them.Isa will break the cross and kill the pig (the animal). Thenall battles shall cease and the world will know an age ofpeace. The rule of Isa will be just and all shall flock tohim to enter the folds of the one true religion, Islam.

3.1.2 Shīa beliefs

Some Shias believe that Dajjal will be killed byMuhammad al-Mahdi.[16]

4 Ahmadiyya beliefs

The Ahmadiyya teachings interpret the prophecies re-garding the appearance of the Dajjal (Anti-Christ) andGog and Magog in Islamic eschatology as foretelling theemergence of two branches or aspects of the same tur-moil and trial that was to be faced by Islam in the latterdays and that both emerged from Christianity or Chris-tian nations. Its Dajjal aspect relates to deception andperversion of religious belief while its aspect to do withdisturbance in the realm of politics and the shattering ofworld peace has been called Gog and Magog. Thus Ah-madis consider the widespread Christian missionary ac-tivity that was 'aggressively' active in the 18th and 19th

3

centuries as being part of the prophesied Dajjal (An-tichrist) and Gog and Magog emerging in modern timesout of Christian nations. Accordingly, the emergence ofthe Soviet Union and the USA as superpowers and theconflict between the two nations (i.e., the rivalry betweencommunism and capitalism) are seen as having occurredin accordance with certain prophecies regarding Gog andMagog.[17] Thus, Ahmadis believe that prophecies andsayings about the Antichrist are not to be interpreted liter-ally. They have deeper meanings. Masih ad-Dajjal is thena name given to latter day Christianity and the west.[18]

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyyamovement writes extensively about dajjal in his books,in Shahādat-ul-Qurān, which is briefly mentioned in atopic-based, five-volume collection of his writings titled“Essence of Islam”, he states:

“The Holy Qur’an then specifies that in the lat-ter days the Christians will dominate the earth,and they shall be the cause of all kinds of mis-chief running rampant. Waves of calamitieswill rise on all sides and will race down fromevery height….They will possess great mate-rial strength and dominion, against which allother powers and states will seem powerless.They will also enjoy supremacy in all kindsof knowledge and sciences and establish newand wonderful industries. They will also bedominant in their policies, projects, and goodadministration, and will show great resolve intheir worldly enterprises and will also excel intheir endeavour to spread their faith. They willleave behind all other nations in their social,agricultural and commercial policies, as indeedin everything else.” Shahādat-ul-Qurān , page361-362[19]

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad gives a more direct definition ofthe meaning of Dajjal:

“As to the Antichrist, now listen, I will explainto you the reality on the basis of the clear andpure revelation that I have received. Then un-derstand, my dear ones, that it has been dis-closed to me that the reference to the Antichristas one individual is not designed to indicate hispersonal individuality, but his unity as a class,meaning thereby that in that class there will bea unity of ideas as is, indeed, indicated by theword Dajjal itself and in this name there aremany Signs for those who reflect. The mean-ing of the word Dajjal is a chain of decep-tive ideas, the links of which are so attachedto each other as if it was a structure of equal-sized bricks of the same colour, quality andstrength, some of them firmly overlapping oth-ers and further strengthened by being plasteredfrom outside.”[20]

Thus essentially theDajjal is not believed to be a physicalperson or an individual but as representing a collectivityof people who would pose a great challenge to Islam; itis, essentially, a name given to the European nations ofthe latter days. In contrast to mainstream Muslims whobelieve Jesus to be still alive and one who would returnhimself towards the end of time, Ahmadis believe thatJesus is not alive but survived crucifixion and died a nat-ural death.[21][22] The prophecies concerning the secondcoming of Jesus are thus interpreted as the coming ofone from within Islam in the likeness of Jesus, who willcorrect the doctrines of Christianity which from the per-spective of Islam are deemed erroneous and establish thetruth of Islam to the world especially as against westernscientific and philosophical ideals. Ahmadis believe theirfounder Ghulam Ahmad to have fulfilled in his personthe prophecies of the second advent of Jesus by repre-senting Islam in its pristine form and having revived thehigh morals it inculcates. Moreover, Ahmadi Muslimsalso believe the “Promised Messiah” and the "Mahdi" arethe same person, and that it is through his teachings, in-fluence and prayers and those of his followers that Islamwill overcome the Anti-Christ or Dajjal in a period sim-ilar to the period of time it took for nascent Christianityto rise (see also: Ahmadiyya relationship with Christian-ity); and that the Dajjal’s power will slowly fade away,heralding the prophecised final victory of Islam and theage of peace. They also believe that the 'Gate of Lud'mentioned in certain hadith refers to Ludgate where StPaul is thought to have preached the message of Chris-tianity according to the Sonnini Manuscript of the Actsof the Apostles.[23]

5 See also

• Beelzebub

• Belial

• Criteria of True Prophet

• Devil (Islam)

• Mahdi

• Kali

• Sufyani

6 References[1] Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Al-Dajjāl, p. 43.

[2] The Continuum History of Apocalypticism, edited byBernard McGinn et al, The Continuum International pub-lishing group Inc., 15 East 26th Street, New York, NY10010, Published 2003, ISBN 0-8264-1520-2, 677 pages,page 387.

4 7 EXTERNAL LINKS

[3] Hughes, Patrick T. (1996). ADictionary of Islam. LaurierBooks. p. 64. ISBN 9788120606722. Retrieved 2012-04-20.

[4] Sahih al-Bukhari, 3:30:105

[5] Collected by Muhammad al-Bukhari Sahih al-BukhariSahih al-Bukhari, 9:88:242

[6] Collected by Muhammad al-Bukhari Sahih al-BukhariSahih al-Bukhari, 4:55:553

[7] Bilgrami, Sayed Tahir (2005). “6”. Essence of Life, Atranslation of Ain al-Hayat by Allama Mohammad BaqirMajlisi. Qum: Ansarian Publications. p. 104.

[8] Collected by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Nishapuri Sahih Mus-lim Sahih Muslim, 41:7007

[9] http://www.discoveringislam.org/anti-christ.htm

[10] http://www.hadithcollection.com/sahihmuslim/169-Sahih%20Muslim%20Book%2041.%20Turmoil%20And%20Portents%20Of%20The%20Last%20Hour/15268-sahih-muslim-book-041-hadith-number-7028.html

[11] http://sunnah.com/ibnmajah/36/147

[12] Elias, Mufti A.H. “Jesus (Isa) A.S. in Islam, and his Sec-ond Coming”. Islam.tc. Retrieved 2012-04-20.

[13] “The descension of Sayyidena Eesa”. Muslimaccess.com.Retrieved 2012-04-20.

[14] Sahih Muslim, 41:7023

[15] Ali, Mohammed Ali Ibn Zubair. “Who is the evil Dajjal(the “anti-Christ”)?". Islam.tc. Retrieved 2012-04-20.

[16] Bilgrami, Sayed Tahir (location=Qum). Essence of Life, Atranslation of Ain al-Hayat by Allama Mohammad BaqirMajlisi. p. 343. Check date values in: |date= (help)

[17] Islam and Communism

[18] “Unveiling of the 'Unseen' by the Quran” in “KnowledgeRevelation, Rationality and Truth” by Mirza Tahir Ah-mad, hosted on Al Islam, the official Website of the Ah-madiyya Muslim Community.

[19] http://www.alislam.org/library/browse/book/The_Essence_of_Islam/?p=3#page/283/mode/1up

[20] Tadhkirah, Translated by Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, Is-lam International Publications, “Islamabad” SheephatchLane, Tilford, Surrey GU10 2AQ UK, 1976, ISBN 978-1-84880-051-9, 1366 pages, p. 288

[21] “Jesus, a Humble Prophet of God”. Al Islam.

[22] “Death of Jesus”, by Shahid Aziz, Bulletin October 2001,Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore (UK)The Promised Mehdi and Messiah, p. 50, “Jesus Migratedto India”, by Aziz Ahmad Chaudhry, Islam InternationalPublications Limited

[23] Ahmad, Hadhrat Mirza Tahir - Khalifatul Masih IVFriday Sermon 17 January 2003

7 External links• Ahadith on the Dajjal (muttaqun.com)

• More Ahadith about Dajjal

• “Seeing with Both Eyes” (Text of a lecture given onthe Dajjal by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad [TimothyWinter])

• The Detailed Information on Dajjal (Translation ofthe book DAJJAL originally written in Urdu by aPhD scholar)

• Dajjal and Symbolism in Akhirulzaman by SheikhImran Hosein

• Article on Dajjal

5

8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1 Text• Masih ad-Dajjal Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masih_ad-Dajjal?oldid=680706667 Contributors: Damian Yerrick, AxelBoldt,

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