Dajjal, the False Messiah The Reign of Dajjal

Syed Sharfuddin talks about an intriguing subject

False Messiah – Dajjal’s reign will last a total of one year, two months and a fortnight compressed in forty days. According to Ahadith, the first day of his rule will be like a year, the second day like a month, the third day like a week and the remaining 37 days like normal days. There have been many explanations for this timescale. Some scholars say these are literal days of such length; others say these are metaphorical references.

Dajjal’s Power is Challenged
The speed of Dajjal’s influence will be faster than the winds and his spell will spread far and wide like a storm. He will conquer every corner of the world with his charisma and sorcery. He will spread hatred against Islam. The deviant Jews will support Dajjal against the Muslims. After conquering the Arabian peninsula, Dajjal would want to enter Makkah, but he will not be able to do so because Allah’s angels will be guarding the holy city. Dajjal will be humiliated and will aim to enter Madina instead, but he will not be successful there also because Allah’s angels will be guarding the gates of Madina.

It is believed that when this will happen, there will be three earthquakes in Madina, which will frighten the munafiqeen (people who say they are Muslims but in reality they are non-Muslims) and fasiqeen (people who say are Muslims but they practice everything that is forbidden by Islam) to flee the city. Outside Madina, they will fall into Dajjal’s hands and join his forces.

At last a youth will challenge Dajjal and confront him for a debate, but when he would be called to meet Dajjal, his guards would want to kill him. Dajjal’s security will stop them saying that the youth could not be killed without the permission of Dajjal.

Thereafter this young person will be brought before Dajjal. The young man will say: “I have recognised that you are none other than the cursed Dajjal.” He will further say: “Our Prophet Mohammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon, him informed us about your coming”. As soon as Dajjal hears this, he will order this youth to be killed. Dajjal’s guards will immediately cut the young man into two pieces.
Dajjal will say to those present on the occasion: “Now, if I bring this man back to life, will you be convinced of my divinity?” His followers will reply: “We have already come to believe in you as God. But if you bring this man back to life, it will further increase our faith in you.” This description is reminiscent of the talk Pharoah used to have in his palace and reminds us of the dialogue he had with a nobleman in his court.

Using his magic, Dajjal will join the two pieces of the dead body of the young man together, whereby he will come back to life. The martyred man will stand up and say: “Now I am even more convinced that you are the cursed Dajjal.” This will make Dajjal angry and he would want to kill the young man again. But now his power will be taken away. He will be embarrassed. In fury, he will throw the youth in his hell but the fire will become cool and will not burn the young man, just as the fire of Nimrud became cool and could not burn Ibrahim.

Dajjal’s Last Days
Moving on to what Dajjal will do after he consolidates his power, it is said that he will turn to Syria, but before he will reach Damascus, Imam Mahdi will have arrived there. When Imam Mahdi arrives in Damascus, he will start preparing for war, but the odds of victory will be against the Imam. Dajjal would control both political and military power and people will be on his side. But Imam Mahdi and his followers will be sure of Allah’s support and help. The Imam will call all Muslims to offer prayers at the Umayyad Mosque. In addition to organising the Muslims against Dajjal, he will make Damascus the centre of his activity. One day Imam Mahdi will go to the Umayyad Mosque to offer prayers. He will then meet prophet Jesus, son of Mary, who would descent from heaven on the eastern minaret in the Grand Mosque of Damascus with the Will of Allah to help Imam Mahdi defeat Dajjal.

After offering the post-sunset prayers, people will go out to confront Dajjal. Upon seeing prophet Isa, Dajjal will start dissolving like salt in water. Isa will catch up with Dajjal at the Gate of Ludd and will kill him. Seeing Dajjal’s humiliating death, his supporters will try to disperse behind trees and stones but they will be unsuccessful to hide and will be eliminated at the hands of Isa’ army.

Then Jesus will validate Islam, break the cross, meaning he will reaffirm that he is a prophet of Allah and not son of God; he will kill the swine, meaning he will restore the Sharia of Prophet Muhammad; and he will pronounce the end of war, meaning that peace will prevail and result in such an abundance of wealth that no one will be poor to accept alms. The people will become pious and there will be no evil until Jesus lives his time on earth.

Following the death of Dajjal, yajuj and majuj will emerge as Allah describes in the Quran, “swoop down from every mount [21:96] and consume all sweet water. A series of events will then take place in succession over a short period as described in detail in the Book of Tribulations in Sunan Ibn Majah before the last hour. These are: three solar eclipses, a great smoke bellowing, the foretold sunrise from the west, a beast of the earth speaking, a fire driving people to huddle together and the two trumpets blown one after the other to end the world.

Non-Muslim Perceptions about Dajjal
Non-Muslim scholars of Islam maintain that the belief in the coming of Dajjal has been imported into Islamic texts from the Jewish and Christian traditions. These ideas were brought by the Jewish and Christian converts in the early Islamic period and became part of Islamic eschatology. According to these non-Muslim scholars, the long time it took for the canonical books of Hadith to be compiled and agreed upon (about eight centuries) provided sufficient time for these ideas to get consolidated in Islamic thought about the signs of the last hour which is foretold in the Quran together with some other signs (yajuj and majuj and the speaking creature of the earth). A great deal of material about Dajjal was later excised by the later schools of puritanical Muslim scholars on the grounds that it was taken from Talmudic texts and other Jewish accounts and formed part of those Ahadith which were considered to be weak or unacceptable by the majority of scholars of Hadith.

Another view is that during the Prophet’s time, a Jewish man by the name of Al-Siyyed claimed to be a Jewish prophet. The Prophet (PBUH) therefore wanted his followers to beware of the false Messiah after his death.

While belief in the last hour and resurrection is a fundamental part of the Islamic faith, believing in all the signs of the last hour or interpreting these as literal texts or metaphor does not change the context in which it is discussed, namely that there will be an end of life on this earth in this world and the beginning of an everlasting life on another earth in another world. It also makes no difference if Dajjal is a Jewish or Christian thought borrowed by Islam. There are many fundamental principles and traditions in Islam, which came from other Abrahamic faiths such as prohibiting idol worship, abstaining from eating swine, fasting, giving charity, fulfilling the Covenant, establishing justice, pursuit of peace, and doing good deeds for the pleasure of Allah. There are more stories of Israeli prophets in the Quran than episodes related to the life of prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him)

The coming of Dajjal will unite the true believers among the real Jews, Christians and Muslims and expose those who are deceivers and not the true followers of the same great monotheistic faith that prophet Ibrahim and the long line of prophets from his progeny until the last and final prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, preached and practiced to guide humanity on the right path.
It is reported in the Hadith that a Muslim who recites Surah Al-Kahf (Chapter 18) on Fridays will be safe from the tricks of Dajjal if his appearance occurs in his lifetime. It is also said that the first and last ten verses of Surah Al-Kahf should be memorised by Muslims as a handy tool against Dajjal’s tribulations. Since Dajjal’s arrival is unknown, worshippers seek protection from Allah from the mischief of Dajjal in their daily prayers, should he appear in their lifetime. The Weekender