The word dajjal (pronounced: daj-jaal) literally means concealing or covering up. It is derived from the root dajala, meaning covering or coating in Arabic. It usually refers to Al-Masih Al-Dajjal, meaning the False Messiah (or Anti-Christ), who will deceive and mislead many people by covering up the truth and performing false “miracles” towards the end of times. Dajjal is considered one of the major signs of the Day of Judgement.

The Emergence of Dajjal

Dajjal will emerge from a land in the East called Khorasan, encompassing parts of Iran and Central Asia, and will be followed by people with “faces like hammered shields”. (Ibn Majah 4,072 – Hasan) According to another hadith, he will emerge from a place called Khalla, located between Iraq and Syria. (Ibn Majah 4,075 – Sahih) He will stay on the Earth for forty days during which one day will be like a year, one day will be like a month, one day will be like a week, and the rest of his days will be usual in length, as informed by the Prophet ﷺ. (Muslim 2,937a)

He will travel the world but will not be allowed to enter Makkah and Madinah. Each time he will try to enter either of these cities, he will encounter an angel with an unsheathed sword in his hand, preventing him from going further. (Muslim 2942a)

Physical Description of Dajjal

According to various ahadith, Dajjal will be a young man with ruddy complexion and thick curly hair. He will be short heighted, with a broad upper chest. The man will be blind in his right eye which will look like a sunken grape. His left eye will be covered with a thick piece of flesh growing at the edge of his eye. He will have a wide forehead, upon which the Arabic letters kaf, fa, and ra will be written, denoting the word kaafir i.e. disbeliever. (Muslim 2,933a)

Dajjal will gain a massive following. People will falsely consider him to be a divine being due to the “miracles” he will perform, such as bringing the dead back to life. The Prophet ﷺ informed us, “Allah did not send any prophet but that he warned his nation about the one-eyed liar (Dajjal). He is one-eyed while your Lord is not one-eyed…” (Bukhari 7,408) This is also an indication that Dajjal will claim divinity, inviting people to worship him, and follow his path of deception.

The story of Ibn Sayyad

Ibn Sayyad (pronounced: Ibn Sayyaad) was a Jewish boy at the time the Prophet ﷺ came to Madinah. Ibn Sayyad used to tell people their fortunes, and sometimes, what he said turned out to be true. He became famous among the people, and it was rumoured that he was Al-Masih Al-Dajjal. The Prophet ﷺ wanted to find out more about him due to the mystery surrounding this young man.

Once, Umar ibn Al-Khattab set out with the Prophet ﷺ to look for Ibn Sayyad, and they found him playing with some boys as he was an adolescent then. He did not notice anything until the Prophet ﷺ struck him on the back with his hand. Then the following conversation occurred:

The Prophet ﷺ: “Do you bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allah?”

Ibn Sayyad: “I bear witness that you are the Messenger of the Unlettered (i.e. the Arabs). Do you bear witness that I am the messenger of Allah?”

The Prophet ﷺ: “I believe in Allah and His (true) messengers. What do you see (that people talk about)?”

Ibn Sayyad: “A truthful one comes to me (at times) and a liar comes (at other times).”

The Prophet ﷺ: “You have been confounded. I am concealing something from you.”

Ibn Sayyad: “It is al-dukh (i.e. the smoke).”

The Prophet ﷺ: “Be off with you! You will never go beyond your rank.”

Umar: “Permit me to strike his neck (i.e. kill him), O Messenger of Allah.”

The Prophet ﷺ: “(Leave him.) If he is the same one who shall appear near the Last Hour (i.e. Dajjal), then you will not be able to overpower him. And if he is not, then your killing him will not do any good.” (Muslim 2,930a)

At another time, the Prophet ﷺ and Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, went towards some date-palm trees where Ibn Sayyad was present. The Prophet ﷺ concealed himself behind a tree, and saw Ibn Sayyad lying under a blanket, from which a murmuring sound was heard. When Ibn Sayyad’s mother noticed the Prophet ﷺ, she informed her son, causing him to rise suddenly while murmuring something. The Prophet ﷺ remarked, “If she had left him alone, he would have made things clear (about his reality)!” (Muslim 2,930a)

Ibn Sayyad reportedly became a Muslim later on. Abu Sa‘id Al-Khudri narrates that after the demise of the Prophet ﷺ, the Muslims were once returning from Hajj or Umrah, and Ibn Sayyad was among them. They halted at a place where the people dispersed, leaving Abu Sa’id alone with Ibn Sayyad. Abu Sa‘id felt fearful of him which soon became evident after he politely refused a cup of milk which Ibn Sayyad offered him. Ibn Sayyad then opened up to Abu Sa’id, saying he sometimes wanted to commit suicide due to people’s accusations. Ibn Sayyad then said:

“Did Allah’s Messenger ﷺ not say that he (Dajjal) would be a disbeliever whereas I am a believer? Did Allah’s Messenger ﷺ not say that he would be barren and no child would be born to him whereas I have left my children in Madinah? Did Allah’s Messenger ﷺ not say that he would not enter Madinah and Makkah whereas I have been coming from Madinah and now I intend to go to Makkah?” (Muslim 2,927c)

Abu Sa’id says that he almost became convinced by Ibn Sayyad’s arguments. However, Ibn Sayyad also proclaimed, “I know where he (i.e. Dajjal) is and I know his father and mother.” He was asked, “Will you not feel pleased if you would be the same person?” Thereupon, Ibn Sayyad said, “If this offer is made to me, I would not resent that!” (Muslim 2,927b)

The Prophet ﷺ did not describe Ibn Sayyad as Dajjal, but some Sahabah believed he was so. There is a difference of opinion among the scholars, with some describing him as Dajjal while others saying that he was merely a magician. Ibn Hajar opined that Ibn Sayyad was a devil who appeared in the image of Dajjal, and went into hiding in Isfahan from where he will emerge in the end of times. However, the fact remains that Ibn Sayyad made some strong arguments in his defence that cannot be refuted merely on the basis of suspicion.

Fitnah of Dajjal

The Prophet ﷺ warned us about several things through which Dajjal will mislead people. According to authentic ahadith, he will have rivers of water and mountains of bread. He will move about rapidly, and the “treasures” of the earth will follow him. The people once asked the Prophet ﷺ regarding Dajjal: “How fast will he travel through the earth?” He replied, “Like the clouds when they are driven by the wind. He will come to some people and call them, and they will believe in him and respond to him…He will pass by ruins and will say, ‘Bring forth your treasure!’ – and the treasure will follow him like a swarm of bees.”

Another fitnah of Dajjal is that 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 above hadith continues: “…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.”

The fitnah of Dajjal will be so strong that the people who reject him will encounter hardships as a test from Allah. The Prophet ﷺ informed us, “Then he will come to another people, and call them (to believe in him), 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.”

Perhaps the greatest fitnah of Dajjal is that he will appear to give life to a dead man through his deceptive means: “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 man’s 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 2,937a)

Dajjal will perform other extraordinary feats, one of which is showing false images of Paradise and Hell. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Shall I not tell you something about Dajjal which no prophet told his nation? Dajjal is one-eyed, and he will bring with him what will resemble Hell and Paradise. And what he will call Paradise will actually be Hell. So, I warn you (against him) as Nuh warned his nation against him.” (Bukhari 3,338)

The Prophet ﷺ further described the deception of Dajjal as follows: “I know what Dajjal 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.” (Bukhari 7,130)

Death of Dajjal

Dajjal will visit different lands, including Hijaz, where he will camp outside Madinah behind Mount Uhud. He will then head towards Sham (comprised of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine). After spreading much corruption, Dajjal will die at the hands of Isa Ibn Maryam (AS), the True Messiah, in Jerusalem during a battle.

Prophet Isa (AS) will descend to the eastern minaret in Damascus, and will lead the slaves of Allah towards Dajjal. Isa (AS) will catch up with him at the gate of Ludd (Lod), a place in Palestine near Bayt Al-Maqdis. When Dajjal sees Isa (AS), he will start to melt like salt melting in water, but Isa (AS) 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 kill him with his spear.

Dajjal’s followers will flee the battlefield, pursued by the Muslims, who will kill them. In fact, the trees and rocks will reveal the position of Dajjal’s Jewish followers hiding behind them, inviting the Muslims to come and take them down. However, the gharqad (box thorn) tree will try to guard them as it is “one of the trees of the Jews”. (Abu Dawud 4,321 – Sahih)

How to Protect Oneself from Dajjal

The Prophet ﷺ repeatedly warned us against the fitnah of Dajjal. The following are some of the ways to safeguard ourselves from his deception and strive against his claims of divinity:

1) Having strong faith in Allah and following His deen: Muslims should remember that Dajjal will be a human being who will lure people through deception, and he can never be equivalent to Allah.

2) Making dua and seeking refuge with Allah, especially during salah: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When any one of you completes the last tashahhud (during salah), he should seek refuge with Allah from four (trials): from the torment of Hell, from the torment of the grave, from the trial of life and death, and from the mischief of Al-Masih Al-Dajjal.” (Muslim 588b)

3) Memorising the first ten and last ten ayaat of Surah Al-Kahf: These verses provide spiritual protection from Dajjal’s deception, just as the People of the Cave sought refuge from worldly trials. (Muslim 809a)

4) Avoiding interaction with Dajjal and staying away from him: When Dajjal emerges, Muslims should ideally be in a place such as Makkah or Madinah where Dajjal shall not enter. However, this may not be possible for everyone, so it is best that they strive against Dajjal with the power of their faith in Allah and reliance upon the Qur’an.

    We ask Allah to grant us and all other Muslims refuge from Dajjal’s fitnah.