Who is Dajjal? Details with Authentic References

The arrival of the Dajjal

Dajjal the false Messiah emerges from the East. He is described as blind in one eye, however, which eye, is disputed. Similar to the ambiguous status of Jesus in the Quran, who is not divine, but nevertheless more than a human and it seems more than a usual prophet. He is also defined as a demon (Satan) in human form in Islamic traditions. He will be able to perform miracles such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the earth to grow vegetation, causing the livestock to prosper, and to die, and stopping the sun’s movement. (Although only supported by his demonic followers it seems to happen) 

References in the Quran and Hadith

According to Hadith, Muhammad prophesied that the Masih-ad-Dajjal would be the last of the series of thirty Dajjal or deceivers. 

The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is reported to have said: 

If he comes forth while I am among you I shall be the one who will dispute on him on your behalf,  but if he comes forth when I’m 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 Surah Al-Kahf, for they are your protection from his trial. We asked: How long he will remain on the earth? He replied:  Forty days, one like a year, one like a month, one like a week, and the rest of his days like yours. We asked: Messenger of Allah, will one day’s prayer suffice us on 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 descent at the white minaret to the east of Damascus. He will then catch him up at the gate of Ludd and kill him. 

Therefore when mentioning Isa’s return in the Quran one can conclude a hint of the Dajjal such as in the verses 4: 157-159 which clearly says that  ‘Issa has neither be killed nor crucified, before confirming that any of the people of the book would believe in him(the real Messiah ‘Issa) before his death, so this verse says he will come back and then people who knew the Scripture would recognize and believe and reject ad-Dajjal. 

The following verse is used as a hint of ad-Dajjal: 

The day that some of the signs of your Lord will come to no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good…

Quran (6: 158) 

Based on the Hadith mentioned in Sahih Muslim, Jami’ at- Tirmidih and Sahih Al-Bukhari: 

There are three, for which when they appear, a soul will not benefit by its faith if it did not believe before the signs: Ad-Dajjal, the Beast, and the rising of the sun from its setting place (or from the West.)

Signs of the coming of Al-Masih ad-Dajjal:

Hadith attributed to Muhammed (P.B.U.H) give many signs of the appearance of the Dajjal who would travel the whole world entering every city except Mecca and Medina. 

The signs of the coming of Dajjal. 

• 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
• There will be acute famine at the time
• There will be no shame amongst people
• Many people will worship Satan
• There will be no respect for elderly people
• People will start killing each other without any reason. 

Depiction of the False Messiah in other religions

Is there’s a belief in other religions about the Dajjal (the false Messiah)? 

In the Ancient Egyptians, the Chinese, and the Hindus we see wars between a god representing the good and creatures representing the evil, and the similarity between Dajjal and the evil creatures is seen clearly here. We see that, in the 2nd century BC, Dajjal takes personality as a cruel sovereign in Daniels’s book. It is possible to find many other personalities who have some of Dajjal’s characteristics in the Old Testament and the ancient sources. For example, Namrud is one of them. The tyrant emperor Nero of Rome was seen as a prototype of Dajjal. 

Also see: Dajjal Is Already Here In Upcoming Series

Dajjal who is the opposite of the saver Messiah is described as anti-messiah by the Jews. And Dajjal is believed to be killed by the breath of the Messiah.

In the Old Testament, Dajjal of the end of time is also mentioned. The evil force of Dajjal who destroys everything prepares a dreadful plan, but is defeated in the end is mentioned in the book of Ezekiel. Dajjal’s concept which also takes place in Zechariah and Joel shows itself in Daniel more clearly. Daniel sees him in person with a naked eye and pictures a portrait of him. This Dajjal is known as a big sovereign, commander of strong armies, who defeated three kings, and who destroyed temples.

Dajjal is specially mentioned in Christianity, too. According to St. Paul, it is one of the religious fundamentals of Christianity to believe in the coming of the Messiah at the end of time. The Dajjal is mentioned as Meshiha Daggala in the Matthew Bible. Meshiha Daggala is clearly mentioned in the Syrian translation. 

In the Mark Bible, false messiahs are mentioned too, they are described as being able to show omens and wonders that can even lead selected people astray and it is advised to stay away from them. Similar warnings take place in the Luke Bible too. In the John Bible, it is mentioned that the Jews will believe in Dajjal and the following is added Because they didn’t believe in Messiah. Bible commentators say that Jews will believe in Dajjals, who are more than 64.

We see that Dajjal is mentioned in the guidebooks of the apostles too. St. Paul, in a letter that he wrote to the Thessalonians, says that doomsday will not take place unless apostasy from the religion takes place and unless the mischief-maker man who claims to be god appears, and that Dajjal will disappear with the advent of Hazrat Issa like the darkness disappears with the rising of the sun.  

As it is told in the booklets of John there will appear many Dajjals who deny that Hazrat Issa is the saver. In the book of revelation, Dajjal is mentioned as a false messiah, monster, and head of the dragon and with similar phrases.

the belief that there is more than one Dajjal is dominant in Christianity too. But he Dajjal of the end of time is bigger and more dreadful than all. A Christian writer-teacher explains it this way:

There are many prototypes of Dajjal. However, one among those many Dajjals will be more severe than the others and will be the one deserving of its name the most. As the other ones appear at various times, this real Dajjal will appear at the end of time.

As it is seen, even in the corrupt religions -despite many changes- the biggest event of the universe, the most dreadful mischief Dajjal is mentioned directly in many verses. It also confirms Prophet Muhammad’s saying that every prophet warned his people for the evil of Dajjal.