Hadith about Dajjal

http://islamqa.org/hanafi/askimam/5556

Fatimah bint Qais narrated that Allah's Prophet(s.a.w) ascended the Minbar, he laughed, and said:

"Verily, Tamim Ad-Dari narrated a story to me, and it made me happy, so I wanted to narrate it to you[what he narrated to me]. Some people among the inhabitants of Palestine traveled by boat in the sea, taking them here and there, until it cast them on an island among the islands at sea. There they found a beast, clothed with its hair flowing out. They said: 'What are you?' It said: 'I am Al-Jassasah.' They said: 'Give us some news.' It said: 'I shall not give you any news, nor do I want any of your news. But go to the furthest village, for there is someone who will give you news and seek your news.' So we went to the furthest village, and there was a man fettered with chains. He said: 'Inform me about the spring of Zughar.' We said: ' It is full and flowing.' He said: 'Inform me about Al-Buhairah.' We said,'It is full and flowing.' He said: 'Inform me about the date groves of Baysan which is between Jordan and Palestine, do they produce food?' We said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Inform me about the Prophet, has he been sent?' We said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Inform me how the people came to him.' We said: 'Quickly.' He leaped up to try and escape.' We said: 'What are you?' He said: 'I am the Dajjal.'" (The Prophet(s.a.w) said) "He will enter all of the lands except At-Taibah, and At-Taibah is Al-Madinah."

(Tirmidhi 2253)

Amir b. Sharahil Sha'bi Sha'b Hamdan reported that he asked Fatima, daughter of Qais and sister of ad-Dahhak b. Qais and she was the first amongst the emigrant women:

I heard the voice of an announcer making an announcement that the prayer would be observed in the mosque (where) congregational prayer (is observed). So I set out towards that mosque and observed prayer along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and I was in the row of the women which was near the row of men. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had finished his prayer, he sat on the pulpit smiling and said: Every worshipper should keep sitting at his place. He then said: Do you know why I had asked you to assemble? They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: By Allah. I have not made you assemble for exhortation or for a warning, but I have detained you here, for Tamim Dari, a Christian, who came and accepted Islam, told me something, which agrees with what I was telling, you about the Dajjal. He narrated to me that he had sailed in a ship along with thirty men of Bani Lakhm and Bani Judham and had been tossed by waves in the ocean for a month. Then these (waves) took them (near) the land within the ocean (island) at the time of sunset. They sat in a small side-boat and entered that island. There was a beast with long thick hair (and because of these) they could not distinguish his face from his back. They said: Woe to you, who can you be? Thereupon it said: I am al-Jassasa. They said: What is al-Jassasa? And it said: O people, go to this person in the monastery as he is very much eager to know about you. He (the narrator) said: When it named a person for us we were afraid of it lest it should be a devil. Then we hurriedly went on till we came to that monastery and found a well-built person there with his hands tied to his neck and having iron shackles between his two legs up to the ankles. We said: Woe be upon thee, who are you? And he said: You would soon come to know about me. but tell me who are you. We said: We are people from Arabia and we embarked upon a boat but the sea-waves had been driving us for one month and they brought as near this island. We got Into the side-boats and entered this island and here a beast met us with profusely thick hair and because of the thickness of his hair his face could not be distinguished from his back. We said: Woe be to thee, who are you? It said: I am al- Jassasa. We said: What is al-Jassasa? And it said: You go to this very person in the monastery for he is eagerly waiting for you to know about you. So we came to you in hot haste fearing that that might be the Devil. He (that chained person) said: Tell me about the date-palm trees of Baisan. We said: About what aspect of theirs do you seek information? He said: I ask you whether these trees bear fruit or not. We said: yes. Thereupon he said: I think these would not bear fruits. He said: Inform me about the lake of Tabariyya? We said: Which aspect of it do you want to know? He said: Is there water in it? They said: There is abundance of water in it. Thereupon he said: I think it would soon become dry. He again said: Inform me about the spring of Zughar. They said: Which aspect of it you want to know? He (the chained person) said: Is there water in it and does it irrigate (the land)? We said to him: Yes, there is abundance of water in it and the inhabitants (of Medina) irrigate (land) with the help of it, He said: Inform me about the unlettered Prophet; what has he done? We said: He has come out from Mecca and has settled In Yathrib (Medina). He said: Do the Arabs fight against him? We said: Yes. He said: How did he deal with them? We informed him that he had overcome those in his neighbourhood and they had submitted themselves before him. Thereupon he said to us: Has it actually happened? We said: Yes. Thereupon he said: If it is so that is better for them that they should show obedience to him. I am going to tell you about myself and I am Dajjal and would be soon permitted to get out and so I shall get out and travel in the land, and will not spare any town where I would not stay for forty nights except Mecca and Medina as these two (places) are prohibited (areas) for me and I would not make an attempt to enter any one of these two. An angel with a sword in his hand would confront me and would bar my way and there would be angels to guard every passage leading to it; then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) striking the pulpit with the help of the end of his staff said: This implies Taiba meaning Medina. Have I not, told you an account (of the Dajjal) like this? 'The people said: Yes, and this account narrated by Tamim Dari was liked by me for it corroborates the account which I gave to you in regard to him (Dajjal) at Medina and Mecca. Behold he (Dajjal) is in the Syrian sea (Mediterranean) or the Yemen sea (Arabian sea). Nay, on the contrary, he is in the east, he is in the east, he is in the east, and he pointed with his hand towards the east. I (Fatima bint Qais) said: I preserved it in my mind (this narration from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ).

(Sahih Muslim 2942)

Ponder on the info below about the hadeeth of Dajjal and Jassassah and ask yourself if this hadith can be true?

It is reported in the book: “Pictorial History of Madinah”, written by Dr. Muhammad Ilyas Ghani, on pages 22, 23, and 25 a hadith on Dajjal. The references he has given are from: Sahih Bukhari Hadith No. 1876; from the section ‘Book of Strife & Signs of the Hour.’ (ISBN- 9960-44-928-9. Printed in 1425 AH / 2004 AD; by Al-Rasheed Printers (Tel: 8368382) Authors Address: P.O.Box 447, Madinah Munawwarah. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  )
The following questions need answers if what is narrated is true:
1.       The Prophet was given the title of AL-AMIN even before he was granted Prophethood. The kuffar of Makkah kept their valuables with him prior, and after he proclaimed his message of Islam- so was there any need for anyone else to vouch for his truthfulness on any issue when he was reciting the Qur’an and people were flocking to the message knowing and understanding the words of the Qur’an were divine? Take the example of Omar, and how he became a Muslim in Makkah years before. This incident of Tamim Dari according to the narrator took place in Madinah when Islam was on the rise. The battle of Badr must have been fought and Muslims were sacrificing their all. Is it believable that verification was still needed by a non Muslim to the truthfulness of the Nabi?
2.       The Prophet was receiving wa’hy directly from ALLAH and knew about the munafikoon etc and was informed by ALLAH in the Qur’an when he left Makkah (during Higrah) that ALLAH will bring him back to Makkah, which promise was fulfilled. Also all the other prophecies that were fulfilled in his lifetime of the Romans, Abu Lahab, (and today the truth of the scientific facts, how the creation of human beings in the womb etc).  Did the Prophet still need a Christian to vouch for his Prophethood?
3.       If any person was confronted by an animal-man like al-Jassasa in a strange country, will he follow him when he was so fearful looking and trust him when he could be killed? Is it not said that he looked as a devil? Would any sane man follow such a fearful looking character?
4.       This Dajjal it seems to live without eating and drinking for decades or centuries. According to the narration, he is bound with chains and is all alone except for al-Jassasa. He is in a standing position with leg chains upto his knees and chains around his neck. Surely he must need food and excrete and urinate. Yet it seems he does not eat food, and for how long?, nor does he answer the call of nature it seems. Yet he is powerfully built.  Is he a superman? For how long can a human being stand upright like he is, and live without nourishment??
5.       This person, Tamim Dari, does not ask Dajjal when he was chained, who chained him, and for how long was he chained, who gives him food and drink.  Is that not strange?
6.       How is it possible for Dajjal to know about the Prophet when he is in chains thousands of miles away?  If anyone claims the Allah informed him will that not be a contradiction that ALLAH communicates with evil as well, then can that be true?
7.       The only acceptable answer is that this so called hadith is false!!!!    

Answer

Assalāmu `alaikum Warahmatullāhi Wabrakatuh,

At the outset, we wish to state that our responses to the different objections have been kept as brief as possible. Otherwise, the objections could be answered from various angles and dimensions. The objections are in the blocks. Our response follows after each objection.

1.) The Prophet was given the title of AL-AMIN even before he was granted Prophethood. The kuffar of Makkah kept their valuables with him prior to, and after he proclaimed his message of Islam- so was there any need for anyone else to vouch for his truthfulness on any issue when he was reciting the Qur’an and people were flocking to the message knowing and understanding the words of the Qur’an were divine? Take the example of Omar, and how he became a Muslim in Makkah years before. This incident of Tamim Dari according to the narrator took place in Madinah when Islam was on the rise. The battle of Badr must have been fought and Muslims were sacrificing their all. Is it believable that verification was still needed by a non Muslim to the truthfulness of the Nabi?

1.) If Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam was Al-Ameen and there was no need for anyone to vouch for his truthfulness, then why was there objection to his claim of prophet-hood from the very people who knew him as Al-Ameen? All the enemies of Rasulullah salallahu layhi wasallam knew Arabic. When Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam was reciting The Qur’ān, they could have understood The Qur’ān and accepted Islam!

Furthermore Hazrat Tamīm Dāri radiallahu anhu had already accepted Islam when he narrated the incident. It was not a testimony of a non-muslim to the truthfulness of Nabi salallahu alayhi wasallam. It was a revert testifying.

Nevertheless, testimony of the truthfulness of Islam by people of other faith who convert to Islam merely support and consolidate the belief of the believers and further demonstrates the nobility and truthfulness of the Message of Islam.  

If we were to take the assumption you have taken, then even the miracles of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam (Mu῾jiza) would not have been necessary as he was known to be Al-Amīn. (The trustworthy one) Then according to your claim, the incident of Shaqqul Qamar(splitting of the moon) which is expressly mentioned in the Qur’ān is insignificant? If people believed in Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallamthen what was the need for the incident of the splitting of the moon? Would you deny this too?

Allah Ta’ala himself says,

اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانْشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ

The Hour (of Judgment) is nigh, and the moon is cleft asunder.

(Surah Qamar 54:1)

2.) The Prophet was receiving wa’hy directly from ALLAH and knew about the munafikoon etc and was informed by ALLAH in the Qur’an when he left Makkah (during Hijrah) that ALLAH will bring him back to Makkah, which promise was fulfilled. Also all the other prophecies that were fulfilled in his lifetime of the Romans, Abu Lahab, (and today the truth of the scientific facts, how the creation of human beings in the womb etc). Did the Prophet still need a Christian to vouch for his Prophethood?

2.) The first premise of this objection is based on a Christian vouching the truthfulness of prophet-hood of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam. We have clarified this issue in the previous answer. Hazrat Tamīm Dāri radiallahu anhu had already accepted Islam and then narrated his experience. He was not a Christian vouching for the truthfulness of the prophet hood of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam. Simple logic also has it that why would he still be a Christian then? This premise is miscalculated.

The second premise of this question is based on whether these miracles were for Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam to fortify his Prophethood. This can never be correct since Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam had full conviction of his prophethood. His fortification was even made by the mala’ikah. He did not need anyone to vouch for his prophet hood.

Miracles of the prophet are called Mu῾jiza which means to make helpless. It is human nature that when one experiences something extra ordinary he is amazed and is sure that there is a supernatural power behind this incident. A miracle is something a human being witnesses with his own eyes but cannot mentally comprehend the issue. It is impossible for a human being to perform such a miracle by himself. The greater the impossibility of the incident, the greater the miracle. When the incident of Tamīm Dāri is authentically proven and he being a Sahabi narrates this incident himself, this is not to vouch for the prophethood of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam.

Rather, Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam stated this incident to illustrate how a person once a Christian also believed in him. This is similar to how Allah Ta’āla refers to the Islam of Abdullah ibn Salam radiallahu anhu, who followed Judaism and accepted Islam. Did Allah need Abdullah ibn Salam radiallahu anhu to vouch for the prophethood of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam?

“…And a witness from the children of Israil testifies about something similar to it

and comes to believe in it while you persist in your arrogance”

(Surah Al-Ahqaf, Verse 10)

3.) If any person was confronted by an animal-man like al-Jassasa in a strange country, will he follow him when he was so fearful looking and trust him when he could be killed? Is it not said that he looked as a devil? Would any sane man follow such a fearful looking character?

3.) In the description of the events related by Hazrat Tamim Al-Dari (radiyallahy anhu), he readily admits that he and his party were afraid:

وفزعنا منها

And we were scared of her (Al-Jassasah) (Muslim Shareef)

Being afraid does not mean that it did not happen. If an innocent civilian is taken as a prisoner and he is literally stripped naked, kicked and booted from head to toe, then ordered by soldiers dressed with armours and helmets carrying machine guns pointing at him to march into Guantanamo prison, is that not frightening enough? Does it mean prisoners were not persecuted and imprisoned in Guantanamo? Does it mean the prisoners didn’t follow instructions of the Al-Jassasah (heavily armed soldiers)?

Talking and conversing with a beast is not impossible. Allah himself tells us about human beings talking to a beast:

And when the Word (of torment) is fulfilled against them, We shall bring out from the earth a beast to them, which will speak to them because mankind believed not with certainty in Our Ayat.

(Surah Al-Naml Verse 82)

Will you deny this verse too?

4.) This Dajjal it seems to live without eating and drinking for decades or centuries. According to the narration, he is bound with chains and is all alone except for al-Jassasa. He is in a standing position with leg chains upto his knees and chains around his neck. Surely he must need food and excrete and urinate. Yet it seems he does not eat food, and for how long?, nor does he answer the call of nature it seems. Yet he is powerfully built.  Is he a superman? For how long can a human being stand upright like he is, and live without nourishment?

4.) The premise of this objection needs to be clarified. Is the objection on the incident of Hazrat Tamīm Dāri radilallahu anhu or the objection on Dajjāl. It now appears that the goal post is shifting from the incident of Hazrat Tamīm Dāri radilallahu anhu to Dajjāl and questioning whether Dajjal has supernatural powers. Is he Superman?

This is now questioning the power of Allah. Can Allah not give supernatural power to human beings? Did the youth of the cave not survive without food for 309 years?

وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَ مِائَةٍ سِنِينَ وَازْدَادُوا تِسْعًا
So they stayed in their Cave three hundred years, and (some) add nine (more)
(Surah Al Kahf, 18:25)

Did Allah not raise Uzair a.s after 100 years and the food besides him didn’t perish!

أَوْ كَالَّذِي مَرَّ عَلَىٰ قَرْيَةٍ وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا قَالَ أَنَّىٰ يُحْيِي هَٰذِهِ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا فَأَمَاتَهُ اللَّهُ مِائَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُ قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتَ قَالَ لَبِثْتُ يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالَ بَلْ لَبِثْتَ مِائَةَ عَامٍ فَانْظُرْ إِلَىٰ طَعَامِكَ وَشَرَابِكَ لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ وَانْظُرْ إِلَىٰ حِمَارِكَ وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ آيَةً لِلنَّاسِ وَانْظُرْ إِلَى الْعِظَامِ كَيْفَ نُنْشِزُهَا ثُمَّ نَكْسُوهَا لَحْمًا فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ قَالَ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

Or (take) the similitude of one who passed by a hamlet, all in ruins to its roofs. He said: “Oh! how shall Allah bring it (ever) to life, after (this) its death?” but Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him up (again). He said: “How long didst thou tarry (thus)?” He said: (Perhaps) a day or part of a day.” He said: “Nay, thou hast tarried thus a hundred years; but look at thy food and thy drink; they show no signs of age; and look at thy donkey: And that We may make of thee a sign unto the people, Look further at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh.” When this was shown clearly to him, he said: “I know that Allah hath power over all things.” (Surah Baqarah 2:259)

Did not Allah keep Prophet Yunus (alayhis salam) alive in the belly of a whale for a number of the days and that too in the dark, deep depths of the sea?

وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ… لَلَبِثَ فِي بَطْنِهِ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ

And behold, Yunus was indeed one of Our messengers… He would have indeed remained inside its belly (the fish) till the Day of Resurrection. (Surah As-Saaffaat 37:139,144)

There are innumerable authentic Ahadith proving that Dajjāl will be given supernatuaral powers. If you deny this then tell us what will be the purpose of Dajjāl and how will be achieve this?

5.) This person, Tamim Dari, does not ask Dajjal when he was chained, who chained him, and for how long was he chained, who gives him food and drink. Is that not strange?

5.) Hazrat Tamīm Dāri radilallahu anhu was an intelligent person. He witnessed something unusual. He accepted it as an unusual occurrence. It is not prudent to ask usual normal questions in an abnormal situation.

In the incident of the youth in the cave when the representatives of the king visited the cave, he did not ask, who made you’ll sleep? How long your’ll slept? How were your’ll nourished without water and food? It is understood that it was an abnormal situation. Normal questions are not asked in such a situation.

6.) How is it possible for Dajjal to know about the Prophet when he is in chains thousands of miles away? If anyone claims Allah informed him, will that not be a contradiction that ALLAH communicates with evil as well, then can that be true?

6.) The premise of your objection is, if Allah informed Dajjal about Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam “thousands” of miles away, essentially Allah communicated with evil!

Is Shaytan not the epitome and peak of evil? Yet communication of Allah with evil Shaytan is clearly in the Qur’ān.

قَالَ فَاخْرُجْ مِنْهَا فَإِنَّكَ رَجِيمٌ () وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكَ اللَّعْنَةَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ () 
قَالَ رَبِّ فَأَنْظِرْنِي إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ () قَالَ فَإِنَّكَ مِنَ الْمُنْظَرِينَ

(Allah) said: “Then get thee out from here; for thou art rejected, accursed.”And the curse shall be on thee till the day of Judgment.”(Iblis) said: “O my Lord! give me then respite till the Day the (dead) are raised.” (Allah) said: “Respite is granted thee. (Qur’ān Surah Hujr 15:34-39)

A little knowledge of The Qur’ān would have guided you to this!

If your objection is based on Dajjal being “thousands” of miles away, how could he know about Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam.

In your second objection, you faithfully refer to scientific facts. You seem to have faith in technology. If it is impossible for Dajjal to know about Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam thousands of miles away, how is it possible for birds and insects to merely sense a seismic earthquake whereas the distance between the crust of the earth and a flying bird is literally more than thousands of miles apart!

To be more contemporary, how is it that a military send drones to Libya and mann everything live from thousands of miles away? How does one receive live information of what is happening in Libya or for that matter in the furthest part of the globe? Is the supernatural powers given to Dajjal, a human being, any lesser than the power of detection in a lifeless drone! Ponder!

In conclusion will you dispute Shaitan having the virtue of Ayatul Kursi and informing Abu Huraira radiallahu anhu! Who informed Shaytan of this? It would not be surprising if you reject this Hadith as well! Is Shaytan not an evil like Dajjal. Who told Shaytan about Ayatul Kursi and its virtues?

7.) The only aceptable answer is that this so called hadith is false.

7.) Without studying hadith and becoming an expert in it, one cannot declare a hadith to be false.  It’s like someone denying the existence of other planets besides Earth because they have not had the opportunity to see them through a telescope. Just because it’s out of our “field of vision” doesn’t mean others have not put in the hard and dedicated work to verify it.

What is the premise of this conclusion? “The authenticity of a hadith is judged based on ones intellect”. This is very dangerous. This is also what led to the spiralling fall of the Shaitaan. He used his limited intellect to question the clear order of Allah. Here too, the hadith is authentically proven.

If a hadith is authenticated by such illustrious specialists such as Imam Muslim who spent his life dedicated to this field and was terrified at the thought of attributing something falsely to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam as all our pious muhadditheen were then we will only be ruining our Hereafter by rejecting authentic hadith.

This hadith is authentic because….

a.) It has been rated as an authentic hadith by Imam Muslim (rahmatullahi alayhi).

b.) It has been rated as an authentic hadith by Imam Tirmidhi (rahmatullahi alayhi) in his collection under the “Book of Trials”, hadith #2253 under the title “Chapter of the Hadith of Tamim Al-Dari about the Dajjal.”

c.) View of Master Muhaddith Imam Hafiz ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (rahmatullahi alayhi):

The master muhaddith, Imam Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani who had the privilege of writing the widely acclaimed commentary on Imam Bukhari’s Sahih has written in his monumental work “Fath Al-Bari” that this hadith has been narrated by a number of different Companions in addition to Fatimah bint Qays such as Abu Huraira, Mother of the Believers A’isha and Jabir (May Allah be pleased with all of them) and it is not an isolated hadith:

وقد توهم بعضهم انه غريب فرد وليس كذلك فقد رواه مع فاطمة بنت قيس أبو هريرة وعائشة وجابر اما أبو هريرة فأخرجه احمد من رواية عامر الشعبي عن  المحرز بن أبي هريرة عن أبيه بطوله وأخرجه أبو داود مختصرا وبن ماجة عقب رواية الشعبي عن فاطمة قال الشعبي فلقيت المحرز فذكره وأخرجه أبو يعلى
 من وجه آخر عن أبي هريرة  ( فتح الباري شرح صحيح البخاري، ١٣ / ٣٢٨، دار المعرفة )

d.) View of Master Muhaddith Hafiz ibn Abdul Barr (rahmatullahi alayhi):

A scholar of such encyclopedic knowledge that he wrote a book listing every single person who had every met our beloved Prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam. He wrote in his book “Al-Istidhkar” that the narrations that come to us from Fatimah bint Qays (radiyallahu anha) through the Tabi’ee Imam Aamir ibn Sharaheel Al-Sha’bi (rahmatullahi alayhi) are established and authentic.

 وفي حديث الشعبي عن فاطمة بنت قيس حديث الجساسة في صفة الدجال أعظم إنسان رأيناه خلقا وأشده وثاقا وفي حديث الزهري عن أبي سلمة عن فاطمة بنت قيس في ذلك فإذا رجل يجر شعره مسلسل في   

الأغلال ينزو فيما بين السماء والأرض وهذه كلها آثار ثابتة صحاح من جهة الإسناد والنقل

( الاستذكار، باب ما جاء في صفة عيسى بن مريم عليه السلام والدجال: ٨/ ٣٣٣ دار الكتب العلمية )

e.) Looking at the narrators of the chain of this hadith we find that the muhadditheen have accorded all the narrators as “thiqa” which means “reliable/trustworthy” in narrating this hadith from each other until the chain reaches the Sahabiyah Fatimah bint Qays (radiyallahu anha).Please kindly see attached chart below for details:

And Allah knows best.

Ml. Sohail Bengali

Chicago, USA
Student, Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved by:

Mufti Ebrahim Desai