THE FEATURES OF THE DAJJAL

In the rich tapestry of Islamic eschatology, the figure of the Dajjal occupies a central yet enigmatic role. Often referred to as the Islamic Antichrist, the Dajjal is a pivotal character whose presence is deeply intertwined with the narrative of the end times. Unlike his Christian counterpart, the Dajjal does not appear in the Quran, leaving his role and significance primarily derived from hadith literature and oral traditions. This absence from the Quran places the Dajjal’s portrayal squarely within the realm of prophetic traditions, where his characteristics and actions are described in vivid and often dramatic detail. The concept of the Dajjal, while distinctly Islamic, bears interesting parallels to the Christian notion of the Antichrist. Both figures are associated with deception, chaos, and the ultimate trial of faith, but their roles and the details of their manifestations differ. In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist is a figure who emerges as a false messiah, challenging the true faith and leading many astray before the final triumph of Christ. Similarly, the Dajjal is depicted as a deceiver who will appear before the Day of Judgment, bringing with him a period of intense tribulation and moral testing for believers.

While the Quran remains silent on the specifics of the Dajjal, the hadith literature provides a wealth of information about his anticipated appearance and the tumultuous times that will accompany it. These narrations, rich in detail and often filled with apocalyptic imagery, portray the Dajjal as a figure of immense power and deception, whose emergence will signal a critical juncture in the cosmic struggle between good and evil. This chapter will explore these descriptions and the fascinating, often fantastical elements associated with the Dajjal, setting the stage for a deeper examination of his role in the eschatological narrative of Islam. The Dajjal’s depiction in hadith literature also reflects the profound impact of his anticipated arrival on the Muslim community. His appearance is often associated with a period of immense social upheaval and moral crisis, making his story a crucial part of the broader eschatological narrative. The elaborate descriptions provided in these narrations serve not only to illustrate the nature of the Dajjal but also to underscore the moral and spiritual challenges that believers are expected to face during this tumultuous time.

Moreover, the Dajjal’s narrative is intertwined with themes of justice, faith, and redemption. The struggle against the Dajjal is portrayed as a test of unwavering belief and resilience, with the ultimate triumph over him symbolizing the restoration of divine order and truth. The vivid and sometimes dramatic accounts of his deeds and the trials associated with his reign are meant to prepare believers for the trials ahead, reinforcing the importance of spiritual vigilance and the strength of faith in the face of deception and chaos. In examining the Dajjal’s role, it is also important to consider the broader context of Islamic eschatology, where the Dajjal is part of a larger tableau that includes the return of Jesus (Isa), the emergence of the Mahdi, and the final battle between good and evil. Each of these elements interplays with the story of the Dajjal, creating a complex and richly layered vision of the end times. As we delve deeper into the narrations about the Dajjal, we will explore how this figure fits into the larger eschatological framework and what his presence reveals about the themes of justice, faith, and divine intervention in the Islamic tradition. As we embark on this exploration, we will delve into the intricate depictions of the Dajjal as portrayed in the hadith literature. This corpus offers a detailed and often vivid portrayal of the Dajjal’s role in the end times, capturing the dramatic elements and profound themes associated with his appearance. We will closely examine how these narrations describe the Dajjal’s characteristics, his actions, and the significant trials that he will bring. By analyzing these accounts, we aim to gain a deeper understanding of the Dajjal’s impact on Islamic eschatology and the moral and spiritual lessons they convey.

Furthermore, we will investigate the origins and development of the narrations associated with the Dajjal. This inquiry will involve tracing the historical and theological roots of these traditions, exploring their sources, and assessing their authenticity and contextual relevance. Understanding the origins of these narrations will provide valuable insights into how the figure of the Dajjal has evolved within Islamic thought and how he has come to occupy such a significant place in the eschatological narrative. Through this comprehensive analysis, we will uncover the layers of meaning embedded in the hadith about the Dajjal and appreciate the depth and complexity of his role in the apocalyptic vision of Islam.

THE MATN OF EACH NARRATION

The collection and codification of hadith literature represent foundational aspects of Islamic scholarship, offering extensive insights into various theological and eschatological themes. Among these themes, the narrations concerning the Dajjal hold a significant place in Islamic eschatology. The matn, or text, of these hadiths provides detailed descriptions and prophecies about the Dajjal’s appearance and role in the end times. Given the length and complexity of these narrations, I will focus on presenting the most relevant portions along with appropriate citations. Examining the matn allows us to explore the authenticity, context, and implications of these narrations, providing a deeper understanding of the Dajjal’s place within the Islamic tradition. Through this examination, we will uncover how the Dajjal is depicted in the hadith literature, analyzing his characteristics, the trials associated with his reign, and the broader eschatological framework within which he is situated. This approach will offer insights into the theological and moral lessons imparted by these narrations, highlighting their significance in shaping Islamic views on the end times.

Narration 1: 

‏ مَا مِنْ نَبِيٍّ إِلاَّ وَقَدْ أَنْذَرَ أُمَّتَهُ الأَعْوَرَ الْكَذَّابَ أَلاَ إِنَّهُ أَعْوَرُ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ وَمَكْتُوبٌ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ ك ف ر ‏‏ ‏

“No prophet has ever warned his nation about the one-eyed liar, but your Lord is not one-eyed, and it is written between his eyes, K.F.R.”

Narration 2: 

الدَّجَّالُ مَكْتُوبٌ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ ك ف ر أَىْ كَافِرٌ 

“The Dajjal has KFR written between his eyes, meaning infidel.”

Narration 3: 

الدَّجَّالُ مَمْسُوحُ الْعَيْنِ مَكْتُوبٌ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ كَافِرٌ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ تَهَجَّاهَا ك ف ر ‏”‏ يَقْرَؤُهُ كُلُّ مُسْلِمٍ

“The Dajjal has an anointed eye, and it is written between his eyes, “Infidel.” Then he spelled it KFR, which every Muslim should read.”

Narration 4: 

مَا بُعِثَ نَبِيٌّ إِلاَّ أَنْذَرَ أُمَّتَهُ الأَعْوَرَ الْكَذَّابَ، أَلاَ إِنَّهُ أَعْوَرُ، وَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ، وَإِنَّ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ مَكْتُوبٌ كَافِرٌ

“No prophet has ever been sent forth except to warn his nation of the one-eyed liar, but he is one-eyed, and your Lord is not one-eyed, and between his eyes is written infidel.”

Narration 5: 

Same as narration

Narration 6: 

مَا مِنْ نَبِيٍّ إِلاَّ وَقَدْ أَنْذَرَ أُمَّتَهُ الأَعْوَرَ الْكَذَّابَ أَلاَ إِنَّهُ أَعْوَرُ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ مَكْتُوبٌ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ ك ف ر

“No prophet has ever warned his nation of the one-eyed liar, but he is one-eyed, and your Lord is not one-eyed. Written between his eyes is K F R.”

Narration 7: 

مَا بُعِثَ نَبِيٌّ إِلاَّ قَدْ أَنْذَرَ أُمَّتَهُ الدَّجَّالَ الأَعْوَرَ الْكَذَّابَ أَلاَ وَإِنَّهُ أَعْوَرُ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ وَإِنَّ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ مَكْتُوبًا كَافِرٌ

“No prophet was sent forth except he warned his nation of the Dajjal, the one-eyed liar, but your Lord is not one-eyed, and between his eyes is written, ‘Infidel’.”

Narration 8: 

 مَا بَعَثَ اللَّهُ مِنْ نَبِيٍّ إِلاَّ أَنْذَرَ قَوْمَهُ الأَعْوَرَ الْكَذَّابَ، إِنَّهُ أَعْوَرُ، وَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَيْسَ بِأَعْوَرَ، مَكْتُوبٌ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ كَافِرٌ 

“Allah has never sent a prophet except to warn his people of the one-eyed liar, that he is one-eyed, and your Lord is not one-eyed, and it is written between his eyes that he is a disbeliever.”

1. DAJJAL’S FAMINE

Narration 1: 

‏ ‏”‏ تُحْرَثُ الأَرْضُ كُلُّهَا وَإِنَّ قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ الدَّجَّالِ ثَلاَثَ سَنَوَاتٍ شِدَادٍ يُصِيبُ النَّاسَ فِيهَا جُوعٌ شَدِيدٌ يَأْمُرُ اللَّهُ السَّمَاءَ فِي السَّنَةِ الأُولَى أَنْ تَحْبِسَ ثُلُثَ مَطَرِهَا وَيَأْمُرُ الأَرْضَ فَتَحْبِسُ ثُلُثَ نَبَاتِهَا ثُمَّ يَأْمُرُ السَّمَاءَ فِي السَّنَةِ الثَّانِيَةِ فَتَحْبِسُ ثُلُثَىْ مَطَرِهَا وَيَأْمُرُ الأَرْضَ فَتَحْبِسُ ثُلُثَىْ نَبَاتِهَا ثُمَّ يَأْمُرُ اللَّهُ السَّمَاءَ فِي السَّنَةِ الثَّالِثَةِ فَتَحْبِسُ مَطَرَهَا كُلَّهُ فَلاَ تَقْطُرُ قَطْرَةٌ وَيَأْمُرُ الأَرْضَ فَتَحْبِسُ نَبَاتَهَا كُلَّهُ فَلاَ تُنْبِتُ خَضْرَاءَ فَلاَ تَبْقَى ذَاتُ ظِلْفٍ إِلاَّ هَلَكَتْ إِلاَّ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ‏”‏“The whole earth will be plowed, and before the coming of the Dajjal there will be three severe years in which people will be afflicted with severe hunger. In the first year, God will command the sky to withhold one-third of its rain and command the earth to withhold one-third of its vegetation; then in the second year, God will command the sky to withhold two-thirds of its rain and command the earth to withhold two-thirds of its vegetation. Then God commands the sky in the third year to withhold two-thirds of its rain and commands the earth to withhold two-thirds of its vegetation; then God commands the sky in the third year to withhold all of its rain so that not a drop falls, and He commands the earth to withhold all of its vegetation so that no green vegetation grows, so that there is no one left with a shade except those who perish, except what God wills.”

EXCERPT FROM THE APOCALYPSE OF PSEUDO-JOHN

“…And again I said: Lord, thereafter what will you do? And I heard a voice saying to me: Hear, righteous John. Then shall appear the denier, and he who is set apart in the darkness, who is called Antichrist. And again I said: Lord, reveal to me what he is like. And I heard a voice saying to me: The appearance of his face is dusky; the hairs of his head are sharp, like darts; his eyebrows like a wild beast’s; his right eye like the star which rises in the morning, and the other like a lion’s; his mouth about one cubit; his teeth span long; his fingers like scythes; the print of his feet of two spans; and on his face an inscription, Antichrist; he shall be exalted even to heaven, and shall be cast down even to Hades, making false displays. And then will I make the heaven brazen, so that it shall not give moisture on the earth; and I will hide the clouds in secret places, so that they shall not bring moisture on the earth; and I will command the horns of the wind, so that the wind shall not blow on the earth.

And again I said: Lord, and how many years will he do this on the earth? And I heard a voice saying to me: Hear, righteous John. Three years shall those times be; and I will make the three years like three months, and the three months like three weeks, and the three weeks like three days, and the three days like three hours, and the three hours like three seconds … ” 

—

The Apocalypse of Pseudo-John, also known as the Apocalypse of John or the Book of John, was composed in the late 2nd or early 3rd century CE. Although it is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle or John the Evangelist, most modern scholars agree that the actual author was a later Christian writer who used the name of a prominent figure to lend authority to the text. This practice was common in antiquity, especially in apocalyptic literature. The text is characterized by its elaborate visions and symbolic language, which are typical of apocalyptic literature. It discusses themes such as the final judgment, the end of the world, and the ultimate reward for the righteous, using vivid imagery and symbolic descriptions to convey its messages about divine justice and cosmic battles. Despite its exclusion from the New Testament canon, the Apocalypse of Pseudo-John influenced later Christian thought and writings. Its themes and imagery can be seen in various early Christian works and may have impacted the development of certain theological concepts. The text survives in a few manuscripts and fragments, and its reception varied across different Christian communities; some considered it authoritative, while others favored different apocalyptic writings or canonical texts. The period in which it was written was marked by significant theological and doctrinal development within early Christianity. The popularity of the apocalyptic genre during this time reflects the community’s anxieties about persecution, the end of the world, and the coming of a new divine order.

MATN COMPARISON: HADITH V. PSEUDO-JOHN

Topic	Hadith	Pseudo-John
General Appearance	…I saw another man with very curly hair, blind in the right eye which looked like a protruding out grape. I asked, ‘Who is this?’ Somebody replied, ‘Ad-Dajjal.'” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6999)	The appearance of his face is dusky; the hairs of his head are sharp, like darts; his eyebrows like a wild beast’s; his right eye like the star which rises in the morning, and the other like a lion’s; his mouth about one cubit; his teeth span long; his fingers like scythes; the print of his feet of two spans; and on his face an inscription
Facial Inscription	…between his eyes is written infidel. (Sahih Muslim 166c)	… and on his face an inscription…
Miraculous Deception	He (Dajjal) will bring with him a paradise and a hell, but what he calls paradise will be hell, and what he calls hell will be paradise.  (Sahih Muslim 2934a) “He will have with him water and fire, and what the people will see as water will be burning fire, and what will appear to them as fire will be cool water.”  (Sahih al-Bukhari 7130)	He shall be exalted even to heaven, and shall be cast down even to Hades, making false displays.
Control Over Nature	God commands the sky in the third year to withhold all of its rain so that not a drop falls ( Sahih al-Jami’ as-Saghir, no. 7875) “The Dajjal will appear and there will be a drought and famine. He will command the sky and it will withhold its rain, and he will command the earth and it will withhold its vegetation.”  (Sunan Ibn Majah 4075)	“And then will I make the heaven brazen, so that it shall not give moisture on the earth; and I will hide the clouds in secret places, so that they shall not bring moisture on the earth.”
Power of The Dajjal	Ad-Dajjal will say to the people, ‘If I kill this man and bring him back to life again, will you doubt my claim?’ They will say, ‘No.’ Then Ad-Dajjal will kill that man and bring him back to life. (Sahih al-Bukhari 1882) …The Dajjal will say to a Bedouin, ‘What will you think if I bring your father and mother back to life for you? Will you bear witness that I am your Lord?’ He will say, ‘Yes,’ so two devils will appear to him in the form of his father and mother and will say, ‘O my son, follow him, for he is your Lord.'”  (Sunan Ibn Majah 4077)	He shall deceive with false miracles and healings… And he shall pretend to raise the dead.
Dajjal Arrival in a Specific Location	He would appear on the way between Syria and Iraq and would spread mischief right and left. (Sahih Muslim 2937a)	“He shall come from the east, from the tribe of Dan, and appear in the land of Efrain.”

CONCLUSION

The striking similarities between the Apocalypse of Pseudo-John and the hadiths concerning the Dajjal suggest that the Islamic tradition may have been influenced by earlier Christian apocalyptic literature. The Apocalypse of Pseudo-John offers a detailed description of the Antichrist, portraying him as a fearsome and deceptive figure whose physical appearance is marked by his dusky face, sharp hair, beast-like eyebrows, and asymmetrical eyes—one resembling the morning star and the other a lion’s. This portrayal resonates with the descriptions of the Dajjal in the hadiths, where he is also depicted as having a single eye and a frightful appearance, with the word “Kafir” (disbeliever) inscribed between his eyes. The physical descriptions in both texts serve to emphasize the Antichrist/Dajjal’s otherworldly and sinister nature, making him easily identifiable to the faithful. Moreover, the emphasis on deception in both texts is particularly noteworthy. In the Apocalypse of Pseudo-John, the Antichrist is depicted as a master deceiver who performs miracles and controls the elements, such as causing drought and famine. This theme of deception is central to the Islamic hadiths as well, where the Dajjal is portrayed as a figure who will deceive many through his supernatural abilities. The hadiths repeatedly warn that every prophet has cautioned their nation about the Dajjal, underscoring his role as the ultimate deceiver whose appearance is a major sign of the end times. The inscription on his forehead, which spells out his identity as a disbeliever, serves as a divine safeguard against his deceptions—a detail that closely parallels the description in Pseudo-John where the Antichrist’s malevolent nature is evident from his appearance.

The parallels extend beyond physical descriptions and deception to the narrative structure of the texts. Both Pseudo-John and the hadiths describe a period of tribulation before the Antichrist/Dajjal’s emergence, marked by natural disasters such as drought and famine. In Pseudo-John, this period is depicted as lasting three years, with the text metaphorically shortening the time to convey the severity of the trials. The Islamic hadiths also describe three years of increasing drought and famine before the Dajjal’s appearance, with the earth’s productivity gradually declining, echoing the catastrophic events in Pseudo-John. This shared narrative structure suggests a common eschatological framework, wherein the arrival of the Antichrist/Dajjal is preceded by widespread suffering and chaos. The convergence of these elements in both the Apocalypse of Pseudo-John and the hadiths on the Dajjal raises the possibility that the Islamic tradition may have drawn on earlier Christian apocalyptic literature when formulating its own eschatological narratives. Given that apocryphal Christian texts were widely circulated in the Near East during the formative period of Islamic thought, it is plausible that the vivid descriptions and themes found in texts like Pseudo-John influenced the development of Islamic eschatology. The similarities in the portrayal of the Antichrist/Dajjal, particularly in their physical characteristics, deceptive nature, and the narrative of tribulation preceding their appearance, suggest that the hadiths concerning the Dajjal could have been modeled, at least in part, after the apocryphal Christian descriptions of the Antichrist.

This hypothesis is further supported by the fact that apocryphal texts like Pseudo-John were not bound by the same canonical restrictions as the New Testament, allowing for more creative and detailed eschatological visions that could easily be adapted or absorbed into other religious traditions. The recurring motifs of deception, physical deformity, and apocalyptic tribulation in both the Christian and Islamic texts point to a shared cultural and religious milieu where ideas about the end times were exchanged and reinterpreted across different communities. Therefore, the similarities between the Apocalypse of Pseudo-John and the hadiths on the Dajjal suggest a significant degree of cross-pollination, with the Islamic portrayal of the Dajjal likely being influenced by earlier Christian apocalyptic traditions.