Al-Masih ad-Dajjal

Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (Arabic: الْمَسِيحُ الدَّجَّالُ, romanized: Al-Masih ad-Dajjal, lit. 'the deceitful Messiah'),^[1] otherwise referred to simply as the Dajjal, is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology who will pretend to be the promised Messiah and later claim to be God, appearing before the Day of Judgment according to the Islamic eschatological narrative.^[1][2] The Dajjal is not mentioned in the Quran, but he is mentioned and described in the Hadith.^[1] Corresponding to the Antichrist in Christianity, the Dajjal is said to emerge out in the East, although the specific location varies among the various sources.^[3]

An image from a Falname made in India around 1610–1630, depicts Jesus fighting the Dajjal (right). Behind, the Mahdi with a veiled face.

The Dajjal will imitate the miracles performed by Jesus, such as healing the sick and raising the dead, the latter done with the aid of demons. He will deceive many people such as weavers, magicians and children of fornication.^[3]

Etymology

Dajjāl (Arabic: دجّال) is the superlative form of the root word dajl meaning "lie" or "deception".^[4] It means "deceiver" and also appears in Syriac (daggāl ܕܓܠ, "false, deceitful; spurious").^[3] The compound al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl, with the definite article al- ("the"), refers to "the deceiving Messiah", a specific end time deceiver, linguistically equivalent to the Christian Syriac mšīḥā d-daggālūtā ܡܫܝܚܐ ܕܕܓܠܘܬܐ, "pseudo-Christ, false Messiah".^[5] This Dajjāl is an evil being who will seek to impersonate the true Messiah (Jesus).^[1]

History

In the Quran, the Dajjal or similar figures are absent. Apocalyptic narratives are only composed 150-200 years later and are adopted from foreign religions.^[6] The extensive usage of Hebrew and Syriac vocabulary in Islamic apocalyptic writings suggests that apocalyptic narratives were adapted from foreign religious traditions.^[7] A lot of apocalyptic material is attributed to Ka'b al-Ahbar and former Jewish converts to Islam, while other transmitters indicate a Christian background.^[8][9] The first known complete Islamic apocalyptic work is the Kitāb al-Fitan (Book of Tribulations) by Naim ibn Hammad.^[10]

Stories regarding the Dajjal were probably adapted by Eastern Christianity.^[11] Many characteristics of the Dajjal, such as anti-Jewish sentiments, are possible remainings of Christian polemic against Jews, then integrated into Islamic apocalyptic thought.^[3] There are additional descriptions of the Dajjal invoking Christian imagery: for example, in one narration the Dajjal is said to be chained in the West, similar to the Beast in the Book of Revelation.^[3] At this point, as pointed out by David Cook, the popularity of apocalyptic stories required Muslim authorities to integrate them into the Islamic tradition in order to retain notablity, as the apocalyptic literature competed with the Quran.^[12]

Later Islamic apocalyptic narratives were expanded and developed by Islamic authors notably Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid, al-Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, Al-Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, and as-Suyuti).^[13][14] The authors list various signs as meanings of the arrivals of the apocalypse, including extra-Quranic figures such as the Dajjāl and the Mahdīy.^[15][16][17]

Overview

Main article: Islamic eschatology

A number of locations are associated with the emergence of the Dajjal, but usually, he emerges from the east.^[3] He is usually described as blind in right eye, his left eye is green, and the true believers read the word كافر (Arabic for "disbeliever"), on his forehead. It is believed that many will be deceived by him and join his ranks, among them Jews, Bedouins, weavers, magicians, and children of fornication.^[1] Furthermore, he will be assisted by an army of devils (shayāṭīn). Nevertheless, the most reliable supporters will be the Jews, to whom he will be the incarnation of God.^[3] The Dajjal performs miracles and his miracles resemble those performed by ʿĪsā (Jesus), such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the earth to grow vegetation, causing livestock to prosper and to die, and stopping the sun's movement.^[3]

At the end, the Dajjal is defeated and killed by ʿĪsā when the latter simply looks at him, and – according to some narrations – puts a sword through the Dajjal.^[3] The nature of the Dajjal is ambiguous.^[1] Although the nature of his birth indicates that the first generations of Muslim apocalyptists regarded him as human, he is also identified rather as a devil (shayṭān) in human form in the Islamic tradition.^[3]

The characteristical one-eye is believed to symbolize spiritual blindness.^[3] Thus, the Dajjal, blind to the immanent aspect of God, could only comprehend the transcendent aspect of God's wrath. Hadiths describe the Dajjal as twisting paradise and hell, as he would bring his own paradise and hell with him, but his hell would be paradise and his paradise would be hell.^[18]

See also

• Saf ibn Sayyad
• Hadith of Najd
• Sufyani
• Armilus
• Djall
• Antichrist