Rasulullah ﷺ warned his ummah about many things but the fitnah of Dajjal was one about which he warned the Sihaba (Rizwan Ullah e Ajmaeen) with greatest sense of warning. Prophet ﷺ said that if the fitnah of Dajjal happened in my lifetime I'll face the Dajjal on the behalf of every Muslim but if he appeared after my departure then every Muslim will be responsible for him/herself and Allah will be their protector. These words are enough to indicate the severity of the Fitnah of Dajjal. There is a Hadith in Musnad Ahmad that Nabi ﷺ said: “The Dajjal will not appear until the people become negligent in talking about him and until the Imams abandon talking about him on the pulpits. [Musnad Ahmad, vol. 4 pg. 72, Majma’uz Zawaid, vol. 7 pg. 335. Also see: Al Isabah, vol. 5 pg. 254].
Signs of the Appearance of the Dajjal :
A lengthy hadith narrated by Ibn Majah, Ibn Khuzaimah, and ad-Dhiyaa’, attributed to Abu Umamah, reports that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said :
“There will be three hard years before the Dajjal (appears). During them, people will be stricken by a great famine. In the first year, Allah will command the sky to withhold a third of its rain, and the earth to withhold a third a third of its produce. In the second year, Allah will command the sky to withhold two thirds of its rain, and the earth to withhold two thirds of its produce. In the third year, Allah will command the sky to withhold all of its rain, and it will not rain a single drop of rain. He will command the earth to withhold all of its produce, and no plant will grow. All hoofed animals will perish, except that which Allah wills.” He (sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam) was asked, ‘What sustains people during that time?’ He said, “Tahlil, takbir and tahmid (Saying, la ilaha ill Allah, Allahu Akbar and al-hamdulillah). This will sustain them just as food does.” [Sahih Al-Jami` as-Saghir, no. 7875]
Abdullah bin Umar (radi tala anhu) narrated that the Messenger of ﷺ said,
“The fitnah of Al-Ahlas (continuous calamity) is mass desertion and war. Then, the fitnah of As-Sarraa [meaning ‘the rich’, when some reach people use their money to hire others to fight for them] will start from under the feet of a man who claims that he is of me (of my descendants). However, he is not of me, for my loyal friends are the ones who have taqwa. Afterwards, people will unite around a man whose reign is unstable. Then, the fitnah of Ad-Duhaymaa [it is called ‘dark and black fitnah’ because of its enormity] (will start) and will not leave any member of this nation without severely touching him. When it is thought that its time has come to an end, it will be lengthened. Meanwhile (during this fitnah), a man will wake up as a believer and will meet the night as a disbeliever, until people divide into two camps: A camp of belief that contains no hypocrisy, and a camp of hypocrisy that contains no belief. If this happens, then await the Dajjal on that day or the next.” [Ahmad, Abu Dawood and al-Hakim, Mishkatul-Masabih, vol. 4, no. 5403]
There are other signs to the imminent coming of the Dajjal :
Mu`ath narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said :
“The flourishing of Jerusalem will mark the desertion of Yathrib (Madinah). The desertion of Yathrib will mark the start of Al-Malhamah [the great war that will start between ar-Rum and the Muslim forces before Muslims conquer Constantinople for the second time]. The start of Al-Malhamah will mark the conquering of Constantinople. The conquering of Constantionple will mark the appearance of Dajjal.” [Sahih Al-Jami` as-Saghir, no. 4096]
The flourishing of Jerusalem will happen by the hands of Muslims, by the will of Allah, after it will be retrieved from the Jews.
The Holy Land will be the seat of the Caliphate. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Ibn Hawalah :
“O Ibn Hawalah! If you live to see the seat of the Caliphate of the Holy Land, then earthquakes, disasters and great calamities are imminent. Then, the Hour will be closer to people than this hand of mine to your head!” [Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak, vol. 4, p. 420, and he says, “Sahih”]
Then, Muslims will migrate to Ash-Sham to join the Jihad against the enemies of Allah from among the Jews and Christians. People of Madinah will desert it, not because they dislike it, but for the purpose of joining the Jihad for the sake of Allah. Then, it will be totally uninhibited, wild animals and beasts will roam through it, and it will stay deserted until the Hour begins.
The Destruction of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal :
As was narrated in the Hadith by An-Nawwas bin Sam`an, the Dajjal will be killed at the hand of Jesus son of Mary.
The Dajjal’s death will occur after the angels turn him towards Ash-Sham away from the outskirts of Madinah. He will perish in Ash-Sham near the eastern door of Lud in Palestine, may Allah return it to the Muslim.
Before I start mentioning the second coming of Jesus son of Mary, we will mention the arrival of Al-Mehdi, Muhammad bin Abdillah.
Al-Mehdi will appear just before the coming of Jesus, alaihis salam. He will lead the Muslim nation with justice and kindness and establish Allah’s rule. A righteous Caliphate will reappear after the earth has experienced its share of injustice and tyranny. Jesus son of Mary will pray behind him. Among Al-Mahdi’s characteristics is that he will spend money on his subjects without counting it, along with many of his other righteous deeds that were mentioned in several correct hadiths.
Narrated by Muhammad bin Abi Aishah:
"I heard Abu Hurairah saying that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'When anyone of you finishes the last Tashahhud (ٱلتَّحِيَّات), let him seek refuge with Allah from four things: From the torment of Hell, from the torment of the grave, from the trials of life and death, and from the Fitnah (tribulation) of Masihud-Dajjal.'
Source - Hadith No: 909
From: Sunan Ibn Majah. Chapter 7, The Chapters of Establishing the Prayer and the Sunnah Regarding Them
This is first piece of writings which I have wrote about end times. In upcoming days I will write more about the this topic. This will include references from Hadith and ongoing circumstances which look like what was predicted by the Prophet ﷺ. Please give your feedback in comments regarding any problem with content or any suggestion for improvement. To connect with me you can follow me on twitter by clicking here.
