Disturbing Signs of The Dajjal’s Arrival

The Dajjal is a figure so feared in Islamic tradition that many practicing Muslims pray for protection against him every Friday. Though not mentioned in the Quran, the Hadith describes him in extraordinary detail: one eye, enormous stature, supernatural powers, and three letters—KFR, meaning disbeliever—written on his forehead, which every Muslim will be able to read, even if illiterate. He is the deceiving Messiah, a counterfeit savior, a threat so significant that every prophet in Islamic history—Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus—reportedly warned their people about his arrival. According to some scholars, the conditions for his appearance have never seemed more likely than now. This exploration delves into the evidence for the Dajjal, his identity, how to recognize him, and the signs of his arrival. The speaker, a practicing Catholic, emphasizes that this is an attempt to learn about a religion shared by over two billion people worldwide, doing so in good faith. Muslims have a complex and sophisticated eschatology concerning the end times, much like Christians have their Antichrist. The Dajjal is the Islamic equivalent. Before delving into his origins and theology, it's notable that Muslims have a practice to oppose the Dajjal: every Friday, they recite Surah Al-Kahf, the 18th chapter of the Quran. This is based on a saying of Prophet Muhammad, who stated that whoever memorizes the first ten verses of Surah Al-Kahf will be protected from the Dajjal. Surah Al-Kahf presents four stories, each addressing one of the four trials the Dajjal is expected to bring: a trial of faith, a trial of wealth, a trial of knowledge, and a trial of power. Thus, reciting this Surah functions as a spiritual guide for resisting the Dajjal, not merely by knowing his characteristics, but by cultivating inner qualities that render his deception ineffective. It’s a devotion to living a just life, preparing believers for his eventual appearance. This weekly practice by billions of Muslims highlights the significance of this figure in their faith. The understanding of the Dajjal developed in a world saturated with apocalyptic thinking, drawing from Jewish, Christian, and Persian traditions about the end times. The Arabic word "Dajjal" can mean "false prophet" or "impostor." Prophet Muhammad reportedly said that nearly 30 minor Dajjals would appear, each claiming to be a messenger from God, preceding the main event. The full name of the central figure is Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal, meaning "the deceiving Messiah" or "the counterfeit savior." Crucially, this figure does not appear in the Quran but is extensively described in the Hadith, which are recorded sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad, gathered and authenticated by Muslim scholars in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Hadith states that every prophet warned their people against the "one-eyed liar," indicating a universal warning across divine revelations. The Dajjal is described as a young man with thick, curly hair, a plump, ruddy face, enormous stature, and, most famously, blind in one eye, with the other protruding "like a grape." Between his eyes are the Arabic letters K-F-R (Kafir), meaning "disbeliever," which all Muslims, even the illiterate, will miraculously be able to read. There's scholarly debate on whether this inscription is literal or symbolic. The 13th-century scholar Imam al-Nawawi argued it's a literal, miraculous sign. Other scholars suggest it's a spiritual discernment, a "bad feeling" about him, rather than a physical tattoo. Both interpretations exist within classical scholarship, but all agree on the meaning: he is a deceiver, a disbeliever, intended to lead Muslims away from the true Messiah. His one eye symbolizes his spiritual blindness to the eternal and divine, representing a total investment in the material, visible, and profitable world, not in the ways of Allah. The Dajjal's powers, according to the Hadith, are significant. He will command the sky to rain, the earth to yield crops, appear to raise the dead, and even divide a person in two before reassembling them. He will be a "counterfeit miracle machine" designed to convince people he is God. This "fitna" or trial brought by the Dajjal is not primarily military or political, but epistemological, challenging one's perception of truth and reality. Regarding his origin, tradition states he will emerge from somewhere between Syria and Iraq and wander the earth for 40 days, though these days will vary in length (one like a year, one like a month, one like a week). He will enter every city except Mecca and Medina, which are guarded by angels. A pivotal event in the Dajjal's story is the descent of Jesus (Isa in Islam). Muslims recognize Isa as a prophet and the true Messiah, though not as the Son of God, maintaining the singular monotheism of Allah. According to the Hadith, Isa will descend at a white minaret in eastern Damascus and pursue the Dajjal to a place called Lod in modern-day Israel, where the Dajjal will "dissolve like salt in water" in the face of truth. Another significant Hadith, known as the Hadith of Tamim al-Dari, reads like a short story, offering a unique encounter with the Dajjal. Tamim al-Dari, a Christian convert and companion of the Prophet, recounts being lost at sea with 30 men, drifting to an unknown island. There, they meet a hairy beast who directs them to a monastery where a chained giant man awaits news of the outside world. This man, who identifies himself as the Messiah (the Dajjal), asks about the flowing of springs, the bearing of fruit by palms, and the emergence of the "prophet of the unlettered people." Upon confirming Prophet Muhammad's emergence and Arabia's adherence to him, the chained man shakes with rage, declaring he will soon be permitted to leave and travel the earth for 40 nights, entering every city except Mecca and Medina. Prophet Muhammad confirmed this story, stating the Dajjal is already alive and waiting to be released. This Hadith contributes to the Dajjal feeling more real than metaphorical for many Muslims. Over time, Dajjal stories grew in Islamic thought, with his presence becoming more looming. Early Islam, in the 7th century, saw rapid expansion, and the Dajjal was a distant idea. However, during the civil wars of the 650s, which fractured the Muslim world into Sunni and Shia, the Dajjal theology intensified. The internal turmoil and assassinations led to a sense that the promised world of faith was not the world they were living in, and the Dajjal provided an explanation for the suffering. There are three broad approaches to interpreting the Dajjal: 1. **Literal:** Mainstream Sunni orthodoxy views the Dajjal as a specific, physical person who will appear in real historical time, perform supernatural acts, and be killed by the real Jesus. 2. **Symbolic:** A smaller, modern current argues the Dajjal represents a collective phenomenon or system of corruption and deception, rather than a single individual. 3. **Hybrid:** Many contemporary Muslims hold this view, taking the Hadith seriously as prophecy while also drawing spiritual lessons from the Dajjal's symbolic attributes. While classical scholars leaned literal, modern thinkers often adopt hybrid or symbolic approaches. Regardless, the practical impact is the same: to encourage spiritual discernment and readiness. A fascinating and sensitive aspect of the Dajjal tradition is its association with a Jewish following. Several Hadith mention 70,000 Jews from Isfahan following the Dajjal. This passage has been weaponized, particularly in the 20th and 21st centuries, leading to anti-Semitism. Modern Islamic institutions, like the Yaqeen Institute, argue that these Hadith refer to a specific future group in a prophesied scene, not Jews in general, and should not be used to justify hostility. Both Sunni and Shia traditions accept the Hadith descriptions of the Dajjal, regarding him as a genuine future threat. They agree on the central narrative: the Dajjal will emerge during global tribulation, a divinely guided figure (the Mahdi or Imam Mahdi) will lead the Muslim community, and Jesus will descend to end the Dajjal's reign. However, they disagree on the specifics of this victory. In mainstream Sunni Islam, the Mahdi is a future leader descended from the Prophet's family, appearing near the end of times, with Jesus delivering the killing blow to the Dajjal. In Twelver Shia Islam, the Mahdi is the 12th Imam, Muhammad ibn al-Hassan al-Mahdi, born around 869 AD. After his father's death in 874 AD, the 12th Imam is believed to have been "hidden by God" in a state called occultation (ghaybah), remaining alive but concealed from the world, waiting to return at the end of times to stand against the Dajjal and restore justice. This occultation occurred in two stages: a minor occultation (874-941 AD) during which he communicated through intermediaries, and a major occultation (941 AD to the present) where all communication ceased. While some historians dispute the existence of a surviving son after the 11th Imam's death, Twelver Shias firmly believe in his continued hidden existence. A third, vastly different interpretation comes from the Ahmadiyya Muslims, a smaller group. They read the Dajjal stories not as a single individual but as a collective institution, such as the colonial expansion of Western power. In this view, the Dajjal has already arrived, manifested through the printing press, guns, and missionary schools, and will be defeated not by the sword but by truth, reform, and spiritual renewal over time. These diverse interpretations reflect the fears and priorities of different communities. For example, some, like Egyptian writer Sayyid Ayyub in the 1980s, argued that the Dajjal was already present, identifying the United States as the Dajjal due to its secular, materialist, capitalist global order and its perceived erosion of Islamic culture. This view, though considered fringe by most major Islamic scholars, resonated with many in the Arab world frustrated by Western involvement, particularly after events like the creation of Israel and the Arab defeat in the Six-Day War. The eye on the American dollar bill was even cited as the Dajjal's one eye. The Hadith also describes the world's conditions on the eve of the Dajjal's arrival: * Three years of severe drought and famine immediately preceding his appearance. * Years of deception where truth-tellers are called liars and liars are trusted. * Disappearance of religious knowledge as scholars die without being replaced. * Normalization of public sin and mocking of religious practices. * Great buildings competing for height, a sign often applied to modern skylines. * Erratic seasons. * Intra-Muslim conflict. * Appearance of minor Dajjals. * People following appetites over values. * Specific sequence of events: flourishing of Jerusalem, fall of Medina, a great war, conquest of Constantinople, then the Dajjal's arrival. Classical scholars note that such signs have appeared in some form in every age, allowing interpretations to fit various worldviews. This leads every generation to question how close they are to these conditions. Modern Islamic scholars, like Omar Suleiman, connect the Dajjal to contemporary issues, specifically relating to information. The Dajjal's power in the Hadith is primarily optical, making the false appear real. In an age of deepfakes, AI-generated images, and algorithm-curated news feeds, this description feels less metaphorical. While mainstream scholars are clear that the Dajjal has not yet arrived (social media and AI are not the Dajjal), they argue that the conditions for his arrival—the erosion of discernment and truth, the worship of the visible and profitable, the inability to distinguish divine from manufactured—are actively being assembled. Therefore, the weekly recitation of Surah Al-Kahf by millions of Muslims is not out of an expectation of the Dajjal walking through the door that afternoon, but because they don't know when or what he will look like. They wish to be spiritually prepared, disciplined, and ready for whatever trials (fitna) they may face, whether or not they live to see the Dajjal's actual return. The Dajjal, in many interpretations, is already described as existing on Earth, chained and waiting for the