Riyad al-Salihin
From the words of the Master of the Messengers
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him
The Book of Miscellaneous Matters and Anecdotes
Chapter: Miscellaneous Matters and Anecdotes
On the authority of al-Nawwas ibn Sam'an, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
One morning, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, spoke of the Dajjal.
He spoke of him with such gravity—sometimes lowering his voice and sometimes raising it—
that we thought he was already among the nearby palm trees.
When we went to him later, he sensed our anxiety.
He asked, "What is the matter with you?"
We replied, "O Messenger of Allah,
you spoke of the Dajjal this morning;
you lowered your voice and raised it,
until we thought he was among the nearby palm trees."
He said, "It is not the Dajjal I fear for you most.
If he emerges while I am still among you,
I will be his adversary on your behalf.
But if he emerges while I am not among you,
then every person must be their own adversary,
and Allah is my successor over every Muslim.
He is a young man with tightly curled hair,
and his eye is floating [protruding/blind].
I liken him to 'Abd al-'Uzza ibn Qatan.
Whoever among you encounters him,
let him recite the opening verses of Surat al-Kahf over him.
He will emerge from a path between Syria and Iraq,
spreading corruption right and left.
O servants of Allah, remain steadfast."
We asked, "O Messenger of Allah,
how long will he remain on the earth?"
He replied, "Forty days:
one day like a year,
one day like a month,
one day like a week,
and the rest of his days like your normal days."
We asked, "O Messenger of Allah,
as for that day which is like a year,
will the prayers of one day suffice us?"
He said, "No,
you must estimate the time for them."
We asked, "O Messenger of Allah,
how fast will he move across the earth?"
He said, "Like a raincloud driven by the wind.
He will come to a people and invite them,
and they will believe in him and respond to him.
He will command the sky,
and it will rain,
and the earth will produce vegetation.
Their livestock will return in the evening with the longest humps they have ever had,
with the fullest udders,
and the most stretched flanks.
Then he will come to another people and invite them,
but they will reject his words.
He will turn away from them,
and they will wake up in a state of drought,
with none of their wealth remaining.
He will pass by a ruin
and say to it, 'Bring forth your treasures,'
and its treasures will follow him like a swarm of bees.
Then he will call a man in the prime of his youth,
strike him with a sword,
and cut him into two pieces, the distance of an arrow's shot.
Then he will call him,
and he will come forward with a beaming, laughing face.
While he is in that state,
Allah, the Exalted, will send the Messiah, son of Maryam, peace be upon him.
He will descend at the white minaret
in the eastern part of Damascus,
wearing two lightly saffron-dyed garments,
placing his hands on the wings of two angels.
When he bows his head, water will drip from it,
and when he raises it, beads like pearls will roll down.
No disbeliever who smells the scent of his breath will survive; his breath will reach as far as his sight.
His breath will reach as far as his sight extends.
He will pursue him until he catches him at the gate of Ludd,
and he will kill him.
Then 'Isa, peace be upon him, will come
to a people whom Allah has protected from him,
and he will wipe their faces,
and tell them of their ranks in Paradise.
While he is in that state,
Allah, the Exalted, will reveal to 'Isa, peace be upon him:
'I have brought forth some of My servants
whom no one has the power to fight.
So, take My servants to the Mount [Tur].'
Then Allah will send Gog and Magog,
“Until, when Gog and Magog are let loose, and they hasten out of every mound,” (21:96)
Their first ranks will pass by the Lake of Tiberias
and drink everything in it.
Their last ranks will pass by and say,
'There used to be water here once.'
The Prophet of Allah, 'Isa, peace be upon him, and his companions will be besieged,
until the head of an ox for one of them
will be better than a hundred dinars for one of you today.
The Prophet of Allah, 'Isa, peace be upon him,
and his companions, may Allah be pleased with them,
will beseech Allah, the Exalted.
Allah, the Exalted, will send a plague [al-naghaf] upon their necks,
and they will perish all at once, like a single soul.
Then the Prophet of Allah, 'Isa, peace be upon him,
and his companions, may Allah be pleased with them, will descend to the earth,
and they will not find a single span of space on earth
that is not filled with their stench and decay.
The Prophet of Allah, 'Isa, peace be upon him,
and his companions, may Allah be pleased with them, will beseech Allah, the Exalted.
Allah, the Exalted, will send birds with necks like those of Bactrian camels,
which will carry them and throw them wherever Allah wills.
Then Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, will send rain
from which no house of clay or hair can protect itself,
and it will wash the earth until it leaves it like a smooth mirror.
Then it will be said to the earth:
'Bring forth your fruits and restore your blessings.'
On that day, a group of people will eat from a single pomegranate,
and they will find shade under its peel.
Allah will bless the milk,
so that a single milking camel
will suffice a large group of people,
and a single milking cow will suffice a whole tribe.
While they are in that state,
Allah, the Exalted, will send a pleasant wind,
which will take them under their armpits,
and take the soul of every believer and every Muslim.
Only the worst of people will remain,
engaging in public indecency like donkeys,
and upon them the Hour will come.
Narrated by Muslim.
His saying "from a path between Syria and Iraq"
means from a road between them.
And his saying "he spread corruption" [‘atha]
means the most severe form of corruption.
And "the humps" [al-dhura]
are the tops of the humps.
It is the plural of "peak" [dhirwah].
And "the swarms" [al-'asib]
are the male bees.
And "two pieces" [jazlatayn]
means two parts.
And "the target" [al-gharad]
is the object shot at with arrows.
Meaning he throws him like an arrow is thrown at a target.
And "the saffron-dyed garment" [al-mahrudah]
is a garment that has been dyed.
His saying "no one has the power" [la yadan]
means no one has the strength.
And "the plague" [al-naghaf]
is a type of worm.
And "perished" [farasah]
is the plural of "slain" [faris],
which is the one killed.
And "the smooth mirror" [al-zalaqah]
is like a mirror.
And "the group" [al-'isabah]
is a company of people.
And "the milk" [al-rusul]
refers to milk.
And "the milking animals" [al-laqah]
are those that give milk.
And "a large group" [al-fi'am]
is a company of people,
a section of people,
smaller than a tribe.
"He lowered his voice and raised it"
means he belittled and minimized him,
then magnified and emphasized him,
due to the magnitude of his trial.
"We thought he was among the nearby palm trees"
means we imagined he was very close to the palm trees of Medina.
"Tightly curled" [qatit]
means his hair is extremely curly.
"His eye is floating" [tafiyah]
means its light has vanished,
or it is protruding,
and there is a glimmer of light in it.
'Abd al-'Uzza ibn Qatan
was a man from the tribe of Banu al-Mustaliq of Khuza'ah,
who died during the Age of Ignorance.
"Driven by the wind" [istadbarathu al-rih]
means the wind came after it and dried it out.
The intent
is to show the speed of his corruption on earth.
"They return" [taruhu]
means they return to them.
"Their livestock" [sarihatuhum]
means the grazing animals.
"Fullest udders" [asbaghu duru']
means the longest due to the abundance of milk.
"Stretched flanks" [amaddahu khawasir]
means due to the fullness from being satiated.
"They wake up" [yusbihun]
means they become.
"In a state of drought" [mumhilin]
means the rain is cut off from them,
and the earth and vegetation dry up.
"The ruin" [al-kharbah]
is a ruined place.
"In the prime of his youth" [mumtali' shababan]
means in the peak of his youth.
"Drip" [qatar]
Meaning: water dripping from it.
Like pearls.
Meaning: beads of silver.
Crafted in the form of large pearls.
The intended meaning is:
Water flowing down from it, resembling pearls in their clarity.
Ludd.
A town near Jerusalem in Palestine.
Hadab.
Meaning: the rugged and elevated parts of the land.
Yansilun.
Meaning: they hasten.
The intended meaning is: they emerge from every direction.
Tiberias.
A town overlooking the lake at the edge of the mountain.
Today, it is under the control of the Jews—may Allah curse them.
And may He cleanse the land of them, their supporters, their followers, and those who love them.
Zahmuhum.
Meaning: their foul stench.
Like the death of a single soul.
Meaning: they will all die at once.
Madar.
Hard, solid clay.
Wabar.
A tent made of fur or hair.
"They will engage in intercourse like donkeys."
Meaning: men will have sexual relations with women openly in the presence of people.
Just as donkeys do.
And they will not care about it.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
Affirming the emergence of the Dajjal.
Clarifying the magnitude of his tribulation.
And that it is the most severe tribulation to befall the Ummah.
Among the characteristics of the Dajjal:
Extremely curly hair.
His eye is like a floating grape.
It is protruding, and its light has faded.
Because he is one-eyed.
The Dajjal will emerge between Iraq and Syria.
The Dajjal will remain on earth for forty days.
One day will be like a year.
One day like a month.
One day like a week.
And the rest of his days will be like the days of ordinary people.
His corruption will spread across the earth with astonishing speed.
To the point that no believer will be safe from his evil.
And no place will be free from his tribulation.
Except for Makkah and Madinah.
For he will not set foot in them.
He will be granted miraculous signs.
As a trial for the servants.
Such as his speed across the earth.
And his ability to bring down rain.
And the treasures of the earth will follow him.
Just as bees follow their queen.
The permissibility of emphasizing the status of the liar and the Dajjal.
To clarify the severity of his tribulation.
And to warn the Ummah against him.
The obligation to warn the Islamic Ummah against all such impostors.
That is why the purified Sunnah has overflowed.
With warnings, reports, and descriptions.
Leaving no room for doubt.
The compassion of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
For his Ummah.
And his fear for them regarding the impostors.
Who would come after him.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Possesses a stronger argument and evidence than the Dajjal.
If he were to appear in his time,
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Would inevitably overcome him.
And invalidate his argument.
And refute his claims and suppress his call.
The vastness of the mercy of Allah the Almighty.
Toward the believers, as He has equipped them.
With a weapon that invalidates the arguments of the Dajjal.
Among these is the clarification of his characteristics.
Which point to his lies and deception.
And the believer's ability to read what is written on his forehead.
Which indicates his disbelief.
And memorizing the opening verses of Surah al-Kahf.
Is a protection from his evil.
So whoever encounters him should recite them over him.
The encouragement to remain steadfast during tribulations.
And not to deviate to the right or the left.
Or to retreat backward.
Clarifying the virtue of Surah al-Kahf.
And that its opening verses are a safeguard and protection.
The love of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, for knowledge.
As they used to ask.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
About everything that was hidden from them.
Due to their intense eagerness for acts of obedience.
And their distance from sins.
This is evident when he informed them.
That his day would be like a year.
Even though they knew it was one day,
Five prayers would not be sufficient for it.
Like a normal day.
This demonstrates their superiority over others.
And their precedence over those who came after them.
Affirming the descent of the Messiah, Isa Ibn Maryam.
The reports regarding this are mutawatir (widely transmitted).
Clarifying that Isa, peace be upon him,
Is the one who will kill the Dajjal.
Clarifying the magnitude of Gog and Magog.
For their tribulation will fill the earth.
And they are among the major signs of the Hour.
Clarifying the ultimate fate of those who remained steadfast in their religion.
And disbelieved in the Great Dajjal.
Paradise, as Isa, peace be upon him, gives them glad tidings.
Of that, and tells them.
About their stations and ranks in Paradise.
No matter how intense the people's hardship becomes,
They are weak and in need of Allah.
This becomes clear to those who contemplate his saying,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
"I have brought forth servants of Mine,
Whom no one has the power to fight."
Then He will send upon them the naghaf (parasitic worms).
And they will die all at once, like the death of a single soul.
Wealth, in times of hardship and hunger,
Is worth nothing.
The Muslims will be taken away at the end of time.
Only the most wicked of people will remain.
Their modesty will have diminished and their intellects will have weakened.
They will engage in intercourse like beasts.
And they will copulate like donkeys.
And upon them the Hour will be established.
From the fiqh of contemporary issues:
That prayer in lands where the night is long,
Lasting more than a standard day,
Such as polar regions or those near them,
Where the night lasts for months, as does the day,
Is that acts of worship should be estimated.
Based on the nearest land where there is a regular,
Succession of night and day.
The same applies to making up missed fasts.
Where the succession of night and day is absent.
The Muslim should estimate the time for his worship.
And this can be managed using clocks.
The occurrence of a supernatural event at the hands of a servant,
Does not indicate his righteousness.
Rather, the duty is the reverse of this.
When a supernatural event occurs,
One must look at the servant's conduct.
Does it conform to the Sharia?
His actions, character, and beliefs are weighed.
On the scale of the Sharia.
If he is on the straight path,
It is known that this supernatural event is a grace.
If not, it is known to be a gradual enticement (istidraj) from Allah the Almighty.
The importance of blessing in things.
And that a little of it suffices for many.
That is why when the earth gives,
Its blessing,
On that day, a group will eat from a single pomegranate.
And seek shade under its husk.
And there will be blessing in the livestock.
To the extent that a single milking camel,
And a single milking sheep,
Will suffice a whole tribe of people.
The blessing of the earth is deposited within it,
By the permission of its Lord.
But the hand of man, which tampers with it,
Corrupts it, and pollutes it,
Strips that blessing away from it.
It is incumbent upon the servants of Allah,
To withdraw from the deafening tribulations.
"I have brought forth servants of Mine, whom no one has the power to fight."
"So take My servants to the Mount (at-Tur)."
Tribulations, hardships, and trials,
Only increase the believer in insight,
And steadfastness upon the truth.
Riyadh as-Salihin.