272 Jesus, Prophet of Islam
and sometimes he described him as so dangerous that
we thought he was in the clump of date-palms nearby.
When we went to him later on, he noticed that fear in
our faces, and asked, "What is the matter with you?"
We said, "0Messengerof God, this morning youspoke
of the Dajjal; sometimes you described him as insignifi
cant, and sometimes you described him as being so dan
gerous that we thought he was in the clump of date
palms nearby."
'The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him
peace, said, "1 fear for you in other matters besides the
Dajjal. If he appears whilst 1 am among you, 1 will con
tend with him on your behalf. But if he appears while 1
am not among you, then each man must contend with
him on his own behalf, and God will take care of every
Muslim on my behalf. The Dajjal will be a young man,
with short, curly haïr, and one eye floating. 1would liken
him to Abdal-'Uzza ibn Qatan. Whoever amongst you
lives to see him should recite the opening verses ofSurat
al-Kahf. He will appear on the way between Syria and
Iraq, and will createdisaster left and right. a servants
of God, adhere to the Path of Truth."
'We said, "0 Messenger of God, how long will he stay
on the earth?" He said, "For forty days, one day like a
year, and one day like a month, and one day like a week,
and the rest of the days will be like your days.'
'We said, "0 Messenger of God, for the day which is
like a year, will one day's prayers be sufficient?" He said,
"No, you must make an estimate of the time, and then
observe the prayers."
'We asked, "0 Messenger of God, how quickly will
he walk upon the earth?" He said, "Like a cloud driven
by the wind. He will come to the people and call them
(to a false religion), and they will believe in him and
respond to him. He will issue a command to the sky,
and it will rain; and to the earth, and it will produce
crops. After grazing on these crops, their animals will
return with their udders full of milk and their flanks
stretched. Then he will come to another people and will
call them (to a false religion), but they will reject his calI.
He will depart from them; they will suffer famine andhttp://www.islamicbulletin.com