the believer says, “My Lord is Allah, my religion is Islam, and my Prophet is Muhammad.” As for the disbeliever or the doubter, he says, “Ah... ah... I do not know. I heard people saying something, so I said it.” (1)

His statement: “and from the trial of the False Messiah.” This is coordinated with his statement: “from the torment of Hell.” What is meant by the trial of the False Messiah is the misguidance and temptation he brings through the doubts he carries. The term masīḥ means “one who is wiped” or “one who traverses,” derived from wiping or passing over: either because he will traverse the earth swiftly, or because one of his eyes is obliterated. His right eye is one-eyed, as though it were a floating grape, or a sunken grape.

If it is described as “sunken,” this means hidden away—that is, deeply set. If it is described as “floating,” with a yā’, then it is like a grape floating upon water—that is, protruding.

In any case, the trial of this False Messiah is among the trials of this worldly life, for he will only test the living; as for the dead, they have been spared from him.

If someone asks: If he is among the trials of this world, or among the trials of life, why has he been mentioned separately?

The answer is that the greatest trial upon the face of the earth, from the creation of Adam until the Day of Resurrection, is the trial of the Dajjal, as the Prophet ﷺ stated (2). Therefore, there was not a single prophet from Noah to Muhammad—may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon them—