His words: “a khallah between Greater Syria and Iraq” mean: a passage linking the two regions.

His phrase: “ʿātha” – with an un-dotted ʿayn and a three-dotted thāʾ – comes from al-ʿayth, which denotes the most extreme form of corruption.

“al-dhurā” – with ḍammah on the dotted dāl – refers to the very tops of a camel’s humps.

“al-yaʿāsīb” are the male bees.

“jazlatayn” means two pieces.

“al-gharaḍ” is the target at which arrows are shot; that is, he will cast it with the precision of an archer aiming at a mark.

“al-mahrūdah” – with an un-dotted and a dotted dāl – is a dyed garment.

His statement: “lā yadān” means: no power, no ability.

“al-naʿf” denotes worms.

“farsā” is the plural of farīs, meaning a slain person.

“al-zalaqah” – with fatḥah on zāy and lām and a qāf – is also reported as “al-zulaqah” with ḍammah on the zāy, sukūn on the lām, and an fāʾ; both refer to a woman.

“al-ʿiṣābah” means a group.

“al-rusul” – with kasrah on the rāʾ – is milk.

“al-laqḥah” is a milking she-camel.

“al-fiʾām” – with kasrah on the fāʾ and a long hamzah – signifies a company of people.

“al-fakhdh” among people is a subdivision smaller than a tribe.

1818 – Rabiʿī ibn Ḥirāsh narrated: I went with Abū Masʿūd al-Anṣārī to Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān—may Allah be pleased with them. Abū Masʿūd said to him, “Relate to me what you heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the Antichrist.” He said: “The Antichrist will come forth, and he will have with him water and fire. What people think is water will in fact be a consuming fire, while what they take to be fire will be cool, sweet water. Whoever among you meets him should plunge into what appears to be fire, for it is pleasant, fresh water.” Abū Masʿūd commented, “I too heard the same report.” Agreed upon.

1819 – ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ—may Allah be pleased with them both—reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The Antichrist will emerge among my community and will remain for forty— I do not know whether forty days, forty months, or forty years. Then Allah, Exalted be He, will send Jesus son of Mary ﷺ, who will pursue him and destroy him. People will then live for seven years during which no two individuals will harbor enmity toward one another. After that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will send a cool wind from the direction of Syria; no one will remain on the face of the earth whose heart contains even a mustard seed’s weight of goodness or faith without having his soul taken, even if one of you were to take refuge in the very core of a mountain…"