will be made between you and the Romans (1). They will betray you and march against you under eighty banners (2), with twelve thousand men under each banner” (3).

Jābir ibn Samura related from Nāfi‘ ibn ‘Utba, who said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) … I retained from him four statements, which I counted off on my hand. He said, “You will campaign against the Arabian Peninsula, and Allah will grant you victory over it; then Persia, and Allah will grant you victory over it; then you will campaign against the Romans, and Allah will grant you victory over them; then you will fight the Dajjāl, and Allah will grant you victory over him.”

Nāfi‘ then said, “O Jābir, we do not believe the Dajjāl will emerge until the Romans have been conquered” (4).

A description has also been given of the battle that will take place between the Muslims and the Romans. In the hadith, Yusayr ibn Jābira said: A red wind arose in Kufa, and a man came whose constant refrain (5) was: “O ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ūd! The Hour has come.” Ibn Mas‘ūd, who had been reclining, sat upright and said, “The Hour will not come until no inheritance is divided and there will be no rejoicing