In the hadith of al-Nawwās ibn Samʿān—may Allah be pleased with him—concerning the Dajjāl, it is related that the Companions asked, “O Messenger of Allah, how long will he remain on 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 days.” They asked, “How swiftly will he travel through the earth?” He replied:

“Like rain driven from behind by the wind. He will come upon a people and call them; they will believe in him and respond to him. He will command the sky, and it will rain, and the earth, and it will bring forth vegetation. Their grazing livestock (1) will return to them in the evening with humps higher than ever (2), udders fuller (3) than ever, and flanks more distended than ever. He will then come upon another people and call them, but they will reject what he says. He will leave them, and by morning they will be stricken by drought, with nothing of their wealth remaining in their hands. He will pass by a ruined place and say to it, ‘Bring forth your treasures,’ and its treasures will follow him like swarms of bees (4). He will then summon a young man in the prime of his youth, strike him with a sword, and cut him into two pieces, leaving them an arrow-shot apart. He will then summon him, and the man will come forward, his face beaming as he laughs” (5).