and the accounts of his destruction provide conclusive proof that he is a particular individual.

• The Dajjāl’s Extraordinary Feats Are Real:

Some of the extraordinary feats that will accompany the Dajjāl have already been mentioned in the discussion of his tribulation. These feats are real, not mere fantasies or deceptions, as some scholars have claimed.

Ibn Kathīr related that Ibn Hazm and al-Tahāwī both held that the things accompanying the Dajjāl have no reality. He likewise quoted Abū Alī al-Jubbā’ī (1), a leading Mu‘tazilī scholar, as saying: “They cannot be real, lest the extraordinary feat of a sorcerer be confused with the miracle of a prophet” (2).

Shaykh Rashīd Ridā later followed them in denying that the Dajjāl would possess extraordinary powers, claiming that this would contravene Allah’s established ways in His creation. In his discussion of the hadiths concerning the Dajjāl, he said: “The extraordinary phenomena mentioned in them rival—or even surpass—the greatest signs with which Allah supported the Messengers of Firm Resolve, thereby casting doubt upon those signs. Some theologians said as much, while certain hadith scholars counted that view among their innovations. It is well known that Allah granted those messengers these signs only to guide His creation, in keeping with His mercy having preceded His wrath. How, then, could the Dajjāl be granted even greater extraordinary powers with which to lead the overwhelming majority of His servants into tribulation?! Among those reports are some stating that he will appear throughout the entire earth in forty days