he sat upon the pulpit, smiling, and said,

“Let each person remain where he performed his prayer.”

He then said, “Do you know why I have gathered you?”

They replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”

He said, “By Allah, I have not assembled you out of desire or fear; rather, I have brought you together because Tamīm al-Dārī—who was formerly a Christian—came, pledged allegiance, embraced Islam, and related to me a report that accords with what I have been telling you about al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl (the False Messiah).

“He told me that he boarded a seafaring ship with thirty men from the tribes of Lakhm and Judhām. The waves toyed with them on the sea for a month, and then they landed (1) on an island at sunset. They disembarked in the ship’s small boats and entered the island, where they were met by a beast covered with so much hair that they could not distinguish its front from its back.

“They said, ‘Woe to you! What are you?’

“It replied, ‘I am al-Jassāsah.’

“They said, ‘And what is al-Jassāsah?’

“It said, ‘O people, go to this man in the monastery, for he is longing to hear news of you.’

“When it named a man to us we feared it might be a she-devil, so we hurried on until we entered the monastery. There we found the largest human being we had ever seen and the most securely bound: his hands were fastened to his neck and his legs shackled in iron from knees to ankles.

“We said, ‘Woe to you! What are you?’

“He said, ‘You have managed to learn about me; now tell me, who are you?’

“They said, ‘We are people from the Arabs. We sailed in a sea-going ship, and when the sea became tempestuous (2) the waves tossed us about for a month. Then we came ashore (3) on this island of yours, disembarked in its small boats, and entered it. There we met a beast covered with a mass of hair so thick that we could not tell its front from its back.

“We said, ‘Woe to you! What are you?’

“It replied, ‘I am al-Jassāsah.’

“We said, ‘And what is al-Jassāsah?’

“It said, ‘Go to this man in the monastery, for he is eager to hear about you.’ So we came to you in haste, alarmed by it and uncertain whether it might be a devil.

“He said, ‘Tell me about the date-palms of Baysān.’

“We asked, ‘What would you like to know about them?’

“He said, ‘I ask you about their trees—do they still bear fruit?’

“We replied, ‘Yes.’

“He said, ‘They are soon to stop bearing.’

“He said, ‘Tell me about Lake Tiberias.’

“We asked, ‘What would you like to know about it?’

“He said, ‘Is there water in it?’

“We replied, ‘It contains abundant water.’

“He said, ‘Its water is soon to disappear.’

“He said, ‘Tell me about the spring of Zughar (4).’

“They said, ‘What would you like to know about it?’

“He said, ‘Is there water in the spring, and do the people irrigate their crops from it?’

“We replied, ‘Yes; it has plenty of water, and its people irrigate from it.’

“He said, ‘Tell me about the Prophet of the unlettered—what has he done?’

“They said, ‘He has left Mecca and settled in Yathrib.’

“He said, ‘Did the Arabs fight him?’

“We replied, ‘Yes.’

“He said, ‘How did he deal with them?’ So we informed him that he had prevailed over those Arabs who were nearest to him and that they had obeyed him.

“He said to them, ‘Has that really happened?’

“We replied, ‘Yes.’

“He said, ‘That is better for them—that they obey him. As for me…’