of Damascus (1). In a version other than that recorded by Muslim it is stated that he will descend upon the eastern white minaret in Damascus, and this is closer to the meaning, for the wording of the report continues:

“He will descend after the dawn prayer has been established. The imam of the Muslims will say to him, ‘Step forward, O Spirit of Allah.’ He will reply, ‘No; it has only been established for you.’”

(2) This clearly indicates that he descends upon the minaret of the principal mosque in which the imam of the Muslims will be leading the prayer at that time. According to what has been related, that imam will be the Mahdi, and the mosque intended is the Great Mosque of Damascus. Allah knows best.

Earlier, in the hadith of Abu Umamah, it was mentioned that he will descend someplace other than Damascus, but that wording is not reliably preserved. The same applies to the report cited by Ibn ʿAsakir in his History through the chain of Muhammad ibn ʿĀʾidh: al-Walid narrated to us, someone who had heard ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Rabiʿah narrated, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Ayyub ibn Nafiʿ ibn Kaysan, from his father, from his grandfather Nafiʿ ibn Kaysan, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“Jesus son of Mary will descend at the Gate of Damascus”—Nafiʿ added, “I do not know which gate he meant”—“at the white minaret, six hours into the day, wearing two lightly-dyed garments, and it will appear as though pearls are dripping from his head.”

There is an unnamed narrator in this chain, and the report is objectionable, for it contradicts what is firmly established in the Ṣaḥīḥ collections, namely that his descent will be in the pre-dawn hours when the light of daybreak has appeared and the prayer has been established. Allah knows best.

Muslim said: ʿUbayd Allah ibn Muʿadh al-ʿAnbari narrated to us; my father narrated to us; Shuʿbah narrated to us from al-Nuʿman ibn Salim; I heard Yaʿqub ibn ʿAsim ibn ʿUrwah ibn Masʿud al-Thaqafi say: I heard ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr. A man came and said, “What is this hadith you are relating—do you say that the Hour will occur at such-and-such a time?” He replied, “Subḥan Allah—or, Lā ilāha illā Allah, or words to that effect—I was on the verge of never narrating anything to anyone again. All I said was that you will soon witness a tremendous matter: the House will be burned, and such-and-such will happen.” Then he said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“The Dajjal 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 is He, will send Jesus son of Mary, who will resemble ʿUrwah ibn Masʿud. He will pursue him and destroy him. After that the people will live for seven years during which there will be no enmity between any two persons. Then Allah will send a cool wind from the direction of Syria; there will not remain on the face of the earth anyone who has in his heart even an atom’s weight of goodness or faith without that wind taking his soul—even if one of you were to enter the hollow of a mountain, it would reach him until it takes him. I heard this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).”

He continued: “Those who remain will be the worst of mankind—light and reckless like birds, with the minds of wild beasts. They will know no good and forbid no evil. Satan will appear to them and say, ‘Will you not respond to me?’ They will ask, ‘What do you command us to do?’ He will order them to worship idols. While they are doing so, their provision will be abundant and their lives comfortable. Then the Trumpet will be blown, and no one will hear it except….”