against him Jesus, peace be upon him, who then kills him? Or is he a symbol of the spread of evil, the prevalence of turmoil, and the weakening of virtuous impulses, swept away and eradicated by the wind of goodness symbolized by Jesus, peace be upon him, which leads people to the clear path of goodness and the way of justice and religious devotion”! (1).

I say: This (astute) Azharī is not content with thus stripping the texts of the Sunnah of their meaning and interpreting them symbolically—the approach of the heretical Bātinīs, as quoted earlier from Sayyid Rashīd Ridā himself. Rather, he misleads readers into thinking that this negation of their meaning is a view held by some scholars, standing as an alternative to the first view! The truth is that no one recognized for learning among the scholars of hadith and the Sunnah has held this view. It has been held only by some of the Khawārij and Muʿtazilah, among the deviant sects. Qādī ʿIyād said:

“These hadiths provide evidence for Ahl al-Sunnah that the Dajjāl truly exists and is a specific individual through whom Allah will test His servants, granting him the power to do such things as bring back to life the man he kills (paragraphs 17 and 18 – Abū Umāmah, 18 – the narrative). Other such things include the appearance of abundance, rivers, a paradise and a fire; the earth’s treasures following him; and his commanding the sky to rain and the earth to bring forth vegetation (paragraphs 19–21 – Abū Umāmah, 19–21 – the narrative). All of this is by Allah’s will. Then He will render him powerless, so that he will be unable to kill that man or anyone else. Then He will bring his work to naught, and Jesus son of Mary will kill him. Some of the Khawārij, Muʿtazilah, and Jahmiyyah have disagreed with this, denying his existence and rejecting the authentic hadiths.”