“The Dajjāl will be unmistakable. He will come from the east, call people to me, and gain followers. He will confront the people, fight them, and prevail over them. He will continue in this way until he reaches Kūfah, where he will profess Allah’s religion and practise it, and will be followed and loved for doing so. Then he will say, ‘I am a prophet.’ Everyone possessed of reason will be alarmed by this and leave him. He will remain for a time, until he says, ‘I am Allah.’ Then his eye will become clouded over, his ear will be cut off, and ‘Disbeliever’ will be written between his eyes…”

The hadith continues.

Al-Haythamī (7/340–341) said:

“Al-Tabarānī recorded it. Its chain includes Saʿīd ibn Muhammad al-Warrāq, whose narrations are abandoned.”

I say: However, al-Hāfiz said in al-Taqrīb:

“Weak.”

Accordingly, he said in al-Fath (13/77):

“Its chain is weak.”

His judgement of weakness was thus less severe. Each has his own view and predecessors who held it. And Allah knows best.

Ibn ʿAsākir also recorded it through him (1/217–218).

A strong corroborating report was subsequently found in a hadith of Abū Hurayrah, traced back to the Prophet, with the wording:

“Before the Hour, there will be about thirty lying impostors, each saying, ‘I am a prophet! I am a prophet!’”

Ahmad recorded it (2/429) with this wording; al-Bukhārī, Muslim and others recorded similar wording. Ahmad’s chain is authentic.

This hadith supports and corroborates this passage because the False Messiah appears to be one of these impostors—indeed, he is the worst of them. What I have stated is supported by the hadith of Samurah, traced back to the Prophet: