and the establishment of the Hour, there is no matter more momentous than the Dajjal.”
Yet the very rising of the Hour is greater than the Dajjal himself; therefore no prophet ever failed to warn his people about it, even though it will not occur until the closing period of the world. And although Allah—exalted is He—knew that Muhammad would be the Seal of the Prophets, the earlier messengers still forewarned their communities about the Dajjal. The purpose of continually spotlighting his tribulation and detailing its features is to impress upon people how tremendous it will be, despite the fact that he will only appear at the tail end of earthly life; his trial is indeed immense.
The Prophet ﷺ clarified that the Dajjal will enter every land, calling people—Allah’s refuge is sought—to worship him, except for Mecca and Medina. He will never enter those two sanctuaries, for angels stand guard at every gate, driving him away from both cities.
He ﷺ also informed us that seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan will follow him, wearing ṭiyalasa—a refined type of cloak. In other words, from Isfahan, a well-known city in Iran, seventy thousand of its Jews will march behind him.
Furthermore, the Prophet ﷺ said that the Dajjal is one-eyed, whereas the Lord—glorified and exalted is He—is not one-eyed; for being one-eyed is a defect, and Allah is exalted above every imperfection. Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah infer from this hadith that our Lord, majestic and sublime, possesses two eyes, yet they bear no resemblance whatsoever to the eyes of created beings, as He says: “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
These hadiths also relate that, when the Dajjal appears, a young Muslim man will set out to lay bare his falsehood. The Dajjal’s armed guards intercept him and ask, “Where are you headed?” He replies, “To the man who has emerged.” They seize him and ask, “Do you believe in our lord?” He answers, “No—he is the Dajjal.” They want to kill him, but some of them say to the others, “Did not our lord instruct us not to kill anyone without his permission?” So they refrain from killing him and then bring him before the Dajjal.