before the Dajjal. There the young Muslim openly testifies, “You are the very Dajjal about whom the Prophet ﷺ warned us.” The impostor flies into a rage and orders a saw to be brought; he has the youth sawn from the top of his head down to the space between his legs—split lengthwise—and places each half on a separate side, exactly as the sound report describes. He then walks between the two pieces, calls the young man, and the latter rises alive, his face beaming, proclaiming, “By Allah, my insight into your falsehood has only increased!” The Dajjal will do this twice or thrice, after which he will seek to kill him again but will be powerless, for Allah will make the youth like iron. Whether Allah truly turns him into iron—He is capable of all things—or simply renders him so solid that blades cannot pierce him, the Dajjal will be unable to harm him.

These are among the Dajjal’s traits. The Messenger ﷺ also told us that he will appear with something resembling a fire and a garden, yet his fire is in fact a garden and his garden is fire. When Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked about people’s claim that the Dajjal would carry a mountain of bread, the Prophet replied, “That is easier for Allah than that,” meaning that even if such a thing were granted him it would still be insignificant to Allah, or else that it will not truly be with him but is merely part of his deception.

In any case, we believe that toward the end of time a man called the Dajjal will emerge, possessing the qualities mentioned in this chapter and elsewhere. For that reason we seek Allah’s protection from him in every prayer, for the Prophet ﷺ instructed us—after the final tashahhud of each ritual prayer—to seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of Hell, the punishment of the grave, the trial of life and death, and the trial of the false messiah, the Dajjal.

1820 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “No….”