Dajaal (Anti-Christ)

Look for the signs

A short article from an Islamic perspective

By

Faisal Dean Raza Saifi

Raza Publications
sales@razapublications.co.uk

Bismillah Alhamdulillah was-salatu was-salamu 'ala Rasulillah,

wa 'ala Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa sallam

In this article, with the help of Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala, I will

cover a very important Ahadith that relates to the Dajaal (AntiChrist). I hope to determine to what extent the signs indicated by
the Hadith literature have been fulfilled.
We all know that the Beloved of Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala, our
master Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam has informed us
that the fitna (trials and tribulations) of the Dajaal will be the
greatest fitna to ever afflict the sons of Adam. So we can conclude
from this, the trials and tribulations suffered by the Ummahs of
previous Prophets alayhi as-salm are considered less in severity
then what will be suffered by the Ummah of the last Prophet Rasool
Allah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam.
Every Prophet warned his Ummah about the Dajaal (the one eyed
liar). We know a lot about this person from Hadith. By far the
most detailed and famous Hadith about the Dajaal is recorded in
Sahih Muslim, as follows:
Amir ibn Sharahil Sha'bi Sha'b Hamdan reported that he
asked Fatimah bint Qays, the sister of Dahhak ibn Qays, who
was one of the first Muhajirat, Tell me a Hadith which you
heard directly from the Prophet with no narrator in between.
She said, I can tell you if you like. He replied, Yes, please tell
me, she said:

I heard the Prophet's announcer calling for congregational

prayer. I went out to the mosque, and prayed behind the
Prophet. I was in the women's row, which was at the back of
the congregation. When the Prophet had finished his prayer, he
sat on the pulpit, smiling, and said, Everyone should stay in
his place. Then he SAW said, Do you know why I had asked
you to assemble? The people replied, Allah and His
Messenger know best.
He SAW said, By Allah, I have not gathered you here to give
you an exhortation or a warning. I have kept you here because
Tamim al-Dari, a Christian man who has come and embraced
Islam, told me something which agrees with that which I have
told you about the Dajjal. He told me that he had sailed in a
ship with 30 men from Banu Lakhm and Banu Judham. The
waves had tossed them about for a month, then they were
brought near to an island, at the time of sunset. They landed
on the island, and were met by a beast who was so hairy that
they could not tell its front from its back. They asked, Woe to
you! What are you? The beast replied, I am al-Jassasah. (a
spy) They asked, What is al-Jassasah? It replied, O people,
go to this man in the monastery, for he is very eager to know
about you. Tamim said that when it named a person to us, we
were afraid lest it be a devil.
Tamim said, We quickly went to the monastery. There we
found a huge man with his hands tied up to his neck and with
iron shackles between his legs up to the ankles. We asked,
Woe to you, who are you? He replied, You will soon know

about me. Tell me who you are. We asked, We are people

from Arabia. We sailed in a ship, but the waves have been
tossing us about for a month, and they brought us to your
island, where we met a beast who was so hairy that we could
not tell its front from its back. We asked it, Woe to you! What
are you? and it replied , I am al-Jassasah. We asked, What
is al-Jassasah? and it told us, Go to this man in the
monastery, for he is very eager to know about you. So we came
to you quickly, fearing that it might be a devil.
The man asked, Tell me about the date-palms of Baysan.
We asked, What do you want to know about them? He
asked, I want to know whether these trees bear fruit or not.
We replied, Yes. He said, Soon they will not bear fruit.
Then he asked, Tell me about the lake of al-Tabariyyah
[Tiberias, in Palestine]. We asked, What do you want to
know about it? He asked, Is there water in it? We replied,
There is plenty of water in it. He said, Soon it will become
dry. Then he asked, Tell me about the spring of Zughar.
We asked, What do you want to know about it? He asked,
Is there water in it, and does it irrigate the land? We replied,
Yes, there is
plenty of water in it, and the people use it to irrigate the land.
Then he asked, Tell me about the unlettered Prophet, what
has he done? We replied, He has left Makkah and settled in
Yathrib. He asked, Do the Arabs fight against him? We
said, Yes. He asked, How does he deal with them? So we
replied that the Prophet had overcome the Arabs around him
and that they had followed him. He asked, Has it really
happened? We replied, Yes. He said, It is better for them if

they follow him. Now I will tell you about myself. I am the
Dajjal. I will soon be permitted to leave this place: I will emerge
and travel about the earth. In 40 nights I will pass through
every town, except Makkah and Madinah, for these have been
forbidden to me. Every time I try to enter either of them, I will
be met by an angel bearing an unsheathed sword, who will
prevent me from entering. There will be angels guarding them
at every passage leading to them.
Fatimah said, The Prophet striking the pulpit with his staff,
said: This is Tayyibah, this is Tayyibah, this is Tayyibah, [ie
Madinah]. Have I not told you something like this? The
people said, Yes. He SAW said, I liked the account given to
me by Tamim because it agrees with that which I have told you
about the Dajjal, and about Makkah and Madinah. Indeed he
is in the Syrian sea or the Yemen sea. No, on the contrary, he is
in the East, he is in the East, he is in the East and he SAW
pointed towards the East. Fatimah said: I memorised this
from the Prophet.
Now, to attempt to determine to what extent the signs indicated by
the hadith have been fulfilled. We will start by locating where in
the modern world the places indicated by the Hadith are, and then
to see whether the signs have come to pass. Where references have
been made to the work of others, these have been indicated in the
footnotes.

The date Trees of Baysan

Baysan, modern day Beit Shean, a city in the North District of
Israel occupied by Arabs before Israels war of independence in
1948. The ancient city ruins are now protected as an Israeli
national park, known as Bet She'an National Park.
Navigate to the following link to see the old city in Google maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=32.5,35.5&q=32.5,35.5&hl=en&t=
m&z=12

You can see from the above map that the city of Baysan (indicated
by the red teardrop shape) is just south of Lake Tiberias (Sea of
Galilee).
The following is a picture of the old city, notice that there is
nothing but sand and stone that makes up the national park:

In 634, Byzantine forces were defeated by the Muslim army of

Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab Radi Allahu 'anhu and the city was
renamed Baysan. The day of victory came to be known in Arabic
as Yawm Baysan or "the day of Baysan". The city was not
damaged and the newly arrived Muslims lived together with its
Christian population until the 8th century. On January 18, 749 AD,
Umayyad Baysan was completely devastated by the Golan
earthquake of 749. A few residential neighbourhoods grew up on
the ruins, probably established by the survivors, but the city never
recovered its magnificence. The city centre moved to the southern

hill where a Crusader fortress surrounded by a moat was

constructed. 1
Lets look at dates. 749 AD translates to 131 AH (Hijri). We know
from the Hadith that Tamim al-Dari Radi Allahu 'anhu came to
Rasool Allah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam whilst Rasool Allah was
still amongst his companions, the Sahaba. At that time, Baysan was
a Byzantine city not under the control of the Muslims. This was
before the big Golan earthquake of 749, meaning that the city was
still a prosperous place where trade and agriculture was very much
alive. Dajaal referring to this city would have referred to the
original location before the earthquake, and not where the city
subsequently moved to, due to the devastation caused by the
earthquake. The ruins of the old city can be seen in the Google
map image. There is nothing but sand and stone. We can be
confidant from this analysis that the date plantations of Baysan (as
known to Dajaal at the time of Rasool Allah Sallallahu Alayhi
Wasallam) no longer exist. They were most likely destroyed by the
earthquake of 749, or shortly after when the inhabitants made hijra
to another location.
The following is taken from a map during the Abbasid Caliphate
during the 9th century. On a side note, notice that Zughar is also
referred to Sughar by the Muslims of the time:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baysan

I have found a second reference to Baysan for being famous for

date plantations:
Baysan was once famous for date plantations, however
around 626 Hijri (1228 AD) these trees have stopped bearing
fruits. 2
The date is attributed to the works of Allama Yaqut al-Hamawi
(Yqt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rm al-Hamaw) (11791229 AD), who
was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his
encyclopaedic writings on the Muslim world.
We can be confident that the first sign Dajaal alluded to, has come
to pass.
2

DAJJAL KAUN KAHAN KAB By Shaykh Mufti Abu Lubabah Shah Mansoor

Spring of Zughar
The spring of Zughar can be traced back to a place known as Zoara
(Zoar). Zoara was one of the five cities (Zoar, Sodom, Gomorrah,
Admah and Zeboim) of the plain of Jordan that Allah Subnahu
Wa Ta'Ala was to destroy because of the sins of its people. 3 Whilst
all the other cities were destroyed, Zoar was spared due to the Dua
of Hazrat Lut alayhi as-salm, as this was where Hazrat Lut
alayhi as-salm and his two daughters took refuge from Allahs
punishment.
You may be curious as to how the spring got its name!
Hazrat Lut alayhi as-salm had two daughters. The eldest was
called Rubbah and the younger daughter was called Sughar
(Zughar).
The following is an extract from the book Palestine under the
Moslems 4:
"Ar Rubbah is a village on the side of the Ghaur, lying between
the lands of the Jordan and Balka Provinces. According to the
tradition related by Ibn 'Abbas: When Hazrat Lut AS fled from
his home, he had with him his two daughters, one of whom was
called Rubbah and the other Sughar. And the elder of them
died, that is Rubbah, near a spring, and was buried there. And
they called the spring after her 'Ain Rubbah, and built over it a
Quran 7:80 7:84
Palestine under the Moslems; A description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500.
ISBN-13: 978-1236480835. Page 291
3
4

town called Rubbah. And Zughar, the younger daughter, died

at 'Ain Zughar, which was in like manner called after her."
Zoaras location came to light with the help of the Madaba Mosaic
map. I recommend reading The Sanctuary of Agios Lot, the City of
Zoara and the Zared River

by Konstantinos D. Politis. You will

find it on the Internet. The document states that the recent

archaeological excavations in Ghor es-Safi have identified the
Sanctuary of Agios (saint) Lot (Hazrat Lut alayhi as-salm)
depicted on the Madaba map which is part of a floor mosaic in the
early Byzantine church of Saint George at Madaba, Jordan.
Additional new surveys and surface collections have confirmed the
location of the city of Zoara. The following is an extract from the
paper referring to the Madaba map:
Zoara lies west, and slightly south of the Sanctuary, on the
Dead Sea plain. A large walled building is depicted with an
arched entrance and three towers, each with a square window.
It is surrounded by six date palm trees, indicating a wellwatered agricultural settlement.

http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/articles/PolitisLot.html

Part of the mosaic map. The River Jordan and the Dead Sea are in
the centre, with Jerusalem bottom right

The following map depicts the location of Zoara:

The following is a photo of the cave and adjacent church ruins:

This is the cave that Hazrat Lut alayhi as-salm and His beloved
daughters took refuge in when the punishment of Allah Subnahu
Wa Ta'Ala fell on Sodom (sudum).
The location of the cave and adjacent church ruins are at:
31o 0248.61 N
35o 3009.53 E
The following images have been taken from Google Earth:

The cave is marked out with a yellow circle.

Amongst later accounts of the location of the city of Zoara, the
following has been recorded in the book Palestine Under The
Moslems 6:
Zughar is a village in the Eastlands of Syria on the borders of
the stinking lake (Dead Sea). The lake is also called Bahr
Zughar. It is near Al Karak (Karak in southern Israel).
Zughar was the name of the daughter of Hazrat Lut AS and
the village is named after her. It lies three days march from
Jerusalem on the Hijaz border.
The spring Ain Zughar, will sink down in the End of Days,
and this is one of the signs of the end times.

Palestine under the Moslems. Page 290

An indication that Zoara has been lost is also mentioned in the

same book as follows:
Though Zughar was such a large and well-known town during
all the middle ages, no traces apparently remain of it at the
present day; at any rate, none have been described by modern
travellers, who have visited the southern shores of the Dead
Sea.
I have not been able to determine the exact location of the spring.
This would require local knowledge as the names of the places
have changed and the inhabitants have moved to different
locations over time.
The spring of Zoara is connected to the Sea of Galilee through
underground waterways. The drying of the Sea of Galilee may also
lead to the drying of the spring. The reverse can also be true. The
fact that they are linked is the important thing to remember. As
the town of Zoara has been lost, we should instead look to the
drying of the Sea of Galilee as the fulfilment of the sign that the
spring has also dried.

Lake of al-Tabariyyah
We now come to the last and most important sign of them all, the
Sea of Galilee.
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake
Tiberias is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is
approximately 53 km (33 mi) in circumference, about 21 km (13
mi) long, and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. It is the lowest freshwater lake
on Earth and the second-lowest lake overall (after the Dead Sea, a
saltwater lake). The lake is fed partly by underground springs
although its main source is the Jordan River which flows through it
from north to south.
The Sea of Galilee is situated in northeast Israel, between the Golan
Heights and the Galilee region. Israel's National Water Carrier,
built in 1964, transports water from the lake to the population
centres of Israel, and is the source of much of the country's
drinking water. About 400,000,000 cubic metres (1.41010 cu ft) of
water is pumped in the National Water Carrier each year. Under
the terms of the IsraelJordan peace treaty, Israel also supplies
50,000,000 cubic metres (1.8109 cu ft) of water annually from the
lake to Jordan.
Increasing water demand and dry winters have resulted in stress
on the lake and a decreasing water line to dangerously low levels at
times. The Sea of Galilee is at risk of becoming irreversibly
salinized by the salt water springs under the lake, which are held in
check by the weight of the freshwater on top of them. The Israeli

government monitors water levels and publishes the results daily at

the following site:
http://www.water.gov.il/Hebrew/WaterResources/KinneretBasin/Pages/default.aspx
The site is in Hebrew. The text can be translated using Google
translate, but the most important information is the graph which
shows the water level of the sea.
Over the last 10 years, the levels have fluctuated a lot due to over
consumption by Israel. The lowest point was observed in 2008
when the level of the sea dropped to almost the point of no return.
The following graph was taken from the website:

It can be seen by the wild fluctuations that it would not take much
for the sea to be irreversibly damaged. As the sea, along with rain
water, is fed by the Jordan River and underground springs, if these
water sources dry up, so will the Sea of Galilee.

Conclusion
The time for Dajaal to appear and walk this Earth is very close.
Contemporary scholars have estimated that we have approximately
50 years before the final sign will be fulfilled and the Dajaal will be
released on to the Earth.
Look to the Sea of Galilee for your answer.
The last remaining sign..

Faisal Dean Raza Saifi

4th August 2014
Raza Publications
sales@razapublications.co.uk