Introduction to The Dajjal: The False Messiah

Among the major signs preceding the Day of Judgment, none is described with greater detail in the prophetic traditions than the Dajjal — the one-eyed False Messiah who will emerge at the end of times claiming divinity and leading masses astray. The Prophet ﷺ warned of the Dajjal more emphatically than of any other trial, saying there has been no greater tribulation since Allah created Adam until the Hour is established.

This work by the great scholar Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 CE) — author of the monumental Tafsir and Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah — gathers the authentic narrations describing the Dajjal: his physical description, his emergence, the trials he will bring, the protection Allah offers the believer against him, and his ultimate destruction at the hands of 'Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus son of Mary). Ibn Kathir applies his trademark rigorous hadith methodology, carefully weighing chain authenticity and reconciling variant narrations.

The treatise also covers related eschatological figures and events: the emergence of Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog), the descent of 'Isa alayhis-salam, and the broader sequence of major signs. Grounded in the Quran and Sunnah, the work refutes exaggerated or fabricated reports while establishing what is authentically narrated.

For Muslims, knowledge of these signs is not merely academic — it is a matter of faith and protection. The Prophet ﷺ commanded reciting the opening and closing verses of Surah Al-Kahf as a shield against the Dajjal's fitnah. This book provides the scholarly grounding to understand those traditions in their full prophetic context.