Question
What is the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah regarding the emergence of al-Dajjāl?
Answer
Al-Dajjāl is the greatest trial (fitnah), and his emergence near the end of times is a reality. His coming is established in the Qur’an, in mutawātir aḥādīth, and by consensus (ijmāʿ). This is the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah.
Evidence from Ḥadīth
❀ Sayyidunā Ḥudhayfah ibn Usayd al-Ghifārī (رضي الله عنه) reported:
إنها لن تقوم حتى ترون قبلها عشر آيات، فذكر الدخان، والدجال، والدابة، وطلوع الشمس من مغربها، ونزول عيسى ابن مريم صلى الله عليه وسلم، ويأجوج ومأجوج، وثلاثة خسوف؛ خسف بالمشرق، وخسف بالمغرب، وخسف بجزيرة العرب، وآخر ذلك نار تخرج من اليمن، تطرد الناس إلى محشرهم
“The Hour will not be established until you see ten signs before it: the smoke, the Dajjāl, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam (عليه السلام), the emergence of Yaʾjūj and Maʾjūj, three land-slides—one in the east, one in the west, and one in the Arabian Peninsula—and the last of them will be a fire that will emerge from Yemen and drive the people to their place of gathering.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2901)
Scholarly Commentary
❀ Imām Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Qurṭubī (رحمه الله, d. 656H):
هذا مذهب أهل السنة، وعامة أهل الفقه والحديث، خلافا لمن أنكر أمره وأبطله من الخوارج وبعض المعتزلة، وخلافا للجبائي من المعتزلة
“This is the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah and the vast majority of the jurists and scholars of ḥadīth. It is contrary to the Khawārij, some of the Muʿtazilah, and al-Jubbāʾī from among the Muʿtazilah who denied and rejected the affair of al-Dajjāl.”
(al-Mufhim 7/267)
❀ Imām Ibn Ruslān (رحمه الله, d. 844H), commenting on a ḥadīth, said:
فيه الإيمان بالدجال وخروجه حق، وهو مذهب أهل السنة
“This ḥadīth proves that belief in al-Dajjāl is necessary, and his emergence is true. This is the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah.”
(Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd 16/660)
Conclusion:Belief in al-Dajjāl, his reality, and his emergence as one of the greatest trials near the end of times is a fundamental part of Ahl al-Sunnah creed, established by Qur’an, mutawātir aḥādīth, and ijmāʿ.
