Denial of Dajjāl by Deviant Sects and Its Refutation
Source: Fatāwā Amonpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amonpuri
What is the Islamic belief regarding Dajjāl?
The creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah is that the emergence of Dajjāl is true and certain. Its reality is proven by mutawātir (mass-transmitted) aḥādīth and the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Muslim Ummah.
Saidna Ḥudhayfah ibn Usayd al-Ghifārī رضي الله عنه narrates:
The Prophet ﷺ came to us while we were discussing (something). He asked, “What are you discussing?”
They replied, “We are talking about the Hour (Qiyāmah).”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
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.
“Qiyāmah will not be established until you see before it ten signs: the smoke, the Dajjāl, the Beast (dābbat al-arḍ), the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam عليه السلام, the emergence of Yaʾjūj and Maʾjūj, three sinkings of the earth — one in the east, one in the west, and one in the Arabian Peninsula — and the last of these signs will be a fire that will emerge from Yemen, driving the people to their place of gathering.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2901)
✔ Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ رحمه الله (544H) said:
هذا مذهب أهل السنة، وعامة أهل الفقه والحديث، خلافا لمن أنكر أمره وأبطله من الخوارج وبعض المعتزلة، وخلافا للجبائي من المعتزلة.
“Belief in the emergence of Dajjāl is the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah and the majority of jurists and ḥadīth scholars. The Khawārij, some Muʿtazilah, and the Jubbaʾiyyah from among them denied and nullified his matter.”
(Ikmal al-Muʿlim 8/475; al-Mufhim 7/267; Sharḥ al-Nawawī 18/58; al-Tawḍīḥ Ibn al-Mulaqqin 18/598; ʿUmdat al-Qārī al-ʿAynī 8/174)
✔ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (774H) said:
قد أنكرت طوائف كثيرة من الخوارج والجهمية وبعض المعتزلة خروج الدجال بالكلية، وردوا الأحاديث الواردة فيه، فلم يصنعوا شيئا، وخرجوا بذلك عن حيز العلماء، لردهم ما تواترت به الأخبار الصحيحة من غير وجه عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم.
“Many groups from the Khawārij, Jahmiyyah, and some Muʿtazilah denied the emergence of Dajjāl altogether and rejected the ḥadīth concerning him. By doing so, they achieved nothing but expelled themselves from the circle of scholars, for they rejected the mutawātir authentic reports from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
(al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 19/193)
✔ He further quoted from Imām al-Dhahabī رحمه الله:
والاستعاذة من الدجال فى الصلاة مشروعة.
“Seeking refuge from Dajjāl in prayer is legislated.”
(al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 19/193)
And also:
والاستعاذة من الدجال متواترة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم.
“Seeking refuge from Dajjāl is mutawātir from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
(al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 19/200)
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā Amonpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amonpuri
❖ Question:
What is the Islamic belief regarding Dajjāl?
❖ Answer:
The creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah is that the emergence of Dajjāl is true and certain. Its reality is proven by mutawātir (mass-transmitted) aḥādīth and the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Muslim Ummah.
✿ Evidence from Hadith
Saidna Ḥudhayfah ibn Usayd al-Ghifārī رضي الله عنه narrates:
The Prophet ﷺ came to us while we were discussing (something). He asked, “What are you discussing?”
They replied, “We are talking about the Hour (Qiyāmah).”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
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.
“Qiyāmah will not be established until you see before it ten signs: the smoke, the Dajjāl, the Beast (dābbat al-arḍ), the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam عليه السلام, the emergence of Yaʾjūj and Maʾjūj, three sinkings of the earth — one in the east, one in the west, and one in the Arabian Peninsula — and the last of these signs will be a fire that will emerge from Yemen, driving the people to their place of gathering.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2901)
✿ Scholars’ Statements
✔ Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ رحمه الله (544H) said:
هذا مذهب أهل السنة، وعامة أهل الفقه والحديث، خلافا لمن أنكر أمره وأبطله من الخوارج وبعض المعتزلة، وخلافا للجبائي من المعتزلة.
“Belief in the emergence of Dajjāl is the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah and the majority of jurists and ḥadīth scholars. The Khawārij, some Muʿtazilah, and the Jubbaʾiyyah from among them denied and nullified his matter.”
(Ikmal al-Muʿlim 8/475; al-Mufhim 7/267; Sharḥ al-Nawawī 18/58; al-Tawḍīḥ Ibn al-Mulaqqin 18/598; ʿUmdat al-Qārī al-ʿAynī 8/174)
✔ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (774H) said:
قد أنكرت طوائف كثيرة من الخوارج والجهمية وبعض المعتزلة خروج الدجال بالكلية، وردوا الأحاديث الواردة فيه، فلم يصنعوا شيئا، وخرجوا بذلك عن حيز العلماء، لردهم ما تواترت به الأخبار الصحيحة من غير وجه عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم.
“Many groups from the Khawārij, Jahmiyyah, and some Muʿtazilah denied the emergence of Dajjāl altogether and rejected the ḥadīth concerning him. By doing so, they achieved nothing but expelled themselves from the circle of scholars, for they rejected the mutawātir authentic reports from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
(al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 19/193)
✔ He further quoted from Imām al-Dhahabī رحمه الله:
والاستعاذة من الدجال فى الصلاة مشروعة.
“Seeking refuge from Dajjāl in prayer is legislated.”
(al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 19/193)
And also:
والاستعاذة من الدجال متواترة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم.
“Seeking refuge from Dajjāl is mutawātir from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
(al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 19/200)
❖ Conclusion
- Belief in the emergence of Dajjāl is a fundamental part of Ahl al-Sunnah creed.
- Its proof lies in mutawātir aḥādīth and consensus of the Ummah.
- Denying Dajjāl, as done by certain deviant sects (Khawārij, Muʿtazilah, Jahmiyyah), is a rejection of clear prophetic teachings.
- Seeking refuge from the trial of Dajjāl is legislated and encouraged in prayer.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
