Dajjal Will Be Killed With Arguments. Not the Sword!

Introduction

There is a misconception among Muslims who think that the Dajjal will be killed in a battle with armies fighting with swords and other weapons. This is contrary to the description found in the ahadith.

Hadith #1 – Abolish War

حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ، أَخْبَرَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، عَنْ صَالِحٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، أَنَّ سَعِيدَ بْنَ الْمُسَيَّبِ، سَمِعَ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏”‏ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لَيُوشِكَنَّ أَنْ يَنْزِلَ فِيكُمُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ حَكَمًا عَدْلاً، فَيَكْسِرَ الصَّلِيبَ، وَيَقْتُلَ الْخِنْزِيرَ، ويَضَع الحربَ، وَيَفِيضَ الْمَالُ حَتَّى لاَ يَقْبَلَهُ أَحَدٌ، حَتَّى تَكُونَ السَّجْدَةُ الْوَاحِدَةُ خَيْرًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيهَا ‏”‏‏.‏ ثُمَّ يَقُولُ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ وَاقْرَءُوا إِنْ شِئْتُمْ ‏{‏وَإِنْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ إِلاَّ لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهِ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهِ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا‏}‏‏.‏

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (Jesus,) the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler); he will break the Cross and kill the pigs and abolish war. Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it, and a single prostration to Allah (in prayer) will be better than the whole world and whatever is in it.” Abu Huraira added “If you wish, you can recite (this verse of the Holy Book): — ‘And there is none Of the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) But must believe in him (i.e Jesus as an Apostle of Allah and a human being) Before his death. And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness Against them.” (4.159)

[Sahih al-Bukhari 3448]

Note, that this hadith is in Bukhari with a different wording also. Instead of saying ويَضَع الحربَ (abolish war), it has the words وَيَضَعَ الْجِزْيَةَ (abolish jizya). The version with the “abolish war” has been quoted by Ibn Hajr (R.H) in his commentary of Bukhari called Fatḥ al-Bārī and Al Ayni (R.H) in his commentary of Bukhari called ‘Umdat al-Qari.

It proves that the Masih will not be coming to fight but to end religious wars. This poses the question that if Dajjal won’t be killed in a battle/war, then how will he be killed? This is answered in the ahadith below.

Hadith #2 – Debate Dajjal

Version 1: Sahih Muslim

فَقَالَ ‏”‏ غَيْرُ الدَّجَّالِ أَخْوَفُنِي عَلَيْكُمْ إِنْ يَخْرُجْ وَأَنَا فِيكُمْ فَأَنَا حَجِيجُهُ دُونَكُمْ وَإِنْ يَخْرُجْ وَلَسْتُ فِيكُمْ فَامْرُؤٌ حَجِيجُ نَفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ خَلِيفَتِي عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ إِنَّهُ شَابٌّ

Thereupon he (ﷺ) said: I harbor fear in regard to you in so many other things besides the Dajjal. If he comes forth while I am among you, I shall contend with him on your behalf, but if he comes forth while I am not amongst you, a man must contend on his own behalf and Allah would take care of every Muslim on my behalf (and safeguard him against his evil).

[Sahih Muslim 2937a]

Version 2: Ibn Majah

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) mentioned Dajjal, one morning, as something despised but also alarming, until we thought that he was in the stand of date-palm trees. When we came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in the evening, he saw that (fear) in us, and said: ‘What is the matter with you?’ We said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, you mentioned Dajjal this morning, and you spoke of him as something despised but also alarming, until we thought that he was in the stand of date-palm trees.’

He said: ‘There are things that I fear more for you than the Dajjal. If he appears while I am among you, I will contend with him on your behalf, and if he appears when I am not among you, then each man must fend for himself, and Allah will take care of every Muslim on my behalf. He (Dajjal) will be a young man with curly hair and a protuberant eye; I liken him to ‘Abdul-‘Uzza bin Qatan.

[Sunan Ibn Majah 4075]

Version 3: Abi Dawud

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) mentioned the Dajjal (Antichrist) saying: If he comes forth while I am among you I shall be the one who will dispute with him on your behalf, but if he comes forth when I am not among you, a man must dispute on his own behalf, and Allah will take my place in looking after every Muslim. Those of you who live up to his time should recite over him the opening verses of Surat al – Kahf, for they are your protection from his trial. We asked: How long will he remain on the earth ? He replied : Forty days, one like a year, one like a month, one like a week, and rest of his days like yours. We asked : Messenger of Allah, will one day’s prayer suffice us in this day which will be like a year ? He replied : No, you must make an estimate of its extent. Then Jesus son of Marry will descend at the white minaret to the east of Damascus. He will then catch him up at the date of Ludd and kill him.

[Sunan Abi Dawud 4321]

حَجِيجُهُ (Contend) means to argue/debate

As per Lanes Lexicon, this is the following definition of the word:

Root: حج – Entry: حَجِيجٌ
Also i. q.مُحَاجٌّ↓ as act. part. n. of حَاجَّ: so in the phrase, أَنَا حَجِيجُهُ I am he who will overcome him by arguments, or proofs, or the like: occurring in a trad. relating to Ed-Dejjál.

[Lanes Lexicon, Book 1, part 1, pg 515]

The interesting thing to note here is that the translation specifically mentions that this word has been used in the context of Dajjal!

Hadith #3

فَلاَ يَحِلُّ لِكَافِرٍ يَجِدُ رِيحَ نَفَسِهِ إِلاَّ مَاتَ وَنَفَسُهُ يَنْتَهِي حَيْثُ يَنْتَهِي طَرْفُهُ فَيَطْلُبُهُ حَتَّى يُدْرِكَهُ بِبَابِ لُدٍّ فَيَقْتُلُهُ

Every non-believer who would smell the odor of his self (Isa AS) would die and his breath would reach as far as he would be able to see. He would then search for him (Dajjal) until he would catch hold of him at the gate of Ludd and would kill him.

[Sahih Muslim 2937a]

This hadith supports the previous ahadith in multiple ways.

1) The smell of Isa’s (A.S) breath will kill all the non-believers

Masih’s words/arguments will destroy the non-Muslims and his words will reach everywhere. We must not understand this literally because the ahadith about the coming of the Dajjal were visions and dreams of the Prophet (S.A.W) and thus, they must be interpreted. Moreover, the ahadith above supports this interpretation. If we are to take it literally, it is blasphemous and a mockery of a prophet of Allah. Read more about how these ahadith are dreams.

2) The Masih will catch and kill Dajjal at the gate of Ludd (لُدٍّ).

This means that the Dajjal will be killed via arguments because Ludd in Arabic lexicons is defined as:

لَدّ, originally لَدِدَ, (second pers. لَدِدْتَ, L,) aor. ـَ {يَلْدَدُ}, (L, Mṣb,) inf. n. لَدَدٌ (Ṣ, A, L, Mṣb,) He was violent, or vehement, in contention, or altercation; in dispute; in litigation. (Ṣ, A, L, Mṣb.)

[Lanes Lexicon, Book 1, part 7, pg 2657]

Similarly, this word is used in a few Quranic verses and means the same.

فَاِنَّمَا یَسَّرۡنٰہُ بِلِسَانِکَ لِتُبَشِّرَ بِہِ الۡمُتَّقِیۡنَ وَتُنۡذِرَ بِہٖ قَوۡمًا لُّدًّا

So We have made it (the Quran) easy in thy tongue that thou mayest give thereby good tidings to the righteous, and warn thereby a contentious people.

[Quran 19:97]

Who are the قَوۡمًا لُّدًّا (Contentious people)?

The word لُّدًّا (Ludda) is used for the Trinitarian Christians in the above verse and is explained just 5 verses before.

Because they ascribe a son to the Gracious God,

Whereas it becomes not the Gracious God to take unto Himself a son.

[Quran 19:91-92]

Thus, it is the Christians who are the contentious people which indicates that the Dajjal is the manifestation of Satan in the form of Trinitarian Christians at the time of the Messiah.

This is supported by the ahadith of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) where he commands the Muslims to recite the first and last 10 verses of Surah Kahf. These verses describe Dajjal and show us how we can save ourselves from its fitnah. The first ten verses warn us against the fitnah of the Trinitarian Christians.

All praise belongs to Allah Who has sent down the Book to His servant and has not put therein any crookedness.

He has made it a guardian, that it may give warning of a grievous chastisement from Him, and that it may give the believers who do good deeds the glad tidings that they shall have a good reward,

Wherein they shall abide for ever;

And that it may warn those who say, ‘ Allah has taken unto Himself a son.’

No knowledge have they thereof, nor had their fathers. Grievous is the word that comes from their mouths. They speak naught but a lie.

[Quran 18:1-5]

Conclusion

In conclusion, these ahadith prove that the job of the Messiah won’t be to lead people into battle but will establish the truth of Islam via arguments (i.e his writings). He will distribute the wealth of knowledge among the people and no one will accept it. This is also explained by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (A.S) in his book Izala Auham:

This refers to the treasures of wisdom and verities, because the heavenly treasures that are bestowed upon the special servants of God Almighty, which they distribute to the world, are not the worldly riches, but consist entirely of wisdom and verities, as Allah the Almighty says:

يُؤْتِي الْحِكْمَةَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا ۗ (2:270)

 Khair means wealth and in fact pure wealth is the wisdom that has been referred to in the hadith This is the wealth which is a Sign among the signs of the Promised Messiah”

[Ruhani Khazain, vol 3, pg 441-443]

To learn about who the Dajjal is in detail, please check out this article.