Short answer: the Dajjal (al-Masih al-Dajjal, the false messiah, often called the Antichrist) is a man who will appear before the Day of Judgement, claim to be God, and bring a great trial with seeming miracles. He is blind in one eye, and kafir is written between his eyes. He will stay forty days, cannot enter Makkah or Madinah, and will be killed by Isa (Jesus). He is not named in the Quran; everything specific comes from sahih hadith. The Prophet ﷺ taught us to seek refuge from him in every prayer and to memorise the first ten verses of Surah al-Kahf.
Is the Dajjal in the Quran?
Not by name. Scholars give a few reasons why: the Quran mentions the signs of the Hour in general terms, it leaves many details to the Sunnah, and the Dajjal's claim to divinity is answered by the whole Quran's teaching on who Allah is.
Some scholars said he is included in this verse, about "some of the signs of your Lord":
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن تَأْتِيَهُمُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِىَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِىَ بَعْضُ ءَايَٰتِ رَبِّكَ ۗ يَوْمَ يَأْتِى بَعْضُ ءَايَٰتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَٰنُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ ءَامَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِىٓ إِيمَٰنِهَا خَيْرًۭا ۗ قُلِ ٱنتَظِرُوٓا۟ إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ ﴿١٥٨﴾
hal yanzuroona illaaa an taatiyahumul malaaa'ikatu aw yaatiya Rabbuka aw yaatiya ba'du Aayaati Rabbik; yawma yaatee ba'du Aayaati Rabbika laa yanfa'u nafsan eemaanuhaa lam takun aamanat min qablu aw kasabat feee eemaanihaa khairaa; qulin tazirooo innaa muntaziroon
Do they [then] wait for anything except that the angels should come to them or your Lord should come or that there come some of the signs of your Lord? The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good. Say, "Wait. Indeed, we [also] are waiting."
Quran 6:158 · Sahih International · Read Surah Al-Anam
The Prophet ﷺ explained it: "Three things, when they appear, faith will not benefit a soul that did not believe before: the rising of the sun from the west, the Dajjal, and the beast of the earth" (Sahih Muslim 158).
What the sahih hadith say
"There was no prophet except that he warned his nation of the one-eyed liar. Indeed he is one-eyed, and your Lord is not one-eyed. Between his eyes is written kafir."
Sahih al-Bukhari 7131; Sahih Muslim 2933, from Anas ibn Malik
"Between the creation of Adam and the Hour there is no matter greater than the Dajjal."
Sahih Muslim 2946, from Imran ibn Husayn
- His appearance: a young man with thick curly hair, blind in his right eye, which looks like a floating grape (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Ibn Umar). Every believer will be able to read kafir between his eyes, whether he can read or not (Sahih Muslim, from Hudhayfah).
- His trial: he will bring what looks like a paradise and a fire, but his fire is cool water and his paradise is fire (Sahih Muslim 2934, from Hudhayfah). He will order the sky to rain and it will rain, and the earth to grow and it will grow, for those who follow him.
- How long: forty days, one day like a year, one like a month, one like a week, and the rest like ordinary days. When asked about prayer on the day like a year, the Prophet ﷺ said: estimate its time (Sahih Muslim 2937, from al-Nawwas ibn Sam'an).
- Where he cannot go: "There is no land the Dajjal will not enter except Makkah and Madinah", guarded by angels (Sahih al-Bukhari 1881; Sahih Muslim 2943).
- His followers: seventy thousand from the Jews of Isfahan will follow him (Sahih Muslim 2944).
- His end: Isa son of Maryam will descend at the white minaret east of Damascus, pursue him and kill him at the gate of Lud (Lod, in Palestine) (Sahih Muslim 2937).
Tamim al-Dari and the man in chains
In a long hadith, the Prophet ﷺ gathered the people and told them what Tamim al-Dari, a Christian who had become Muslim, had seen. Shipwrecked on an island, Tamim and his companions met a strange creature and a huge man chained in a monastery, who asked about the Prophet ﷺ and said he was the Messiah and would soon be let out. The Prophet ﷺ said this matched what he had been telling them (Sahih Muslim 2942, from Fatimah bint Qays).
Scholars took different views on how this fits with the story of Ibn Sayyad, a boy in Madinah with strange traits whom Umar swore was the Dajjal, and the Prophet ﷺ did not stop him (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). Some said Ibn Sayyad was one of many lesser dajjals (liars); others left the question open. Both reports are sound; the details of how they fit are not certain.
How to be protected from the Dajjal
1. Seek refuge in every prayer
The Prophet ﷺ told us to seek refuge from four things after the tashahhud, before the salam:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ، وَمِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ، وَمِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَاتِ، وَمِنْ شَرِّ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ
Allāhumma innī aʿūdhu bika min ʿadhābi jahannam, wa min ʿadhābil-qabr, wa min fitnatil-maḥyā wal-mamāt, wa min sharri fitnatil-masīḥid-dajjāl
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Hell, from the punishment of the grave, from the trials of life and death, and from the evil of the trial of the Dajjal.
Sahih Muslim 588, from Abu Hurayrah
See it in place on our dua after tashahhud page.
2. Memorise the first ten verses of Surah al-Kahf
"Whoever memorises ten verses from the beginning of Surah al-Kahf will be protected from the Dajjal" (Sahih Muslim 809, from Abu al-Darda). One narration in Muslim says the last ten. Many scholars advise learning both. In the hadith of al-Nawwas, the Prophet ﷺ said: whoever meets him should recite the opening verses of al-Kahf over him.
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَا ۜ ﴿١﴾ قَيِّمًۭا لِّيُنذِرَ بَأْسًۭا شَدِيدًۭا مِّن لَّدُنْهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًۭا ﴿٢﴾ مَّٰكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًۭا ﴿٣﴾ وَيُنذِرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوا۟ ٱتَّخَذَ ٱللَّهُ وَلَدًۭا ﴿٤﴾ مَّا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍۢ وَلَا لِءَابَآئِهِمْ ۚ كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةًۭ تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَٰهِهِمْ ۚ إِن يَقُولُونَ إِلَّا كَذِبًۭا ﴿٥﴾ فَلَعَلَّكَ بَٰخِعٌۭ نَّفْسَكَ عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَٰرِهِمْ إِن لَّمْ يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِهَٰذَا ٱلْحَدِيثِ أَسَفًا ﴿٦﴾ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ زِينَةًۭ لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًۭا ﴿٧﴾ وَإِنَّا لَجَٰعِلُونَ مَا عَلَيْهَا صَعِيدًۭا جُرُزًا ﴿٨﴾ أَمْ حَسِبْتَ أَنَّ أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ وَٱلرَّقِيمِ كَانُوا۟ مِنْ ءَايَٰتِنَا عَجَبًا ﴿٩﴾ إِذْ أَوَى ٱلْفِتْيَةُ إِلَى ٱلْكَهْفِ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةًۭ وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًۭا ﴿١٠﴾
Alhamdu lillaahil lazeee anzala 'alaa 'abdihil kitaaba wa lam yaj'al lahoo 'iwajaa Qaiyimal liyunzira baasan shadeedam mil ladunhu wa yubashshiral mu'mineenal lazeena ya'maloonas saalihaati anna lahum ajran hasanaa Maakiseena feehi abadaa Wa yunziral lazeena qaalut takhazal laahu waladaa Maa lahum bihee min 'ilminw wa laa li aabaaa'ihim; kaburat kalimatan takhruju min afwaahihim; iny yaqooloona illaa kazibaa Fala'allaka baakhi'un nafsaka 'alaaa aasaarihim illam yu;minoo bihaazal hadeesi asafaa Innaa ja'alnaa ma 'alal ardi zeenatal lahaa linabluwahum ayyuhum ahsanu 'amalaa Wa innaa lajaa 'iloona maa 'alaihaa sa'aeedan juruzaa Am hasibta anna Ashaabal Kahfi war Raqeemi kaanoo min Aayaatinaa 'ajabaa Iz awal fityatu ilal Kahfi faqaaloo Rabbanaaa aatinaa mil ladunka rahmatanw wa haiyi' lanaa min amrinaa rashadaa
(1) [All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance. (2) [He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward (3) In which they will remain forever (4) And to warn those who say, "Allah has taken a son." (5) They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak not except a lie. (6) Then perhaps you would kill yourself through grief over them, [O Muhammad], if they do not believe in this message, [and] out of sorrow. (7) Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them [as to] which of them is best in deed. (8) And indeed, We will make that which is upon it [into] a barren ground. (9) Or have you thought that the companions of the cave and the inscription were, among Our signs, a wonder? (10) [Mention] when the youths retreated to the cave and said, "Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance."
Quran 18:1-10 · Sahih International · Read Surah Al-Kahf
Practise them with transliteration and audio on our Surah al-Kahf page.
3. Keep away from him
"Whoever hears of the Dajjal, let him keep far away from him. By Allah, a man will come to him thinking he is a believer, and follow him because of the doubts he raises" (Sunan Abi Dawud 4319, graded sahih by al-Albani).
4. Know your Lord
The simplest test the Prophet ﷺ gave: the Dajjal is one-eyed, and your Lord is not. And "none of you will see his Lord until he dies" (Sahih Muslim, from a Companion of the Prophet ﷺ, in the chapter on the Dajjal). Anyone claiming to be God in this world is a liar. Knowing Allah's names and attributes, and holding to tawheed, is the deepest protection.
Popular claims with no sound basis
- A giant donkey whose ears are forty cubits apart. This comes from weak reports.
- The Dajjal is a system, a technology or a country, not a person. The sahih hadith describe one man, with eyes, hair and a face, who will be killed by Isa. Scholars have said the trials of the age can carry a dajjal-like deception, but the Dajjal himself is a person.
- He is in the Bermuda Triangle, or another named place on the map. Nothing in the hadith supports this.
- Dates and countdowns for his appearance. No authentic text gives a year.
The Prophet ﷺ described thirty lesser liars who would claim prophethood before the Hour (Sahih al-Bukhari 3609; Sahih Muslim 157). The word dajjal is also used for them. That is a reason to be careful with anyone who claims divine status or a new revelation.
Where the Dajjal fits among the signs
The Dajjal is one of the ten major signs of the Hour, with the smoke, the beast, the sun rising from the west, the descent of Isa, Gog and Magog, three landslides and the fire that drives people to their gathering (Sahih Muslim 2901, from Hudhayfah ibn Asid). Most scholars place the Mahdi before him and Isa after him. See the full list on our signs of the Day of Judgement page, and our post on Imam Mahdi.
Questions
What is the Dajjal in Islam?
The Dajjal, al-Masih al-Dajjal, is a false messiah who will appear before the Day of Judgement, claim to be God and work seeming miracles as a trial. He is blind in one eye, kafir is written between his eyes, and Isa will kill him.
Is the Dajjal mentioned in the Quran?
Not by name. Some scholars said he is included in "some of the signs of your Lord" (6:158), as the Prophet ﷺ explained in Sahih Muslim 158. All the details come from sahih hadith.
Which surah protects from the Dajjal?
Surah al-Kahf. Memorising its first ten verses protects from the Dajjal (Sahih Muslim 809). Many also read the whole surah on Fridays.
What is the dua for protection from the Dajjal?
Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min adhabi jahannam, wa min adhabil-qabr, wa min fitnatil-mahya wal-mamat, wa min sharri fitnatil-masihid-dajjal, said after the tashahhud before the salam (Sahih Muslim 588).
How long will the Dajjal stay on earth?
Forty days: one like a year, one like a month, one like a week, and the rest like normal days (Sahih Muslim 2937).
Who will kill the Dajjal?
Isa son of Maryam, who will descend near Damascus and kill him at the gate of Lud (Sahih Muslim 2937).
Sources
- Quran 6:158, 18:1-10. Translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1881, 3609, 7131; Sahih Muslim 157, 158, 588, 809, 2901, 2933, 2934, 2937, 2942, 2943, 2944, 2946. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Ibn Umar (his appearance) and on Ibn Sayyad.
- Sunan Abi Dawud 4319, graded sahih by al-Albani.
- Al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fitan; Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari, Kitab al-Fitan, on Ibn Sayyad and the hadith of Tamim. Ibn Kathir, al-Nihayah fi al-Fitan wa al-Malahim.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.