Dajjal, Signs of the Hour and the End Times

Islamic eschatology divides the signs of the Hour into minor signs, which unfold gradually across history, and major signs, which occur in sequence near the end.

Minor signs

Reported in Bukhari, Muslim and the Shia collections: the sending of the Prophet himself as the first sign, the spread of ignorance despite widespread literacy, the loss of trustworthiness, competition in tall buildings among former shepherds, widespread killing without cause, the disappearance of scholars, treating interest as normal, and time seeming to pass faster.

Dajjal

al-Masih al-Dajjal — the false messiah. The reports describe a one-eyed figure with kafir written between his eyes, readable by any believer; a claimant to divinity who travels the earth rapidly, carrying what appears to be paradise and fire, water and drought. He will deceive by spectacle and dominate through resources. The Prophet said no trial greater has existed since Adam, taught the isti'adhah from the trial of Dajjal in every prayer's final sitting, and prescribed memorising the first (or last) ten verses of Surah al-Kahf as protection. He will not enter Makkah or Madinah.

Isa ibn Maryam

Jesus descends near the white minaret east of Damascus, breaks the cross, abolishes the jizyah, kills Dajjal at the gate of Ludd, and rules by the Qur'an. Sunni, Shia and Salafi sources agree, and Shia sources add that he prays behind Imam Mahdi — a report also found in Sunni collections.

Other major signs

Ya'juj and Ma'juj; the emergence of the Beast; the rising of the sun from the west, after which repentance is no longer accepted; three landslides; the smoke; and finally the fire that drives people to their place of gathering.

Reading these reports responsibly

Three cautions apply across all schools:

1. No date-setting. "None knows its timing but He" (7:187).
2. No political mapping. Every generation has identified its enemies as Dajjal or Ya'juj, and every generation so far has been wrong.
3. Preparation, not prediction. The point of the reports is moral readiness: the Prophet's advice to one who lives to see Dajjal is to flee from him, not to hunt him.

References across the schools

• Qur'an: 7:187, 18:83–99, 27:82, 43:61, 44:10, 54:1.
• Sunni: Sahih Muslim 2937 (the long hadith of Tamim al-Dari and al-Jassasah), 2901 (the ten major signs); Sahih al-Bukhari 7131.
• Shia: al-Saduq, Kamal al-Din; al-Nu'mani, al-Ghaybah; Bihar al-Anwar vol. 52.
• Salafi/Wahhabi: Ibn Kathir, al-Nihayah fi al-Fitan wa'l-Malahim; Ibn Uthaymin on the signs of the Hour.