Qissat al-Masih al-Dajjal
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Islāmiyyah
Qissat al-Masih al-Dajjal wa-Nuzul ‘Isa wa-Qatluhu Iyyahu (The Story of the False Messiah, the Descent of Jesus, and His Slaying Him) is an eschatological hadith monograph by the modern hadith scholar Nasir al-Din al-Albani (1332–1420 AH / 1914–1999 CE) . The work gathers, authenticates, and harmonizes prophetic narrations regarding the emergence of the Antichrist (al-Masih al-Dajjal), the physical descent of Jesus (‘Isa ibn Maryam), and Jesus's ultimate defeat of the Dajjal .
Background and Purpose
Al-Albani composed the treatise to reaffirm orthodox Sunni creed regarding major portents of the Day of Resurrection, asserting that the reports detailing the Dajjal and the return of Jesus are mutawatir (mass-transmitted) and obligatory to believe in . He cited two primary motivations for writing the book:
- The emergence of skepticism among certain modern Muslim intellectuals and university graduates regarding the physical descent of Jesus and the killing of the Dajjal, including claims that these traditions are solitary (ahad) reports or figures of speech—a position al-Albani traced critically to modernists such as Muhammad Abduh, who allegorized the descent of Jesus as the spiritual spread of peace and mercy .
- The prevailing silence across Muslim communities and pulpits concerning the trial of the Dajjal, which al-Albani noted as matching the warning recorded in the Zawa'id of Musnad Ahmad that the Dajjal appears when people forget to mention him and when imams abandon referencing him upon the minbars .
Structure and Methodology
The work is organized around the lengthy narrative reported by the Companion Abu Umamah al-Bahili . While acknowledging that the chain of transmission (isnad) of Abu Umamah's single comprehensive report contains weakness, al-Albani observed that nearly every one of its constituent sentences is authenticated through corroborating channels (shawahid) traced back to more than forty Companions .
The treatise is arranged into distinct sections:
- Introductory Analysis: Examining the theological status and mutawatir nature of eschatological hadiths .
- Segmented Text of Abu Umamah: Dividing Abu Umamah's narration into 49 sequentially numbered units, followed by initial documentation .
- Detailed Hadith Criticism (Takhrij): Analyzing every single unit with extensive cross-referencing to early collections (such as the Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Sunan compilations, and the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal), verifying transmitters, and identifying supporting reports .
- Composite Narrative: Assembling a single reconstructed chronicle in which Abu Umamah's base text is combined with authentic additions from other Companions enclosed in brackets, complete with shorthand bibliographic letter symbols pointing to their respective primary hadith sources .
Publication
The book was published posthumously by the author's heirs in collaboration with al-Maktabah al-Islamiyyah in Amman, Jordan, with its first edition appearing in Rabi‘ al-Akhar 1421 AH (2000 CE) as a single volume spanning 166 pages .
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