The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessing be upon him) mentioned the Anti-Christ one morning, (sometimes describing him) to be insignificant and at other times important, till we thought that he might be amidst a cluster of date-palms

An-Nawwās ibn Sam‘ān (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessing be upon him) mentioned the Anti-Christ one morning, (sometimes describing him) to be insignificant and at other times important, till we thought that he might be amidst a cluster of date-palms. We departed from the presence of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) but returned shortly after. He noticed that (concern) in us. So he said: "What is the matter with you?" We said: "O Messenger of Allah, you mentioned the Anti-Christ this morning, belittling him and mentioning his importance, till we thought that he might be amidst a cluster of the date-palms." He said: "It is not the Anti-Christ that I fear for you; if he were to appear while I am in the midst of you, then I will be his adversary on your behalf. And if he appears while I am not among you, then each man will have to fend for himself. Allah will take care of every Muslim after me. He is young, with curly hair, and his eyes protruding. I compare him to ‘Abd al-‘Uzza ibn Qatān. If anyone of you sees him, let him recite the initial verses of Sūrat al-Kahf. He will appear from what is between the Levant and Iraq, causing devastation toward the right and toward the left. O worshipers of Allah! Hold fast!" We said: "O Messenger of Allah, how long will he linger on the earth?" He said: "Forty days, a day like a year, a day like a month, a day like a week, and the remainder of his days are like your days." We said: "O Messenger of Allah, do you think that during the day that is like a year, the prayer of one day will be sufficient for us?" He said: "No; you will have to estimate it." We said: "O Messenger of Allah, how fast will he move on the earth?" He said: "Like a rain storm driven by the wind. He will come upon a people and call them, and they will deny him and reject his claims. Then he will leave them, and their wealth will follow him. They will awaken in the morning with nothing left. Then he will come upon a people and call them, and they will respond to him, believing in him. So he will order the heavens to bring rain, and it will rain, and he will order the land to sprout, and it will sprout. Their cattle will return to them with their coats the longest, their udders the fullest, and their stomachs the fattest. Then he will come upon some ruins, saying to it: ‘Bring me your treasures!’ He will turn to leave it, and it will follow him like drone bees. Then he will call a young man, full of youth, and he will strike him with the sword, cutting him into two pieces. Then he will call him, and he will come forward with his face beaming and laughing. So while he is doing that, ‘Īsa, the son of Mariyam (peace be upon him), will descend in eastern Damascus at the white minaret, wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two angels. When he lowers his head, drops fall of it, and when raises it, gems like pearls drop from him. His breath will not reach any disbeliever but that he will die, and his breath will reach as far as his sight. So he will pursue him (the Anti-Christ) and will catch up with him at the gate of Ludd, where he will kill him. Then people whom Allah will have protected will come to ‘Īsa, the son of Mariyam, and he will wipe their faces and inform them of their ranks in Paradise, it will be under such conditions that Allah will reveal to him: ‘I have brought forth from among My slaves such people against whom none will be able to fight; you take these people safely to At-Tūr.’ Then Allah will send Gog and Magog, and they will swarm down from every mound. The first of them will pass by the lake of Tiberias and drink out of it. And when the last of them will pass, he will say: ‘There was once water there.’ ‘Īsa and his companions will then be besieged there (and they will be so hard pressed) that the head of an ox will be dearer to one of them than one hundred dinars is to one of you today. Prophet ‘Īsa and his companions will supplicate Allah, Who will send to them insects which will attack their (Gog and Magog) necks, and in the morning they will perish like one single person. Prophet ‘Īsa and his companions will then come down to the earth (from the mountain they were on), and they will not find on the earth as much space as a single span that is not filled with their putrefaction and stench. Prophet ‘Īsa and his companions will then again beseech Allah, Who will send birds whose necks will be like those of Bactrian camels, and they will carry them and throw them where Allah wills. Then Allah will send rain which no house of clay or hair will keep out, and it will wash the earth until it will appear like a mirror. Then the earth will be told to bring forth its fruit and restore its blessing and, as a result thereof, a group of persons will be able to eat from one pomegranate and seek shelter under its skin, and a cow will give so much milk that a whole party will be able to drink it. And a camel will give so much milk that a whole tribe will be able to drink from it, and sheep will give so much milk that a whole family will be able to drink from it; and at that time, Allah will send a pleasant wind which will soothem even under their armpits, and it will take the life of every Muslim, and only the wicked people will survive, and they will commit adultery like monkeys, and those are the people to whom the Last Hour will come."

Attribution: Narrated by Muslim

Grade: Authentic hadith