Thread by @aaolomi

Islam like Christianity and Judaism postulates an end of days. While there is some similarities there are also clear difference.

In Islamic eschatology the dajjal is an anti-Christ like figure at the center of the turbulence at the end

A thread on the dajjal

Known as Al Masih ad Dajjal, or the deceiver, he’s a mysterious figure that is said to arrive at the end of days and herald in great calamity

He’s said to vaguely come from the East somewhere between Syria and Iran and gather many followers

The dajjal will be accompanied by an army of shaiytan or devil-like djinn, some even accuse him of being a devil.

And he will work miracles

It is even said in some interpretations he will have his own version of heaven and hell, promising reward to those who follow him and punishing those who refuse

He is described as one-eyed, bulky, reddish or whitish skin, and marked upon his forehead that the believers can identity him.

He will wreck chaos throughout the earth but will be unable to enter Mecca or Medina

His reign of terror will come to an end with the arrival of Jesus who will battle the dajjal alongside the Mehdi and defeat him

In some interpretations, the dajjal is a sort of shadow of Jesus, an empty imitation. People will declare their belief in dajjal despite the overt ways he’s unlike Jesus.

In one interesting vision, Jesus is described as tall, circling the Kaaba in Mecca

The dajjal is described as squat with an awkward gait following Jesus as a skulking shadow

This comparison is driven home by the claim that the mere glance of Jesus will destroy the dajjal melting him away as a candle.

One understanding of the dajjal indicates that he is actually the final dajjal to appear and that many other deceivers will precede him

Another approach views the dajjal as more allegorical. For example equating the dajjal not with a single person but the rise of false nations and groups. Some have even linked European colonialism as false nations spreading havoc as a dajjal

In the metaphoric interpretation of the dajjal the battle between good and evil, between truth and falsehood is not a physical war but of a battle of competing ideas, a global debate so to speak

The metaphoric or allegorical approach to dajjal is usually not considered a mainstream interpretation but speaks to the contested ideas and ambiguities in Islamic eschatology.

Many of the ideas of the dajjal and the specifics of the end of days come from outside the Quran

The Hadith and later interpreters would explore and expand the Muslim understanding of the dajjal and the narrative of the end of days

Recently Netflix’s The Messiah caused a stir when it named its titular character Al Masih ad Dajjal.

The show’s writers clearly did some basic superficial research—just enough to exotify their character and theology.

The differences are also clear; no one eye and cheek bones for days. The twist at the end also belies a different narrative arc than the dajjal of Islamic eschatology.

The character is a composite character, drawing together bits and pieces with a lot of creative glue

The result is an interesting story with familiar elements and some weird exotified and orientalist elements. They could have used some expert consulting

But who knows, maybe Netflix was the dajjal all along (jk)

I’ll be exploring Islamic eschatology and cosmology further with a thread on heaven and hell soon