Answer
Short Answer:
- To begin with, Mahdi in Arabic means “Guided One”, while Dajjal means “deceiver”. These are titles of individuals who will appear towards the end of times, with completely opposite characters as their meanings imply.
- Imam Mahdi is from the Prophet’s descendants and he will appear at a time when there will be lots of oppression in the world, especially against believers.
- He will rule for seven prosperous years, which will be filled with justice and abundance. He will prepare an army against the Antichrist.
- And Jesus the son of Mary (peace be upon them) will appear during his rule and they will work together to defeat the Dajjal and his army.
Salam,
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
To begin with, Mahdi in Arabic means “Guided One”, while Dajjal means “deceiver”. These are titles of individuals who will appear towards the end of times, with completely opposite characters as their meanings imply.
Is Mahdi In Islam The Antichrist In Christianity?
I also want to initially confirm that what you have heard is not true since the word “Mahdi” is not mentioned in any Christian literature. The word “Antichrist” is mentioned only four times in three verses in the entire Bible, all in the Gospel according to John, the King James Version in John 2:18, 2:22, and 4:3.
These verses are simply saying that the Antichrist will be coming as a sign of the Hour and those who disbelieve act as antichrists.
Who is Imam Mahdi?
Now from an Islamic perspective, let us explain who Imam Mahdi is? And who is the Dajjal.
Notice that I have added the additional title of Imam, meaning religious leader, to the original title of Mahdi since he is considered a God-guided leader who will lead the Muslims to victory.
In brief, Imam Mahdi is from the Prophet’s descendants and he will appear at a time when there will be lots of oppression in the world, especially against believers.
He will rule for seven prosperous years, which will be filled with justice and abundance. He will prepare an army against the Antichrist.
Jesus will Defeat The Dajjal
And Jesus the son of Mary (peace be upon them) will appear during his rule and they will work together to defeat the Dajjal and his army.
Eventually, Jesus (peace be upon him) will kill the Dajjal. From the authentic hadith, this is what we know about Imam Mahdi:
Narrated Abu Sa’id al-Khudri:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The Mahdi will be of my family, and will have a broad forehead and a prominent nose. He will fill the earth will equity and justice as it was filled with oppression and tyranny, and he will rule for seven years. (Abu Dawud)
Abu Nadra reported:
[…] Jabir b. Abdullah kept quiet for a while and then reported Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) having said there would be a caliph in the last (period) of my Ummah who would freely give handfuls of wealth to the people without counting it. I said to Abu Nadra and Abu al-‘Ala: Do you mean ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-Aziz? They said: No (he would be Imam Mahdi). (Muslim)
There are also other ahadith with similar meanings.
Who is The Dajjal?
Concerning Dajjal, there are lots of authentic ahadith and this is what we are told:
Ibn Umar reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) made a mention of Dajjal in the presence of the people and said:
Allah is not one-eyed and behold that Dajjal is blind of the right eye and his eye would be like a floating grape. (Muslim)
Anas b. Malik reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
There would be written three letters k. f. r., i. e. Kafir (disbeliever), between the eyes of the Dajjal. (Muslim)
Anas b. Malik reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
The Dajjal would be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing Persian shawls. (Muslim)
Narrated Umm Sharik that:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “The people will flee from the Dajjal such that they will go to the mountains.” Umm Sharik said: “O Messenger of Allah! Where will the Arabs be that day?” He said: “They will be few.” (At-Tirmidhi)
It was narrated from ‘Aishah that:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from the torment of the grave and the tribulation of the Dajjal, and he said: “You will be tried in your graves.” (Ibn Majah)
There are many more hadiths about the Dajjal with the same information as above but with slightly different wordings.
Imam Mahdi and Dajjal are completely opposite personalities
We can clearly conclude that Imam Mahdi and Dajjal are completely opposite personalities; one representing good while the other representing evil. Therefore, they can never be the same person and no one has ever said that they were; at least not from a religious perspective.
Of course, anyone may claim anything (falsehood) to deceive people. Our duty is to ignore those people and look for authentic sources about the religion we are trying to learn.
I hope this helps answer your question.
Salam and please keep in touch.
(From Ask About Islam Archives)
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