How do Muslims reconcile verses 80-87 of surah 56 with the Dajjaal (Antichrist) bringing back the dead since revelation, in his case a hadith, cannot contradict another part of revelation, the Quran?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

First of all, it should be mentioned that the confirmed sharee'ah evidence in the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, do not contradict each other in reality. If there is some kind of contradiction, as it would appear to us, then this is due to our misunderstanding, and it is not a real contradiction.

Therefore, to answer your question, we would say that, in general, the people who died do not return alive but that it could be that some of them sometimes return with the permission of Allaah for a wisdom that Allaah willed. Among that is what was confirmed about ‘Eesa (Jesus) that he revived the dead by the Will of Allaah, and what was reported about the Antichrist sometimes as a test for the believers.

You should know that there is no evidence, as far as we know, on the absolute ability of the Antichrist in resurrecting the dead. What was confirmed is that he will kill a young believer and then resurrect him, but then he wants to kill him again, and he will be unable to do so.

Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported:

“Ad-Dajjaal (the Antichrist) will come, and it will be forbidden for him to pass through the entrances of Madeenah. He will land in some of the salty barren areas outside Madeenah. On that day, the best man or one of the best men will come up to him and say, I testify that you are the same Dajjaal whose description was given to us by the Prophet of Allaah.’ Ad-Dajjaal will say to the people, ‘If I kill this man and bring him back to life again, will you doubt my claim?’ They will say, ‘No.’ Then Ad-Dajjaal will kill that man and bring him back to life. That man will say, ‘Now, I know your reality better than before.’ Ad-Dajjaal will try to kill him but will not be able to do so.’”

It was also reported that the Dajjaal seeks the help of the devils so that they would appear in the images of some dead people so that people would think that he resurrected them while in reality he did not do so.

As-Saffaareeni said:

“It was confirmed that the Antichrist does not kill except for one man only. This man, who is a handsome man, will come out to him and the Antichrist will say to him, ‘Will you believe in me as God?’ So that man will tell him, ‘You damn liar, you are the accursed;’ so the Antichrist will kill him and split him into two halves, and then he will walk between his two halves with his donkey. Then he will tell him, ‘Become alive again with my permission,’ and that man will become alive. The Antichrist will then ask him after that, ‘Do you believe in me?’ That man will say, ‘I am now certain that you are the accursed...’”

If you ask how it is said that he does not kill except for one person whereas it was reported in the hadeeth by Huthayfah that there are many men with the Antichrist whom he will kill and then bring back to life, then the answer is that these men are but devils (in human form), and him killing them and reviving them is what appears to our eyes but not in reality, but killing that one man is true.

Allaah knows best.