Assalaamu alaykum. I want to know why the Dajjaal's (Antichrist) name is not mentioned in the Quran? Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, mentioned in a hadith that he is the biggest Fitnah (temptation, tribulation) for the children of Adam, peace be upon him, so what is the wisdom behind not mentioning the biggest Fitnah in the Quran? Gog and Magog are mentioned but not the Dajjaal; why is that? Wassalaam.

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

Firstly, it should be noted that there is no mention in the Quran of a criterion for what is to be mentioned and what is not of the signs of the Hour, the horrors of the Day of Resurrection, and the like. Therefore, there is no problematic aspect in this regard to begin with. It is incorrect to say: why was such and such not mentioned although it is a stronger Fitnah (tribulation)? And why was such and such not mentioned although it causes greater harm?

However, if we try to find the difference between the Dajjaal (Antichrist) and Gog and Magog, we come to realize that the first is a Fitnah to people's religiosity and faith but will not cause the destruction of the earth or affect people's lives. On the contrary, Gog and Magog shall cause evident harm on people's lives, as they will destroy everything in their way; however, no one will turn to disbelief because of them. This is why Prophet ‘Eesa (Jesus), may Allah exalt his mention, who will kill the Dajjaal, will not be able to fight Gog and Magog.

An-Nawwaas ibn Sam‘aan, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “...Then a people whom Allah will have protected from him (the Dajjaal) will come to Jesus, and he will wipe their faces and inform them of their ranks in Paradise, and it is under such conditions that Allah will reveal these words to Jesus: 'I have brought forth from amongst My servants such people against whom none will be able to fight...'” [Muslim]

If we assumed that the Quran assigns greater care to mentioning the signs of the Hour pertaining to the change in the universe and impeding people’s lives on earth than the care that it assigns to the Fitnah affecting their religiosity, then mentioning Gog and Magog would be given precedence over mentioning the Dajjaal.

Moreover, the Dajjaal will appear before Gog and Magog are let loose. The reference to them in the Quran comes in a verse that highlights the last signs after which the Hour shall immediately come; Allah, The Exalted, says (what means): {Until when (the dam of) Gog and Magog has been opened and they, from every elevation, descend; and (when) the true promise has approached; then suddenly the eyes of those who disbelieved will be staring (in horror, while they say): O woe to us; we had been unmindful of this; rather, we were wrongdoers.} [Quran 21:96-97]

Ibn ‘Aadil wrote:

“The conjunction 'and' in the verse: {and the true promise has approached} is additional; i.e. the verse means: Until when (the dam of) Gog and Magog has been opened, the true promise has approached, this is similar to the verse in which Allah says (what means): {And when they had both submitted and he put him down upon his forehead, and we called to him...} [Quran 37:103-104] The verse means: When they had both submitted....., We called to him. This interpretation is reinforced by the words of Huthayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, reading, ‘If a man bought a foal after Gog and Magog are let out, he will not be able to ride it before the Hour comes.’” [Al-Lubaab]

As for the other verse in which Gog and Magog are mentioned, it was part of the story of Thul-Qarnayn and was not specifically about them.

Another reason worthy of highlighting here is that Allah, The Exalted, decreed that the Dajjaal will not appear until people have forgotten him. Raashid ibn Sa‘d narrated:

“When Istakhar (a province of persia) was conquered, a caller proclaimed, 'Be aware that the Dajjaal has appeared!' As-Sa‘b ibn Jaththaamah, may Allah be pleased with him, met them and said, 'Why are you saying this? I heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, say, 'The Dajjaal will not appear until the people neglect to talk about him and until the imaams abandon mentioning him on the pulpits.''” [Narrated by Abdullah, the son of Imaam Ahmad, in Zawaa'id Al-Musnad] Ibn Katheer said about it, “Its chain of narration is hasan (good).” Also, Al-Albaani graded it saheeh (sound).

Therefore, it was more appropriate that the Dajjaal would not be explicitly mentioned in the Quran. However, the Quran implicitly hinted to him, as in the verse: {The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good...} [Quran 6:158] These signs are the Dajjaal, the rising of the sun from the west, and the beast. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “When three things appear, believing will not benefit one who had not previously believed or had derived no good from his faith: the rising of the sun from its place of setting, the Dajjaal, and the beast of the earth.” [Muslim: Marfoo’ (i.e. attributed to the Prophet ]

Moreover, Allah, The Exalted, says (what means): {The creation of the heavens and earth is greater than the creation of people, but most of the people do not know.} [Quran 40:57] Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “{Greater than the creation of people} means: greater than the creation of the Dajjaal.” [Tanweer Al-Miqbaas min Tafseer Ibn ‘Abbaas]

Al-Qurtubi, Al-Maawardi, and Ash-Shawkaani cited the following statement of Abu Al-‘Aaliyah in their Tafseer (exegesis) books, “It means that the creation of the heavens and earth is greater than the creation of the Dajjaal, whom the Jews thought to be too great a creation.”

There are other statements regarding the reasons for not explicitly mentioning the Dajjaal in the Quran, but we shall settle for what we have mentioned above.

Allah knows best.