Assalaamu alaykum. I have a query and hope you can help. If the Dajjaal (Anti-Christ) is human and has the attributes of human beings and also belong to the religion of the Jews, then why did Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, say that every Messenger warned his nation against his tribulations, and why did Allaah create him from the first day, and how can a human live on earth for this very long time, all the way back from Adam, peace be upon him, till now without nutrition given that he is a human? Or is he not?

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 is His slave and Messenger.

The Dajjaal (Anti-Christ) is a man from among the humans by whom Allah will test His slaves in the same manner that He tests them with other evils, such as the devil, the disbelievers, earthquakes, and tribulations.

Some of the Dajjaal’s descriptions were mentioned in the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet and among that is the fact that he is a human being.

The Prophet said about the Dajjaal, “A man with a huge body, red complexion, curly hair, and he is blind in the right eye which looks like a swollen grape.” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]

Moreover, Ibn ‘Abbaas narrated that the Prophet mentioned the Dajjaal and said, “He is a one-eyed man with a fair complexion. His head is like a snake’s head. Among your men, the one who resembles him most is Abdul-`Uzza ibn Qatan.” [Ahmad]

Shaykh Al-Albaani said in his book Silsilat-ul-Ahadeeth As-Saheehah, after mentioning this hadeeth, “The hadeeth is explicit in that the Dajjaal is a human being, which is evidence of the invalidity of their interpretation that he is not a person and that he is a symbol of European civilization and its ornaments and temptations; rather, the Dajjaal is a human being, and his tribulation is far greater than that.”

As for the wisdom behind the fact that the Prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, warned their people against the Fitnah (temptation/tribulation) of the Dajjaal, then this is due to the enormity of his Fitnah so that the faith of the believers would not be shaken if the Dajjaal appeared to them.

Ibn Hajar said in Fat-h Al-Baari:

“Some found it hard to understand why Nooh (Noah) warned his people against the Dajjaal while the ahaadeeth stated that he will emerge after certain signs that were mentioned, that ‘Eesa (Jesus) will kill him after he descends from the heavens, and that he (Jesus) will rule with the legislation of Muhammad . The answer to this is that the time of his emergence was kept hidden from Nooh and those who came after him, so they warned their peoples against him but were not told the exact time of his emergence. This is supported by the saying of the Prophet to his Companions in some narrations, ‘If he comes out while I am alive amongst you, then I will defend and protect you (against him).’ This is interpreted to mean that he said it before he was informed [by revelation] about the time of the Dajjaal’s emergence and the signs for that. So it was possible that the Dajjaal would emerge during his life but then he was later informed about the signs and time of his emergence, so he informed his Companions about this. It is in this manner that the narrations could be reconciled.

Ibn Al-‘Arabi said, ‘The Prophets warning their people about the Dajjaalis a warning against tribulations and a reassurance for them so that their sound belief would not be shaken by his Fitnah. Similarly, the implication in the statement of the Prophet that the Fitnah of the Dajjaal is near is an emphasis in warning, and he pointed out that if they would remain steadfast in their faith, then they would repel the misconceptions with certainty.’”

As for the issue of how it is possible for a human being to live such a long time, then the Sunnah reported that Tameem Ad-Daari, may Allah be pleased with him, saw the Dajjaal, but there is no evidence that he has been alive ever since Allah created Aadam (Adam) . The fact that the Prophets warned their people against him does not mean that he was alive at their time, as we mentioned above.

Shaykh Al-Albaani was asked about the hadeeth of Al-Jassaasah (the Anti-Christ's spy), which stated that Tameem Ad-Daari saw the Anti-Christ, and the following is the text of the question:

Is this hadeeth [of Al-Jassaasah] authentic? Does it contradict some other ahaadeeth?

He replied:

“The hadeeth of Al-Jassaasah is authentic, and there is nothing in it that contradicts other authentic ahaadeeth, but it includes some details which were not mentioned in some authentic ahaadeeth and that will happen someday, and some of it has already happened … The hadeeth of Al-Jassaasah is authentic, without a doubt, for the following two reasons:

1- It was reported by Muslim in his Saheeh.

2- We did not find in its chain of narrators any narrator whose trustworthiness is criticized.”

Shaykh Al-Albaani replied about the hadeeth that reads, “None of the people who are alive today will be alive after one hundred years,” saying, “There is no general statement except that it is specified, and this hadeeth is an example ... except when there is a text that makes an exception to it.”

Shaykh Al-Albaani also said in his book entitled The Story of the Antichrist, “Know that this story is authentic that and it was reported by Tawaatur (contiguous transmission), and it was not reported by Tameem Ad-Daari alone … it was also reported by Abu Hurayrah, ‘Aa’ishah, and Jaabir, as will be mentioned afterwards.”

For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 290662.

Allah knows best.