We are in the 9th year of the Hijrah. And again, we are coming to the end of the seerah — there isn't that much left to discuss.
The 9th year is actually called the Am al-Wufud (عام الوفود - Year of Delegations). There are however two things to note:
1) Although we are discussing the Year of Delegations now in the 9th year —as is customary in seerah literature— it's worth noting that the [receiving of] delegations did not occur just in the 9th year after Tabuk. Rather, it actually began probably around the Battle of Ahzab in the 5th year, and lasted to the very last month of the life of the Prophet PBUH. There are plenty of delegations mentioned in Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham, Ibn Sa'd's Tabaqat, al-Maghazi of al-Waqidi, etc., and later scholars built on these classical books, so these days, we have in-depth dissertations on the delegations of the Prophet PBUH: One of them is by Abu Turab al-Zahiri (أبو تراب الظاهري) (d. 2002 CE), an Indian scholar who wrote a 250-page book on the delegations, and it has now become the standard reference for any and all delegations. The point is that there were many delegations and they occurred over a long period, but to pause every time and talk about one tribe at a time would be repetitive, so this is why scholars lump them all after Tabuk, as we are doing now.
2) Most of us are not familiar with the tribes [that sent delegations], so there is no point in going over each of their stories (and this is why no standard book of tafsir lists the delegations, because it simply gets boring). So what we will do is illustrate the symptomatic by mentioning maybe 10 or 15 examples — which make up only 10% of the actual amount of delegations received.
1) Although we are discussing the Year of Delegations now in the 9th year —as is customary in seerah literature— it's worth noting that the [receiving of] delegations did not occur just in the 9th year after Tabuk. Rather, it actually began probably around the Battle of Ahzab in the 5th year, and lasted to the very last month of the life of the Prophet PBUH. There are plenty of delegations mentioned in Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham, Ibn Sa'd's Tabaqat, al-Maghazi of al-Waqidi, etc., and later scholars built on these classical books, so these days, we have in-depth dissertations on the delegations of the Prophet PBUH: One of them is by Abu Turab al-Zahiri (أبو تراب الظاهري) (d. 2002 CE), an Indian scholar who wrote a 250-page book on the delegations, and it has now become the standard reference for any and all delegations. The point is that there were many delegations and they occurred over a long period, but to pause every time and talk about one tribe at a time would be repetitive, so this is why scholars lump them all after Tabuk, as we are doing now.
2) Most of us are not familiar with the tribes [that sent delegations], so there is no point in going over each of their stories (and this is why no standard book of tafsir lists the delegations, because it simply gets boring). So what we will do is illustrate the symptomatic by mentioning maybe 10 or 15 examples — which make up only 10% of the actual amount of delegations received.
Q: If the [receiving of] delegations didn't just occur in the 9th year, why then is it called the Year of Delegations?
A: Because it was in the 9th year that the frequency of delegations reached its height.
What is a delegation? It is when a tribe sends a representative to negotiate with the Prophet PBUH. Delegation doesn't necessarily mean they are embracing Islam. It simply means some negotiation is done — yes, some willingly came to embrace Islam, but others might hesitate and wait; some groups were hypocrites who were just pretending to embrace Islam, and as soon as the Prophet PBUH died, they left Islam; then there were those who openly said, "We are not going to be Muslim, but let's have a peace treaty"; and we also had another extreme that is delegations of threat.
The point is that the 9th year is the year in which delegations became so frequent that the entire year is called the Year of Delegations. After the Conquest of Makkah —and especially after Tabuk when the Muslims by default won since the other side didn't show up— it sealed the fate for the rest of the Arabs. Why? Because if there was any capital of Arabia, it was Makkah; and if there was a primary tribe, it was the Quraysh; so with Makkah conquered and the Quraysh subjugated, there was no more rallying force against the Muslims. The rest of the tribes knew they could not put up a fight. Of course, they tried to in Ahzab and others under the Quraysh, but that didn't work. So with the Conquest of Makkah, Hunayn, and the Battle of Tabuk, it's a done deal. Either the tribes embrace Islam or they make a peace treaty or they go into all-out war.
By the way, at this stage, you were allowed to be a pagan in Arabia — in the 6th, 7th, 8th year, you were allowed via a peace treaty. But in the 9th year, that's when the announcement came when the first verses of Surah al-Tawba were revealed where Allah basically says, "After four months, you have to leave." The point is, in this year, because of the changes in the political landscape, the surrounding tribes had to embrace Islam or negotiate, and that is why this year is called the Year of Delegations.
We will discuss around 15 delegations — ones from which we can derive benefits. We begin with the delegation of Abd al-Qays:
By the way, at this stage, you were allowed to be a pagan in Arabia — in the 6th, 7th, 8th year, you were allowed via a peace treaty. But in the 9th year, that's when the announcement came when the first verses of Surah al-Tawba were revealed where Allah basically says, "After four months, you have to leave." The point is, in this year, because of the changes in the political landscape, the surrounding tribes had to embrace Islam or negotiate, and that is why this year is called the Year of Delegations.
We will discuss around 15 delegations — ones from which we can derive benefits. We begin with the delegation of Abd al-Qays:
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The Tribe of Abd al-Qays:
"Tell Us Something That Will Cause Us to Enter Jannah"
The tribe of Abd al-Qays (عبد القيس) lived in the area of Bahrain. (Side note: Bahrain back then was not just the island, it also included what we now call Dammam, Dhahran, etc.; and when the seerah talks about Bahrain, it's talking about the land close to the island, which we now call the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.) Many of the people of the tribe of Abd al-Qays were Christians, and some were pagans — so there was a mixture. They sent two delegations. The first was in the 5th year of the Hijrah (and this is considered to be perhaps the first-ever delegation that the Prophet PBUH received), then the tribe sent a second delegation in the 9th year, i.e., the Year of Delegations. Why is this significant? It's said that the tribe was the first tribe outside the Hejaz to accept Islam voluntarily. Therefore, this is a great matter of honor for this tribe. And what is especially significant for us is that, we learn that in the 5th year of the Hijrah, a tribe near the borders of Persia, they have heard of Islam — the Message has reached them, they are interested, and so they send representatives.
It's mentioned that the Prophet PBUH was once giving a khutbah, and he prophesied, "Soon, a delegation will come to you, and they are the best people from the east." So in a day or two, Umar RA was in the marketplace when he saw a group of delegates arrive as the Prophet PBUH prophesied. He jumped up, rejoiced, and said to them, "I give you the good news! For the Prophet PBUH said you are the best people from the east!" And all of the delegates rushed to meet the Prophet PBUH, except for the youngest among them whose nickname was Ashaj Abd al-Qays (أشج عبد القيس - the Wounded One From the Tribe of Abd al-Qays), who then became a famous sahabi.
Ashaj stayed behind, cleansed himself, took a bath, wore some good garments, put on perfume, and then he went to meet the Prophet PBUH. In other words, he took the time to prepare himself and then came. And when he came, the Prophet PBUH said to him, "O Ashaj, you have two characteristics that Allah and His Messenger love." Ashaj said what is that? The Prophet PBUH replied, "Al-hilm (الحلم - forbearance, i.e., you can control your temper) and al-anat (الأناة - staidness/patience/calm and collected, i.e., you don't act hastily)." This is a very famous hadith that occurred in this story in the 5th year. And Ashaj asked, "These two characteristics, have I developed them or did Allah implant them in me?"—he is a very intelligent man; look at his question. The Prophet PBUH said, "No, Allah implanted them in you." So Ashaj responded —and look at his response; what an intelligent man—: "All praise be to Allah who has implanted in me characteristics that He loves."
Then the delegates said, "Ya Rasulullah, between us and you is the tribe of Mudar, a pagan tribe, and they are fighting us, so we can only come to you in the Sacred Months (i.e., we won't be able to come until next year) — so tell us something that will cause us to enter Jannah and we can teach our people when we go back." Clearly, this is an intelligent tribe; they are asking the right questions. This hadith is in Bukhari and Muslim so it is fully authentic, and it's a very famous hadith that has a lot of theological implications: The Prophet PBUH responded, "I command you to have Iman in Allah — and do you know what is Iman in Allah? That you say the shahada, you pray the prayers, you fast Ramadan, and you pay zakat." And he PBUH stopped there — he didn't mention Hajj because it's the 5th year of the Hijrah and there is no Hajj.
Why is this a theological hadith? Because he said, "Do you know what is Iman?" and then he listed the Pillars of Islam. So he defined Iman with the same definition of Islam that is found in the hadith of Jibril AS. This is why the hadith is very deeply discussed, i.e., what is Iman, what is Islam, and what is their relationship.
The delegates also mentioned that they lived in a cold climate, so they asked if they could drink alcohol. The Prophet PBUH forbade them from doing so, and he literally listed all the different types of alcohol that they had one by one.
It is said that they were the first group to build a masjid outside of the Hejaz, and they were the first group to pray Jumu'ah outside of Madinah.
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Banu Sa'd ibn Bakr, the Tribe of Halimah the Foster Mother of the Prophet PBUH:
The Genuineness of Dimam ibn Tha'laba
The second delegation is that of Banu Sa'd ibn Bakr. Halimah, the foster mother/carer of the Prophet PBUH when he was an infant, was from this tribe. This tribe, as we discussed a while ago, would come down to Makkah and take care of the children of the Quraysh. And they are one of the subtribes of Hawazin who fought the Muslims at Hunayn. So the delegate sent at the time was not a Muslim. This tribe was meant to negotiate a treaty. And this took place before one of the most important delegations which was that of Thaqif (the tribe of Ta'if) [see episode 95] — before Thaqif, this tribe comes and negotiates a peace treaty. They send one of their elders, Dimam ibn Tha'laba (ضمام بن ثعلبة). Recall the main difference between Hawazin and Thaqif was that Thaqif were residents of Ta'if, and Hawazin lived around Ta'if, i.e., they were Bedouins. This means in terms of their manners, they were rough. So the Hawazin chieftain, Dimam comes to Madinah —and he was a very hairy scruffy man with two ponytails (which was common amongst the Bedouins that they had ponytails)— he brings his camel all the way to the door of the Masjid, sits the camel down, then he barges in and says, "Where is the son of Abdul Muttalib?" Subhan'Allah, we see the wisdom of why Allah chose the Prophet PBUH to have the most prestigious lineage. This is a Bedouin —ignorant and unlettered— yet he knows Abdul Muttalib and he knows that the man claiming to be a prophet is his grandson. So this no doubt has an impact on his thinking and embracing of Islam, that, "If I am going to embrace a religion, let it be from someone with lineage and prestige"—because for them, lineage was everything. And indeed, if we go back to Hunayn, what was the Prophet PBUH saying? "I am the prophet of Allah, there is no lie about this; I am the son [grandson] of Abdul Muttalib" [see episode 82].
When Dimam said, "Where is the son of Abdul Muttalib?" the Prophet PBUH said, "I am the son of Abdul Muttalib." Dimam said, "You are Muhammad?" The Prophet PBUH said, "Yes, I am Muhammad." Dimam: "I will ask you, and I will be very tough with you — but don't get angry with me." The Prophet PBUH: "Go ahead." Dimam: "Your envoy came to us, and he told us that Allah has sent you." The Prophet PBUH: "He has spoken the truth." Dimam: "Who created the heavens?" The Prophet PBUH: "Allah." Dimam: "Who created the earth?" The Prophet PBUH: "Allah." "Who created the mountains?" "Allah." "Who put everything here?" "Allah." So then Dimam said, "So I ask you by the One who created the heavens, the One who created the earth, the One who created the mountains, the One who placed everything here — I ask you by Allah, are you swearing that Allah has sent you to us?" The Prophet PBUH said, "I swear by Allah, I have been sent by Allah." So Dimam said, "Your envoy also said that we have to pray 5 times a day. So I ask you by the One who has sent you, did Allah command you to tell us to pray 5 times a day?" The Prophet PBUH said, "Yes." And then the series of questions went on about zakat, fasting, and Hajj — it's worth noting that Hajj was mentioned because this is 9th year of the Hijrah.
According to some narrations, this is the same man whose hadith we always hear about, that he said, "Do I have to pray anything more than the fard 5 prayers?" And the Prophet PBUH said, "No, unless you want to." And then he said, "Do I have to pay one bit more zakat?" "Do I have to fast one day outside of Ramadan?" etc., and to these, the Prophet PBUH replied, "No, unless you want to." And at the end of the hadith, the man said, "I swear by the One who has sent you with the Truth that I shall follow this and not increase one bit or decrease one bit" — and he went back to his people. And the Prophet PBUH remarked to the sahaba, "If he is true, then he shall enter Jannah," i.e., this is the bare minimum of Islam — if you do all this and avoid the major sins, you have done your job.
It's said that when Dimam returned back to his people, he was the one who started preaching to his people — Ibn Ishaq mentions that he was so respected by his community that the same day he returned, the entire tribe converted to Islam. And the same day he returned, he destroyed the idol they used to worship. And it's said that no delegate was more of a blessing for his community than Dimam was, i.e., the entire tribe converted because of him.
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The Tribe of Muzayna:
Miracle in the House of Umar RA
There is an interesting miracle reported when the tribe of Muzayna came. The entire tribe of ~400 people came to embrace Islam. When they wanted to return home, the Prophet PBUH said to Umar RA, "Ya Umar, give them the food that they need to return (i.e., that they need for their return journey)"—so now Umar has to provide food for 400 people to last them a few weeks. But he didn't have such a stockpile, so he said, "Ya Rasulullah, I only have one bag of dates at home." But the Prophet PBUH said again, "Ya Umar, give them the food that they need to return." So Umar RA put his tawakkul in Allah and said, "I will do that." And when he went back to his home, lo and behold, his entire room was full of dates to the ceiling. Subhan'Allah. And when he saw this, he called the tribe — and all 400 of them came and filled their sacks. And the last one who exited said, "When I exited, I looked back, and I saw the pile was just as it was when we began taking our provisions from it."
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Not all tribes ended so positively — some tribes had some issues (even though they accepted Islam). Of them is the Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah:
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Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah:
"Do Not Regard Your Islam as a Favor to Me. Rather, It Is Allah Who Has Done You a Favor by Guiding You to the Faith"
The delegation of Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah (بنو أسد بن خزيمة) consisted of 10 people who entered loudly in the Masjid and said, "O Messenger of Allah, we testify to the shahada, and we are Muslims! And we would like you to know that we have come to you without you sending anyone to us, and we have accepted Islam without you fighting us (so we are not like the other Arabs)! And we have had to travel in the darkness and in the cold in order to come to you!" Allah AWJ revealed regarding this tribe:
يَمُنُّونَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ أَسْلَمُوا ۖ قُل لَّا تَمُنُّوا عَلَيَّ إِسْلَامَكُم ۖ بَلِ اللَّهُ يَمُنُّ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ هَدَاكُمْ لِلْإِيمَانِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
"They regard their acceptance of Islam as a favor to you. Tell [them, O Prophet], 'Do not regard your Islam as a favor to me. Rather, it is Allah Who has done you a favor by guiding you to the faith, if [indeed] you are faithful...'" [see Quran, 49:17].______________
Banu Amir ibn Sa'sa'ah, the Tribe Responsible for the Massacre of Bi'r Ma'una:
Assassination Attempt on the Prophet PBUH
Another interesting tribe was that of Banu Amir ibn Sa'sa'ah. This is the tribe that was responsible for the Massacre of Bi'r Ma'una [see episode 51]. One of the main instigators, Amir ibn al-Tufayl, physically came to Madinah as a part of the delegates. But he had no intention of embracing Islam. Amir said to his henchman, Arbad ibn Qays (أربد بن قيس), that, "Let us get rid of this man (the Prophet PBUH)"—so this is an assassination attempt. It's worth noting that this is taking place probably in the 7th or 8th year of the Hijrah —i.e., before the Conquest of Makkah— because once Makkah is conquered, it's hopeless for any tribe to do anything against the Muslims.
Amir ibn al-Tufayl says to his henchman, "I will distract him (the Prophet PBUH) with a series of questions, and when I give you the signal, you pull out a dagger and stab him"—and most likely, it was a poisoned dagger, because usually, a dagger would not kill you. So when they came to the Prophet PBUH, Amir ibn al-Tufayl said, "Give us a private audience." But the Prophet PBUH said, "No; not until you embrace Islam." He tried asking again, but the Prophet PBUH declined. When he realized it wasn't going to happen, he gave his henchman Arbad the secret signal. But Arbad did not do anything. The conversation between the Prophet PBUH and Amir continues, but again, Arbad does not do anything. The third time when Arbad doesn't do anything, Amir realizes it won't happen; so to conclude the back-and-forth, he tells the Prophet PBUH, "I give you three options: If you want, you take charge of the people of the cities, and I will take charge of the Bedouins," i.e., he wants to split leadership; "If not, then the second option: You make me the leader after you. If you refuse both of these, then the third option: One thousand male camels and one thousand female camels against you (meaning there will be an army against you from my side)." Look at the arrogance of this man.
The Prophet PBUH refused to accept any of the conditions, and said, "Allah AWJ will stop you. O Allah, I put You in charge of being sufficient for me against Amir ibn al-Tufayl. O Allah, take care of him and guide his people." We see here that this is the prophetic methodology, that even though the Prophet PBUH is asking Allah to deal with this man, he still wants guidance for his people.
After they left, Amir became furious with Arbad. He said, "What was the problem with you? You are considered to be the most powerful warrior and that's why I chose you out of all the people! Yet you didn't obey me when I told you to kill, kill, kill!" Arbad said, "Don't get angry at me. When I entered in upon him, it was my intention to do as you intended — but I could only see you, and not him. Every time you were giving me the signal, I could only see you!"—Allah directly protected the Prophet PBUH, as He has done multiple times.
And both Amir and his henchman suffered a very evil demise eventually. As for Amir ibn al-Tufayl, it's said that on the way back to his tribe, he stopped at the house of a prostitute and spent the night there, and in the middle of the night, he was afflicted with a disease that spread throughout his body, and when he realized he was about to die, he said, "Amir ibn al-Tufayl will die in such a house?!" and he mounted his horse and fled away in the darkness never to be seen again. Because he didn't want to die in such a location, he literally fled, and died at a random place. As for Arbad, he returned to his tribe and said something bad about Allah SWT that is not worth repeating; and lo and behold, the next day, he went out on his camel, and in front of his community, lightning came from the heavens and consumed both him and his camel. And it is said he is the reference in Surah al-Ra'd verse 11-13:
Another delegation is that of Tamim al-Dari (تميم الداري), who was from a Christian tribe up north, and he came as a delegate embracing Islam. His story is narrated by Fatima bint Qays, who is one of the sahabiyyat who had Emigrated to both Abyssinia and Madinah, i.e., she is a Sahibat al-Hijratayn (صاحبة الهجرتين). Fatima narrates that her iddah ended when she heard a voice saying, "الصلاة جامعة (Come to the prayer)." And so she went to the Masjid of the Prophet PBUH. She narrates: "I was in the women's row closest to the men. When the Prophet PBUH finished the prayer, he went onto the minbar —his face was smiling— and he said, 'Let every person stay in his place. Do you know why I have called you? By Allah, I haven't called you for a lecture. Rather, I have called you to hear the story of Tamim al-Dari. He was a Christian and he has become a Muslim, and he has said something that agrees with what I have been telling you about the Dajjal.'"
لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ مِّن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ ۗ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ ۚ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ
13:11. For each one there are successive angels before and behind, protecting them by Allah’s command. Indeed, Allah would never change a people's state [of favor] until they change their own state [of faith]. And if it is Allah's Will to torment a people, it can never be averted, nor can they find a protector other than Him.
هُوَ الَّذِي يُرِيكُمُ الْبَرْقَ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَيُنشِئُ السَّحَابَ الثِّقَالَ
13:12. He is the One Who shows you lightning, inspiring [you with] hope and fear, and produces heavy clouds.
وَيُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ مِنْ خِيفَتِهِ وَيُرْسِلُ الصَّوَاعِقَ فَيُصِيبُ بِهَا مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُمْ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي اللَّهِ وَهُوَ شَدِيدُ الْمِحَالِ
13:13. The thunder glorifies His praises, as do the angels in awe of Him. He sends thunderbolts, striking with them whoever He wills. Yet they dispute about Allah. And He is tremendous in might.______________
The Tribe of Tamim al-Dari:
The Hadith of al-Jassasah and al-Dajjal
Another delegation is that of Tamim al-Dari (تميم الداري), who was from a Christian tribe up north, and he came as a delegate embracing Islam. His story is narrated by Fatima bint Qays, who is one of the sahabiyyat who had Emigrated to both Abyssinia and Madinah, i.e., she is a Sahibat al-Hijratayn (صاحبة الهجرتين). Fatima narrates that her iddah ended when she heard a voice saying, "الصلاة جامعة (Come to the prayer)." And so she went to the Masjid of the Prophet PBUH. She narrates: "I was in the women's row closest to the men. When the Prophet PBUH finished the prayer, he went onto the minbar —his face was smiling— and he said, 'Let every person stay in his place. Do you know why I have called you? By Allah, I haven't called you for a lecture. Rather, I have called you to hear the story of Tamim al-Dari. He was a Christian and he has become a Muslim, and he has said something that agrees with what I have been telling you about the Dajjal.'"
So the hadith we will go into now is all about Dajjal. This entire story occurs in the 9th year of the Hijrah:
Sahih Muslim: The Book of Tribulations and the Portents of the Last Hour:
Amir ibn Sharahil al-Sha'bi (عامر بن شراحيل الشعبي), a man from Hamdan (همدان), narrated that he asked Fatima bint Qays, the sister of al-Dahhak ibn Qays (الضحاك بن قيس), who was one of the earliest Muhajir women, "Tell me a hadith that you heard directly from the Prophet PBUH." She said, "If you wish, I would do that." He said to her, "Yes, tell me." She said, "I married Ibn al-Mughira (ابن المغيرة), who was one of the best young men of the Quraysh at that time, but he fell as a martyr at the beginning of jihad with the Prophet PBUH. When I became a widow, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf proposed marriage to me, and so did a group of the Companions of the Prophet PBUH. The Prophet PBUH also proposed to me on behalf of his freed slave, Usama ibn Zayd. I had been told that the Prophet PBUH had said, 'Whoever loves me, let him love Usama.' So when the Prophet PBUH spoke to me, I said, 'My affairs are in your hands. Marry me to whomever you wish.' He said, 'Go to Ummi Sharik.' Ummi Sharik was a rich lady of the Ansar who spent a great deal in the cause of Allah, and entertained many guests. I said, 'I will do that.' [But later on,] he PBUH said, 'Do not do that [see episode 40], for Ummi Sharik is a woman who has many guests, and I would not like your head-cover to fall down or your cloth to become uncovered by your garment and the people to see something that you do not like them to see. Go instead to your cousin, Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Ummi Maktum (عبد الله بن عمرو ابن أم مكتوم)'—he was a man from Banu Fihr of Quraysh, and he was from the same clan as mine. So I went to him. When my iddah ended, I heard the voice of the caller of the Prophet PBUH saying, 'الصلاة جامعة (Come to the prayer).' So I went out to the Masjid and I prayed with the Prophet PBUH. I was in the women's row that was closest to the people. When the Prophet PBUH had finished his prayer, he said on the minbar —and he was smiling— he said, 'Let each person stay in the place where he just prayed.' Then he said, 'Do you know why I called you together?' They said, 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said, 'By Allah, I did not call you together for raghbah and rahbah (رغبة ورهبة). [Rather,] I have called you together because Tamim al-Dari, who was a Christian —and he came and swore allegiance, and he became a Muslim— he told me something which agrees with what I was telling you about al-Masih al-Dajjal (المسيح الدجال). He told me that he sailed in a ship with 30 men of the tribe of Lakhm and the tribe of Judham, and they were tossed by the waves of the sea for a month, then they came to an island at sunset. They sat in a small rowing boat and landed on that island. They were met by a beast with a great deal of hair, and they could not distinguish its face from its back because it was so hairy. They said, 'Woe to you! What are you?' It said, 'I am al-Jassasah (الجساسة).' They said, 'What is al-Jassasah?' It said, 'O people, go to this man in the monastery, for he is keen to know about you.' He (Tamim) said, 'When it named a man for us, we were afraid of it lest it be a devil. Then we set off rushing until we came to that monastery where we found the largest man we had ever seen, bound strongly in chains with his hands tied to his neck, and his legs bound from knees to the ankles with iron shackles. We said, 'Woe to you! Who are you?' He said, 'You will soon find out about me. Tell me who you are.' They said, 'We are people from Arabia who embarked on a ship. But the sea became wild and the waves tossed us about for one month, then they brought us to this island of yours. We took to the rowing boats and landed on this island. We were met by a beast with a great deal of hair, and we could not tell its front from its back because it was so hairy. We said, 'Woe to you! What are you?' It said, 'I am al-Jassasah.' We said, 'What is al-Jassasah?' It said, 'Go to this man in the monastery, for he is keen to know about you.' So we came rushing to you and we fled from it, because we could not be sure that it was not a devil. He (that chained person) said, 'Tell me about the date-palm trees of Baysan (بيسان - Beit She'an).' We said, 'What do you want to know about them?' He said, 'I am asking you whether these trees bear fruit.' We said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Soon they will not bear fruit.' He said, 'Tell me about the Lake of Tabariyyah (بحيرة الطبرية - Lake of Tiberias/Sea of Galilee).' We said, 'What do you want to know about it?' He said, 'Is there water in it?' We said, 'There is a great deal of water in it.' He said, 'Soon it will dry out.' Then he said, 'Tell me about the spring of Zughar (زغر).' We said, 'What do you want to know about it?' He said, 'Is there water in the spring? And do the people grow crops with the water of the spring?' We said to him, 'Yes, there is plenty of water in it, and the people grow crops with its water.' He said, 'Tell me about the unlettered prophet. What has he done?' We said, 'He has left Makkah and has settled in Yathrib (Madinah).' He said, 'Do the Arabs fight against him?' We said, 'Yes.' He said, 'How did he deal with them?' We told him that he had prevailed over the Arabs in his vicinity, and they had shown obedience to him. He said to us, 'Has it really happened?' We said, 'Yes.' He said, 'If it is so, that is better for them that they show obedience to him. Now I will tell you about myself. I am al-Masih (al-Dajjal), and soon I will be given permission to emerge, so I will come out and travel in the land, and I will not spare any town, and I will stay for 40 nights, except for Makkah and Taybah (طيبة) (Madinah), they are both forbidden to me. Every time I try to enter one of them, I will be met by an angel with a sword in his hand who will bar my way; and on every route, there will be angels guarding it.'''" She (Fatima bint Qays) said, "Then the Prophet PBUH struck the minbar with his staff and said, 'This is Taybah, this is Taybah, this is Taybah (meaning Madinah). Did I not tell you this before?' The people said, 'Yes.' The Prophet PBUH said, 'I like this story of Tamim because it agrees with what I used to tell you about him and about Makkah and Madinah. He (al-Dajjal) is in the sea of al-Sham (Mediterranean Sea), or the Yemeni sea (Arabian Sea)... no, rather, he is in the east, he is in the east, he is in the east'—and he pointed toward the east with his hand." She said, "I memorized this from the Prophet PBUH."
Now, this hadith is narrated in Sahih Muslim, i.e., one of the most authentic books. And ironically, this is why it has caused many issues. The fact of the matter is that this hadith is unique in its narration of a number of things. Firstly, the Jassasah, secondly, that the Dajjal is alive right now, and thirdly, that he is chained to some wall on some island. Frankly, no one has really resolved this with other traditions that seem to suggest that Dajjal will be born at a future date. This is why a very small group of scholars has cast doubts on this hadith even if it is in Sahih Muslim. One such scholar is Sh. Rashid Rida (رشيد رضا) (d. 1935 CE) of Egypt; and also in our times, Sh. Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymeen (d. 2001 CE). Sh. Ibn al-Uthaymeen says this hadith seems to contradict other ahadith that are more authentic than it. For example, in one hadith, it is narrated that the Prophet PBUH came out one night and said, "Every single person who is alive today on this earth will be dead in 100 years" [Bukhari and Muslim]. So the sheikh says, "How then can the Dajjal be on an island somewhere?" Further, there are other issues, that in other ahadith, the Dajjal is reported to be a short, stocky man; whereas this hadith mentions he is a giant. Also, the single most obvious characteristic of the Dajjal is that he is one-eyed; but Tamim made no mention of this at all. So based upon all of these, some minority of scholars have said that something doesn't seem right. (And the students of Sh. Ibn al-Uthaymeen weren't too happy that their own sheikh was doubting this hadith — because it is in Sahih Muslim.) (Side note: Sahih Bukhari is a whole different level above Sahih Muslim. No doubt, the fact that Bukhari doesn't have this hadith in his book doesn't mean that the hadith is weak in itself, but it means Bukhari himself did not like it to his standards.)
And the hadith of Tamim also raises questions in light of the very famous controversy of Ibn Sayyad (ابن صياد). Ibn Sayyad was a magician from one of the Jewish tribes in Madinah. At one point, even the Prophet PBUH was unsure whether this person was the Dajjal or not, to the extent that the Prophet PBUH went to quiz and test him. And Umar al-Khattab, until his death RA would swear that Ibn Sayyad was the Dajjal — if the hadith of Fatima is true, why would Umar worry about this man?
The point is that this one hadith gives us details that seem to conflict with the entire narrative of the Dajjal in other ahadith. Thus, a very small group of scholars has rejected it. (It's very important to note, however, that [the authenticity of] a hadith is not judged based upon our intellect or feelings. It is judged based upon other authentic evidences from the Quran and Sunnah. We don't reject a hadith merely because it doesn't make sense to us — that is not a legitimate reason.)
It's also worth mentioning that one of the persons in the chain of the narrators of Tamim's hadith is al-Sha'bi; and according to Dr. Hakim al-Mutairi (حاكم المطيري), al-Sha'bi was one of the tabi'un who was known to take a lot from the storytellers as well. So Allah knows best, but there does seem to be a weakness in the chain as well. If, however, the hadith is authentic, then we believe it. But in the opinion of Sh. Yasir Qadhi, something doesn't seem right about it.
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, January 2022]
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, January 2022]
