How do we reconcile the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the Dajjal: “If he appears while I am among you, I am your protector; if he appears and I am not among you, then every man is his own protector”

The questioner : Here is a question.

The Shaykh : Please go ahead.

The questioner : The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in a hadith among the hadiths of the Messiah al-Dajjal, saying (peace and blessings be upon him) or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said . Why did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say this phrase, when there are other authentic hadiths that clarify that al-Dajjal will appear after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the end of time? What is the interpretation of this phrase, meaning “if he appears while I am among you”?

The Shaykh : It does not require interpretation. You know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as a human being, did not know anything, as is explicitly stated in the Noble Qur'an . So when he speaks about something like this hadith, you must be certain, without doubt or hesitation, that he did not know whether the Messiah al-Dajjal would come while he was among them or after his death (peace be upon him). If another hadith comes that makes it clear to the one standing upon it that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he spoke this other hadith, knew that al-Dajjal would not appear during his lifetime (peace be upon him), then there is no contradiction between this and that. Because the knowledge revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as revelation from the sky, from one aspect, is like the knowledge that a scholar acquires in this world; it is not possible for the entire knowledge that Allah revealed to the heart of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to come all at once in a single batch. Likewise, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) could not do so either, because human capacity, no matter how high a person rises or how elevated he is, does not take him out of being a human being. Therefore, the Exalted said, commanding His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to say: Then Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) distinguished him from the rest of humanity by the completion of the verse, which is His saying: We all know that this revelation continued to be sent down to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for twenty-three years. So the first thing sent down to him was “Read,” and he did not know what would be sent down after that. And so, all the cosmic verses and the unseen hadiths that are authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not come all at once. From this, if we keep this reality in mind, many problems are resolved for the student of knowledge, including what is thought to be contradictory texts. He (peace be upon him) said: Then it came in some explicit hadiths that whoever commits any of them and is punished for it in this world, it is a pardon, and Allah will not hold him accountable. And whoever is not punished for it in this world, his affair is left to Allah; if He wills, He will punish him, and if He wills, He will forgive him. This is the answer to what you asked.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Clear, if Allah wills.