What is the authenticity of the hadith (You are east of the river, and they are west of it)? And when will the battle with the Jews take place?

The questioner: All praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah the Exalted from the evils of our own selves and from our evil deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomsoever He leaves to misguide, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. As for what follows, Allah willed that we be invited, and Allah willed that we respond. May Allah bless this noble gathering, both the inviters and the invitees, and those who respond. I greet our Shaykh and all the noble brothers on our behalf. I ask Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, to gather us with you always upon good, righteousness, and blessing. We begin with what is best.
The first question, which is what concerns, or what occupies the mind of every believer seeking the truth and reality in this time when good and evil have become mixed, and the Muslim is no longer able or in a position to distinguish between them.

The Shaykh: Except with great difficulty.

The questioner: That is because many of the students of knowledge, if I may say so, are those who doubt this issue. First of all, the hadith in al-Tabarani, which concerns the fighting between the Muslims and the Jews I want to ask: Is this narration authentic and established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? And is the statement of those who say that the fighting of the Muslims with the Jews will not be in this time except in the time of 'Isa and al-Mahdi, or with al-Dajjal, because al-Dajjal will emerge with seventy thousand Jews from Isfahan, as mentioned in the hadith? They say, if the fighting were to happen before that time, the matter would be in the saying of Allah the Exalted at the end of Surat al-Isra If the promise of the Hereafter is now, how can seventy thousand Jews from Isfahan emerge to follow al-Dajjal? If so, then the great battle is the one in which the stone and the tree speak, as in Muslim. So the great battle will be then. So do not tire yourselves; these are the decrees of Allah Mighty and Majestic, and now you can rest. I hope you will clarify this issue for us and shed light on it?

The Shaykh: I say, in answer to this question, as for the hadith it is a weak hadith. However, the first part of the hadith, we do not need it, because many hadiths have come regarding the Muslims fighting the Jews, and you have referred to some of them. Therefore, we do not need to prove the truth of the Muslims fighting the Jews, because it is a truth, just as you speak. As for this detail that came representing the current reality, I say representing the current reality, in the sense that these Jews are our west, and we are their east, but unfortunately, there is no fighting between the Muslims who are east of the Jews and the Jews who are west of the Muslims. Therefore, we do not dwell long on this weak hadith. As for what came in the context of the question, that Muslims should not concern themselves with fighting the Jews because this is the divine decree and destiny, and that there is no way to escape the tyranny of the Jews and their occupation except by the coming of 'Isa (peace be upon him), this is, in my belief, a great misguidance. It contradicts, first, the established principles of Islam that command jihad in the path of Allah and preparing all possible means to fight the enemies of Allah. And second, and this is stronger, because it contradicts explicit hadiths that when 'Isa (peace and blessings be upon him) comes, the Jews will not be there in Palestine, but the Muslims will be in Palestine, and 'Isa (peace be upon him) will be in al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. So this means, and this is my belief, that it is impossible for the Jews to remain occupying Palestine, with Jerusalem in it, because when 'Isa (peace and blessings be upon him) comes and al-Dajjal emerges with him, as I mentioned, referring to the authentic hadith, seventy thousand Jews wearing red cloaks, he will be confined to Jerusalem. So there will also be no Jews at that time. If this is the meaning, then the Jews have been expelled from Palestine. By whom are they expelled? By the Muslims who prepare for the descent of 'Isa (peace and blessings be upon him) from the sky, as our Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) promised us. And I said and wrote the following truth: Many Muslims rely on the hadiths of the descent of 'Isa and the emergence of al-Mahdi (peace be upon them), thinking that there is no honor or life for the Muslims except by this descent and that emergence. So I say that 'Isa (peace and blessings be upon him) and al-Mahdi, who will remain on earth for only about eight years, neither this one nor that one can, in a short period of time, turn the Muslims from this weakness that has settled in their hearts to strength and power, both spiritual and material, at the same time. And this means that the Muslims must work and prepare themselves to receive this prince or this leader who will lead them to their happiness in this world and the Hereafter. Therefore, it is not permissible for Muslims to rely on the descent of 'Isa or the emergence of al-Mahdi, but rather they must prepare the ground for them. Because the truth is, we see now that there are Islamic movements and many Islamic parties working, but they are without guidance. First, they have not taught the Muslims the correct Islam. And second, and last, they have not raised the Muslims upon this correct Islam. Who will do this? It is necessary to prepare the atmosphere for this leadership, which is the leadership of 'Isa and al-Mahdi (peace and blessings be upon them). So if we benefit from this collection of ideas and opinions derived from the general and specific legal texts, that the Muslims must always work and not rely on the emergence of al-Mahdi or the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him), especially since the Jews have now occupied Palestine, and when al-Dajjal emerges and comes with him seventy thousand Jews wearing red cloaks, 'Isa will be in Bayt al-Maqdis. So how did 'Isa reach Bayt al-Maqdis, and the Jews, as you see, are now stubborn, clinging, delaying, and evading, as you hear in the so-called peace conference? So work is necessary, as Allah the Exalted said And thus, the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him) is a truth, but if he descends, he should descend upon Muslims who have prepared themselves to accept the leadership of 'Isa and al-Mahdi (peace and blessings be upon them). Because, as you know, I think they will meet, and 'Isa (peace and blessings be upon him) will pray behind al-Mahdi in Damascus al-Sham. There they will meet, and 'Isa will pray behind him. Al-Mahdi will want to give him precedence, but he will say, "No, this is the honor Allah has given to this Ummah," meaning the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him). So 'Isa will refuse to take precedence and will pray behind al-Mahdi. So they will lead the Muslims. Which Muslims? Those in Damascus who live now among many of their Shaykhs, and I do not say all of them, and they are hypocritical toward the ruler there. Will these be the ones who work and support 'Isa and al-Mahdi? No, the situation will have changed radically and completely here and there, and in many lands of Islam, so that these two Imams, 'Isa and al-Mahdi, can lead these Muslims to a fight not only against the Jews, but against all disbelievers, until there remains on the face of the earth in the time of 'Isa (peace be upon him) nothing but Islam. And here is realized the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, in the Noble Qur'an And in the other verse So in conclusion, I affirm what the Lord of Mankind said So that I may not have missed anything in answering the question. But it does not escape me to mention also, and remembrance benefits the believers, that we, the Salafis, firmly believe in the saying of our noble Messenger This phrase came in the Khutbat al-Hajah: "All praise is due to Allah; we praise Him and seek His help." It seems to me that I heard that in this opening, there is an addition of "the Exalted": "All praise is due to Allah the Exalted," or after it. Do you remember?

The questioner: I do not remember.

The Shaykh: We heard the tape, because it is the second time he takes it, so that he pays attention?
Al-Halabi: We are two witnesses, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh: No, not for that, but so that he pays attention.
Al-'Awaisheh: I expected, O Shaykh, that you would comment on it.
Al-Halabi: For the sake of complete benefit, O Shaykh, may Allah reward him with good, he pointed out in the introduction of al-Sahihah, volume five, the addition of "and we seek His guidance," which many also say, and "and we seek His guidance," even some of our brothers say it. These two are not found.

The Shaykh: A reminder, and remembrance benefits the believers.

The questioner : I am eager to bring it.

The Shaykh : That is what I think of you.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, preserve you, and grant you long life and pleasure.

The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.

The questioner : And may He bless you. So, is this a weak hadith, Sharqi?

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.

The questioner : Praise be to Allah.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. We are in a gathering of dhikr...

Another questioner : ... ؟

The Shaykh : Which issue?

Another questioner : The issue that the brother Sharqi al-Nahr discussed.

The Shaykh : No, there is nothing [to worry about]; if there were, we would have mentioned it. There are authentic hadiths regarding the fighting of Muslims against the Jews, but you, whether east of them or west of them, [the report] is not correct.