The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 291
Dajjal-the Antichrist 291 be found in them. In a manner, they even revive the dead and kill the living. (Let him who possesses understating understand. ) And there is no doubt that these people pos- sess only one eye, which is the left one. If they possessed the right eye as well, they would have feared God Al- mighty and refrained from deifying Jesus. All previous scriptures mention this Dajjal, as do the Gospels on the authority of Jesus son of Mary. It was only proper that every Prophet should have warned against this Dajjal, and each of them has done so, whether expressly or im- plicitly, directly or indirectly. From the time of Noah down to the time of our lord and master, Seal of the Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), we find warnings about this Dajjal, and this is something I can readily prove. No one can even imagine the extent of the damage that Islām has suffered at their hands and how truth and jus- tice have suffered. Prior to the thirteenth century of the blessed Hijra, there was no trace of such mischief. But around the middle of the thirteenth century this Dajjal- like group suddenly emerged and started to expand pro- gressively, until at the end of this century, according to Reverend Mr. Baker, half a million people had been con- verted to Christianity in India alone, and it is estimated that every twelve years one hundred thousands new con- verts enter the fold of Christianity and start to believe in a humble man as God. No sensible person can be unaware of the fact that Chris- tian missionaries have brought under their sway a large number of poor and needy Muslims by giving them bread and clothes; those who could not be lured by these means were seduced through women; and those who could not be so trapped were exposed to all kinds of atheistic phi-