A Present to Kings — Page 64
( 64 ) rather they are supported by the Hadis. For example we lear from the story of Ibn Sayyad that once the Holy Prophet went to him and Hazrat Omar asked for permission to kill him and swore that he was the Dajjal, although he was not blind of one eye, nor were the other signs to be found in him. And the Holy Prophet too (peace and blessings on him), although he forbade Omar to kill him (Ibn Sayyad), did not explicitly deny the fact of his being the Dajjal. From this it can be understood that both the Holy Prophet and Hazrat Omar thought it probable that the signs which had been described with regard to the Dajjal might find their fulfilment in some other sense than what they literally signifiel, for otherwise it was natural on the part of the Holy Prophet to ask how could Hazrat Omar call the person the Dajjal seeing that he was neither blind of one eye, nor did he possess an ass, and who was moreover a resident of Medina. But the omission of the Holy Prophet to contradict the wonder of Hazrat Omar would imply that he believed that in the question of Dajjal there was room for a figurative explanation. . There is another point worth special notice and that is that all the information that is current about the Dajjal and the Messiah is of the nature of prophecies, and all prophecies regarding the future are liable to figurative explanation. For example the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings on him) saw in a dream two golden bangles on his hand and explained it to the effect that two false claimants would appear. Now if a person were to insist that he would not accept a figurativ explanation, he would be in error. Similarly, all the information that we possessed regarding the Messiah and the Dajjal was liable to figurative explanation, and the truth about them could have been clearly perceived only when they had manifested themselves in their proper time. Accordingly when things became evident, the true meaning was disclosed and now whoever gives the least thought to this subject may understand that by the Dajjal were really meant such societies as put a gloss over false beliefs and erroneous doctrines, and by their destruction is signified the exposure of their deception.