Hadith: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessing be upon him) mentioned the Anti-Christ one morning, (sometimes describing him) to be insignificant and at other times important, till we thought that he might be amidst a cluster of date-palms

عن النواس بن سمعان رضي الله عنه قال: ذكر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الدجال ذات غداة، فخفض فيه ورفع حتى ظنناه في طائفة النخل. فلما رحنا إليه، عرف ذلك فينا، فقال: «ما شأنكم؟» قلنا: يا رسول الله، ذكرت الدجال الغداة، فخفضت فيه ورفعت، حتى ظنناه في طائفة النخل. فقال «غيرُ الدجال أخوفُني عليكم، إن يخرج وأنا فيكم فأنا حَجِيجُهُ دونكم، وإن يخرج ولستُ فيكم فامرؤ حجيج نفسه، والله خليفتي على كل مسلم. إنه شاب قَطَطٌ عينه طافية، كأني أُشَبِّهُهُ بعبد العُزَّى بن قَطَن، فمن أدركه منكم، فليقرأ عليه فواتح سورة الكهف؛ إنه خارج خَلَّةً بين الشام والعراق، فَعَاثَ يمينا وعاث شمالا، يا عباد الله فاثبتوا» قلنا: يا رسول الله، وما لبثه في الأرض؟ قال: «أربعون يوما: يوم كسنة، ويوم كشهر، ويوم كجمعة، وسائر أيامه كأيامكم» قلنا: يا رسول الله، فذلك اليوم الذي كسنة أتكفينا فيه صلاة يوم؟ قال: «لا، اقدروا له قدره». قلنا: يا رسول الله، وما إسراعه في الأرض؟ قال: «كالغيث استدبرته الريح، فيأتي على القوم، فيدعوهم فيؤمنون به ويستجيبون له، فيأمر السماء فتمطر، والأرض فتنبت، فتروح عليهم سارحتهم أطول ما كانت ذرى. وأسبغه ضروعا، وأمده خواصر، ثم يأتي القوم فيدعوهم، فيردون عليه قوله، فينصرف عنهم، فيصبحون مُمْحِلِينَ ليس بأيديهم شيء من أموالهم، ويمر بالخربة، فيقول لها: أخرجي كنوزك، فتتبعه كنوزها كَيَعَاسِيبِ النحل، ثم يدعو رجلا ممتلئا شبابا فيضربه بالسيف، فيقطعه جزلتين رمية الغرض، ثم يدعوه، فيقبل، ويتهلل وجهه يضحك، فبينما هو كذلك إذ بعث الله تعالى المسيح ابن مريم صلى الله عليه وسلم فينزل عند المنارة البيضاء شرقي دمشق بين مَهْرُودَتَيْنِ ، واضعا كفيه على أجنحة ملكين، إذا طأطأ رأسه قطر، وإذا رفعه تحدر منه جمان كاللؤلؤ، فلا يحل لكافر يجد ريح نفسه إلا مات، ونفسه ينتهي إلى حيث ينتهي طرفه، فيطلبه حتى يدركه بباب لد فيقتله، ثم يأتي عيسى صلى الله عليه وسلم قوما قد عصمهم الله منه، فيمسح عن وجوههم ويحدثهم بدرجاتهم في الجنة، فبينما هو كذلك إذ أوحى الله تعالى إلى عيسى صلى الله عليه وسلم : أني قد أخرجت عبادا لي لا يَدَانِ لأحد بقتالهم، فحَرِّزْ عبادي إلى الطُّور. ويبعث الله يأجوج ومأجوج وهم من كل حَدَبٍ يَنْسِلُون، فيمر أوائلهم على بحيرة طَبَرِيَّةَ فيشربون ما فيها، ويمر آخرهم فيقولون: لقد كان بهذه مرة ماء، ويحصر نبي الله عيسى صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابه حتى يكون رأس الثور لأحدهم خيرا من مئة دينار لأحدكم اليوم، فيرغب نبي الله عيسى صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابه رضي الله عنهم إلى الله تعالى، فيرسل الله تعالى عليهم النَّغَفَ في رِقَابهم، فيُصبحون فَرْسَى كموت نفس واحدة، ثم يهبط نبي الله عيسى صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابه رضي الله عنهم إلى الأرض، فلا يجدون في الأرض موضع شِبْرٍ إلا ملأه زَهَمُهُمْ ونَتَنُهُم، فيرغب نبي الله عيسى صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابه رضي الله عنهم إلى الله تعالى، فيرسل الله تعالى طيرا كأعناق البُخْتِ ، فتحملهم، فتطرحهم حيث شاء الله، ثم يرسل الله عز وجل مطرا لا يكن منه بيت مَدَرٍ وَلا وَبَرٍ ، فيغسل الأرض حتى يتركها كَالزَّلَقَةِ ، ثم يقال للأرض: أنبتي ثمرتك، وردي بركتك، فيومئذ تأكل العِصَابَةُ من الرمانة، ويستظلون بِقَحْفِهَا ، ويبارك في الرسل حتى أن اللقحة من الإبل لتكفي الفئام من الناس؛ واللقحة من البقر لتكفي القبيلة من الناس، واللَّقْحَة من الغنم لتكفي الفَخِذَ من الناس؛ فبينما هم كذلك إذ بعث الله تعالى ريحا طيبة فتأخذهم تحت آباطهم. فتقبض روح كل مؤمن وكل مسلم؛ ويبقى شرار الناس يَتَهَارَجُونَ فيها تهارج الحمر، فعليهم تقوم الساعة».
[صحيح] - [رواه مسلم]

An-Nawwās ibn Sam‘ān (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessing be upon him) mentioned the Anti-Christ one morning, (sometimes describing him) to be insignificant and at other times important, till we thought that he might be amidst a cluster of date-palms. We departed from the presence of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) but returned shortly after. He noticed that (concern) in us. So he said: "What is the matter with you?" We said: "O Messenger of Allah, you mentioned the Anti-Christ this morning, belittling him and mentioning his importance, till we thought that he might be amidst a cluster of the date-palms." He said: "It is not the Anti-Christ that I fear for you; if he were to appear while I am in the midst of you, then I will be his adversary on your behalf. And if he appears while I am not among you, then each man will have to fend for himself. Allah will take care of every Muslim after me. He is young, with curly hair, and his eyes protruding. I compare him to ‘Abd al-‘Uzza ibn Qatān. If anyone of you sees him, let him recite the initial verses of Sūrat al-Kahf. He will appear from what is between the Levant and Iraq, causing devastation toward the right and toward the left. O worshipers of Allah! Hold fast!" We said: "O Messenger of Allah, how long will he linger on the earth?" He said: "Forty days, a day like a year, a day like a month, a day like a week, and the remainder of his days are like your days." We said: "O Messenger of Allah, do you think that during the day that is like a year, the prayer of one day will be sufficient for us?" He said: "No; you will have to estimate it." We said: "O Messenger of Allah, how fast will he move on the earth?" He said: "Like a rain storm driven by the wind. He will come upon a people and call them, and they will deny him and reject his claims. Then he will leave them, and their wealth will follow him. They will awaken in the morning with nothing left. Then he will come upon a people and call them, and they will respond to him, believing in him. So he will order the heavens to bring rain, and it will rain, and he will order the land to sprout, and it will sprout. Their cattle will return to them with their coats the longest, their udders the fullest, and their stomachs the fattest. Then he will come upon some ruins, saying to it: ‘Bring me your treasures!’ He will turn to leave it, and it will follow him like drone bees. Then he will call a young man, full of youth, and he will strike him with the sword, cutting him into two pieces. Then he will call him, and he will come forward with his face beaming and laughing. So while he is doing that, ‘Īsa, the son of Mariyam (peace be upon him), will descend in eastern Damascus at the white minaret, wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two angels. When he lowers his head, drops fall of it, and when raises it, gems like pearls drop from him. His breath will not reach any disbeliever but that he will die, and his breath will reach as far as his sight. So he will pursue him (the Anti-Christ) and will catch up with him at the gate of Ludd, where he will kill him. Then people whom Allah will have protected will come to ‘Īsa, the son of Mariyam, and he will wipe their faces and inform them of their ranks in Paradise, it will be under such conditions that Allah will reveal to him: ‘I have brought forth from among My slaves such people against whom none will be able to fight; you take these people safely to At-Tūr.’ Then Allah will send Gog and Magog, and they will swarm down from every mound. The first of them will pass by the lake of Tiberias and drink out of it. And when the last of them will pass, he will say: ‘There was once water there.’ ‘Īsa and his companions will then be besieged there (and they will be so hard pressed) that the head of an ox will be dearer to one of them than one hundred dinars is to one of you today. Prophet ‘Īsa and his companions will supplicate Allah, Who will send to them insects which will attack their (Gog and Magog) necks, and in the morning they will perish like one single person. Prophet ‘Īsa and his companions will then come down to the earth (from the mountain they were on), and they will not find on the earth as much space as a single span that is not filled with their putrefaction and stench. Prophet ‘Īsa and his companions will then again beseech Allah, Who will send birds whose necks will be like those of Bactrian camels, and they will carry them and throw them where Allah wills. Then Allah will send rain which no house of clay or hair will keep out, and it will wash the earth until it will appear like a mirror. Then the earth will be told to bring forth its fruit and restore its blessing and, as a result thereof, a group of persons will be able to eat from one pomegranate and seek shelter under its skin, and a cow will give so much milk that a whole party will be able to drink it. And a camel will give so much milk that a whole tribe will be able to drink from it, and sheep will give so much milk that a whole family will be able to drink from it; and at that time, Allah will send a pleasant wind which will soothem even under their armpits, and it will take the life of every Muslim, and only the wicked people will survive, and they will commit adultery like monkeys, and those are the people to whom the Last Hour will come."
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Muslim]

Explanation

One of the major signs of the Hour is the emergence of the Anti-Christ, as reported in the Hadīth. This is one of the matters of the unseen in which we must believe exactly as the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told about them. His characteristics were fully mentioned so that nothing of them would be hidden to any Muslim. Allah, the Exalted, endowed him with amazing and supernatural powers as a test for the people. He will pass by all parts of the globe save for Makkah and Madīnah. His end will be at the hands of Prophet ‘Īsa (peace be upon him). Then Gog and Magog will emerge and spread corruption all over the world. Their emergence is also one of the signs of the run-up to the Hour. Then Prophet ‘Īsa (peace be upon him) and the believers will implore Allah, the Exalted, till He saves them from these evil beings. Following these weighty events, the Hour will take place, as Allah will have taken the lives of His believing slaves. Thus, the Hour will come while only the most wicked people are left on earth.