Chapter on the Dajjal: His Deceptions, the Descent of Isa (as), and Slaying Him at the Gate of Ludd

the swarm through the "ya'sub", which is their queen or leader, because whenever it flies, the entire swarm follows it, and Allah knows best. The Prophet's (ﷺ) statement: "(he strikes him, severing him into two pieces separated by the distance of an archer's shot to a target [jazlatayni ramyata al-gharadi])" - "jazlatayn" is with fat-hah on the jim according to the well-known transmission, while Ibn Durayd related kasrah, meaning two halves. The meaning of "the distance of a shot to a target" is that he places a space between the two halves equivalent to an arrow's shot; this is the apparent and famous meaning. Al-Qadi reported this and then remarked: "In my view, there is a transposition (taqdim wa ta'khir) in the text, so its underlying structure is: he strikes him with the precision of a target shot, dividing him into two halves." However, the first interpretation is correct. His statement: "(he descends at the white minaret east of Damascus, clad in two lightly dyed garments [bayna mahrawdatayn])" - "al-manarah" is with fat-hah on mim, and this minaret exists today to the east of Damascus. Damascus (Dimashq) is with kasrah on dal and fat-hah on mim, which is the famous vocalization, while the author of al-Matali' recorded kasrah on mim. This hadith is among the virtues of Damascus. In the preposition "'inda", there are three dialectal variants: kasrah, dammah, and fat-hah on the 'ayn, the most famous being kasrah. As for "mahrawdatayn", it is narrated with the undotted dal and the dotted dhal, the undotted being more frequent; both variants are well-known among early and later linguists and hadith scholars, and in most manuscripts it appears with the undotted dal. Its meaning is wearing two garments dyed first with wars (a yellow plant dye) and then with saffron; it is also said that they are two garments (shiqqatan), where a shiqqah is half a cloak. The Prophet's (ﷺ) statement: "(drops of perspiration like pearls scatter down from him [tahaddara minhu jumanun ka-al-lu'lu'])" - "al-juman" with dammah on jim and a single mim denotes silver beads crafted in the shape of large pearls; what is intended is that water drops roll down from him resembling pearls in purity, so the drops are termed "juman" because of their shared clarity. The Prophet's (ﷺ) statement: "(it is not permissible for any disbeliever who senses his breath except that he dies [fa-la yahillu li-kafirin... illa mata])" - this is the narration: "la yahillu" with kasrah on ha', and "nafasihi" with fat-hah on fa'. The meaning of "la yahillu" is: it is impossible and cannot happen. Al-Qadi remarked: "In my view, its meaning is: it is inevitable and incumbent." He added: Some narrated it with dammah on ha' ("la yahullu"),