Thirty False Prophets Before Dajjal: Prophecy and History

Most people think the word Dajjal only refers to the one-eyed False Messiah at the end of time. In Arabic, dajjal (from dajl, meaning to coat, deceive, or gild falsehood with a shiny surface) means an extreme master of deception. And before the final al-Masih ad-Dajjal appears, the Prophet ﷺ told us that a whole chain of 'lesser dajjals' would test this Ummah.

In Sahih Bukhari (7121) and Sahih Muslim (157), Abu Hurayrah (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
> 'The Hour will not be established until nearly thirty dajjals (impostors/liars) are sent forth, each of them claiming that he is a messenger of Allah.'

And in Sunan Abi Dawud (4252) and Jami' at-Tirmidhi (2219), Thawban (RA) narrates the famous declaration that slams the door shut on every single one of them:
> 'There will arise in my Ummah thirty great liars (kadhdhabun), each of them claiming that he is a prophet, while I am the Seal of the Prophets (Khatam an-Nabiyyin); there is no prophet after me!'

If you look through 1,400 years of history, way more than thirty people have stood up on street corners and claimed to be prophets. So why did the Prophet ﷺ say 'nearly thirty'?

In Fath al-Bari (his monumental commentary on Sahih Bukhari), Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (supported by Qadi Iyad and Imam an-Nawawi) gives the exact explanation:
> 'The hadith does not refer to every mentally unstable person or lone eccentric whose words nobody paid attention to. Rather, the thirty refers specifically to those who gained shawka (organized power, a mass following, and widespread notoriety) and whose fitnah actually shook society and deceived large numbers of people.'

The very first wave of these thirty impostors appeared right at the end of the Prophet's ﷺ life and during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (RA). Look at the first five files from history:

1. Al-Aswad al-Ansi ('Abhalah ibn Ka'b, Yemen, d. 11 AH / 632 CE): A smooth-talking magician and fortune-teller in Yemen who called himself Rahman al-Yaman. He seized San'a with an army before a brave group of believers led by Fayruz ad-Daylami (RA) assassinated him inside his fortress just before the Prophet ﷺ passed away.
2. Musaylimah al-Kadhdhab (Banu Hanifah, Yamamah, d. 12 AH / 633 CE): The most infamous liar in Islamic history. He wrote a letter to the Prophet ﷺ saying: 'From Musaylimah the Messenger of Allah to Muhammad the Messenger of Allah: half the earth belongs to us and half to Quraysh!' The Prophet ﷺ wrote back: 'From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah to Musaylimah the Arch-Liar (al-Kadhdhab): the earth belongs to Allah!' Musaylimah even tried composing fake 'revelations' like: 'O frog, daughter of two frogs, croak as much as you croak!' He raised 40,000 fighters before being crushed by Khalid ibn al-Walid (RA) at the Battle of Yamamah and killed by Wahshi ibn Harb.
3. Tulayhah ibn Khuwaylid al-Asadi (Najd): Claimed angelic revelation from 'Dhu an-Nun' during the Ridda Wars. Plot twist: After Khalid ibn al-Walid defeated his forces at Buzakhah, Tulayhah sincerely repented, returned to Islam, made Umrah, and fought heroically as a Muslim warrior in the conquest of Persia until he was martyred at Nahavand (21 AH)!
4. Sajah bint al-Harith at-Taghlibiyyah (Mesopotamia/Arabia): A Christian Arab poetess from Banu Tamim/Taghlib who marched toward Madinah claiming prophethood. When she reached Yamamah, she met Musaylimah, and in the most bizarre scene of the Ridda wars, the two fake prophets married each other and agreed to cancel Fajr and Isha prayers as her dowry! After Musaylimah was killed, Sajah repented, accepted Islam, and lived quietly in Basra until she died during Mu'awiyah's (RA) reign.
5. Laqit ibn Malik al-Azdi ('Dhu at-Taj', Oman, d. 11 AH): Claimed prophethood and royal dominion in Oman until Abu Bakr's (RA) commanders Hudhayfah ibn Mihsan and 'Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl defeated him at Dibba.

During the Umayyad era, the style of fake prophets changed. Instead of desert tribal chiefs, the next wave used political grievances and extreme sectarian mysticism (ghuluww) to claim revelation:

1. Al-Mukhtar ibn Abi 'Ubayd ath-Thaqafi (Kufa, d. 67 AH / 687 CE): Started out claiming to avenge the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali (RA), seized Kufa, and then began claiming that Jibril (AS) visited him with revelation on a sacred chair! Notice how Sahih Muslim (2545) specifically recorded Abdullah ibn Umar (RA) telling Asma' bint Abi Bakr (RA) that in Thaqif there is a great liar (al-Mukhtar) and a ruthless destroyer (al-Hajjaj). Mus'ab ibn az-Zubayr defeated and killed al-Mukhtar in Kufa.
2. Al-Harith ibn Sa'id al-Kadhdhab (Damascus/Jerusalem, d. 79 AH / 698 CE): Pretended to be a devout ascetic in Damascus before using sleight-of-hand magic tricks (making out-of-season fruit appear) to claim prophethood. Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan tracked him down and executed him.
3. Bayan ibn Sam'an at-Tamimi (Iraq, d. 119 AH / 737 CE): The first extremist heretic to claim that prophethood and divinity passed into him through the 'Greatest Name of Allah.' Executed by governor Khalid al-Qasri.
4. Al-Mughirah ibn Sa'id al-'Ijli (Kufa, d. 119 AH / 737 CE): Claimed Jibril brought him revelation and used sorcery to attract followers in Kufa alongside Bayan.
5. Abu Mansur al-'Ijli ('al-Kisf', Kufa, d. ~125 AH / 743 CE): Claimed he ascended to heaven, was stroked on the head in Syriac, and was allowed to abolish prayer and fasting while legalizing strangling opponents (al-khanaqah).
6. Abdullah ibn Mu'awiyah's Extremist Propagandists (al-Janahiyyah, d. ~129 AH): Preached reincarnation (tanasukh) and claimed the spirit of prophethood transferred into their leaders in western Persia.
7. Salih ibn Tarif al-Barghawata (Morocco, c. 127 AH / 744 CE): Established the Barghawata state on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, composed a fake 'Quran' of 80 chapters in the Berber language, changed the fasting month from Ramadan to Rajab, and ruled a heretical kingdom that lasted for generations.

Under the Abbasids and the medieval dynasties, a third wave of claimants combined optical illusions, militant rebellions, and esoteric philosophy:

1. Ishaq al-Akhras (al-Isfahani, Khurasan, c. 138 AH / 755 CE): Claimed prophetic continuation in Persia after Abu Muslim al-Khurasani's death.
2. Ustadh Sis (Badghis/Herat, Khurasan, d. 150 AH / 767 CE): Claimed prophethood in Khurasan and led an army of 300,000 rebels before Abbasid general Khazim ibn Khuzaymah defeated him.
3. Hakim al-Muqanna' ('The Veiled Prophet of Khurasan', Merv/Transoxiana, d. 163 AH / 780 CE): One of history's most cinematic impostors. A one-eyed fuller named Hashim ibn Hakim who wore a golden mask or green silk veil, claiming people couldn't bear the 'divine light' of his face! Using chemical/optical tricks, he raised a glowing reflection from a deep well in Nakhshab ('the Moon of al-Muqanna') that could be seen for miles. When Caliph al-Mahdi's army besieged his fortress in 163 AH, he poisoned his followers and threw himself into a vat of burning acid/fire so his body would disappear.
4. Babak al-Khurrami (Azerbaijan, d. 223 AH / 838 CE): Led a 20-year mountain insurgency claiming prophetic-divine incarnation and abolishing Islamic laws until Caliph al-Mu'tasim's general al-Afshin captured him.
5. Mahmud ibn al-Faraj an-Naysaburi (Samarra, d. 235 AH / 850 CE): Claimed to be Dhul-Qarnayn and a prophet receiving revelation from Jibril; exposed and executed under Caliph al-Mutawakkil.
6. Ali ibn Muhammad, 'Sahib az-Zanj' (Southern Iraq, d. 270 AH / 883 CE): Claimed descent from Ahl al-Bayt and direct prophetic revelation (wahy), leading the devastating 14-year Zanj rebellion that sacked Basra.
7. Hamdan Qarmat & Abu Sa'id al-Jannabi's Qarmatian Prophets (Bahrain/Ahsa, 4th Century AH): Built the Qarmatian movement that abolished prayer, sacked Makkah in 317 AH (930 CE), massacred pilgrims, and stole the Black Stone for 22 years before crowning a young Persian prisoner from Isfahan (al-Isfahani) as their new law-abrogating prophet!
8. Ha-Mim al-Muftari (Ghomara Mountains, Morocco, d. 315 AH / 927 CE): Composed a short fake Quran in Morocco, canceled three of the five daily prayers, and made eating fish unlawful.
9. Asim ibn جميل al-Warfajumi (North Africa, 2nd Century AH): Claimed prophethood among Berber tribes and altered the prayer formulas during the Kharijite-Sufrite wars.
10. Ibn Abi al-Azakir (ash-Shalmaghani, Baghdad, d. 322 AH / 934 CE): Claimed divine/prophetic indwelling and abolishing the Sharia in Baghdad before being executed under Caliph ar-Radi.

In the late medieval and modern eras, the final wave of prominent claimants used written books, printing presses, and colonial politics to build international sects:

1. Fazlallah Astarabadi (founder of Hurufism, Persia/Azerbaijan, d. 796 AH / 1394 CE): Claimed prophetic revelation through mystical letter-numerology (al-Hurufiyyah) and declared his book Javidan-nama a new scripture.
2. Mahmud Pasikhani (founder of Nuqtaviyyah, Gilan, d. 831 AH / 1428 CE): Expelled by Fazlallah for arrogance, he declared himself the new prophetic cycle above Islam.
3. Bayazid Ansari ('Pir Roshan', Waziristan/Afghanistan, d. 980 AH / 1572 CE): Claimed direct revelation from Jibril and composed Khayr al-Bayan in four languages imitating the Quran's style, sparking a massive frontier conflict carefully refuted by Akhund Darweza.
4. Shabbetai Tzvi (Izmir/Ottoman Empire, d. 1676 CE): Claimed to be the Messianic prophet in Ottoman lands, outwardly converted to Islam under Sultan Mehmed IV while leading the crypto-messianic Dönmeh sect.
5. Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi ('The Bab', Shiraz, Iran, d. 1850 CE): Declared himself al-Bab (the Gate) and then a full prophet abrogating the Quran and Islamic Sharia with his book al-Bayan.
6. Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri ('Baha'u'llah', Iran/Acre, d. 1892 CE): Claimed to be the universal Messenger of God fulfilling all religions, completely breaking away from Islam to found the Baha'i religion.
7. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (Punjab, British India, d. 1908 CE): One of the most deceptive claimants of the modern era. He moved step by step, first presenting himself as a Muslim debater, then a mujaddid (renewer), then Imam Mahdi, then Prophet Isa ibn Maryam (AS), and finally claiming explicit prophethood and revelation (wahy) while forbidding Jihad against British colonial rule! Unanimously declared outside the fold of Islam by the scholars of the entire Muslim world (including the Muslim World League Makkah resolutions and Pakistan's 1974 constitutional consensus).
8. Rashad Khalifa (Tucson, Arizona, USA, d. 1990 CE): Used a computer 'Code 19' numerology stunt in the 1970s-80s to gain global fame, then rejected the entire Prophetic Sunnah, deleted two verses from Surah at-Tawbah (9:128-129), and declared himself 'Rashad Khalifa, the Messenger of the Covenant'!

In Musnad Ahmad (23212) (narrated by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman RA and graded Sahih by Shaykh al-Albani in as-Silsilah as-Sahihah 1999), the Prophet ﷺ added a remarkable detail:
> 'In my Ummah there will be twenty-seven liars and dajjals, among whom are four women, and indeed I am the Seal of the Prophets; there is no prophet after me.'

Historians have already documented several prominent female claimants across Islamic history:

• 1. Sajah bint al-Harith at-Taghlibiyyah (11 AH): Who marched with Banu Tamim and married Musaylimah before later repenting and accepting Islam.
• 2. Umm Zaml (Salma bint Malik ibn Hudhayfah, 11 AH): Daughter of the chief of Banu Fazara, who rallied apostate tribes on her mother's camel until Khalid ibn al-Walid (RA) defeated her army at the Battle of Zafar.
• 3. Al-Ghazalah al-Haruriyyah (d. 77 AH): Who led armed Kharijite zealots into Kufa during the governorship of al-Hajjaj.
• 4. Fatimah bint Abi Bakr / Qurrat al-'Ayn (Tahereh, d. 1852 CE): Who publicly proclaimed the abrogation of Islamic Sharia at the Conference of Badasht in 1848 as a central leader of the Babi movement.

Look at the big picture across these 1,400 years:

• Every single time someone stood up and claimed 'Allah spoke to me directly' or 'Islamic law needs an update through my new revelation,' the Ummah didn't need a new miracle to test them. The Ummah simply held up Surah al-Ahzab (33:40), Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets, and exposed the fraud.
• And notice how the final al-Masih ad-Dajjal himself follows the exact same pattern described by the Companions: he begins by claiming righteousness/reform, then claims prophethood (making him the ultimate capstone of the thirty dajjals), and then escalates to claiming divinity (lordship)!