You’re scrolling through Instagram, watching reels of people living lives that don’t exist. Perfect bodies that are filtered. Perfect vacations that are staged. Perfect relationships that are curated. And for a split second, you believe it’s all real.
Then you open TikTok. Another algorithm feeding you exactly what keeps you hooked. Then YouTube. Then Twitter. Four hours disappear. You meant to pray Isha. You meant to read Quran. But the screen was more real to you than reality itself.
Welcome to Dajjal’s training ground. Welcome to the world being built specifically to condition your heart, your mind, and your soul for the greatest deception humanity will ever face.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) warned us about this. He didn’t warn us about anything more than he warned us about Dajjal—the False Messiah, the Antichrist, the ultimate deceiver whose arrival will test every single believer like nothing else in human history.
And if you think this is some distant future problem, you’re already being deceived.
The Warning Every Prophet Gave
Let me tell you something that should shake you. According to the authentic hadith recorded by Imam al-Bukhari in Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7131, and by Imam Muslim in Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2933, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “There is no prophet who has not warned his nation about the one-eyed liar. Indeed, he is blind in one eye, but your Lord is not blind in one eye. Written between his eyes will be the letters K-F-R (Kafir, meaning disbeliever).”
Every single prophet. From Adam ﷺ (peace be upon him) to Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him). All of them warned their nations about this specific individual. That tells you everything about how catastrophic his fitnah will be.
But here’s what modern Muslims miss: Dajjal’s arrival doesn’t happen in a vacuum. He doesn’t just show up one day to a spiritually strong, morally grounded, truth-recognizing society. He arrives when the world has been perfectly prepared for him. When hearts have been conditioned. When minds have been trained to accept deception as normal.
And that conditioning? It’s happening right now, according to Islamic scholars who study the signs and conditions described in authentic prophetic traditions.
The One-Eyed Vision That Rules Our World
Dajjal is described as being blind in one eye. Islamic scholars throughout history, including contemporary scholars like Dr. Omar Suleiman and others studying these narrations, explain that this isn’t just a physical description—it’s deeply symbolic. He will only see one dimension of existence: the material, the physical, the worldly. He will be completely blind to the spiritual, the eternal, the divine.
Sound familiar? Because that’s exactly how our modern civilization operates. We worship GDP growth but ignore spiritual bankruptcy. We chase physical beauty but neglect the beauty of character. We measure success in dollars and followers but can’t measure the state of our hearts. We see everything through the lens of “what can I gain right now” and nothing through the lens of “what will this cost me in the hereafter.”
This is the one-eyed worldview. And we’re swimming in it.
Look at the values pushed on us constantly through every screen, every ad, every influencer, every show. Instant gratification. Material wealth. Physical pleasure. Status. Fame. Power. All of it temporal. All of it focused on this temporary world. The spiritual dimension? That’s for “extremists” and “backwards people.”
When Dajjal arrives claiming to be god, he will offer people exactly what they’ve been trained to want: worldly prosperity, physical comfort, material abundance. According to authentic descriptions documented by Imam Muslim in Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2937, he will command the sky to rain and it will rain, command the earth to produce vegetation and it will grow, and those who follow him will have their livestock return fat and their resources multiply.
He’s offering dunya. The very thing we’ve been conditioned to worship above everything else.
The Tools of Deception Keep Advancing
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) described Dajjal’s arrival in ways that medieval Muslims couldn’t fully comprehend but that should terrify us today. According to the narration recorded by Imam Abu Dawud in Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4311, the Prophet ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “He will have with him water and fire, but his fire will be cool water and his water will be burning fire.”
Think about what that means. Things will appear opposite to what they actually are. Reality will be completely distorted. What looks good will be evil. What looks evil will be good. Truth will appear as falsehood. Falsehood will appear as truth.
Now look around. We live in an age where video can be completely fabricated and you can’t tell it’s fake. Deepfakes are so advanced that you can watch someone say something they never said and believe it completely. Virtual reality can make you feel like you’re somewhere you’re not. Augmented reality overlays false information onto real scenes. AI can generate images, voices, entire personalities that never existed.
The tools to distort reality—the very tools Dajjal will use to deceive masses of people—are already here. And we’re normalizing them. We’re entertaining ourselves with them. We’re building entire industries around them.
Contemporary Islamic scholars studying these signs note that never before in human history has humanity had the technological capability to deceive on such a massive, global, instantaneous scale. The metaverse, virtual reality, artificial intelligence—all of these technologies are training people to accept realities that aren’t real, to trust what they see even when it’s manufactured, to blur the line between truth and illusion.
This isn’t conspiracy theory. This is observing prophetic warnings about mass deception and recognizing that the infrastructure for that deception is being built right now.
The Instant Gratification Trap
But technology is just the tool. The real preparation for Dajjal’s deception is psychological and spiritual.
When Dajjal appears, according to descriptions in authentic hadith collections including those recorded by Imam Muslim in Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2937, he will travel the entire earth except Makkah and Madinah in forty days. The first day will feel like a year, the second like a month, the third like a week, and the rest will be normal days. His fitnah will be characterized by speed, by overwhelming presence, by the feeling that he’s everywhere all at once.
He will demand immediate decisions. Believe in me now and get prosperity immediately. Reject me now and face hardship immediately. No time to think deeply. No time to consult scholars. No time to reflect on truth. Just react, decide, commit—now.
And we’re being trained for exactly that right now. Every aspect of modern life conditions us for instant gratification and immediate response. Want food? Order it on an app—delivered in thirty minutes. Want entertainment? Infinite content at your fingertips instantly. Want validation? Post a picture and watch the likes roll in. Want information? Google it—no need for deep study or contemplation.
Our attention spans have shrunk. Studies show the average person can’t focus on a single task for more than eight seconds. We’re becoming psychologically incapable of slow, deep, contemplative thinking—the exact type of thinking required to see through sophisticated deception.
When Dajjal offers his followers instant prosperity and threatens his rejectors with instant hardship, how many Muslims with no spiritual training, no discipline in delayed gratification, no practice in choosing the difficult path over the easy one—how many will crumble immediately?
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) described Dajjal’s power in a hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad in Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 18242, where he said: “He will come to a people and call them, and they will believe in him. He will then command the sky to rain and the earth to produce vegetation. Their cattle will return in the evening with their humps very high, their udders full of milk, and their flanks stretched. He will then go to another people and call them, but they will reject him. So he will leave them, and they will suffer drought and will be left with nothing.”
One group gets immediate reward for believing. The other faces immediate punishment for rejecting. How many Muslims today—used to instant gratification, trained to avoid discomfort at all costs—will have the strength to choose the difficult path when the test arrives?
The Death of Objective Truth
Here’s something that should chill you. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) described a time before the Day of Judgment in an authentic hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad in Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 11129, where he said: “Before the Day of Judgment, there will be years of deception in which a truthful person will not be believed, and a liar will be believed. The trustworthy person will not be trusted, and the treacherous will be trusted.”
Welcome to that era. We’re living it right now.
Truth has become subjective. “My truth” versus “your truth.” Facts don’t matter if they don’t align with what people want to believe. Experts are dismissed. Science is politicized. History is rewritten. Language is manipulated. Words lose their meanings. News is entertainment. Entertainment is propaganda. Everything is narrative. Nothing is objective.
When Dajjal arrives claiming to be god—the ultimate false claim—masses of people will believe him not because they examined evidence, but because truth itself will have lost all meaning to them. They’ll believe what feels right, what benefits them, what their algorithm has been feeding them, what their tribe accepts.
And Muslims? Many Muslims are already falling into this trap. We accept Islamic rulings based on what’s convenient rather than what’s correct. We follow scholars who tell us what we want to hear rather than what we need to hear. We pick and choose from the deen like it’s a buffet. We modify Islam to fit modernity rather than judging modernity by Islamic standards.
This is exactly the spiritual weakness Dajjal will exploit.
The Screens That Stole Our Souls
Let me get specific about something you’re holding right now. Your phone.
That device in your hand is the most sophisticated attention-extraction machine ever created. It’s designed by teams of psychologists and neuroscientists specifically to hijack your dopamine system, fragment your focus, and monopolize your time. And it’s winning.
Think about your last twenty-four hours honestly. How much time did you spend on your phone versus how much time you spent in genuine worship, contemplation, Quran recitation, or dhikr? The ratio probably makes you uncomfortable.
Now think about this: when Dajjal arrives, where will people be getting their information? Their screens. Who will control those screens? Those in power. What will those screens show? Whatever narrative serves the deception.
The infrastructure for mass mind control already exists. The algorithms that determine what billions of people see, think, believe, and feel are controlled by a handful of corporations. They can amplify truth or bury it. They can make lies viral while suppressing facts. They can shape public opinion in hours.
And we’re voluntarily plugged into this system. Addicted to it. Dependent on it. Trusting it more than we trust our own scholars, our own instincts, our own capacity for critical thought.
Islamic scholars studying contemporary fitnas note that never before could one individual—Dajjal—speak to the entire world simultaneously. But now? Through screens, through satellites, through global communication networks? He could address every human being on earth instantly. And most would be watching through the devices they’re already addicted to.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) warned in a hadith documented by Imam Muslim in Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2940: “Let him who hears of Dajjal go far from him, for I swear by Allah that a man will come to him thinking he is a believer, but will follow him because of the doubts he will cause.”
Go far from him. Physical distance. Because his deception will be so powerful that even believers will fall. Now imagine: what if you can’t go far because he’s in your pocket, your living room, your bedroom through screens you can’t disconnect from?
What Allah Gave Us to Fight This
Alright, I know this is heavy. I know you’re probably feeling anxious, maybe even hopeless. That’s not the point. The point is awareness. Because Allah ﷻ (Glorified and Exalted be He) didn’t warn us about Dajjal to terrify us—He warned us to prepare us.
And He gave us specific weapons. Real, practical, spiritually powerful defenses against the greatest deception humanity will face.
First: The opening verses of Surah Al-Kahf. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) said in an authentic hadith recorded by Imam Muslim in Sahih Muslim, Hadith 809: “Whoever memorizes ten verses from the beginning of Surah Al-Kahf will be protected from Dajjal.”
Not just recites occasionally. Memorizes. Has them locked in your heart so deeply that they’re part of your spiritual DNA. Those verses talk about young believers who stood firm against an entire society trying to force them into falsehood. They chose the cave—isolation, difficulty, discomfort—over compromising their faith.
That’s the training manual for surviving Dajjal’s fitnah. Knowing that standing alone with truth is better than standing with multitudes in falsehood.
Second: Constant dua for protection. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) used to seek refuge from Dajjal’s fitnah in every single prayer. According to the hadith recorded by Imam al-Bukhari in Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1377, and by Imam Muslim in Sahih Muslim, Hadith 588, he would say after the tashahhud: “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the grave, and I seek refuge in You from the trial of the Dajjal, and I seek refuge in You from the trial of life and death.”
Every prayer. Not sometimes. Every single time you pray, you should be asking Allah ﷻ (Glorified and Exalted be He) to protect you from Dajjal’s deception. Because you cannot survive this on your own strength. You need divine protection.
Third: Knowledge of what’s coming. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) described Dajjal in such specific detail precisely so we could recognize him. According to Islamic scholarly consensus based on numerous authentic hadith, believers who know the descriptions will be protected because they’ll recognize the deception for what it is.
Study the signs. Learn the characteristics. Understand the stages of his arrival. Don’t be among those who are caught off guard because they were too busy with dunya to prepare for the greatest trial of all time.
Fourth: Flee from fitnah. This is crucial. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) told us explicitly in the hadith recorded by Imam Muslim in Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2940, that if you hear of Dajjal, go far from him. Don’t think you’re strong enough to witness his miracles and not be deceived. Don’t test yourself against the ultimate deceiver.
In practical terms today? That means disconnecting from the sources of deception. Limiting your screen time drastically. Choosing real relationships over digital ones. Building communities of believers who will hold you accountable. Living in a way where your faith isn’t dependent on what’s trending.
Fifth: Strengthen your tawheed right now. Dajjal’s ultimate claim will be divinity. He’ll say “I am your lord.” The only people who will resist that claim are those whose tawheed is so strong, so unshakeable, so deeply rooted that no amount of apparent miracles can budge it.
That means knowing Allah ﷻ (Glorified and Exalted be He). Really knowing Him. Not just knowing about Him. Knowing His names. Knowing His attributes. Knowing Him through His creation, through His book, through worshipping Him in ways that transform your heart.
The Life You Need to Build Now
Look, you can’t wait until Dajjal arrives to start preparing. The companions asked the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) how long Dajjal would stay on earth, and he answered as recorded in Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2937: “Forty days. One day like a year, one day like a month, one day like a week, and the rest like normal days.”
They asked: “Will one day’s prayers be enough for the day that is like a year?” The Prophet ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “No, you must estimate the time and pray accordingly.”
Think about what that means. Even in the most extraordinary circumstances, you don’t get excuses. You still pray. You still fast. You still fulfill your obligations. You just have to figure out how.
That’s the mentality you need to build now. A faith that doesn’t make excuses. A practice that doesn’t depend on convenience. A commitment to Allah ﷻ (Glorified and Exalted be He) that supersedes comfort, ease, social acceptance, or worldly benefit.
Start tonight. Before you sleep, memorize the first ten verses of Surah Al-Kahf if you haven’t already. Make the dua for protection from Dajjal after every prayer from now on. Delete one app that’s stealing your time and replace that time with Quran. Fast one extra day this week to practice delayed gratification. Give charity that actually hurts your wallet to train yourself to choose akhirah over dunya.
These aren’t small things. These are survival skills for the greatest test humanity will ever face.
The Reality Check You’re Avoiding
It’s 1:47 AM now. You’ve read this entire article. Your heart is probably racing a bit. Maybe you’re scared. Maybe you’re overwhelmed. Maybe you’re thinking “this is too much.”
But let me tell you what should scare you more: being unprepared. Walking into the greatest fitnah in human history with a weak faith, undisciplined nafs, fragmented attention, and no spiritual training.
The world that precedes Dajjal—the world of deception, instant gratification, distorted reality, and one-eyed materialism—that world is here. It’s been built. You’re living in it. The conditioning is happening. The infrastructure is operational. The hearts are being prepared.
The question is: are you recognizing it? Are you resisting it? Or are you so immersed in it that you can’t even see it anymore?
Because that’s how deception works. The most deceived people are those who think they’re too smart to be deceived.
So take this seriously. Study the signs. Memorize the protection. Strengthen your faith. Disconnect from the systems of deception. Build your spiritual immune system now, before the virus of ultimate falsehood spreads across the earth.
May Allah ﷻ (Glorified and Exalted be He) protect us from the fitnah of Dajjal. May He grant us the strength to stand firm when everything around us is crumbling. May He make us among those who recognize truth even when it’s dressed as falsehood, and recognize falsehood even when it’s dressed as truth.
Because that’s what survival will require. And the training starts right now.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes. Readers should consult qualified Islamic scholars for specific religious rulings and personal guidance. Verification of hadith authenticity is encouraged through recognized Islamic authorities and institutions.