The Life and Deeds of the Dajjal
The Dajjal will be a man, created by Allah to be a test for people at the end of time. Many will be led astray through him, and many will be guided through him; only the sinful will be led astray. Al-Hafiz Ibn 'Ali al-Abar wrote in his book of history (al-Tarikh) that the Dajjal's Kunyah (nickname or paternal title) would be Abu Youssef.
Abu Bakrah said, "The Prophet said, "The Dajjal's parents will remain childless for thirty years, then a one-eyed child will be born to them. He will be very bad and will cause a great deal of trouble. When he sleeps, his eyes will be closed but his heart (or mind) will still be active.' Then he described his parents: 'His father will be a tall and thick man, with a long nose like a beak; his mother will be a huge, heavy-breasted woman.' Abu Bakrah said, "We heard that a child had been born to some of the Jews in Madina. Al-Zubayr Ibn al-Awam and I went see his pa, and found that they matched the description given by the Prophet. We saw the boy lying in the sun, covered with a blanket, murmuring to himself. We asked his parents about him, and they said, 'We remained childless for thirty years, then this one-eyed boy was born to us. He is very bad and causes a great deal of trouble. When we went out, we passed the boy. He asked us, 'What were you doing?' We said, 'Did you hear us?. He said, 'Yes; when I sleep, my eyes are closed but my heart (mind) is still active. That boy was Ibn Sayyad." (Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi; this Hadith is not very strong.) As we have already seen in the Saheeh Hadith, Malik and others think that Ibn Sayyad was not the Dajjal; he was one of a number of "lesser dajjals." Later he repented and embraced Islam; Allah knows best his heart and deeds.
The "greater" Dajjal is the one mentioned in the Hadith of Fatima bint Qays, which she narrated from the Prophet, from Tamim al-Dari, and which includes the story of the Jassasah.
The Dajjal will be permitted to appear at the end of time, after the Muslims have conquered a Roman city called Constantinople. He will first appear in Isfahan, in an area known as the Jewish quarter (al-Yahudiyyah). He will be followed by seventy thousand Jews from that area, all of them armed. Seventy thousand Tatars and many people from Khurasan will also follow him. At first he will appear as a tyrannical king, then he will claim to be a prophet, then a lord. Only the most ignorant of men will follow him; the righteous and those guided by Allah will reject him.
He will start to conquer the world country by country, fortress by fortress, region by region, town by town; no place will remain unscathed except Makkah and Madina. The length of his stay on earth will be forty days: one day like a year, one day like a month, one day like a week, and the rest of the days like normal days, i e his stay will be approximately one year and two and a half months. Allah will grant him many miracles, through which whoever He wills will be astray, and the faith of the believers will be strengthened. The descent of Jesus son of Mary, the true Messiah, will happen at the time of the Dajjal, the false messiah. He will descend to the minaret in the east of Damascus. The believers and true servants of Allah will gather to support him, and the Messiah Jesus son of Mary will lead them against the Dajjal, who at that time will be heading for Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem). He will catch up with him at 'Aqabah 'Afiq. The Dajjal will run away from him, but Jesus will catch up with him at the gate of Ludd, and will kill him with his spear just as he is entering it. He will say to him, "I have to deal you a blow; you cannot escape." When the Dajjal faces him, he will begin to dissolve like salt in water. So Jesus will kill him with his spear at the gate of Ludd, and he will die there, as many Sahih Hadith indicate. Majma Ibn Jariyah is reported to have said, "I heard the Prophet saying, 'The son of Mary will kill the Dajjal at the gate of Ludd.' " (at-Tirmidhi.)