Al Masih Ad Dajjal
- Paigham Mustafa
- Jun 9
- 4 min read
MS Akhtar
A review by Paigham Mustafa
There was a time when mythology held a strong fascination for me. I read widely, following every interpretation I could find, and I recognise that such material still exerts a powerful pull, particularly on those with religious fervour or an interest in the history of spiritual ideas. My own approach, however, has changed fundamentally since I began a sustained engagement with the Quran. That engagement has forced a methodological discipline: before examining any concept, the table must be cleared. What is its relevance? What practical purpose does it serve? And, crucially, does it emerge from the Quran itself or from elsewhere?
These questions frame my reading of Al Masih Ad Dajjal. To the author’s credit, Akhtar readily concedes that belief in the Dajjal does not originate in the Quran but is derived from external, supplementary sources. This admission is significant, though not surprising. Much of what passes for Islamic belief today is not rooted in the Quran at all, a disjunction that helps to explain the intellectual stagnation and perpetual indignity endured by many Muslim societies. A faith that claims the Quran as its foundation cannot afford to outsource its core concepts to spurious authorities.
From a Qurani perspective, reliance on hadith literature and other dubious sources is not a harmless add-on but a fundamental distortion. Anything that lacks a clear Quranic basis cannot be relied upon for accurate guidance. I have written elsewhere at length on this problem, and it need not be rehearsed again here. What matters is the consequence: beliefs such as the Dajjal narrative divert attention from the Quran’s own priorities and replace a living, dynamic system with inherited superstition.
Akhtar attempts to mitigate this by reinterpreting the Dajjal, shifting it from a literal, physical figure to a metaphor. Yet this move is, in many ways, even more damaging. Whether taken literally or symbolically, the Dajjal remains an imported construct that distracts from the Quran’s central project. For Muslims in particular, clinging to such ideas weakens the capacity to understand Deen-Islam as a dynamic system concerned with real social, moral and political challenges. The Quran repeatedly directs its audience towards the resolution of lived problems, urging humanity to extricate itself from destructive struggles and to look forward rather than backward.
It is true that the Quran refers to historical communities, but it does so with a clear purpose: to encourage reflection on how societies functioned, how injustice and moral failure led to their collapse, and how similar patterns can be recognised and avoided. These accounts are sufficient in themselves to inform and motivate those willing to think. They do not require embellishment through mythology, nor do they invite speculation about apocalyptic figures lurking at the end of time.
Mythic narratives may have served earlier generations whose understanding of the world was shaped by superstition and limited access to knowledge. The Quran, however, explicitly appeals to reason and intelligence, addressing people who are expected to think, analyse and draw conclusions. To persist in promoting symbolic monsters and eschatological dramas is to underestimate both the Quran’s audience and its intent.
There is also a broader question of intellectual economy. Should serious thinkers really devote time to refuting religious beliefs grounded in ignorance and symbolism? One could expend the same energy dismantling the myths of any other religion, with no greater net effect. The task is not to endlessly rebut superstition but to articulate a coherent Quran-centred framework that renders such beliefs irrelevant.
If the question of the Dajjal is to be examined at all, it must be done through a strictly Quranic lens, free from emotional attachment and inherited dogma. Viewed in this way, the conclusion is clear: the concept has no place within the core principles of the Quran. The Quran calls on believers to hold fast to the rope of God, understood as an undivided commitment to the Quran as the source of values, belief and action. It presents Deen-Islam as an evolving, self-sufficient system, capable of guiding humanity without recourse to mythical figures born of past superstitions.
God’s messengers did not require Dajjal-like constructs to fulfil their mission. Nor do we.
© 2026 Paigham Mustafa
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paigham Mustafa has been engaged in the study and research of the Quran since 1988 and has contributed to the print media for over 37 years. His first major work, The Quran: God’s Message to Mankind, was published in 2016, followed by The Divine Blueprint in 2022. He is also the author of How To Be Human, published in 2025. His exegesis of the Quran often challenges traditional readings, offering instead a reasoned and objective analysis of the original text. His works provide essential guidance, helping readers gain a clearer, more informed understanding of Islam. This helps address many of the issues that stem from misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and misconceptions
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