DAJJAL, AD-

(Arabic: The Deceiver), in Islamic eschatology, the Antichrist who will come forth before the end of time; after a reign of 40 days or 40 years, he will be destroyed by Christ or the mahdi (rightly guided one) or both, and the world will submit to God. Ad-Dajjal first appears in pseudoapocalyptic Christian literature and is reworked in hadith (sayings) ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad. There he is described as a plump, one-eyed man with a ruddy face and curling hair and the Arabic letters k-f-r (unbelief) on his forehead. Ad-Dajjal will appear during a period of great tribulation; he will be followed by the Jews and will claim to be God in Jerusalem. He will work false miracles, and most people will be deceived. At this moment will occur the Second Coming of Christ. Tradition expects ad-Dajjal to appear in the East, possibly Khorasan, or in the West. In the meantime, he is said to be somewhere in the East Indies, on an island from which the sounds of dancing and beautiful music emanate, according to sailors' lore and the tale of Sindbad the Sailor. An alternate version is linked with the Greek Prometheus legend; in this account, ad-Dajjal is bound to a rock on an island in the sea and is fed by demons.