Answered by Shaykh Yūsuf Badāt

Question:

Why is Dajjāl, the Antichrist, titled Maṣīḥ?

Answer:

In the Name of God, Most Merciful, Most Kind.

Jazāk Allāh Khayr/ Thank you for your question.

Islamic academics have looked at the root word, ma-sa-ḥa and also its context in source texts, thus, they have mentioned various reasons why the Antichrist is titled masīḥ. Here below are a few:

• He is wiped in one eye, meaning flat eyed (mamsūḥ al-ʿayin).
• He is one eyed (mamsūḥ al-ʿayin).
• He will travel the entire earth (yamsaḥu-al-arḍ).
• He is a liar (al-maṣīḥ al-katthhāb).
• He is created with bad qualities, evil attributes and is cursed (al-maṣīḥ al-ḍalālah)

الدَّجالُ مَمْسُوحُ العين مكتوب بين عينيه كافر

“The Antichrist is one eyed, written on his forehead kāfir (disbeliever).” (Ibn Mājah)

(See: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ibn Mājah, Fatḥ Al-Bārī, Lisān Al-ʿArab)

And Allāh Knows Best