Wikipedia's first sentence called it “arabic for "the deceiver”. Today it says “antagonistic figure in islamic eschatology who will pretend to be the promised messiah and later claim to be go”.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Ad- Dajjal or Degghial is, in Islamic eschatology , an evil figure who will appear on Yaum al-Qiyamah . The word is Arabic for "the deceiver." He is a counterpart to the Antichrist prophesied by Christianity . Like the Antichrist, various hadith , or traditions, are preserved about ad-Dajjal. He will be physically misshapen, and blind in one eye. He will deceive the faithful, teaching them that Heaven is Hell and vice versa. He will have the power to work miracles in order to mislead believers. He will try to put Man on God's throne. He will have the Arabic letters kaf , fa and ra ( kafir ) branded on his forehead. He will revive the dead, and claim to be a god. Some traditions of Islam relate that he will appear at Isfahan , and that he will rally Jews to his support. However, that is not necessarily a majority view. The Prophet Muhammad asked his followers to recite the first and last ten verses of Chapter 'The Cave' as protection from the Dajjal. These verses deal with the beliefs and activities of the Christian nations. He also taught his followers to pray, "O Allah! I seek refuge in Thee from the trial of the Dajjal." He also said, There is no tribulation greater than that of the Dajjal from the creation of Adam to the day of resurection. The appearance of the Dajjal will correspond with the appearance of the Imam Mahdi , who will rally the faithful on earth to oppose him. This will be followed by a Golden Age in which there are only true believers, but eventually decline will set in and Allah will lose patience with Man and the End will come for Man. This is a retelling of the Christian apocalypse where the end comes with the return of Jesus and Judgement Day . It is stated by the Ahmadiyya Movement that the Messiah came with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and will be fulfilled through his community. He is mentioned in Chapter 16 of " The Arabian Nights ": "Sinbad Voyage 1" or "First Voyage" Also to while away the time of waiting I explored a little island named Cassel, which belonged to King Mihrage, and which was supposed to be inhabited by a spirit named Deggial. Indeed, the sailors assured me that often at night the playing of timbals could be heard upon it.1
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The opening as it stood in 2010 21 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Masih ad-Dajjal ( al-Masīḥ ad-Daǧǧāl , Arabic for "the false messiah") is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology .He is to appear pretending to be Masih (i.e. the Messiah) at a time in the future, before Yawm al-Qiyamah ( Judgment Day ), directly comparable to the figures of the Antichrist and Armilus in Christian and Jewish eschatology, respectively.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 371225192.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Al-Masih ad-Dajjal ( Al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl , "the false messiah "), is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology .He is to appear pretending to be the Masih (i.e. the Messiah ) at a time in the future, before Yawm al-Qiyamah (Day of Resurrection), and is comparable to the Antichrist and Armilus in Christian and medieval Jewish eschatology , respectively.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668236541.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Evil figure in Islamic eschatology Dajjal ( Dajjāl , "the false messiah, liar, the deceiver"; Mšiha Daggala ) is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology .He is said to have come from several different locations, but generally from the East, usually between Syria and Iran, comparable to Christian understanding of the appearance of the Antichrist in Christian eschatology .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963971102.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Islamic eschatological figure An image from a Falname made in India around 1610-1630, depicts Isa fighting the Dajjal (False Prophet).Behind, the Mahdi with a veiled face.Al-Masih ad-Dajjal ( ), otherwise referred to simply as the Dajjal , is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology who will pretend to be the promised Messiah and later claim to be God , appearing before the Day of Judgment according to the Islamic eschatological narrative.The word Dajjal is not mentioned in the Quran , but he is mentioned and described in the ḥadīth literature .Like in Christianity, the Dajjal is said to emerge out in the east, although the specific location varies among the various sources.The Dajjal will imitate the miracles performed by Jesus , such as healing the sick and raising the dead, the latter done with the aid of demons .He will deceive many people, such as weavers, magicians, half-castes, and children of fornication.The Dajjal is often compared to the Antichrist in Christian tradition.In Madelung, Wilferd; Daftary, Farhad (eds.).Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177533396.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Islamic eschatological figure An image from a Falname made in India around 1610-1630, depicts Jesus fighting the Dajjal (right). Behind, the Mahdi with a veiled face. Al-Masih ad-Dajjal ( Arabic : الْمَسِيحُ الدَّجَّالُ , romanized : Al-Masih ad-Dajjal , lit. ' the deceitful Messiah ' ), otherwise referred to simply as the Dajjal , is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology who will pretend to be the promised Messiah and later claim to be God , appearing before the Day of Judgment according to the Islamic eschatological narrative. The Dajjal is not mentioned in the Quran , but he is mentioned and described in the Hadith . Corresponding to the Antichrist in Christianity, the Dajjal is said to emerge out in the East, although the specific location varies among the various sources. The Dajjal will imitate the miracles performed by Jesus , such as healing the sick and raising the dead, the latter done with the aid of demons . He will deceive many people such as weavers, magicians and children of fornication. In Madelung, Wilferd; Daftary, Farhad (eds.). Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic .
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Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “arabic for "the deceiver”. Today it says “antagonistic figure in islamic eschatology who will pretend to be the promised messiah and later claim to be go”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
arabic for "the deceiver
Now
antagonistic figure in islamic eschatology who will pretend to be the promised messiah and later claim to be go
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.