This article is partly or wholly incorporated into the book "The Fitnah of the Dajjal".
Hadiths about the black banners from Khorasan
Here are a few hadiths concerning the black banners that come from the East. Some of them are classified as weak (da'if); where this is the case, it is noted below the text. The collection is presented for information, not as a settled account.
The Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said: "If you hear news of the black flags coming from Khorasan, you must join them even if you have to crawl over ice, for the Khalifah of Allah, the Mahdi, will be among them."
[Masnad Ahmad 5:277, Sunan Ibn Majah]
Note on grading: This version, transmitted through Thawban, is graded weak (da'if) by hadith scholars for several reasons: the chain contains Sufyan al-Thawri, a known mudallis who did not explicitly state that he heard it; another chain contains Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jud'an, who is weak; and another is munqati' (broken). Ibn al-Jawzi stated that a version of this hadith has "no basis" (la asla lahu). The command to "join them" should therefore not be treated as an established prophetic instruction.
Thauban reported that the Prophet salla allahu alaihi wa sallam said: "Three will fight over your treasure, each of them the son of a Khalifah. Then none of them will get it. Then the black flags will appear from the East and they will kill you (or fight you) as no people have killed (or fought)." Then he mentioned something which I did not remember. Then he said: "When you see him (the Mahdi), give him your allegiance, even if crawling on snow (or even if you have to crawl over snow), for he is the Khalifah of Allah, Al-Mahdi."
[Ibn Majah and Al-Hakim; Ibn Kathir said: "This is a strong, healthy chain of transmission (Isnad)."]
Note on grading: Ibn Kathir's assessment of this particular chain as strong is noted, but it is not unanimous. Other scholars have raised issues with chains carrying the same material (see the note on the previous hadith). The grading of this tradition is therefore disputed.
The above hadith shows that those who fight "you" (the Arabs) come from a cold climate (crawling over ice), supported by the following hadith:
Nafi' bin Utba reports: We were with Allah's Messenger s.a.w. on an expedition when people from the direction of the West came to Allah's Apostle s.a.w. They wore woollen clothes and stood near a hillock, and they met Allah's Messenger while he was sitting. I thought to myself, it is better that you go to them and stand between them and him so that they cannot attack him. Then I thought that a secret agreement was taking place between them. However, I went to them and placed myself between them and him, and I remember four words which I repeat. He said: "You will attack Arabia, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. Then you will attack Persia, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. Then you will attack Rome, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. Then you will attack the Dajjal, and Allah will enable you to defeat him." Nafi' said: Jabir, we thought that the Dajjal would appear after Rome had been defeated.
[Sahih Muslim, Book 41, 6930]
Abu Hurairah r.a. reported that the Prophet s.a.w. said: "Black banners will come from Khorasan. No power will stop them until they finally reach Eela (Baitul Maqdis / Jerusalem), where they will erect their banners."
[Sunan Tirmidhi, Kitab-al-Fitan, Hadith 2371]
Note on grading: Al-Tirmidhi himself graded this hadith gharib (strange/weak), and its chain contains Rashdin ibn Sa'd, who is criticized. A similar wording is also reported from Ka'b al-Ahbar, suggesting the material may have entered the tradition from that source rather than directly from the Prophet.
Abdur Rahman Al-Jarshi reported that he heard from the Companion Amr Bin Marra Al-Jamli r.a. that the Prophet s.a. said: "Truly, black flags will appear from Khorasan until these people tie their horses to the olive trees between Bait-e-Lahya and Harasta." We asked, are there olive trees between these places? He said, "If there are none there, they will soon grow, so that these people may come and tie their horses there."
[Kitab-al-Fitan, p. 215]
Note on grading: This report is not found in the major canonical collections and its chain is not among the well-known, rigorously authenticated ones. It should be treated as a weak report.
Bait Lahya is located in the north of the Gaza Strip, and Harasta, also known as Harasta al-Basal, is a city and north-eastern suburb of Damascus. The soldiers of this army will be the ones primarily fighting Malhama al-Kubra, the great battle.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said: "The last hour will not come until the Romans land at al-A'maq or in Dabiq. An army of the best (soldiers) among the people of the earth at that time will come from a city (Medina) to confront them. When they line up in ranks, the Romans will say: Do not stand between us and those (Muslims) who took prisoners from among us. Let us fight them. And the Muslims will say: No, by Allah, we will never withdraw from you and our brothers so that you may fight them. They will then begin to fight, and one third of the army will flee, whom Allah will not forgive. One third will be killed, and they are the best martyrs in the sight of Allah, and one third, who will never be exposed to trial, will win, and they will be the conquerors of Constantinople. And while they are busy distributing the war booty after hanging their swords on the olive trees, Satan will call out: 'The Dajjal has taken your place among your families.' And they will come out, but it will be of no use. And when they come to Syria, he (the Dajjal) will appear while they are still preparing for battle and lining up in ranks. Certainly, the time of prayer will come, and then Jesus a.s., the son of Mary, will descend and lead them in prayer. When the enemy of Allah sees him, he will (vanish) just as salt dissolves when it is placed in water. And even if he (Jesus) did not confront him, he would still completely dissolve, but Allah will kill him through his hand and he will show them the blood on his lance."
[Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fitan, Hadith 2897]
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said: "You have heard of a city, one side of which lies on land and the other side in the sea (Constantinople)." They said: Yes, Messenger of Allah. Then he said: The last hour will not come until 70,000 people of Bani Ishac (children of the Prophet Isaac) attack it. When they land there, they will neither fight with weapons nor rain arrows, but will only say: "There is no god but Allah and Allah is greater", and one side (of the city wall) will fall. Thaur (one of the narrators) said: I believe he said, the side facing the sea. Then they will say a second time: "There is no god but Allah and Allah is greater", and the second side will also fall, and they will say: "There is no god but Allah and Allah is greater", and the gates will be opened to them. And while they are collecting the war booty and distributing it among themselves, a sound will be heard and it will be said: 'Truly, the Dajjal has come.' And so they will leave everything and turn to him."
[Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fitan, Hadith 2920]
Note on the text: The word "Bani Ishac" (children of Isaac) is what appears in the manuscript tradition of Sahih Muslim. However, classical commentators such as al-Qadi Abu al-Fadl noted that "the well-known, preserved version is 'Bani Isma'il'" (children of Ishmael, i.e. the Arabs), which fits the context of the hadith. Ibn al-Munir responded that the manuscripts are unanimous on "Bani Ishaq," but suggested it may still refer to the Arabs via their descent from their "uncle" Isaac. The identification of the group in this hadith is therefore disputed.
Hadrat Umama reported a long hadith from the Prophet s.a.w. in which Umm Sharik asked: "Where will the Arabs be on that day?" The Prophet s.a.w. said: "They will be few in number. And of these remaining Arabs, most will be in Bait-ul-Muqaddas (Syria), and their leader will be a pious man (al-Mahdi). When their leader goes forward to lead the morning prayer, Isa a.s. (Jesus) will descend from heaven."
[Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab al-Fitan, Hadith 4077]
As we see, there will be only a few Arabs at that time. The reason for this is mentioned in other ahadith:
Abdullah bin Amr r.a. reported that the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said: "There will be a Fitnah (suffering, trial, temptation) that will cleanse the Arabs (tastanzifu); its dead will be in Hell. During (this trial) the tongue will be sharper than the blow of a sword."
[Ahmad, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]
The scholar At-Tuwaijari explains that 'cleansing the Arabs' means that most of them will be destroyed. By what they are destroyed is not stated in the hadith itself. Some contemporary readers interpret the passage in light of modern events — for example, as referring to atomic war or meteorite impacts, as presented in another article — or to a plague, as described in the following hadith. These are interpretive readings, not contents of the hadith:
"A plague will come upon you (and kill you in great numbers) as a plague strikes sheep."
[Bukhari, Vol. 4, Book 51, 401]
This plague can be of natural cause, but some readers consider biological weapons more likely. There is the probabbility that, after the mass death of a Third World War, most technology will no longer function (e.g. due to the EMP effect) — which would explain why horses and swords are used again.
___________________________
Related article:
