Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Burhan:

Asalaam-u-Alaikum.

The following questions are very much concerning and I hope you would put some light on them:

Dajjall, Yajooj, Majooj, Mahdi, Al-Daabah, Jinn, Iblis, Shaitaan, Al-Sayyadd and Imaam-us-Zamaan;

Can you differentiate them? Who are these and what are their characteristics and basis in Islam?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Al-Sayyadd and Imaam-us-Zamaan

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Ref: Al-Sayyadd

There is no reference to someone named Al-Sayyadd either in the Quran or the Sunnah. In the context of the other names you have asked about, there was a person mentioned in the authentic hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (saws), who was named Ibn-Saiyad.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.290B Narrated by Ibn Umar

Allah's Apostle (saws) went along with Ubai bin Ka'b to the garden of date-palms, where Ibn Saiyad was staying. When the Prophet entered the garden, he started hiding himself behind the trunks of the date-palms as he wanted to hear something from the Ibn Saiyad before the latter could see him. Ibn Saiyad was lying in his bed, covered with a velvet sheet from where his murmurs were heard. Ibn Saiyad's mother saw the Prophet while he was hiding himself behind the trunks of the date-palms. She addressed Ibn Saiyad, "O Saf!" (And this was his name). Ibn Saiyad got up. The Prophet said, "Had this woman let him to himself, he would have revealed the reality of his case." Then the Prophet got up amongst the people, glorifying Allah as He deserves, he mentioned Ad-Dajjal, saying, "I warn you about him (i.e. Ad-Dajjal) and there is no prophet who did not warn his nation about him, and Noah warned his nation about him, but I tell you a statement which no prophet informed his nation of. You should understand that he is a one-eyed man, and Allah is not one-eyed."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.615 Narrated by Ibn Umar

The Prophet (saws) said to Ibn Saiyad, "I have kept for you a secret." Ibn Saiyad said, "Ad-Dukh (the smoke)." The Prophet said, "Keep quiet, for you cannot go beyond your limits (or you cannot exceed what has been foreordained for you)." On that, 'Umar said (to the Prophet (saws) ), "Allow me to chop off his neck!" The Prophet (saws) said, "Leave him, for if he is he (i.e., Ad-Dajjal), then you will not be able to overcome him, and if he is not, then you gain no good by killing him."

Ref:: Imaam-uz-zamaan

There is absolutely no reference to this term in the Quran and Sunnah, as understood by some sects of Islam, whereby a four-year-old ‘imam’ is in hiding and will reveal himself near the end of time! This is a myth and a fantasy concocted by some people, and this disappearing ‘imam-uz-zamaan’ has absolutely no basis, authority, or reality in the deen of Islam.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan