Concluding Verses of Surat al-Kahf on the Dajjal

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ 

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

While most of the Hadith on the subject have the Holy Prophet Muhammad, sall Allahu alaihi wasallam, instructing Believers to memorize and recite the first ten verses of Surat al-Kahf for protection agains the Dajjal, in another version it is the concluding ten verses of Surat al-Kahf that are mentioned:

 مَنْ حَفِظَ عَشْرَ آيَاتٍ مِنْ آخِرِ الْكَهْفِ عُصِمَ مِنَ الدَّجَّالِ

Whoever memorized the last ten verses of al-Kahf obtained protection from the Dajjal (Sahih Muslim)

مَنْ حَفِظَ مِنْ خَوَاتِيمِ سُورَةِ الْكَهْفِ عُصِمَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الدَّجَّالِ

Whoever memorized the concluding verses of Surat al-Kahf obtained protection from the tribulation of the Dajjal (Sunan Abi Dawud)

The apparently two different versions of the Hadith are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the subject matter of both the opening and concluding verses of Surat al-Kahf are strikingly similar and therefore it appears the Prophet, sall Allahu alaihi wasallam, conveyed the meaning of both to the people, that memorizing the first and last ten verses of Surat al-Kahf is a means of protection from the tribulation of the Dajjal.

For instance, both passages emphasize the temporality of this world, for the tribulation of the Dajjal is a temptation to trade Faith for a fleeting enjoyment of this Dunya.

It is reasonable to understand from the Hadith about memorizing and reciting the concluding verses of Surat al-Kahf as a means of protection from the Dajjal that the subject matter of those verses is relevant to the reality of the Dajjal.

In those concluding verses, Allah says:

ۣالَّذِیۡنَ کَانَتۡ اَعۡیُنُہُمۡ فِیۡ غِطَـآءٍ عَنۡ ذِکۡرِیۡ وَکَانُوۡا لَا یَسۡتَطِیۡعُوۡنَ سَمۡعًا

Whose eyes were veiled to My Reminder so that they heeded it not, and who could not even hear

(Surah 18, Ayah 101)

Eyes being veiled is an allusion to the Dajjal, who is described as a man blind in one eye

اَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِیۡنَ کَفَرُوۡۤا اَنۡ یَّتَّخِذُوۡا عِبَادِیۡ مِنۡ دُوۡنِیۡۤ اَوۡلِیَآءَ

Do the disbelievers imagine that they can take My slaves as helpers instead of Me

(Surah 18, Ayah 102)

A slave of Allah being taken as a helper besides Allah is an allusion to the Dajjal, who will call upon the people to worship him as a god. This Ayah is an example of the term Ibad (slaves) applying to all humans, regardless of whether they are believers or unbelievers, for the Dajjal is among the worst unbelievers, between whose eyes will be written:

كافر

ذٰلِکَ جَزَآؤُہُمۡ جَہَنَّمُ بِمَا کَفَرُوۡا وَاتَّخَذُوۡۤا اٰیٰتِیۡ وَرُسُلِیۡ ہُزُوًا   

Gehinnom will be their reward, because they disbelieved, and made a jest of My Signs and My Messengers

(Surah 18, Ayah 106)

The Dajjal, or Antichrist, will speak egregious blasphemy against God, His Signs and Apostles, “And he shall speak great words against the most High” (Daniel 7:25), “and upon his heads the name of blasphemy” (Revelation 13:1), “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies…And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:5,6)