The boy suspected to be Dajjal (Ibn Ṣayyād) — what actually happened
Who he was
His name was Ṣāfī ibn Ṣayyād (often called Ibn Ṣayyād).
He was a young Jewish boy living in Madinah during the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime.
Some companions suspected him because:
- he behaved strangely
- he made cryptic statements
- he claimed to receive “information”
- he showed signs of deception
This raised concern because the Prophet ﷺ had warned that Dajjal would appear before the Hour.
The Prophet’s ﷺ interaction with him
The Prophet ﷺ tested him — not to confirm him as Dajjal, but to expose false claims.
In
Sahih Muslim:
- The Prophet ﷺ hid a verse from the Qur’an and asked Ibn Ṣayyād what it was
- Ibn Ṣayyād gave a partial, distorted answer
- The Prophet ﷺ replied: “Be disgraced — you cannot go beyond your rank.”
This showed he was not receiving revelation, only confused whispers.
Key point: The Prophet ﷺ never declared him Dajjal.
ʿUmar (raḍiyAllāhu ʿanhu) even asked permission to kill him — the Prophet ﷺ refused. From some sources He PBUH told him if he in fact is Dajjal, you can’t kill him only Isa Ibn Maryam PBUH can, and if he isn’t Dajjal, we don’t harm children.
Was Ibn Ṣayyād actually Dajjal?
No. Or at the very least he was suspected but at the time wasn’t proven to be.
Later narrations clarify this.
In
Sahih Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ said:
- Dajjal is chained
- Dajjal will appear near the end of time
- Dajjal’s fitnah (trial) will be global
None of that applied to Ibn Ṣayyād.
Scholars unanimously conclude:
Ibn Ṣayyād was a trial, not Dajjal himself.
What happened to Ibn Ṣayyād later?
This part is reported but disputed —
What is reported:
- He later accepted Islam openly
- He denied being Dajjal
- He made tawbah
- He lived among the Muslims
Some historical reports say he later:
- participated in military expeditions
- possibly died during the conquest era
But scholars caution: details of his later life are not fully established.
If he were Dajjal, repentance would not apply if he indeed did make taubah.
Next I will In Sha Allah post the verified account of Dajjal being chained and mentioning the signs before arrival.
May Allah forgive me if I missed anything here, thought this was an interesting and important detail to post about.
Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (saws) in English and Arabic
sunnah.com
Full account.
I know there’s certain secret fans of Islam on here that without knowing any better like to pluck out Hadith out of context and then act smart, so thought I’d clear things up so there’s no confusion
Any Muslim brothers, correct me if I missed anything.