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al-Aʿrāf (pl. of ʿurf, “elevated place”, “crest”), appears in an eschatological judgement scene in Qurʾān 7:46, where a dividing wall is spoken of, which separates the dwellers of Paradise from the dwellers of Hell, and men “who are on the al-aʿrāf and recognise each by his marks” (Q 7:48, “those of the al-aʿrāf”). The interpretation of this passage is disputed. Richard Bell makes a doubtful conjecture that the word is al-iʿrāf and translates: “(Presiding) over the recognition are men, who recognise… .” According to Tor Andrae the “men on the elevated places” are …

Ghazw means “to raid,” with the understanding of gaining spoils thereby (the English “razzia” is a derivative). The term is used extensively in pre-Islamic poetry as the standard term for raiding, especially of camels and other domestic animals, a favourite Bedouin activity. The root is mentioned only once in the Qurʾān (3:156), where the implication is of an activity associated with unbelievers (alladhīna kafarū) rather than believers. The term soon gained an Islamic connotation and was used, in the first centuries of Islam, for the battles and raids of the pr…

The donkey appears in Muslim eschatology as the principal method of locomotion for the Dajjāl (Antichrist) during the brief period of his rule at the end of the world. Use of the donkey for the Antichrist figure is in opposition to the use of the donkey in the biblical tradition, where it is generally held to be one of the signs of the messianic figure (cf. Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Matt. 21:5). The most probable reason for this difference has to do with the difference in attitude towards the donkey: in the Qurʾānic tradition the donkey (ḥimār) is considered to be emblematic of…

Gog and Magog (Yājūj wa-Mājūj) are two subhuman peoples, mentioned in the Qurʾān (Q 18:94, 21:96), located usually in the region of Central Asia or northern Asia, who, as part of the apocalyptic events prior to the end of the world, will invade and destroy large sections of the Muslim world. Yājūj and Mājūj are based upon the biblical peoples of Gog and Magog, first mentioned in Ezekiel 38–9, and amplified in Revelation 20:7–9 and in Christian early-Islamic-era apocalypses (Pseudo-Methodius, 133–4…

The word fitna (pl. fitan), which occurs thirty-four times in the Qurʾān—where it means approximately “trial, temptation” (or perhaps “distraction [from the faith]”)—was found across religious and political boundaries in early Islam. Its pre-Islamic usage appears to include the idea of “a melting (of metals) in order to separate or distinguish the good from the bad” (Lane, s.v. fitna; as perhaps in Q 21:35, 54:27), but in the Qurʾānic text it is often contrasted with some absolute, such as “killing” or “death” (Q 2:191, 217), which are said to be preferable to the fitna, with its associ…

The Dajjāl is a malevolent creature in human form, who appears at the end of the world as the apocalyptic opponent of Jesus. The Arabic word dajjāl (lit., “cheat, impostor”) is probably cognate with the Syriac dagalo (deceiver), which is used frequently for the Antichrist. The Dajjāl is not mentioned or alluded to in the Qurʾān but appears in apocalyptic works and canonical ḥadīth collections. The Dajjāl is usually said to be Jewish and to come from the eastern part of the Muslim world, either Isfahan or various other cities in Iraq, Fars, or Khurāsān. He i…

Apocalypse, referring to the revelation of things to come, especially the end of time, in standard Muslim apocalyptic narrative is closely related to that developed in the classical Roman-Byzantine world (herein referred to as Judaeo-Christian apocalypses), first by Jews (cf. the book of Daniel and many other Second Temple era compositions), and then utilised extensively by Christians (cf. Matthew 24, 2 Peter 3, and especially the book of Revelation) and probably by Zoroastrians as well. In func…