Hadith of Najd

The Hadith of Najd is a hadith in Sahih

Bukhari with several chains of narration
about three geographical locations, one of
which is prophesied to be the source of
calamities. Sunni Muslims accept that the
classification of the hadith as "sahih"
(authentic).

Text of the hadith

According to two narrations in Sahih
Bukhari, Muhammad asks Allah to bless
the areas of Bilad al-Sham (Syria) and
Yemen. When his companions said "Our
Najd as well," he replied: There will appear
earthquakes and afflictions, and from
there will come out the side of the head
(i.e. horns) of Satan.[1][2] In a similar
narration, Muhammad again asked Allah
to bless the areas Medina, Mecca, Sham,
and Yemen and, when asked specifically to
bless Najd, repeated similar comments
about there being earthquakes, trials,
tribulations, and the horns of Satan.[3][4]
 "O Allaah bestow your blessings
on our Shaam. O Allaah bestow
your blessings on our Yemen."
The people said, "O Messenger of
Allaah, and our Najd." I think
the third time the Prophet,
sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam,
said, "There (in Najd) will occur
earthquakes, trials and
tribulations, and from there
appears the Horn of Satan."

It has been asserted that this hadith is

relating the coming events that shook the
Muslim nation, these known as fitnah or
'trials'. It has also been identified as where
the Dajjal or Antichrist is said to emerge
from (according to a narration through
Imam Nawawi).[5] There have also been
various theories instigated against the
people of the modern day region of Saudi
Arabia known as 'Najd',[6] however,
linguistical and geographically this
argument is disputed.[7]

Location of Najd
The Arabic word Najd generally means a
highland. It can also refer, as a proper
noun, to the region of Najd in Saudi
Arabia.[8] Some medieval Islamic scholars,
who lived before the Wahhabi movement
originating in the 18th century CE, wrote
different interpretations of what this
hadith could be referring to.
Contemporarily, this hadith is widely
understood to refer to the Wahhabi
movement.[9][10][11] Some scholars dispute
this claim. Possible locations listed are the
areas around Yemen, Iraq, and Saudi
Arabia.[12]Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said after
quoting the words of al-Khattaabee
explaining the meaning of Qarn (horn) ;

"and others have said that the People of

the East were disbelievers at that time
and the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu
 alayhi wa sallam, informed us that the
trials and tribulations would arise from
that direction and it was as he said. And
the first of the trials that arose, arose
from the direction of the east and they
were the reason for the splitting of the
Muslim ranks, and this is what Satan
loves and delights in. Likewise, the
innovations appeared from that
direction."[13]

Ibn Hajr quoted al-Khattabi as saying:

"The najd is in the direction of the east,

and for the one who is in Madeenah
then his Najd would be the desert of
Iraaq and its regions for this is to the
east of the People of Madeenah. The
basic meaning of Najd is that which is
raised/elevated from the earth in
contravention to al-Gawr for that is what
is lower than it. Tihaamah [the coastal
plain along the south-western and
southern shores of the Arabian
Peninsula] is entirely al-Gawr and Mecca
is in Tihaamah.'[...] by this [saying of al-
Khattaabee] the weakness of the saying
of ad-Daawodee is understood that
'Najd is in the direction of Iraq' [min
Nahiya al-Iraq] for he suggests that Najd
is a specific place. This is not the case,
rather everything that is elevated with
 respect to what adjoins it is called Najd
and the lower area called Gawr."[14]

The celebrated 12th-century historian Ali

ibn al-Athir, who had frequently traveled to
Iraq during the era of Saladin and had
written his monumental work al-Kamil fi at-
Tarikh (The Complete History), writes in his
work 'al-Nihâyah' ;

"Najd is the highland region. This name

is given to area beyond the Hijâz
towards Iraq".[15]

It is also related that Imam Nawawi in his

Sharh Saheeh Muslim 2/29 stated that this
hadith had to with the Dajjal or Antichrist
coming from the East.[16]

Contemporary theories

Traditional Sunni Scholars view

A number of authors have claimed that the

hadith refers to Muhammad ibn Abd al-
Wahhab, the patronym of the Wahhabi
movement. It is accounted that the origin
of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab is from
the modern day Najd region of Saudi
Arabia which happens to be the only
surviving region that carried on the title of
'Najd' after the geographical codification
regardless that there were several distinct
locations known previously as 'Najd'. This
theory is generally accepted by number of
scholars from Sunni movement including
Barelvi Movement and reputed Al-Azhar
University scholars, they identified
Wahhabism as the predicted "Horn of the
Devil", or the Islamic Dajjal.[17][18]

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (368h-463h) was quoted

as saying: "Allah knows best that the
reason behind pointing of Prophet peace
be upon him towards east regarding fitna
is that the biggest fitna which was the key
of troubles was the martyrdom of Uthman
ibn Affan may Allah be pleased with him,
and that was the reason behind the war of
Jamal and Siffeen, these troubles started
from the east. Then Khawarij emerged
from the land of Najd, Iraq and its
regions."[19] Many modern Salafi deny this,
since it would condemn their own
ideology, and instead claim that it is
referring to Iraq.[20] It is notable that Iraq is
not a highland, but an alluvial plain.[21][22]

Wahhabi view

Contrary, advocates of Wahhabism

consider the Banu Tamim tribe of
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, in the
present-day Saudi Arabia, as the only one,
who will resist the Dajjal, citing certain
scholarly works, such as the Musnad of
Ahmad ibn Hanbal: "Do not say of Banu
Tamim anything but good, for indeed they
are the severest of people in attacking the
Dajjaal."[23] Further, the Ibn Hajar praises
the Banu Tamim in his Tafsir: "I have loved
the people of the tribe of Banu Tamim,
ever since I heard three things the
Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu alayhi wa
sallam, said about them. I heard him
saying, 'these people (of the tribe of Banu
Tamim) would stand firm against the
Dajjaal.' When the Saddaqat from that tribe
came, the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu
alayhi wa sallam, said, "these are the
Saddaqat (charitable gifts) of our folk."
Aa'ishah had a slave girl from that tribe,
and the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa
sallam, said to Aa'ishah, 'manumit her as
she is a descendant of Ismaa'eel, alayhis
salaam."[24]

See also
Invasion of Najd
Memoirs of Mr. Hempher, The British
Spy to the Middle East
Fitnat al-Wahhabiyya

External links
 Puncturing the Devil's Dream About the
Hadiths of Najd and Tamim -
Masud.co.uk (http://masud.co.uk/punct
uring-the-devils-dream-about-the-hadiths
-of-najd-and-tamim/)

References
1. Sahih Bukhari, Hadith no. 1037 (http
s://sunnah.com/bukhari:1037)
2. Sahih Bukhari, Hadith no. 7094 (http
s://sunnah.com/bukhari:7094)
3. "O Allah bestow your blessings on our
Medina, and bestow your blessings on
our Mecca, and bestow your blessings
on our Sham, and bestow your
blessings on our Yemen, and bestow
your blessings in our measuring (fee
saa`inaa wa muddinaa)." A person
said, "O Messenger of Allah and in our
Najd" and so he turned away from him
and said, "there will occur
earthquakes, trials and tribulations
and there will appear the horn of
Satan." From Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut: Sharh
as-Sunnah' (14/206-207 fn. 2)
4. O Allah bestow your blessings on our
Medina, O Allah bestow your blessings
in our measuring, O Allah bestow your
blessings in our Sham and our Yemen."
A person said, "And Najd O Messenger
of Allah?" He said, "from there arises
the horn of Satan and the trials and
tribulations would come like mounting
waves." From al-Awsat by at-
Tabaraanee from Hadith of Ibn Umar
and authenticated by Ali ibn Abu Bakr
al-Haythami in Mujma az-Zawaa`id
(3/305)
5. "Sunan Ibn Majah 4072 - Tribulations -
‫ ﻛﺘﺎب اﻟﻔﺘﻦ‬- Sunnah.com - Sayings and
Teachings of Prophet Muhammad
(‫ﻋﻠﻴﻪ و ﺳﻠﻢ‬ ‫( ")ﺻﻠﻰ ا‬https://sunnah.co
m/ibnmajah:4072) . sunnah.com.
Retrieved 10 May 2021.
6. "The Saga of "Hempher," Purported
British Spy an extract from "The
Hidden Hand: Middle East Fears of
Conspiracy," pp. 211–12" (http://www.
danielpipes.org/1648/the-saga-of-hem
pher-purported-british-spy) .
danielpipes.org.
7. Dr. Turki bin Fahad al-Ghamiz, Imtina'
an-Nabi 'alaihi as-Salatu was-Salam 'an
ad-Du'a li-Najd (http://www.islamtoday.
net/fatawa/quesshow-60-
82222.htm) . Islam Today, 10
December 2005. Retrieved 24 June
2018.
8. Wehr, Hans (1979). A Dictionary of
Modern Written Arabic (https://books.
google.com/books?id=WTak55pG-_I
C) . Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
ISBN 978-3-447-02002-2. Retrieved
31 October 2020.
 9. "Mention of Najdi Wahabbi Fitna in
Sunni Ahadith || Imam Reza (A.S.)
Network" (https://www.imamreza.net/
old/eng/imamreza.php?id=11969) .
www.imamreza.net. Retrieved
31 October 2020.
10. "Puncturing the Devil's Dream About
the Hadiths of Najd and Tamim" (htt
p://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/na
jd.htm) . www.masud.co.uk. Retrieved
31 October 2020.
11. Syed, Sayeed. "THE HADITH OF NAJD |
Tawheed Center of Novi Association"
(https://novitawheedcenter.org/the-ha
dith-of-najd/genislamic/) .
12. Imam Yaqut al-Hamawi. Mu'jam al-
Buldan. p. Vol.19 Pg.265.
13. Asqalani, Ibn Hajar. Fath al-Bari 13/58
in commentary to the hadith of Najd.
14. Ibn Hajar. Fath al-Baaree 13/58-59.
15. Ali ibn al-Athir. al-Nihâyah (5/18).
16. Nawawi. Sharh Saheeh Muslim 2/29.
17. Simon Ross Valentine Force and
Fanaticism: Wahhabism in Saudi
Arabia and Beyond Oxford University
Press 2015 ISBN 978-1-849-04616-9
18. John Andrew Morrow Restoring the
Balance: Using the Qur’an and the
Sunnah to Guide a Return to the
Prophet's Islam Cambridge Scholars
Publishing 2016 ISBN 978-1-443-
89296-4 page 200
19. Imam Ibn 'Abd al-Barr. Al Istadhkaar.
p. 8/519.
20. "Salafi Publications | Concerning the
Ahadeeth of Najd" (http://www.salafip
ublications.com/sps/sp.cfm?subsecID
=MSC05&articleID=MSC050002&articl
ePages=1) .
www.salafipublications.com. Retrieved
31 October 2020.
21. "Iraq" (http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aq
uastat/countries_regions/IRQ/IRQ-CP_
eng.pdf) (PDF). fao.org. Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
22. Sahih al-Bukhari 3753 Narrated Ibn Abi
Nu'm: A person asked `Abdullah bin
`Umar whether a Muslim could kill
flies. I heard him saying (in reply). "The
people of Iraq are asking about the
killing of flies while they themselves
murdered the son of the daughter of
Allah's Messenger (‫ )ﷺ‬. The Prophet
(‫ )ﷺ‬said, They (i.e. Hasan and
Husain) are my two sweet basils in
this world."
 23. Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Musnad Ahmad
ibn Hanbal.
24. al-Fath hadith 2543 and 4366.

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