The Sun Rising from the West and the Long Day in the Time of the Dajjal

Short answer

Both matters are established in authentic hadiths. The sun rising from the west is mentioned in the narration of Abu Hurayrah RA, al-Bukhari no. 4635. The day as long as a year, a month, and a week is mentioned in the narration of al-Nawwas bin Sam‘an RA, Muslim no. 2937, concerning the period during which the Dajjal will remain on earth. They are two different narrations; these hadiths do not specify the time interval between the two events.

Translation

1. the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The Hour will not occur until the sun rises from the west. When people see it, everyone on earth will believe. That is when a person’s faith will no longer benefit him if he had not believed before.”

2. We asked: “O Messenger of Allah, how long will he remain on earth?” He replied: “Forty days; one day like a year, one day like a month, one day like a week, and the rest of his days like your days.” We asked: “O Messenger of Allah, on the day that is like a year, will it be sufficient for us to pray as we pray for one day?” He replied: “No. Estimate its time.”

Narrator

Abu Hurayrah RA — the sun rising from the west; al-Nawwas bin Sam‘an RA — the period of the Dajjal

Sources and scholars

al-Bukhari; Muslim; Yahya bin Sharaf al-Nawawi

Scholarly commentary

1. al-Bukhari narrated the hadith of the sun rising from the west from Abu Hurayrah RA in Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Tafsir, no. 4635.

2. Muslim narrated the hadith concerning the period of the Dajjal from al-Nawwas bin Sam‘an RA in Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fitan wa Ashrat al-Sa‘ah, Bab Dhikr al-Dajjal wa Sifatihi wa Ma Ma‘ahu, no. 2937.

3. al-Nawawi, in al-Minhaj Sharh Sahih Muslim, commentary on no. 2937, explains that those three days are understood as being truly long in a literal sense. The prayer times must be estimated according to the intervals of an ordinary day.

Explanation

1. Is the sun rising from the west mentioned in an authentic hadith?

Yes. The narration of Abu Hurayrah RA in Sahih al-Bukhari no. 4635 mentions it as an event near the Hour. The hadith also states that new faith will no longer benefit a person who had not believed before.

2. What is the context of one day being like a year, a month, and a week?

It relates to the Dajjal. The Companions asked how long the Dajjal would remain on earth, and the Prophet SAW explained a period of forty days, with three days that are extraordinarily long. This is an excerpt from the hadith of Muslim no. 2937.

3. Will that day merely feel long?

al-Nawawi explains that the period is understood according to its apparent meaning, namely that it will truly be long.

4. How should prayer be performed on that long day?

The Prophet SAW rejected the assumption that the prayers of only one day would be sufficient. He instructed that the times be estimated; al-Nawawi explains this based on the intervals of prayer times on an ordinary day.

5. Does this hadith specify the time before the sun rises from the west?

The wording concerning the long day explains the time of the Dajjal. The two cited narrations do not specify the time interval between the emergence of the Dajjal and the sun rising from the west. They should not be combined as though they were a single hadith or a detailed timetable.

Conclusion

The status of both narrations is Sahih. The sun rising from the west and the long day in the time of the Dajjal are two different contexts. The cited hadiths do not determine the time interval between the two events.