The Messenger of Allah stated, "There has been no Messenger from the time of Nooh, (a.s.) (Noah) who has not warned his followers about Dajjal. I, too am warning you of it". -Abu Obaydah (ra) bin Zarrah-Tirmizi, Abu Daud.

The Messenger of Allah has singled out the appearance of Dajjal on the earth as being the single most important occurrence in the history of the world. In this Hadis, however, in informing about other Messengers' warnings to their followers about it, he has stated the time starting from the prophet-hood of Nooh (a.s.), (Noah) implying Messengers prior to Nooh (a.s.) did not warn about it. From this statement we can gather that there was no need for them to have done so, because if there was any reason, then they certainly would have done so. The question that arises now is, why was there no need for any Messenger of Allah before Nooh (a.s.), Noah to warn their followers about the coming of the Dajjal and why did the need arise after his (Nooh) nabuyat or his time? The correct answer to this is known to Allah only, but as far as my understanding goes, the history of mankind can be divided into two broad parts. Phase one started with Adam (a.s.) to right before Nooh (a.s.), (Noah) and the second phase from Nooh (a.s.) to the end of the world. Nooh (a.s.) is referred to as the Adam-e-Sani or the second Adam since mankind started afresh from his time; after the deluge and complete destruction of mankind except Nooh (a.s.) and his companions therefore a second part or phase in the history of mankind started with him. We find no reference to any Messenger sent before Nooh (a.s.) in the Qur'an, except Adam (a.s.) but that is not to imply that none were sent before him since Allah has informed us of sending Messengers to every people, every locality[41] and He also said, "Indeed We have sent Messengers before you (O Mohammad); of some of them We have related to you their story and of some We have not related."[42] Hadis informs us about one hundred and twenty four thousand, from one source and two hundred and twenty four from another, all before and after Nooh (a.s.), (Noah).

It is interesting to note that 30 or so Messengers Allah himself has mentioned in the Qur'an, all belong to the time span after the Messenger Nooh (a.s.).

All the other one hundred and twenty four thousand, or according to some two hundred and twenty four thousand Messengers lived and worked in areas or regions unknown to us.

In the Hindu scripture,[43] the history of mankind has been divided into four parts; each part known as an Age. The first part is known as the Age of Truth (Sattya), the second as the Age of Treta, the third and fourth as the Ages of Dapar and Koli respectively. At the end of Koli Yug or Age, Doomsday is to strike bringing an end to mankind and this world. According to that scripture, if there were ever a conflict between truth and falsehood in the Age of Sattya (Truth), truth would triumph every time. In the Age of Treta, the same conflict would result in truth emerging as the victor fifty times out of hundred and in Dapar Age it came down to twenty five times out of hundred; i.e., falsehood would prevail seventy five times out of hundred conflict over truth. In the Koli Age, however, not one time in hundred would truth win over falsehood. Each and every time truth and falsehood clashed, falsehood would emerge victorious.

In faraway Greece and Rome, the lifetime of mankind has been divided into almost similar categories. The first being the Golden Age, followed by the Age of Silver, the third being the Age of Copper and lastly, the Age of Iron, a categorization, more or less identical to the Hindu divisions of time. Although no such partitions exist in Islam, few doubt that the present era is the Akheri Zamana or the Final Period mentioned in numerous Hadis. According to the Sanatan religion, wrongly called Hindu religion now a days, man lived for about one lakh years in the Age of Sattya (Truth), ten thousand years in the Age of Treta, two thousand years in the Age of Dapar and finally, in Koli Yug or Age, the life expectancy of man came down to only one hundred and twenty years.

It seems that above described age limits were not the average, rather the limits, since in our era, the Age of Koli, 120 years is among the highest number of years any person is expected to live.

[40] The Qur'an- Sura Araf-16, 17.

[41] The Qur'an- Sura Yunus-47, Sura Nahl-36, Sura Ra'd-7.

[42] The Qur'an- Sura Mo'men-78.

[43] In reality, there exists no religion by the name of 'Hindu'; there is no mention of this term in the Baed of Veda, Uponishad, Geeta or Puran. In all probability, it is a derivation of the word 'Indus' or 'Sindhu' and can be traced back to the Asia Minor of Turkey in particular. The actual name of the religion practiced in this subcontinent is 'Sanatan' meaning 'Ever-lasting, Eternal' identical to the Qur'an's name of the Din-ul-Qaiyemah, ever-lasting, true-religion e.g. Tawheed. (Sura Room, Ayat 43, Sura Baiyenat, Ayat 5, Sura Yusuf, Ayat 40).