Can the description of the Antichrist (Dajjal) in the Hadith be symbolic, and can the donkey mentioned in the Hadith be a symbol for an airplane?
In Musnad Ahmad, there is a describing the Dajjal and his donkey. Al-Albani graded this hadith as weak, yet some of its segments are authenticated in other sound hadiths. Al-Hakim narrated this hadith and authenticated it, and Al-Dhahabi and Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut concurred with him. Furthermore, sound narrations from Ibn Mas'ud and Abu al-Tufayl describe the Dajjal's donkey.
As for interpreting the Dajjal's donkey as an airplane, it is unacceptable due to the absence of any metaphorical relationship between them, and because the default is to interpret speech literally unless there is an indication for a metaphorical interpretation. Al-Subki, Al-Zarkashi, and Ibn al-Qayyim all emphasized that the default meaning of words is their literal one, and that interpreting them metaphorically without evidence is mere conjecture and following speculation.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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