Dhul-Suwayqatayn

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Dhul-Suwayqatayn (Arabic: ذو السويقتين, lit. 'the man with two thin legs',[1][2] Amharic: ዱል-ሱወይቃታይን) is a figure mentioned in many hadith of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[1]

These describe an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) destined to permanently destroy the Ka‘aba brick by brick and remove its treasure.[3][2] At this time faith in God will have disappeared, so the destruction will go unnoticed.[1] in several Hadith, Mohammed specifically warns his followers not to attack Abyssinia[2] without provocation because of this prophecy.

Dhul-Suwayqatayn is described in the hadiths[2] as being black,[3] short,[2] bald[4] and with "thin legs",[5] which is often interpreted as meaning they are deformed[4][6]

Hadiths

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References to this are recorded in all six traditional Sunni compilations of hadith, the Kutub al-Sitta, including the earliest and the most revered ones, namely Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.[7] The tradition is likely related to the Year of the Elephant, when the Axumite general Abraha is said to have attacked Mecca.[8]

Hadith describing Dhul-Suwayqatayn and destruction of Ka'abah

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The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "As if I were looking at him, a black person with thin legs plucking the stones of the Ka`ba one after another. "[9]

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Dhus-Suwaiqatain (the thin legged man) from Ethiopia will demolish the Ka`ba."[10]

The Ka'ba would be destroyed by an Abyssinian having two small shanks.[11]

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'The Kabah will be destroyed by Dhul-Suwaiqatan (one with thin legs) from Ethiopia.'"[12]

It would be an Abyssinian having two small shanks who would destroy the House ol Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.[13]

The Prophet;; said, "Dhus-Suwaiqa-tain (literally: One with two lean legs) from Ethiopia will demolish the Ka`ba."[5]

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “An Abyssinian with short legs will destroy the Ka'ba.”[14]

Hadith warning muslims not to attack Abyssinia

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The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Leave the Abyssinians alone as long as they leave you alone, for it is only the Abyssinian with short legs who will seek to take out the treasure of the Ka'bah.[2]

`Abdallah b. `Amr reported the Prophet as saying, "Leave the Abyssinians alone as long as they leave you alone, for it is only the Abyssinian with short legs who will seek to take out the treasure of the Ka'ba." Abu Dawud transmitted it.[15]

End time hadith

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The people of Makkah will leave and no one will come to it-or no one will come to it except a few-then it will be filled and built up, then they will leave it and never return to it.`[16]

Interpretation

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Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As and Ibn Kathir interpreted that this will occur after the second coming of Yeshua (Isa) (AKA Jesus Christ),[17] in the end times.[18][19]

In other religions

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Following the Fifth Crusade (1217–1221), this tradition was transferred to Europe when Bishop Oliver of Paderborn's Historia Damiatina described a Nubian king as an omen indicating the end of Islam.[20]

Pierre d'Avity's "The Estate of the Empire of Presbyter Iohn" similarly describes a prophecy of a new Reformer rising from the Church of Rome around the year 1520, with the Franks supposedly conquering Tours, Ziden, Mecca, and Egypt.[21] It also mentions the prophecy of Dhul-Suwayqatayn and the Abyssinian destruction of the Islamic holy sites, including the sepulchre of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Al Bukhari, Abu Abdullah (2022). Encyclopedia of Sahih Al-Bukhari. Arabic Virtual Translation Centre. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Sunan Abi Dawud 4309 - Battles (Kitab Al-Malahim) - كتاب الملاحم - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  3. ^ a b "Sahih al-Bukhari 1595 - Hajj (Pilgrimage) - كتاب الحج - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  4. ^ a b Admin (2023-05-26). "The Abyssinian Who Will Demolish the Ka'ba – Authentic Stories". Precious Gems from the Quran and Sunnah. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  5. ^ a b "Sahih al-Bukhari 1591 - Hajj (Pilgrimage) - كتاب الحج - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  6. ^ MercifulServant (2016-06-12). The Final Signs Before The World Ends. Retrieved 2025-10-07 – via YouTube. At 10 minutes he is described as "the man with peculiar shins"
  7. ^ Erlich, Haggai (30 April 2009). Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Ethiopia: The Messages of Religions (PDF) (Speech). The Fifth Annual Levtzion Lecture. Hebrew University (published 2013).
  8. ^ Walter W. Müller (1987) "Outline of the History of Ancient Southern Arabia," Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine in Werner Daum (ed.), Yemen: 3000 Years of Art and Civilisation in Arabia Felix. Pinguin-Verlag. ISBN 9068322133
  9. ^ "Sahih al-Bukhari 1595 - Hajj (Pilgrimage) - كتاب الحج - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  10. ^ "Sahih al-Bukhari 1596 - Hajj (Pilgrimage) - كتاب الحج - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  11. ^ "Sahih Muslim 2909a - The Book of Tribulations and Portents of the Last Hour - كتاب الفتن وأشراط الساعة - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  12. ^ "Sunan an-Nasa'i 2904 - The Book of Hajj - كتاب مناسك الحج - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  13. ^ "Sahih Muslim 2909c - The Book of Tribulations and Portents of the Last Hour - كتاب الفتن وأشراط الساعة - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  14. ^ "Mishkat al-Masabih 2721 - The Rites of Pilgrimage - كتاب المناسك - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  15. ^ "Mishkat al-Masabih 5429 - Fitan - كتاب الفتن - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  16. ^ "Musnad Ahmad 152 - Musnad `Umar b. al-Khattab (ra) - مُسْنَدِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  17. ^ Madelung, Wilferd (2016) [1992]. Religious and Ethnic Movements in Medieval Islam. New York: Routledge. p. 47. ISBN 9780860783107. OCLC 1229166290.
  18. ^ "The Destruction of the Ka'ba". islam.worldofislam.info. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  19. ^ MercifulServant (2016-06-12). The Final Signs Before The World Ends. Retrieved 2025-10-07 – via YouTube. See at 10 minutes onwards for description of Dhul-Suwayqatayn as a "man with peculiar shins"
  20. ^ Danilenko, Nadja (2019-07-03). "Der apokalyptische Abessinier und die Kreuzzüge: Wandel eines frühislamischen Motivs in der Literatur und Kartografie des Mittelalters, by Mordechay Lewy (Review)". Imago Mundi. 71 (2): 210. doi:10.1080/03085694.2019.1607069. ISSN 0308-5694. S2CID 195580621.
  21. ^ a b Avity, Pierre d' (1615). The Estates, Empires, & Principallities of the World. Represented by Ye Description of Countries, Maners of Inhabitants, Riches of Prouinces, Forces, Gouernment, Religion; and the Princes that Haue Gouerned in Euery Estate. ... Adam Islip. p. 1090.

Further reading

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