Abu Abdullah wondered to himself: Is Abdul Qadir also involved in sorcery?

Abdul Qadir desires to go to Afghanistan: Abdul Qadir expressed a fervent desire to go to Afghanistan, not for jihad, but for training in all types of weapons. He asked Abu Abdullah if he knew anyone who could take him there. He replied, "Yes." He said, "Then inform them that I want to go there." Abu Abdullah indeed informed two brothers: one, Ali Hamza Bahloul, and the other, Muhammad Saleh Sambusa. They agreed to his request but asked for some time to prepare and arrange things. In reality, the true reason behind his request to travel to Afghanistan was not clear. Was it to entrap them, to document and recommend him to the mujahideen, or to show his piety to Abu Abdullah?

Among Abdul Qadir's claims was that he had recently read a hadith and claimed to have taught it to his students in Sudan. The hadith stated: "A man will emerge from Qahtan, and the people will suffer greatly from drought."

Abu Abdullah says: This is a text that I have not found after extensive research. The known hadith is worded as: "The Hour will not come until a man from Qahtan emerges, leading people with his staff."

During that period, Abu Abdullah's wife was pregnant and about to give birth. He said to Abdul Qadir: "I am going to Medina and wish to reside there. I will wait there for the emergence of Imam Al-Mahdi. The tribulations have increased, and I do not think his emergence is far off, peace be upon him. I wish to be there."

However, whenever Abdul Qadir heard mention of Mecca or Medina and the waiting for the Mahdi, he would invariably advise against going, justifying it by his fear for Abu Abdullah of being beaten, arrested, or killed. He claimed that the border guards do not fear God and show no regard for the Yemenis. He also claimed that he once fled to Saudi Arabia with agate and precious stones for trade, but he was arrested, beaten, and accused of sorcery.

If we connect his desire to go to Afghanistan with what Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih: "The two imams are from Yemen, and the tribulation is from the East, from the East will emerge the horn of Satan," referring to the East, we might find an explanation for his fervent desire to go there. The Dajjal's destiny is to turn towards the East and Isfahan, from where he will emerge with seventy thousand followers. Perhaps he will find a suitable environment where faith and jurisprudence are scarce, and they will follow him. It is also not inconceivable that his desire to go to Afghanistan, which is Khurasan, is to prevent the emergence of the black banners that pave the way for Al-Mahdi, peace be upon him, as mentioned in the hadith of Thawban: "When you see black banners coming from Khurasan, go to them, even if you have to crawl over snow, for among them is the Caliph of Allah, Al-Mahdi." (Kitab Al-Durar Al-Kamina) If he is indeed the Dajjal, he knows that the Mahdi will appear from Khurasan. It is not far-fetched that Abdul Qadir is trying to sever the connections that could lead Abu Abdullah to Afghanistan, as was clearly shown during the sorcery incident when he was keen to prevent Abu Abdullah from entering Mecca. And Allah knows best.

Did Abdul Qadir find the hadith in a rare manuscript he came across? Or did he understand it by inferring drought from Qahtan? Or did he fabricate it as a lie? Who does he mean by this Qahtani man who causes drought for the people? Does he mean the Mahdi who emerges from his lineage? Or does he mean the Qahtani who is with the Mahdi and emerges from Yemen? Or does he mean himself - if he is the Dajjal - who comes to the people of Yemen and finds them to be people of faith, then he comes to the East and they believe him, and he causes drought for the entire land? Allah knows best.