The Hadith of Tamim Ad-Dari (Sahih Muslim)

Fatimah-bint-Qais reported, "I heard the proclaimer of the Messenger of Allah(pbuh) proclaiming (for)
'Congregational Prayer'. I went to the mosque and prayed with the Prophet(pbuh). When he finished his
prayer, he sat upon the pulpit smiling and said, 'Let every man remain in his seat.' He then asked, 'Do
you know why I have called you together?' They replied, 'Allah and his Messenger know best.' The
Prophet(pbuh) said, 'By Allah, I have not called you together for hope or for fear, I have called you
together because Tamim ad- Dari who was a Christian, came and embraced Islam.
He narrated a story to me, which agreed with the account I had given to you about the Dajjal. He
informed me that he had embarked upon a sea-boat with thirty men of Lakhm and Jozam. Then the sea
waves played with them for a month and threw them on to an island when the sun was about to set.
They sat in a small side boat and landed on the Island. A beast with very coarse hair met them. They
could not tell its front from its back due to its excessive hair. They asked, 'Woe to thee! Who art thou?"
It replied, 'I am a spy. Go to this man in the monastery, as he is eager to receive the information you
bring.
' Tamim Dari said, 'When it named a man for us, we fled away from it lest it might be the devil. Then
we hurriedly went on until we entered the monastery and found a big-bodied man whom we had never
seen before. He was firmly tied up, his hands tied to his neck, the place between his knees, and joints
tied up with iron chains.' We asked, 'Woe to thee! What are thou?' He replied, 'You have the power to
get my information. Inform me about yourselves.
' They replied, 'We are people from Arabia, we embarked upon a sea boat, but the sea waves played
with us for a month and threw us onto this island. A beast of coarse hairs met us and said, 'I am a spy.
Go to the man in the monastery.' So we approached you hurriedly. He asked, 'Tell me about the trees of
Baisan. Do they bear fruit?.' 'Yes' We replied. He said, 'Behold! Soon they will not yield fruit.' He
asked, 'Inform me of the lake of Tiberias. Is there water in it?' We replied, 'It is full of water.' He
informed us, 'Soon its water will disappear.' He then asked, 'Inform me of the fountain of Zugara. Is
there water in it and do its inhabitants irrigate with the water of the fountain?' 'Yes, it is full of water
and it's inhabitants irrigate from its water. He asked, 'Inform me of the Prophet of the illiterates. What
does he do?' We said, 'He has just come out of Makkah and gone to Yathrib.' He asked, 'Have the Arabs
fought with him?' 'Yes' We replied. He asked, 'How did he treat them' We informed him that he had got
the upper hand of those of the Arabs who opposed him and they obeyed him. He said, 'Behold! It is
better for them if they obey him. As for myself I am certainly the Anti-Christ and it is near that an order
will be passed for me to come out. I shall then come out and travel the world. I shall leave no village at
which I shall not land within 40 nights except Makkah and Taibah, which will be forbidden to me.
Whenever I wish to enter one of the two, an angel with a sword in his hand will encounter me and
prevent me therefrom. There will be angels on every side to guard it. The apostle of Allah(pbuh) struck
his pulpit with his staff and said, 'This is Taibah meaning Madinah. Behold! Did I not tell you?' 'Yes'
they replied. 'Behold, he is in the Syrian sea or sea of Yemen; no, rather he is from the eastern
direction. He then pointed out with his hand to wards the East.'

From where did Tamim ad-Dari and his crew sail?

This part of the hadith sheds some light on the issue:

The Prophet(pbuh) said, "By Allah, I have not called you together for hope or for fear, I have called
you together because Tamim ad- Dari who was a Christian, came and embraced Islam."
This part of the hadith clearly shows that Tamim ad-Dari narrated his story about the the island of the
Dajjal to the Prophet(Pbuh) the same day he came to Arabia to embrace Islam. Thus he and his crew
could not have sailed from Saudi Arabia, but from their homeland.

So we need to know where was Tamim's homeland located:

"He informed me that he had embarked upon a sea-boat with thirty men of Lakhm and Jozam. "

So Tamim ad-Dari sailed with men from the tribes of Banu-Lakhm and Jozam.

The evidence suggests that Tamim ad-Dari himself was a Lakhmide, from the tribe of Banu-Lakhm.
Tamim is described by the Prophet as a Christian who came to embrace Islam, thus, we can conclude
that he was from The Banu Lakhm tribe which was a Christian tribe located in modern day Kufa, Iraq.

The Christian Banu-Lakhm were settled around Al-Hirah, in the southern part of Iraq:

The Persian Gulf is the closest destination for Banu Lakhm to sail from. This is why the Prophet said
that the Dajjal is in the east, he pointed towards the Persian Gulf which is in the east of Saudi Arabia.

Some information on the Banu Lakhm Tribe:

"The Lakhmids were originally a Bedouin tribal kingdom ruled by the Banu Lakhm, hence the name
Lakhmids. According to tradition, the founder of the dynasty was 'Amr, whose son Imru' al-Qays died
in AD 328 and was entombed at Al-Nimarah in the Syrian desert. His funerary inscription is written in
an extremely difficult type of script. Recently there has been a revival of interest in the inscription, and
controversy has arisen over its precise implications. One thing that is certain is that Imru' al-Qays
claimed the title "king of all the Bedouin" and claimed to have campaigned successfully over the entire
north and centre of the peninsula, as far as the border of Najran. According to Muslim sources, it is said
that he was given by the Sassanid king Shapur II a "governorship" over the Bedouin of northeast
Arabia, being charged with the task of restraining their incursions into Sassanid territory. Later kings of
the dynasty settled themselves in that area, at Al-Hirah on the Euphrates in southern Iraq. They were
rivals to the Ghassanids who were subject kings of the Sassanids rivals, the Byzantine Empire. The
kingdom's subjects were composed of a mix of Arabs and Arameans. The kingdom was also a major
centre of Nestorian Christianity. They remained influential throughout the 6th century, and only in 602
was the last Lakhmid king, Nu'man ibn al-Mundhir, put to death by the Sassanid king Khosrau II and
the kingdom dissolved."

The Prophet (pbuh) said: 'Behold, he (The Dajjal) is in the Syrian sea or sea of Yemen; no, rather he is
from the eastern direction. He then pointed out with his hand to wards the East.'

Thus we should look towards the East of Saudi Arabia.

The Island of the Dajjal is in the Persian Gulf, East of Saudi Arabia.

Many little islands can be found in the Persian Gulf.

There is no doubt, one of the following islands was the Island of the Dajjal that Tamim ad-Dari and his
crew visited:

* Amwaj Islands
* Bahrain Island
* Hawar Islands
* Jidda Island
* Muharraq Island
* Nabih Saleh
* Sitra
* Umm an Nasan
* Umm as Sabaan
* Abbasak
* Abu Musa Island
* Buneh Island
* Dara Island
* Farsi Island
* Forur Bozorg Island
* Forur Koochak Island
* Forurgan Island
* Germ Island
* Greater and Lesser Tunbs
* Hendurabi Island
* Hengam Island
* Hormuz Island
* Jonobi Island
* Kharg Island or Khark island
* Kish Island
* Larak Island
* Kharku Island
* Dara,Island
* Se Dandan
* Lavan Island
* Minu Island
* Omolkarm Island
* Polour
* Qabre Nakhoda Island
* Qeshm Island
* Qeys Island
* Rostam Island
* Shatvar Island
* Sheikh Shoeyb Island
* Shif Island
* Sirri Island
* Shomali Island
* Smaller Bent Island
* Auhah Island
* Bubiyan Island
* Failaka Island
* Kubbar Island
* Miskan Island
* Qaruh Island
* Umm al Maradim Island
* Umm an Namil Island
* Warbah Island
* Tarout
* Das
* Dalma
* Arzanah

Many of theses Islands had Monasteries built on them during Tamim ad-Dari's era.

Ancient Monasteries can be found in different Islands of the Persian Gulf (visit Wikipedia)

Dajjal will emerge from the East: Isfahan, Persia:

This should make sense, if the Dajjal was in an Island in the Persian Gulf, the closest destination is
Persia:

The Prophet (PBUH) said: "The Dajjal will be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing
Persian shawls." (Muslim)