Tafsir of An-Naml 27:82

This is an explanation of what was indicated by the Almighty’s saying: "some of what you seek to hasten," referring to the remainder of the Hour and its precursors that they were seeking to hasten. "The Word" refers to what the noble verses have spoken regarding the coming of the Hour and the various types of terrors it contains, which they were seeking to hasten. Its "coming to pass" refers to its manifestation and occurrence. This phrasing is used to signal the intensity of its impact and effect. Attributing it to "the Word" is because the intention is to explain its occurrence as a verification of the Word that spoke of its arrival.

"Coming to pass" here is intended to mean its nearing and approaching, as in the Almighty’s saying: "The command of Allah has come," containing a metaphor of imminence—meaning, when the occurrence of what the aforementioned Word signifies (which they barely hear) has drawn near. Its verification is:

This occurs—according to what Ibn Marduyah recorded from a marfu' (traceable) hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, and what he and a group recorded from Ibn 'Umar (mawquf—attributed to the companion)—when "commanding the good and forbidding the evil" is abandoned.

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ibn Mas’ud, who said: "Increase your circumambulation of the House (the Kaaba) before it is raised and people forget its place; and increase your recitation of the Quran before it is raised." It was asked: "How will it be raised when it is in the chests of men?" He said: "It will be taken away at night, and they will wake up in the morning empty of it, forgetting the saying 'There is no god but Allah,' and they will fall into the speech of the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance) and their poetry. That is when the Word will come to pass upon them." This implies that the emergence of the Beast is when no good remains on Earth, which requires it to be after the death of 'Isa (Jesus) and the Mahdi and their followers, peace be upon them. We will later mention, Allah willing, reports indicating that it will emerge while 'Isa is circumambulating the House, with the Muslims alongside him.

Nu'aym ibn Hammad recorded from Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: "The first of the signs is the [victory of the] Romans, the second is the Dajjal, the third is Ya'juj and Ma'juj, the fourth is 'Isa, the fifth is the Smoke, and the sixth is the Beast." Al-Safarini preferred the view that it occurs before the Smoke. The truth is that it will emerge while believers and disbelievers are still among the people. Thus, the aforementioned report from Ibn Mas’ud is likely incorrect. A proof for what we have mentioned is what Ahmad, al-Tayalisi, Nu'aym ibn Hammad, 'Abd ibn Humayd, al-Tirmidhi (who classified it as hasan), Ibn Majah, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduyah, and al-Bayhaqi (in al-Ba'th) recorded from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The Beast of the Earth will emerge, carrying the staff of Musa and the ring of Sulayman, peace be upon both of them. It will brighten the face of the believer with the ring, and strike the nose of the disbeliever with the staff, until people gather at the table and the believer is distinguished from the disbeliever."

There are many differing narrations regarding it. Abu Hayyan in al-Bahr and al-Damiri in Hayat al-Hayawan mention a narration that a beast will emerge in every land—a species of what is spread on the earth—so it is not a single beast, and in this view, the "al" (definite article) represents the genus that applies to multiple. However, the majority of narrations indicate it is a single beast, which is the correct view. Expressing it with a generic noun and emphasizing its ambiguity with tanwin (indefiniteness), which indicates grandiosity, serves to signal the strangeness of its state and that its characteristics are beyond the bounds of ordinary description.

Even on the view that it is a single entity, there is disagreement: some say it is of human origin. This was supported by what Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi narrated: "Ali (may Allah honor his face) was asked about the Beast, and he said: 'By Allah, it is not a beast that has a tail, but it has a beard.'" In al-Mizan, al-Dhahabi reports from Jabir al-Ju'fi—a liar, whom Abu Hanifa said he never met anyone more of a liar than—that he used to say it was a human being and that it was Ali himself. A group of his Shi'ite brothers hold this view and have narrations for it. All of what they narrate regarding this is manifest lies, containing the belief in Raj'ah (the Return), for which they have no valid proof. Furthermore, some reports contradict this; Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from al-Nazzal ibn Sabrah that it was said to Ali (may Allah honor his face): "People claim you are the Beast of the Earth." He replied: "By Allah, the Beast of the Earth has feathers and down, and I have neither feathers nor down. It has hooves, and I have no hooves. It emerges from the tracks of a swift horse for three days, and its third has not yet emerged."

The famous and correct view is that it is a beast not of the human species. Some said it is the serpent that was in the belly of the Kaaba, which the eagle snatched away when the Quraysh wanted to build the House, for it prevented them; the eagle then dropped it at al-Hajun, and the earth swallowed it. Al-Damiri mentioned this from Ibn 'Abbas, but the majority maintain it is otherwise.

Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Marduyah recorded from Ibn al-Zubayr that he described the Beast: "Its head is the head of a bull, its eye is the eye of a pig, its ear is the ear of an elephant, its horn is the horn of a stag, its neck is the neck of an ostrich, its chest is the chest of a lion, its color is that of a tiger, its flank is the flank of a cat, its tail is the tail of a ram, and its limbs are the limbs of a camel, with twelve cubits between each joint," to which Ibn Jarir added, "in the cubits of Adam, peace be upon him."

Al-Safarini quoted Ka'b saying: "Its voice is the voice of a donkey." Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from Ibn 'Abbas that he said: "The Beast is a composite creature with down and feathers, possessing colors from all beasts; it has a mark from every nation, and its mark on this nation is that it speaks with a clear Arabic tongue." From Abu Hurayrah: "It possesses every color, and the distance between its horns is a parasang for the rider." In another narration from Ibn 'Abbas: "It has a lofty neck so that whoever is in the East sees it just as whoever is in the West sees it; it has a face like a human face, a beak like the beak of a bird, and it has fur and down." From Wahb: "Its face is the face of a man, and the rest of its creation is like the creation of birds." Some narrations state it has two wings, and some mention its height is sixty cubits.

There is disagreement regarding its place of emergence. Some say the Sacred Mosque, as Ibn Jarir recorded from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) mentioned the Beast. Hudhayfah asked: "O Messenger of Allah, from where will it emerge?" He said: "From the mosque of greatest sanctity to Allah, the Exalted." While 'Isa, peace be upon him, is circumambulating the House with the Muslims, the earth will shake beneath them, the lamp will tremble, the Safa will split from the side of the Mosque, and the Beast will emerge from the Safa. The first thing that appears is its head—glittering, with fur and feathers. No pursuer will catch it, and no runaway will escape it. It will mark the people, believer and disbeliever: as for the believer, his face will appear like a brilliant star, and "Believer" will be written between his eyes; as for the disbeliever, a black dot will be written between his eyes, and "Disbeliever" will be written.

Ibn Abi Shaybah and al-Khatib in Tali al-Talkhis recorded from Ibn 'Umar: "The Beast will emerge from Mount Ajyad during the days of Tashriq while the people are in Mina." Ibn Marduyah and al-Bayhaqi recorded from Abu Hurayrah: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'The Beast of the Earth will emerge from Ajyad; its chest will reach the Corner (the Black Stone), but its tail will not yet have emerged. It is a beast with fur and limbs.'"

Al-Bukhari in his History, Ibn Majah, and Ibn Marduyah recorded from Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took me to a place in the desert near Mecca, and there was dry land surrounded by sand. He said: 'The Beast will emerge from this place,' and it was a span by a span."

It has been said in some narrations that it emerges from the farthest desert, in others from the city of the people of Lut, and in others that it has three emergences in the age: it emerges the first time in the farthest Yemen, its fame spreading in the desert, but it does not enter the "Village" (meaning Mecca). Then it emerges a second time, and its fame rises in the desert and enters the Village. Then, while people are in the mosque of greatest sanctity, they are suddenly startled by it in the side of the Mosque near the Black Corner and the gate of Banu Makhzum. People scatter from it, while a group of Muslims remains, knowing they will not be able to escape Allah, the Exalted. It shakes the dust from its head and brightens their faces until they are like brilliant stars.

There is also disagreement as to whether it is created on the day it emerges or is already created now. Some say it is created on the day it emerges; others say it is already created but has not been commanded to emerge. This is supported by what is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas: he struck the Safa with his staff while in ihram and said, "The Beast hears the tapping of this staff of mine." Based on this, some say it is the serpent, and some say it is the Jassasah (the Spy) that spies out news for the Dajjal, as is narrated from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As. Some claim it was created during the time of the previous Prophets. Ibn Abi Shaybah, 'Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from al-Hasan that Musa, peace be upon him, asked his Lord to show him the Beast, so it emerged for three days and nights, traveling through the sky; one could not see its extremities. Musa, peace be upon him, saw a terrifying sight and said, "O Lord, return it," so He returned it.

In a hadith recorded by Nu'aym ibn Hammad in al-Fitan and al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak from Ibn Mas'ud: when it emerges, it will kill Iblis—may he be cursed—while he is prostrating; this occurs after the sun rises from its west, at which point his destruction is finalized. The reports concerning this Beast are numerous. In al-Bahr, it is stated that they disagreed on its essence, shape, place of emergence, number of emergences, the amount of it that emerges, what it does to people, and what it emerges with, in a confused, contradictory, and mutually invalidating manner. We have omitted mentioning that because copying it is merely blackening paper with things that are not authentic and wasting time. This is a correct assessment. I have only relayed some of it to satisfy the urge of those who love to look into some of its reports, whether true or false. Al-Safarini attempted in his books, al-Buhur al-Zakhirah, to reconcile some of these conflicting reports, but I do not believe he achieved anything.

Then, among the aforementioned reports, the one most worthy of acceptance is the one al-Tirmidhi classified as hasan. Among the reports in this chapter is what al-Hakim authenticated, though his authentication is regarded by the scholars of hadith as having no weight. The sum of what I say regarding this Beast is that it is a great beast with limbs, not of the human species at all, which Allah the Exalted will bring forth at the end of time from the earth. By qualifying its emergence with His saying, "from the earth," there is a type of indication—as has been said—that its creation is not by way of birth, but by way of origination, like the creation of insects. Others say it is to indicate its formation within the bowels of the earth; thus, its emergence from the earth serves as a symbol of what will happen on the Day of the Hour, preceding it, of the earth splitting open and people emerging from its depths alive and fully formed. In this and the former, there is a tendency to relate "from the earth" to "We bring forth," which is the manifest view that should be relied upon, rather than it being related to an omitted element acting as an adjective for the Beast (i.e., a beast existing from the earth).

Meaning, it speaks to them that they were not certain of the verses of Allah the Exalted, which spoke of the coming of the Hour and its precursors, or of all His verses, of which those are a part. It is said: of His verses, of which its own emergence is a part—but that is not strong. Attributing the "verses" to the pronoun of Majesty ("Our verses") is because it is a narration from Him, the Exalted, of the meaning of its speech, not the exact wording. Others say it is because it is a narration from it of the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Others say it is to denote their belonging to Him, the Exalted, and His exclusive possession of them, as some high-ranking servants of a king say "our horses and our lands," while the horses and lands are actually the master's. Others say there is an omitted noun, i.e., "the verses of our Lord."

The manifest view is that the plural pronoun in "speaking to them" refers to the disbelievers who deny resurrection in general, not specifically to the disbelievers spoken of previously (the Meccans), because they are not present when the Beast is brought forth to speak to them; and for it to speak to the dead is remote or irrational. We do not believe in the Raj'ah (Return) that the Shi'a believe in, and the coming verse does not prove it, as they claim. The ease of this matter is that the focus of the discussion regarding them is nothing but their state of polytheism, disbelief in the verses, and denial of resurrection, which is present both in them and in the disbelievers present at the time the Beast emerges. The same applies to the pronouns "upon them" and "to them." "The people" here refers to the past disbelievers in general, not only the polytheists of Mecca. The meaning of its "informing them" of that is to express sorrow for what they missed of certainty in what was near to occur, the appearance of the falsehood of what they believed, and the severest of reckoning for their denial of it. In this is a calling for their likes to abandon what they are upon of what they shared with them in denial and disbelief in resurrection. It is also permissible that "the people" refers to the polytheists of Mecca, and the matter of informing remains as it is.

It is said: it is permissible that the pronouns refer to the people, not only the disbelievers among them, and "the people" means either the disbelievers who deny resurrection—and the meaning of informing is to repel them from what they were upon of denial, so the believer is strengthened and the disbeliever is deterred—or it means the polytheists of Mecca, the meaning of informing being that. Others said it means to shame them among their living and their enemies, and it was done through the tongue of the Beast to be more eloquent, due to the appearance of their error from one not expected to grasp it, let alone speak or broadcast it by way of shaming. This occurs shortly before the Hour so that it is followed without much interval by what resembles it—the testimony of their limbs against them—which is further from occurring than the shaming by the Beast. Its occurrence after that resembles a progression from the great to the greater.

That the pronouns refer to people absolutely, and that "the people" mentioned in the noble arrangement is the people of Mecca, is supported by what is narrated from Wahb: "The Beast informs everyone it sees that the people of Mecca were not certain of Muhammad (ﷺ) and the Quran." Others say the pronouns "upon them" and "to them" refer to the polytheists of Mecca spoken of previously; the meaning of "to them" is to blame them or the like, and the pronoun in "speaking to them" is for the people present at the time of emergence or the disbelievers then, and "the people" mentioned in the noble arrangement is those polytheists. Others say otherwise. It is not hidden from you, with the slightest reflection, which of the sayings is more primary and manifest in the verse. Regardless, describing the people as having no certainty in the verses, even though they were rejecters of them, is to signal that it was their duty to be certain of them and be convinced of their truth, yet they were characterized by the opposite.

That the speaking is from "speech" (kalam) is the manifest view, supported by the reading of Ubayy: "it tells them" (tunabbi'uhum), and the reading of Yahya ibn Salam: "it informs them" (tuhaddithuhum). Others say it is from the root k-l-m meaning "wounding" (jarh), and the intensified form (taf'il) is for frequency. This is supported by the reading of Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, Ibn Jubayr, Abu Zur'ah, al-Jahdari, Abu Haywah, and Ibn Abi 'Ablah: "it wounds them" (taklimuhum) with a fat-ha on the ta, a sukun on the kaf, and a light lam. Some read "it wounds them" (tajrahuhum) in place of "it speaks to them." It seems that "wounding" is intended as the opposite of "modifying" (validating), and this returns to the meaning of shaming.

The return of the pronouns to the disbelievers spoken of previously has no ambiguity. The Almighty's saying: "...that the people..." is with the estimation of "because the people..." The meaning is: it shames them with this speech, and "the people" here refers to those being shamed. The apparent meaning of the verse is its occurrence in its speech with this wording; perhaps the listeners understood that the intended meaning was the polytheists of Mecca at the time of shaming, aided by a context pointing to that. It is possible that what actually occurred was "the polytheists of Mecca" or the like, but it came in the narrative with the word "the people," and the nuance therein, it is said, is an allusion to their great number. Others say it is a symbol for the increased ugliness of their lack of certainty. From what has been mentioned, the reason for shifting from "they" to "that the people" is known. It is permissible that it is with the estimation of the letter of causation, i.e., "because the people..." which is a cause from His side, the Exalted, for its wounding them, in which is the placement of the manifest noun in place of the pronoun referring back to the Meccan polytheists. It is also permissible to estimate the ba (in bi-annahu) as causal.

It is also permitted that the meaning of kalm is "wounding" in the sense of "branding," for it has been narrated that it marks the forehead of the disbeliever. In another narration, it strikes his nose with the staff of Musa, peace be upon him, which is with it. Some chose this meaning because of a hadith recorded by Nu'aym ibn Hammad and Ibn Marduyah from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in a marfu' manner, though it is not a hadith nor speech, but a brand with which it marks whom Allah has commanded. Abu al-Hawra' asked Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): "Is it 'it speaks to them' (taklimuhum) or 'it wounds them' (taklimuhum)?" He replied: "It does all of that; it speaks to the believer and it wounds the disbeliever."

The manifest view is that the pronouns, on the estimate that kalm means wounding and branding, refer to the disbelievers in general, not those previously spoken of, since there is no meaning in its branding them. It must be that "the people" refers to those disbelievers to whom the pronouns return. Perhaps the meaning is: "it brands them because they were not certain of Our verses in our knowledge." Ibn Mas'ud read "because" (bi-anna), and it was made to support the view that the speaking is from speech, based on the manifest view; otherwise, the ba can be causal, thus aligning with it being from kalm in the sense of wounding. Some of the seven readers read inna (with a broken hamza), which is explained by an omitted verb of saying, or by treating the taklim as speech, or that the speech is a new opening from His side, the Exalted, for the purpose of causation. Reflect on this.