An-Naml: (82–86) And when the Word falls upon them...

Know that Allah the Exalted has demonstrated the perfection of His Power and the perfection of His Knowledge through overwhelming proofs.

He then derived from these two points the possibility of the Resurrection. Following that, He explained the reason for the Quran being a miracle, and subsequently, the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Now, He speaks about the preliminaries to the Day of Judgment. He delayed the discussion of this topic until after establishing prophethood because these matters cannot be known except through the word of the truthful Prophet. This represents the height of excellent arrangement.

Know that Allah has mentioned, at times, things that will serve as signs for the Hour, and at other times, matters that will occur at the time of the Hour.

He first mentioned the Beast of the Earth (Dābbat al-Arḍ) as one of the signs of the Hour. People have discussed it in several aspects:

1. Its size: It is reported in the Hadith that its height is sixty cubits, and it is also narrated that its head reaches the clouds. Abu Hurayrah reported that the distance between its two horns is a league for a rider.
2. Its form: It is narrated that it has four legs, down/hair, and wings. Ibn Jurayj described it as having the head of an ox, the eye of a pig, the ear of an elephant, the horn of an ibex, the chest of a lion, the color of a leopard, the flank of a cow, the tail of a ram, and the hoof of a camel.
3. How it emerges: From Ali (peace be upon him), it is narrated that it emerges over three days while people watch, but only one-third of it appears. Al-Hasan said its full emergence is not completed until after three days.
4. Its place of emergence: When the Prophet (PBUH) was asked where the Beast emerges from, he said: "From the most sacred mosque to Allah (the Sacred Mosque in Mecca)." It is also said it emerges from As-Safa, and it will speak to them in Arabic.
5. The number of its appearances: It is narrated that it emerges three times: it emerges in the farthest part of Yemen, then hides; then it emerges in the desert, then hides for a long period. Then, while people are in the most sacred and honored mosque to Allah, they will be terrified by its emergence from between the Corner (Rukn) opposite the house of Banu Makhzum, to the right of the one exiting the mosque. Some people flee, and some stand watching.

Know that there is no indication in the Book (Quran) regarding any of these matters. If a sound report from the Messenger (PBUH) exists concerning them, it is accepted; otherwise, it is not heeded.

As for His saying: {And when the Word falls upon them}, the intended meaning of the Word is what they were promised regarding the establishment of the Hour and its occurrence—meaning the approach of the Hour and the appearance of its signs. As for the Beast of the Earth, you have already learned about it.

As for His saying: {it will speak to them}, it has been recited as tukallimuhum (from kalm), meaning to wound or injure. It is narrated that the Beast emerges from As-Safa carrying the staff of Moses (peace be upon him) and the seal of Solomon. It strikes the believer between his eyes with the staff of Moses, leaving a white mark that spreads across his face until his face shines because of it. It strikes the disbeliever on his nose, and the mark spreads until his face turns black.

Know that it is also possible that tukallimuhum comes from kalm in the sense of inflicting many wounds; one says fulān mukallam (so-and-so is wounded/stricken). Ubayy recited it as tunabbi’uhum (it informs them). Ibn Mas’ud recited it as tukallimuhum bi-anna (it speaks to them that...). The reading with the broken inna (bi-anna) is a narration of what the Beast says, or it is a narration of Allah's saying, indicating that He brought forth the Beast for this reason.

If it is asked: If it is a narration of the Beast's speech, how can it say {with Our Signs}? The answer is that its speech is a narration of Allah's saying, or it means "with the signs of our Lord," or because of its specialization to Allah, it attributes Allah's signs to itself, just as one says, "Some of the King's special retinue are our horses and our lands," even though they belong to his master. As for the one who reads with the fatḥa (bi-āyātinā), it is based on omitting the preposition, meaning: it speaks to them that people were not certain of Our Signs.

As for His saying: {And on the Day We shall gather from every nation a host of those who denied Our Signs}, know that this is among the matters occurring after the establishment of the Resurrection. The difference between the first min (from) and the second is that the first is for partiality (some), and the second is for specification, like His saying: {from the idols} (Al-Hajj: 30).

As for His saying: {they will be held back} (yūza’ūn), it means their first ones are detained until their last ones join them, so they are all thrown into the Fire. This phrase describes the vastness of the number and the great distance separating its extremities, just as Solomon's armies were described. His saying: {Until when they have come, He will say, "Did you deny My Signs...} Although this could imply the miracles of the Messengers, as some scholars stated, the intended meaning encompasses all signs, including all disbelievers who denied any or all of Allah's signs.

As for His saying: {without having encompassed them in knowledge}, the wāw (and) here indicates a state (ḥāl), as if He is saying: You denied them rashly, without thought or consideration that leads to encompassing their reality with knowledge.

As for His saying: {with what you used to do}, it means: Since you were not occupied with that important deed (belief), what else were you doing? It is as if He is saying: Every deed besides that is as if it were no deed at all. Then He said: {And the Word will fall upon them}, meaning the promised punishment will overwhelm them due to their denial of Allah's signs, occupying them so they cannot speak or offer excuses, like His saying: {This is the Day they will not speak} (Al-Mursalat: 35).

Then, after warning them about the conditions of the Hour, He mentioned discourse that serves as proof for Monotheism, the Resurrection, and Prophethood, as an intensification of guidance toward faith and prohibition against disbelief. He said: {Have they not seen that We have made the night for them to rest in and the day to give sight?}

The way this proves Monotheism is that the alternation between light and darkness, and darkness and light, is understood by the intellect to occur only through an Overpowering, Sublime Power.

The way it proves the Resurrection is that since His Power to alternate between light and darkness and vice versa has been established in this manner, what impossibility remains in establishing His Power to alternate life to death once, and from death back to life another time?

The way it proves Prophethood is that Allah alternates the night and day for the benefit of the accountable beings. Similarly, sending Prophets and Messengers to people carries immense benefits. What prevents Him from sending them to people to achieve those benefits? This single statement is sufficient to establish proof for the three fundamental principles (origins) from which their disbelief and deserving of punishment stem.

There are two questions regarding the verse:

First Question: What is the reason for attributing sight to the day, even though sight belongs to its people (humans)? Answer: To draw attention to the perfection of this attribute within the day.

Second Question: When He said: {We have made the night for you to rest in}, why did He not say: "and the day for you to see in"? Answer: Because rest in the night is the primary purpose of the night. As for sight during the day, it is not the primary purpose but rather a means to attain religious and worldly benefits.

As for His saying: {Indeed, in that are signs for a people who believe}, He specified the believers, even though these are proofs for everyone, because they alone are characterized by acceptance and benefit, as previously discussed in similar contexts.

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