Tafsir of An-Naml 27:82

He named the meaning of the "Word" and its consequence as "the Word," which is what they were promised regarding the establishment of the Hour and the punishment. Its "befalling" is its occurrence. The intended meaning is the approach of the Hour, the appearance of its signs, and the time when repentance is no longer of any benefit.

"And the Beast of the Earth..." This is the Jassasah (the Spy). It is narrated in the Hadith:

• Its length is sixty cubits; no pursuer can catch it, and no fugitive can escape it.
• It is also narrated: It has four legs, downy hair, feathers, and two wings.
• Ibn Jurayj described it: The head of a bull, the eye of a swine, the ear of an elephant, the horn of a stag, the neck of an ostrich, the chest of a lion, the color of a leopard, the flank of a cat, the tail of a ram, and the hoof of a camel. The distance between its joints is twelve cubits by the cubit of Adam (peace be upon him).
• It is narrated: Only its head emerges, and its head reaches the clouds or the pillars of the sky.
• Abu Hurayrah said: It contains every color, and the distance between its horns is a farsakh for a rider.
• Al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Its emergence is not completed until after three days.
• Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It emerges over three days while people watch, and only a third of it emerges.

Regarding its place of emergence: The Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked: "From where will the Beast emerge?" He replied: "From the most sacred of mosques to Allah," meaning the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram).

It is narrated that it emerges three times:

1. It emerges in the furthest part of Yemen, then settles.
2. It emerges in the desert, then settles for a long time.
3. While people are in the most sacred of mosques, they will be terrified by its emergence from between the Corner (al-Rukn) and the house of Banu Makhzum, to the right of one exiting the mosque. Some will flee, and some will stand and watch.

It is said: It emerges from al-Safa and speaks to them in clear Arabic, saying: "That the people did not have faith in Our signs"—meaning they did not believe in my emergence, for its emergence is one of the signs. It will also say: "Beware, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers."

Al-Suddi said: It speaks to them of the invalidity of all religions except the religion of Islam.

Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It faces the West and lets out a cry that reaches it, then faces the East, then the Levant, then Yemen, doing the same. It is also narrated that it emerges from Ajyad.

The Marking of the People: It is narrated: While Jesus (peace be upon him) is circumambulating the House with the Muslims, the earth will shake beneath them, the lamp will move, and al-Safa will split near the Mas'a. The Beast will emerge from al-Safa carrying the staff of Moses and the ring of Solomon. It will strike the believer in his place of prayer—or between his eyes—with the staff of Moses, leaving a white mark that spreads across his face until it glows or leaves his face like a brilliant star, and it will write between his eyes: "Believer." It will strike the disbeliever with the ring on his nose, and the mark will spread until his face turns black, and it will write between his eyes: "Disbeliever."

It is narrated: It polishes the face of the believer with the staff and shatters the nose of the disbeliever with the ring, then says to them: "O so-and-so, you are of the people of Paradise," and "O so-and-so, you are of the people of the Fire."

Linguistic Notes:

• It is read as tukallimuhum (from kalam, meaning speech) and taklimuhum (from kalm, meaning wounding). The latter refers to the branding with the staff and ring. It is also possible that taklimuhum is from kalm in the sense of multiplication (i.e., wounding them repeatedly).
• The reading with the kasra on the alif in inna al-nas (that the people) is a narration of the Beast's speech, either because "speech" implies "saying," or by implying the verb "to say" (i.e., the Beast says: "That the people...").
• If it is the speech of the Beast, why does it say "Our signs"? It is either a narration of Allah's words, or it means "the signs of our Lord," or because of its proximity to Allah and its status among His creation, it attributes Allah's signs to itself—just as a king's close servant might say "our horses and our lands," when they belong to the King.
• Those who read it with a fatha (anna) do so by omitting the preposition (i.e., it speaks to them about the fact that...).

"And the Day We will gather from every nation a company of those who deny Our signs, and they will be driven in groups."