When that Word befalls them [when Doomsday approaches], We will bring forth for them a Dabba [a beast] from the earth. That Dabba will tell them that humans did not firmly believe in Our âyât. [Surat an-Naml 82]
Al-Dabbah is a great creature which Allah will cause to emerge when the people become corrupt. It will speak to mankind and exhort them, having the ability to reason and speak. It will make marks on the people’s noses which will distinguish the believers from the disbelievers. (For more, please see Ashrat al-Sa’ah by Yusuf al-Wabil or al-Qiyamah al-Kubra by ‘Umar al-Ashqar).
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah صَلىَّ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمْ
observed: When three things appear faith will not benefit one who has not previously believed or has derived no good from his faith: the rising of the sun in its place of setting, the Dajjal, and the beast of the earth. (Sahih Muslim 158)
According to a hadith from Tirmidhi, the beast will have the Seal of Solomon and the Staff of Moses. It will mark the believers and the kaafirs. As for the believer, it will make his face shine brightly, as a sign of his faith, and as for the kaafir, it will mark his nose with a sign of his disbelief.
As the ayah in the question states, the Beast will speak to people. The rising of the sun from the west and the emergence of this beast have a very short interval between them. After this no person will benefit from their good deeds if they had not already believed as they (or their recent ancestors) would have already gone through the period of the Mahdi (who some scholars regard as the bridge between the minor signs and the 10 major signs), Dajjal,the 3 earthquakes, Jesus/Isa (AS), tribes of Gog/Yajuj and Magog/Majuj but still some of them again disobeyed Allah’s command.
One of the Hadiths states that the major signs will follow each other in succession like beads of a necklace when the string is cut and so they (the beads) fall in succession.
“And when the Word (of torment) is fulfilled against them, We shall bring out from the earth a beast for them, to speak to them because mankind believed not with certainty in Our Ayaat (Verses of the Qur’aan and Prophet Muhammad)”[al-Naml 27:82]
Ibn Katheer said:
This Beast will emerge at the end of time, when people have become corrupt and forsaken the commands of Allaah, and altered the true religion. Then Allaah will bring forth to them a Beast from the earth.”
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/375.
It was narrated from Abu Umaamah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Beast will emerge and strike the people on their noses, then their numbers [i.e., those who have been marked on the nose] will increase among you until a man will buy a camel, and they will say, ‘Who did you buy it from?’ and he will say, ‘I bought it from one of those with a mark on their noses.’”
Narrated by Ahmad, 21805. Classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 322.
What is meant by striking the people on their noses is that it will make marks on their noses, and there will be one mark for believers and another for kaafirs.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are three things which, when they emerge, no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor earned good (by performing deeds of righteousness) through his Faith [cf. al-An’aam 6:158]: the sun rising from the west, the Dajjaal and the Beast of the earth.”
Narrated by Muslim, 158.
