The Beast of the Earth (دَابَّة الأَرْض Dābbat al-Arḍ), in Islamic eschatology, will be one of the signs of the coming of the Last Day. It will appear after the sun rises in the west, where the Beast will be sighted for the very first time. The Beast is mentioned in the Quran (in SuraAn-Naml) and is also mentioned in the ahadith, which expand upon the characteristics of the beast. Islamic tradition holds that the Beast will precipitate the death of all true believers and the removal of the Quran from the world.[1]
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The Qur'an mentions that the Beast will address the unbelievers and admonish them for their lack of attention towards God:
And when the Word is fulfilled against them (the unjust), we shall produce from the earth a beast to (face) them: He will speak to them, for that mankind did not believe with assurance in Our Signs.
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A tradition attributed to Ibn al-Zubayr also describes the Beast carrying the Seal of Solomon and Moses' staff.[3]
Some ahadith say that the Beast will be one of the first major signs of the Last Day, along with the sun rising in the west. The appearance of the Dajjal, rising smoke, and great turmoil are said to be other signs of the end times in a similar hadith.[4]
Interpretations
Traditional
According to the medievalSunnitheologianFakhr al-Din al-Razi, there is nothing mentioned in hadith reports attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad about the nature of this creature, but it is mentioned in narrations circulating around the time of his successors. Wahb ibn Munabbih stated that such a "beast" spoke to the people of Sodom from under the earth.[5]
Contemporary
While the majority of contemporary Islamic scholars accept the traditional exegesis of the Beast of the Earth, the Dābbat al-Arḍ as a literal creature who will appear in the end times, some interpret the Beast as possibly being made of various parts, including diseases like HIV. Another interpretation holds that this Beast is related to materialistic tendencies, and thus the Dābbat does not appear at the end of the world, but rather will doom a given nation or society.[6]
^Maulana Muhammad Ali English Translation of the Holy Quran: With Explanatory Notes : from the English Translation and Commentary of Maulana Muhammad Ali A.a.i.i.l. (u.k.) 2010 ISBN978-1-906-10907-3 page 477
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