Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 82

(Ayah 82) ➊ { وَ اِذَا وَقَعَ الْقَوْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ …:} That is, the warning which these people are denying and are hastening for its coming—when its time comes, We will bring forth a creature from the earth which will be of a unique kind (the tanween of tankir gives the meaning of uniqueness). That creature will be among the signs of the Hour, and after that, believing will be of no benefit, because after the veils from the realities of the Hereafter are lifted, the purpose of trial ends. In some tafsirs, it is mentioned that the creature will be seventy hands long, it will have four legs and two wings, it will have the staff of Musa (Moses) عليه السلام and the ring of Sulaiman (Solomon) عليه السلام, etc. However, in no Sahih hadith is the description of this creature mentioned, so it is sufficient for us what Allah has stated. Some people have considered it to be the creature "Jassasah" mentioned in the hadith of Dajjal, and some have considered it to be Gog and Magog, but all these are shots in the dark.

➋ { تُكَلِّمُهُمْ:} That creature will speak to the people. Near the Hour, such strange and wondrous events will occur in abundance, that things which normally do not speak will speak. Abu Sa'id Khudri رضي الله عنه narrates that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: [وَالَّذِيْ نَفْسِيْ بِيَدِهِ! لَا تَقُوْمُ السَّاعَةُ حَتّٰی تُكَلِّمَ السِّبَاعُ الْإِنْسَ، وَ حَتّٰی يُكَلِّمَ الرَّجُلَ عَذَبَةُ سَوْطِهِ وَشِرَاكُ نَعْلِهِ وَتُخْبِرُهُ فَخِذُهُ بِمَا أَحْدَثَ أَهْلُهُ بَعْدَهُ ] [ترمذي، الفتن، باب ما جاء في کلام السباع : ۲۱۸۱، و قال الألباني صحیح و رواہ أحمد : 84/3، ح : ۱۱۷۹۸ ] "By Him in Whose hand is my soul! The Hour will not be established until wild beasts speak to humans, and a man’s whip and the strap of his sandal will speak to him, and his thigh will inform him of what his family did after him." When the Hour is very near and the appearance of its special signs begins, after which no one’s faith will be accepted (see Al-An'am: 158), at that time that creature will emerge from the earth. Hudhaifah bin Usayd Ghifari رضي الله عنه says that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم looked down at us from an upper room while we were discussing the Hour, and he صلى الله عليه وسلم said: [ إِنَّهَا لَنْ تَقُوْمَ حَتّٰی تَرَوْنَ قَبْلَهَا عَشْرَ آيَاتٍ، فَذَكَرَ الدُّخَانَ، وَالدَّجَّالَ، وَالدَّابَّةَ، وَ طُلُوْعَ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا، وَنُزُوْلَ عِيْسَی ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ، وَيَأْجُوْجَ وَ مَأْجُوْجَ، وَثَلَاثَةَ خُسُوْفٍ، خَسْفٌ بِالْمَشْرِقِ، وَ خَسْفٌ بِالْمَغْرِبِ، وَ خَسْفٌ بِجَزِيْرَةِ الْعَرَبِ، وَ آخِرُ ذٰلِكَ نَارٌ تَخْرُجُ مِنَ الْيَمَنِ، تَطْرُدُ النَّاسَ إِلٰي مَحْشَرِهِمْ ] [ مسلم، الفتن، باب في الآیات التي تکون قبل الساعۃ : ۲۹۰۱ ] "The Hour will not be established until you see ten signs." And he counted them: the rising of the sun from its west, the smoke, the beast (the creature that will emerge from the earth), the emergence of Gog and Magog, the descent of 'Isa ibn Maryam عليهما السلام, the emergence of the Dajjal, and three sinkings of the earth: one in the west, one in the east, and one in the Arabian Peninsula, and finally a fire will emerge from Yemen which will drive people to their place of gathering." Abdullah bin Amr رضي الله عنهما says that I heard a hadith from the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم which I have not forgotten. I heard the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم say: [ إِنَّ أَوَّلَ الْآيَاتِ خُرُوْجًا، طُلُوْعُ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَّغْرِبِهَا، وَخُرُوْجُ الدَّابَّةِ عَلَی النَّاسِ ضُحًی، وأَيُّهُمَا مَا كَانَتْ قَبْلَ صَاحِبَتِهَا، فَالْأُخْرٰی عَلٰی إِثْرِهَا قَرِيْبٌ ] [ مسلم، الفتن، باب في خروج الدجال… : ۲۹۴۱ ] "The first of the signs will be the rising of the sun from its west and the emergence of the beast before the people at midday. Whichever of these two appears first, the other will soon follow." Abu Umamah رضي الله عنه narrates that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: [ تَخْرُجُ الدَّابَّةُ فَتَسِمُ النَّاسَ عَلٰی خَرَاطِيْمِهِمْ، ثُمَّ يُغْمَرُوْنَ فِيْكُمْ حَتّٰی يَشْتَرِيَ الرَّجُلُ الْبَعِيْرَ فَيَقُوْلَ مِمَّنِ اشْتَرَيْتَهُ؟ فَيَقُوْلُ اشْتَرَيْتُهُ مِنْ أَحَدِ الْمُخَطَّمِيْنَ ] [مسند أحمد : 268/5، ح :۲۲۳۷۱۔ سلسلۃ الأحادیث الصحیحۃ : ۳۲۲ ] "(From the earth) a creature will emerge which will mark people on their foreheads, and those marked people will become so numerous that when a man buys a camel from someone, someone will ask, 'From whom did you buy it?' He will reply, 'I bought it from one of the marked ones.'" Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrates that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: [بَادِرُوْا بِالْأَعْمَالِ سِتًّا طُلُوْعَ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَّغْرِبِهَا، أَوِ الدُّخَانَ، أَوِ الدَّجَّالَ، أَوِ الدَّابَّةَ، أَوْ خَاصَّةَ أَحَدِكُمْ، أَوْ أَمْرَ الْعَامَّةِ ] [ مسلم، الفتن، باب في بقیۃ من أحادیث الدجال : ۲۹۴۷ ] "Hasten to do good deeds before six things: the rising of the sun from its west, the smoke, the Dajjal, the beast of the earth, death, and the Hour."

➌ { اَنَّ النَّاسَ كَانُوْا … :} One interpretation is the one according to which the translation has been done, that {’’ النَّاسَ ‘‘} refers to specific people, that is, the creature will speak to the people that such and such people ({النَّاسَ}) did not believe in Our signs, meaning it will identify those who did not believe, as mentioned above in the hadith of Abdullah bin Amr رضي الله عنهما. The second interpretation is that before {’’ اَنَّ النَّاسَ ‘‘} there is an omitted "lam," as if the phrase is: {’’ تُكَلِّمُهُمْ لِأَنَّ النَّاسَ كَانُوْا بِاٰيَاتِنَا لَا يُوْقِنُوْنَ‘‘} meaning that the beast will speak to them because the people did not believe in Our signs. In this case, the speaking of the beast itself will be a sign of the Hour. The fundamental difference between the two meanings is that in the first case, this is {’’ اَنَّ النَّاسَ ‘‘} the speech of the creature, and according to the latter meaning, with {’’ اَنَّ النَّاسَ ‘‘} the reason for the emergence or speech of the creature is given.

82-1. That is, when there will no longer remain anyone to enjoin good and forbid evil.

82-2. This is the same which is among the signs of the nearness of the Day of Judgment, as mentioned in the hadith. The Prophet ﷺ said, "The Hour will not be established until you see ten signs, among them is the emergence of a beast." (Sahih Bukhari) In another narration it is stated, "The very first sign that will appear is the rising of the sun from the west instead of the east, and the emergence of the beast at forenoon. Whichever of these two appears first, the other will follow immediately after it." (Sahih Bukhari)

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).