This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Hafiz Mubashir Hussain Lahori's book Signs of the Day of Judgment in the Light of Authentic Ahadith.
Sign of the Day of Judgment: Dabbat al-Ard (The Beast Emerging from the Earth)
The command of the Almighty is:
وَإِذَا وَقَعَ الْقَوْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَخْرَجْنَا لَهُمْ دَابَّةً مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ تُكَلِّمُهُمْ أَنَّ النَّاسَ كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا لَا يُوقِنُونَ
"When the promise of punishment comes to pass, We will bring forth for them a beast from the earth that will speak to them, because the people did not believe in Our signs."
Reference: (An-Naml: 82)
In the Light of Ahadith:
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : ثلاث إذا خرجن لا ينفع نفسا إيمانها لم تكن آمنت من قبل أو كسبت فى إيمانها خيرا : طلوع الشمس من مغربها والدجال ودابة الأرض
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: When three signs (of the Hour) appear, then no believer who had not previously believed or who had not done any good deed in his faith will benefit from believing at that time.
(1) The sun rising from the west
(2) The Dajjal (Antichrist)
(3) And a beast emerging from the earth
Reference: Muslim: Book of Faith: Chapter on the time when faith will not be accepted (249) Ahmad (588/2) Tirmidhi (3072) Ibn Abi Shaybah (669/8) Abu Awana (4107/1)
عن حذيفة رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : إنها لن تقوم حتى ترون قبلها عشر آيات فذكر الدابة
It is narrated from Hazrat Hudhaifa (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The Hour will never be established until you see ten signs before it. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) counted them, one of which is a beast emerging.
Reference: Muslim: Book of Tribulations: Chapter on the signs that will appear before the Hour (2901) Tirmidhi (2183) Abu Dawood (4311) Sharh al-Sunnah (432/7) al-Hilmiya (355/1) Ahmad (588/2)
عن عبد الله بن عمرو رضى الله عنه قال : حفظت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حديثا لم أنسه بعد سمعت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : إن أول الآيات خروجا طلوع الشمس من مغربها وخروج الدابة على الناس ضحى وأيهما ما كانت قبل صاحبتها فالأخرى على إثرها قريبا
It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that I heard a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) which I have memorized until today. He (peace be upon him) said: Among the signs of the Hour, the first will be the sun rising from the west, then at the time of noon a beast will emerge. Whichever of these two signs appears first, the other will follow immediately after.
Reference: Muslim: Book of Tribulations: Chapter mentioning the Dajjal (2941) Abu Dawood (114/4) Hakim (590/4) Sharh al-Sunnah (4186) Ibn Majah (4120) Ahmad (265/2)
عن أبى أمامة رضى الله عنه يرفعه إلى النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : تخرج الدابة فتسم الناس على خراطيمهم ثم يغمرون فيكم حتى يشتري الرجل البعير فيقول : ممن اشتريته ؟ فيقول : اشتريته من أحد المخطمين
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: A beast (Dabba) will emerge that will mark the foreheads of people, and those marked people will become numerous to the extent that if a man buys a camel, he will ask from whom it was bought, and the answer will be: I bought it from a marked person.
Reference: Ahmad (336/5) Majma' al-Zawa'id: Book of Tribulations: Chapter on the emergence of the beast (12573)
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : بادروا بالأعمال ستا : أو الدابة
Reference: Muslim: Book of Tribulations: Chapter on the remainder of the hadiths about the Dajjal (2947) Ahmad (428/2) (444/2) Ibn Hibban (6790) Hakim (561/4) Tayalisi (2549) Sharh al-Sunnah (431/7) Abu Ya'la (397/11)
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Compete in good deeds before six things happen: before the emergence of the beast.
Benefits:
➊ Before the Day of Judgment, a creature (Dabbah) will emerge from the earth that will speak to the people. This is one of the major signs of the Last Hour.
➋ It will be a very large beast, as narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him).
Reference: See Ibn Kathir (598/3 - 599) Al-Nihayah fi al-Fitan (108/1)
➌ The exact nature, form, and appearance of Dabbah al-Ard are not definitively described in the Quran and Sunnah, so discussing this issue in detail, relying on various interpretations, or trusting unauthentic Isra'iliyat narrations is futile and unproductive.
➍ Some unauthentic narrations depict this creature in a strange and bizarre manner, stating that it will have hair, hooves, and a beard but no tail; its head will resemble that of an ox, eyes like those of a pig, ears like an elephant's, the horn area like a camel's, a chest like a lion's, color like a leopard's, a waist like a cat's, a tail like a camel's, and feet like a camel's. However, these narrations are contradictory and inconsistent with each other.
➎ After the door of repentance is closed, Allah Almighty will manifest this creature, which will distinguish among people and mark the foreheads of Muslims or disbelievers.
O Allah, keep us alive in faith and let us die in faith. آمين
