Beast of the Earth

The Beast of the Earth (Arabic: دَابَّة الأَرْض, romanized: Dābbat al-Arḍ), also called "The Dabba/Dabbah" is a creature mentioned in the Quran Surah 27:82 of the Quran and associated with Judgement Day. For this reason, the Beast of the Earth is often mentioned in eschatological writings as a sign of Judgement Day close to the event of the sun rising in the west. The Quran doesn't offer details about the nature of the Beast of the Earth, but various interpretations have linked it to the Beast of the Earth mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation or to the monsters from Turkic mythology.

Depiction of the Beast of the Earth (Dābba) from a falnama written in Turkish for Sultan Ahmed I. Topkapi Museum, Istanbul.
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Quran and Hadiths

The Beast is mentioned in Surah An-Naml:

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.

— Quran 27:82[1]

In hadiths, the Beast of the Earth is further described. It is said that it will carry the Seal of Solomon and the Staff of Moses.[2][3] Some argue that it will emerge from a crack in the Kaaba or the hills of Safa among others.[4] It is described as a combination of different beasts and animals.[5]

In the early period of Islam descriptions of the Beast of the Earth were sparse. Only later more interpretations of the Beast emerged.[6] One of the main features is that it will put a seal to distinguish the believers from the disbelievers,[7] reminiscent, yet not identical, to the Bible.[8] In reference to a creature "worse of the beasts" ("shara al dawabbi"), due to their spiritual inablity to hear and see despite their physical ability to do so, it was interpreted as embodiment of attachment to the material world, sharing similarities with Central Asia mythological creatures, likewise composed of several parts of animals and symbolizes the material world.[9]

Interpretations

Traditional

According to the medieval Sunni theologian Fakhr 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.[10]

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.[11]

See also

References
  1. Quran 27:82
  2. "Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Surah 27". Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  3. YAMAN, Bahattin. "OSMANLI RESİM SANATINDA DÂBBETÜ’L-ARZ." Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 29 (2013): 41-57.
  4. YAMAN, Bahattin. "OSMANLI RESİM SANATINDA DÂBBETÜ’L-ARZ." Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 29 (2013): 41-57.
  5. YAMAN, Bahattin. "OSMANLI RESİM SANATINDA DÂBBETÜ’L-ARZ." Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 29 (2013): 41-57.
  6. YAMAN, Bahattin. "OSMANLI RESİM SANATINDA DÂBBETÜ’L-ARZ." Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 29 (2013): 41-57.
  7. YAMAN, Bahattin. "OSMANLI RESİM SANATINDA DÂBBETÜ’L-ARZ." Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 29 (2013): 41-57.
  8. Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam (2 Vols.): Volume 1: Foundations and Formation of a Tradition. Reflections on the Hereafter in the Quran and Islamic Religious Thought / Volume 2: Continuity and Change. The Plurality of Eschatological Representations in the Islamicate World. (2017). Niederlande: Brill. p. 622
  9. Emel Esin "Turkish Miniature Painting" First Edition 1960 Printed in Japan
  10. Hasbi. "Dabbetülarz (1)". www.suleyman-ates.com. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  11. 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 ISBN 978-1-906-10907-3 page 477
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