I would like to ask about the beast which is a sign of the Hour. What is its story and what are the signs of its emergence?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

The beast is an Unseen matter that we must believe in. However, its existence is supported by evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah. Allaah the Almighty Says (what means): {And when the word befalls them, We will bring forth for them a creature from the earth speaking to them, [saying] that the people were, of Our verses, not certain [in faith].} [Quran 27: 82]

Scholars differ on the essence of this beast: some say that it is the calf of the she-camel of the Prophet Saalih (Shelah) . Al-Qurtubi was of this opinion. Others say that it is a beast with thick hair and legs, and that it is called Al-Jassaasah. They also differ on the exact place of its emergence in Makkah: whether the mountain of As-Safa or Abu Qubays or Ajyaad.

Authentic Hadeeths prove that it will emerge and that it is one of the major signs of the Hour. On the authority of Huthayfah ibn Usayd the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told his Companions that the Hour would not come until ten signs take place, and he counted the beast’s emergence among them. [Muslim]. In another Hadeeth the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the beast will emerge with the staff of Moosa (Moses) and the ring of Sulaymaan (Solomon). It will brand the disbeliever’s nose with the stick and illuminate the face of the believer with the ring. [Abu Daawood]

According to Ibn Katheer, Ash-Shawkaani and Al-Qurtubi the signs of its emergence include corrupt times, people’s aversion to the orders of Allaah, the disappearance of knowledge and the spread of animosity among people.

Allaah Knows best.