and cast their bodies into the sea” (1).
5—Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)—he then related the hadith, which includes the words: “They will come out against the people and draw water, while the people flee from them. They will shoot their arrows into the sky, and the arrows will return stained with blood. They will say, ‘We have conquered the inhabitants of the earth and surpassed those in heaven in strength and supremacy.’” He said: “Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will send worms to the napes of their necks.” He said: “He will destroy them. By Him in whose hand is Muhammad’s soul, the beasts of the earth will surely grow fat and exuberant; they will become exceedingly plump (2) and utterly replete (3) from their flesh” (4).
(1) *Al-Mustadrak* by al-Hākim (4/488–489). Al-Hākim said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic, though neither of them included it.” Al-Dhahabī concurred in his *Talkhīs*.
It was also narrated by Imam Ahmad in *Al-Musnad* (4/189–190, hadith no. 3556), edited by Ahmad Shākir, who said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic.”
Al-Albānī said: “Weak.” See: *Daīf al-Jāmi al-Saghīr* (5/20–21, hadith no. 4712).
I say: The corroborating hadiths weigh in favor of its authenticity. Allah knows best.
(2) *Tashkaru shakaran* (“they grow plump”): One says, *shakirat al-shātu*—with an i-vowel on the kāf—*tashkaru shakaran*—with both consonants vowelled with an a—when a ewe grows fat and its udder fills with milk. The meaning is that the beasts of the earth will grow fat and become filled with fat.
See: *Al-Nihāya fī Gharīb al-Hadīth* (2/494).
(3) *Taskaru sakaran* (“they become utterly replete”): *sakar*—with an a-vowel on both the sīn and kāf—means wine; it is also used to mean anger or fullness.
See: *Al-Nihāya fī Gharīb al-Hadīth* (2/383) and *Lisān al-Arab* (4/373–374).
(4) *Sunan al-Tirmidhī*, Chapters on Quranic Exegesis, Sūrat al-Kahf (8/597–599). Al-Tirmidhī said: =