the rising of the sun from the west and the Beast’s emergence before the people in the forenoon; whichever of the two comes first, the other will follow shortly thereafter.’
Ibn Kathīr commented: ‘In other words, these are the first of the truly extraordinary signs. Although the Antichrist, the descent of Jesus (d. —) from heaven, and the appearance of Gog and Magog will precede them, all of those events involve human beings whose sight is familiar to people. By contrast, the Beast will come forth in an unfamiliar form, address mankind, and brand them as believers or unbelievers—matters that lie outside the ordinary course of events. Thus, it will be the first of the terrestrial signs, just as the sun’s rising from the west, contrary to its usual course, will be the first of the celestial signs.’ End quote.
As the hadiths state, the Beast’s task will be to mark every person as believer or unbeliever. The believer’s face will shine like a brilliant star, and ‘Believer’ will be written between his eyes. The unbeliever will receive a black mark between his eyes, and ‘Unbeliever’ will be written there. Another narration reads: ‘It will meet the believer and brand his face with a mark that makes it whiten, and it will brand the unbeliever with a black mark that darkens his face. Afterwards people will mix together in their wealth and travel through the towns, each recognizing the other—believer and unbeliever alike—so much so that the believer will say to the unbeliever, “O unbeliever, repay me what you owe me.”’
As for its exact nature, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāṣir al-Saʿdī said in his Tafsīr: ‘This is the well-known Beast that will emerge at the end of time and is one of the portents of the Hour, as numerous hadiths attest. Neither Allah nor His Messenger has described its physical form; rather, they have mentioned the effect for which it is intended: it is one of Allah’s signs, it will speak to people in a manner that defies all convention when the decree overtakes them and when they persist in doubting Allah’s revelations. It will thus serve as a proof and clear evidence for the believers and as a proof against the obstinate.’ End quote.