دَابَّةٌ
[originally a fem. part. n.], for نَفْسٌ دَابَّةٌ, [or the ة is added لِلنَّقْلِ, i. e. for the purpose of transferring the word from the category of epithets to that of substs.,] Anything that walks [or creeps or crawls] upon the earth; as also
دَبِيبٌ: (S: see دِبَّةٌ:) an animal that walks or creeps or crawls (يَدِبُّ); discriminating and not discriminating:any animal upon the earth: it is said in the Kur [xxiv. 44], وَٱللّٰهُ خَلَقَ كُلَّ دَابَّةٍ مِنْ مَآءٍ فَمِنْهُمْمَنْ يَمْشِى عَلَى بَطْنِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِى عَلَى رِجْلَيْنِوَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِى عَلَى أَرْبَعٍ [And God hath created everyدابّةof water ; and of them is he that goeth upon his belly, and of them is he that goeth upon two legs, and of them is he that goeth upon four]: here, as دابّة applies to a rational and an irrational creature, the expression فمنهم is used; for which, if it applied only to an irrational creature, فَمِنْهَا or فَمِنْهُنَّ would be used: moreover, the expression من يمشى is used, though دابّة applies originally to an irrational creature, [or rather a beast, and a reptile,] because the different classes of beings are spoken of collectively: and this passage of the Kur refutes the assertion of him who excludes the bird from the significations of this word: in the last verse but one of ch. xxxv. of the Kur, it is said to relate to mankind and the jinn and every rational being; or to have a general signification: its predominant signification is a beast that is ridden: especially a beast of the equine kind; i. e. a horse, a mule, and an ass: or particularly aبِرْذَوْن [meaning hackney, or horse for ordinary use and for journeying: but as particularly applied, when used absolutely, to a horse and a mule, it is an adventitious conventional term: it is applied to a male and a female: and is properly an epithet: pl. دَوَابُّ. The dim. [signifying Any small animal that walks or creeps or crawls upon the earth, a small beast, a small reptile or creeping thing, a creeping insect, and any insect, and also a mollusk, a shell-fish (as in an instance cited voce مَحَارَةٌ in art. حور) and the like,] is
دُوَيْبَّةٌ, in which the ى is quiescent, but pronounced with إِشْمَام [i. e. a slight approximation to the sound of kesr], as it is in every similar case, in a dim. n., when followed by a doubled letter: and
دُوَابَّةٌ also has been heard, with the ى changed into ا anomalously. (Msb; and L in art. هد, on the authority of ISd.) 2دَابَّةُ الأَرْضِ [The Beast of the Earth] is an appellation of one of the signs of the time of the resurrection: or the first of those signs. It is said to be a beast sixty cubits in length, or height, with legs, and with fur (وَبَر), and to be diverse in form, resembling a number of different animals. It will come forth in Tihámeh, or between Es-Safà and ElMarweh, or at Mekkeh, from Jebel Es- Safà, which will rend open for its egress, during one of the nights when people are going to Minè; or from the district of Et-Táïf; or from three places, three several times. It will make, upon the face of the unbeliever, a black mark; and upon the face of the believer, a white mark: the unbeliever's mark will spread until his whole face becomes black; and the believer's, until his whole face becomes white: then they will assemble at the table, and the believer will be known from the unbeliever. It is also said that it will have with it the rod of Moses and the seal of Solomon: with the former it will strike the believer; and with the latter it will stamp the face of the unbeliever, impressing upon it “ This is an unbeliever. ” 3 See also أَرَضَةٌ.
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