The Prophet ﷺ said regarding the Dam, "They dig at it every day until, when they are about to break through, the one in charge of them says, 'Go back, you will break through tomorrow.' Then Allah restores it to a state stronger than it was. When their appointed time arrives and Allah wills to send them forth against mankind, the one in charge of them says, 'Go back, you will break through tomorrow, if Allah wills,' making the exception. They return and find it just as they left it, so they break through and emerge upon the people. They drink up the waters, and people flee from them. They shoot their arrows into the sky, and the arrows return stained with blood. They say, 'We have overcome those on earth and triumphed over those in the heavens,' out of harshness and arrogance. Then Allah sends upon them a worm in the napes of their necks, and they perish. By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the beasts of the earth will grow fat and frisky and thrive in plenty from their flesh."
حدثنا محمد بن بشار وغير واحد المعنى واحد واللفظ لابن بشار قالوا حدثنا هشام بن عبد الملك حدثنا أبو عوانة عن قتادة عن أبي رافع من حديث
عن النبي ﷺ في السد قال يحفرونه كل يوم حتى إذا كادوا يخرقونه قال الذي عليهم ارجعوا فستخرقونه غدا فيعيده الله كأشد ما كان حتى إذا بلغ مدتهم وأراد الله أن يبعثهم على الناس قال الذي عليهم ارجعوا فستخرقونه غدا إن شاء الله واستثنى قال فيرجعون فيجدونه كهيئته حين تركوه فيخرقونه فيخرجون على الناس فيستقون المياه ويفر الناس منهم فيرمون بسهامهم في السماء فترجع مخضبة بالدماء فيقولون قهرنا من في الأرض وعلونا من في السماء قسوة وعلوا فيبعث الله عليهم نغفا في أقفائهم فيهلكون فوالذي نفس محمد بيده إن دواب الأرض تسمن وتبطر وتشكر شكرا من لحومهم
[Sahih]. Ibn Majah also recorded it in "Tribulations," chapter on "The tribulation of Dajjal, the emergence of Isa bin Maryam, and the emergence of Gog and Magog," hadith no. 4080, from the hadith of Qatada through this same route. Busiri and Ibn Hibban graded it sahih, hadith no. 1908, as did Hakim, who said it met the standard of the two Shaykhs (4/288), and Dhahabi agreed with him. The hadith has many corroborating narrations, see Nihayah with my verification, hadith no. 348.