Sahih Muslim 2798 b

While a man was delivering a speech in the tribe of Kinda, he said, "Smoke will prevail on the Day of Resurrection and will deprive the hypocrites their faculties of hearing and seeing. The believers will be afflicted with something like cold only thereof." That news scared us, so I went to (Abdullah) Ibn Mas`ud while he was reclining (and told him the story) whereupon he became angry, sat up and said, "He who knows a thing can say, it, but if he does not know, he should say, 'Allah knows best,' for it is an aspect of knowledge to say, 'I do not know,' if you do not know a certain thing. Allah said to His prophet. 'Say (O Muhammad): No wage do I ask of you for this (Qur'an), nor I am one of the pretenders (a person who pretends things which do not exist.)' (38:86) The Qur'aish delayed in embracing Islam for a period, so the Prophet (ﷺ) invoked evil on them, saying, 'O Allah! Help me against them by sending seven years of (famine) like those of Joseph.' So they were afflicted with such a severe year of famine that they were destroyed therein and ate dead animals and bones. They started seeing something like smoke between the sky and the earth (because of severe hunger). Abu Sufyan then came (to the Prophet) and said, "O Muhammad! You came to order us for to keep good relations with Kith and kin, and your kinsmen have now perished, so please invoke Allah (to relieve them).' Then Ibn Mas`ud recited:-- 'Then watch you for the day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible....but truly you will return! (to disbelief) (44:10-15) Ibn Mas`ud added, Then the punishment was stopped, but truly, they reverted to heathenism (their old way). So Allah (threatened them thus): 'On the day when we shall seize you with a mighty grasp.' (44:16) And that was the day of the Battle of Badr. Allah's saying- "Lizama" (the punishment) refers to the day of Badr Allah's Statement: Alif-Lam-Mim, the Romans have been defeated, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious,' (30:1- 3) (This verse): Indicates that the defeat of Byzantine has already passed.

We came upon `Abdullah bin Mas`ud and he said "O people! If somebody knows something, he can say it, but if he does not know it, he should say, "Allah knows better,' for it is a sign of having knowledge to say about something which one does not know, 'Allah knows better.' Allah said to His Prophet: 'Say (O Muhammad ! ) No wage do I ask of You for this (Qur'an) nor am I one of the pretenders (a person who pretends things which do not exist).' (38:86) Now I will tell you about Ad- Dukhan (the smoke), Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) invited the Quraish to embrace Islam, but they delayed their response. So he said, "O Allah! Help me against them by sending on them seven years of famine similar to the seven years of famine of Joseph." So the famine year overtook them and everything was destroyed till they ate dead animals and skins. People started imagining to see smoke between them and the sky because of severe hunger. Allah said: 'Then watch you for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible, covering the people. . . This is painful torment.' (44:10-11) (So they invoked Allah) "Our Lord! Remove the punishment from us really we are believers." How can there be an (effectual) reminder for them when an Messenger, explaining things clearly, has already come to them? Then they had turned away from him and said: 'One taught (by a human being), a madman?' 'We shall indeed remove punishment for a while, but truly, you will revert (to disbelief).' (44:12-15) Will the punishment be removed on the Day of Resurrection?" `Abdullah added, "The punishment was removed from them for a while but they reverted to disbelief, so Allah destroyed them on the Day of Badr. Allah said: 'The day We shall seize you with a mighty grasp. We will indeed (then) exact retribution." (44:16)

It (i.e., the imagined smoke) was because, when the Quraish refused to obey the Prophet, he asked Allah to afflict them with years of famine similar to those of (Prophet) Joseph. So they were stricken with famine and fatigue, so much so that they ate even bones. A man would look towards the sky and imagine seeing something like smoke between him and the sky because of extreme fatigue. So Allah revealed:-- 'Then watch you for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible, covering the people; this is a painfull of torment.' (44:10-11) Then someone (Abu Sufyan) came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ! Invoke Allah to send rain for the tribes of Mudar for they are on the verge of destruction." On that the Prophet (ﷺ) said (astonishingly) "Shall I invoke Allah) for the tribes of Mudar? Verily, you are a brave man!" But the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed for rain and it rained for them. Then the Verse was revealed. 'But truly you will return (to disbelief).' (44:15) (When the famine was over and) they restored prosperity and welfare, they reverted to their ways (of heathenism) whereupon Allah revealed: 'On the Day when We shall seize you with a Mighty Grasp. We will indeed (then) exact retribution.' (44:16) The narrator said, "That was the day of the Battle of Badr."

We were sitting in the company of Abdullah and he was lying on the bed that a person came and said: Abd Abd al-Rabmin, a story-teller at the gates of Kinda says that the verse (of the Qur'an) which deals with the" smoke" implies that which is about to come and it would hold the breath of the infidels and would inflict the believers with cold. Thereupon Abdullah got up and said in anger. O people, fear Allah and say only that which one knows amongst you and do not say which he does not know and he should simply say: Allah has the best knowledge for He has the best knowledge amongst all of you. It does not behove him to say that which he does not know. Allah has the best knowledge of it. Verily Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, said to His Prophet (ﷺ) to state:" I do not ask from you any remuneration and I am not the one to put you in trouble," and when Allah's Mesqenger (ﷺ) saw people turning back (from religion) he said: O Allah, afflict thern with seven famines as was done in the case of Yusuf, so they were afflicted with famine by which they were forced to eat everything until they were obliged to eat the hides and the dead bodies because of hunger, and every one of them looked towards the sky and he found a smoke. And Abu Sufyan came and he said: Muhammad, you have come to command us to obey Allah and cement the ties of blood- relation whereas your people are undone; supplicate Allah for tlicm. Thereupon Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, said:" Wait for the day when there would be clear smoke from the sky which would envelop people and that would be grievous torivent" up to the words:" you are going to return to (evil)." (if this verse implied the torment of the next life) could the chastisement of the next (life) be averted (as the Qur'an states): On the day when We seize (them) with the most violent seizing; surely We shall exact retribution" (xliv. 16)? The seizing (in the hadith) implies that of the Day of Badr. And so far as the sign of smoke, seizing, inevitability and signs of Rome are concern- ed, they have become things of the past now.

A man came to 'Abdullah (رضي الله عنه) and said: I have left a man in the mosque who was interpreting the Qur'an according to his own opinion. He interpreted this verse, “the Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke" by saying: On the Day of Resurrection a smoke will overwhelm the people which they will inhale and they will get something like a cold from it. 'Abdullah said: Whoever knows something, let him speak of it, and whoever does not know, let him say: Allah knows best. It is a part of a man's understanding of religion to say regarding that of which he has no knowledge of it, Allah knows best. This (verse) was (revealed) because when Quraish displayed a stubborn attitude towards the Prophet (ﷺ), he prayed against them and prayed for a famine like the famine of Yoosuf, and they were so afflicted by severe drought and famine that they even ate bones and a man would look at the sky and see something like smoke between him and it, because of hunger. Then a man came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah for rain for Mudar, for they are dying. So he prayed to Allah for them, and Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the words: “Verily. We shall remove the torment for a while.” (ad-Dukhan 44:15). But when it rained a second time, they reverted to their former ways. Then Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the words: “On the Day when We shall seize you with the greatest seizure (punishment). Verily, We will exact retribution" (ad-Dukhan 44:16) This refers to the day of Badr.

Whilst a man was narrating hadeeth in the Great Mosque, he said: On the Day of Resurrection a smoke will come down from the sky and will take away the hearing and sight of the hypocrites and the believers will get something like a cold from it. Masrooq said: I entered upon ‘Abdullah and told him about that. He was reclining then he sat up straight and started speaking. He said: O people, whoever among you is asked about knowledge that he has, let him speak of it, and is he does not know, let him say: Allah knows best. It is a part of knowledge to say when one does not know, Allah knows best. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, said to His Prophet (ﷺ): "Say (O Muhammad (ﷺ)): “No wage do I ask of you for this (the Qur'an), nor am I one of the Mutakallifoon (those who pretend and fabricate things which do not exist)" (Sad 38.86). When Quraish rejected (the call of) the Prophet (ﷺ) and displayed a stubborn attitude towards him, he said: “O Allah, help me with seven (years of hardship) like the seven of Yoosuf." Then they were afflicted by a famine in which they even ate bones and dead meat because of hunger, until one of them would start to see something like smoke between him and the sky, because of hunger. Then they said: “Our Lord! Remove the torment from us, really we shall become believers!" (44:12). It was said to him: If We relieve them they will revert (to disbelief). So he called upon his Lord and He relieved them, and they reverted (to disbelief), but Allah wrought vengeance upon them on the day of Badr. Allah, may He be exalted, says: "Then wait you for the day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke - up to - On the Day when We shall seize you with the greatest seizure (punishment). Verily, We will exact retribution" (ad-Dukhan 44:10-16). Ibn Numair said; ’Abdullah said: If this was referring to the Day of Resurrection. He would not have mentioned relief for them.