The Smoke

''So thou wait for the day when the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible, enveloping the people: this will be a Grievous Penalty (or Painful Chastisement).''   (Quran: Surah Dhukan 44:10)

Huzaifa bin Usaid al-Ghifari reported: Allah's Messenger  صلى الله عليه وسلم  came to us all of a sudden as we were talking. He said: "What are you discussing?" We said: "We are talking about the Last Hour." Thereupon, he صلى الله عليه وسلم  said: "It will not come until you see ten signs before it, He made a mention of the Smoke, the Dajjal (Anti-Christ), the Daabba, the Rising of the Sun from the West, the Descent of Jesus Son of Mary عليه السلام  (from Heaven), the emergence of Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog & MaGog), and Khusuf (Landslides) will occur in three places, One in the East, one in the West and one in Arabian Peninsula, at the end of which, a Fire would burn forth from Yemen (or from Aden according to Ahmad), which would drive people to the place of their final assembly."  (Sahih Muslim, Ahmad)

Abu Hurairah said: "The Prophet   صلى الله عليه وسلم  said, 'Hasten to do good deeds before six things happen: the rising of the sun from the West, the Smoke, the Dajjal, the Beast, the (death) of one of you or general tribulation." (Sahih Muslim)

It is clearly evident from the above verse and Ahadith that the smoke is a major sign of Qiyamah (Day of Resurrection). It will rise and cover the whole world. The Smoke will affect both the believers and non-believers alike remaining for a period of 40 days and night. The believers will be affected a little as if suffering from common cold, while the Smoke will enter the brains of the non-believers and make them unconscious. ( Huzaifa bin Al-Yaman/Tabari)

Ibn Masood's Opinion

Ibn Masood's (RA) opinion regarding the verse in which the smoke has been mentioned is that he strongly contends that this is not the smoke which is described as one of the signs of Qiyamah.

On the other hand, the Prophet  صلى الله عليه وسلم  being disgusted with the vexation and rebellion of the Quraish had invoked a famine of 7 years for them like that which was set upon the Egyptians in the days of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) عليه السلام  and as such the famine befell them to the starvation of the Makkans, who were so much constrained that they were forced to eat off corpses and skins of animals. In short, the people of Makkah began to starve. As a rule, in intense hunger and ceaseless drought, a kind of smoke is seen in the space between the Heaven and the Earth, and also the dust, which rises to the sky from the Earth especially on long rainless days, looks like a smoke to the naked eyes. That thing is here described as a smoke.   (Bukhari)

Ibn Masood reported, "Five things have passed, the Smoke, the defeat of the Romans, the splitting of the moon, the defeat of the infidels in the Battle of Badr and the punishment."   (Bukhari)

Firstly, it should be noted that Ibn Kathir writes that from amongst the Sahaba, Ibn Masood is the only one that holds this view. The majority of Muslim scholars in the light of the above and many other Ahadith are of the opinion that the Smoke referred to in the verse is the same which is to precede Qiyamah. This has also been related as being the opinion of Ibn Abbas and Imam Ali.    (Ibn Kathir)

Imam Ali  رضي الله عنه said, "The verse of Dukhan (Smoke) has not taken place"   (Ibn Abi Hatim)

Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, Hasan, and others said, ''The smoke referred to in the verses is the smoke before Qiyamah which will enter in the ears of the Kuffar and the hypocrites and will affect the Muslims like a common cold. The whole World will be like a house on fire. It has not happened. It will happen.''    (Lawami-ul-Anwaar)

Abdullah bin Abu-Mulaika narrated that "I went one morning to Ibn Abbas. He said, 'I didn't sleep all night.' I asked, 'Why?' He replied, 'They informed me that a star with a tail appeared. I feared that the Smoke may follow and thus I didn't sleep till it was morning'.''  (Tabari / Ibn Kathir)

It is clear from the above narration, which is authentic, as Ibn Kathir has mentioned that Ibn Abbas was of the opinion that the Smoke is from among the awaited signs.    (Ibn Kathir)

Secondly, Ibn Kathir writes that Ibn Masood doesn't attribute what he has said to the Prophet  صلى الله عليه وسلم   (meaning Ibn Masood was stating his own opinion, not what Prophet Mohammad said) while the hadith that the Smoke is from among the awaited signs is attributed back to the Prophet  صلى الله عليه وسلم  . ''What (Hadith) is attributed to the Prophet  صلى الله عليه وسلم  is given a higher rank over that what is not.''  (An-Nihaya)