Mukhtasar Bukhari

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw people turning away (from accepting the invitation to Islam), he prayed (to Allah): “O Allah! (Send upon them) seven years (of famine) like the seven years (of continuous famine) during the time of Yusuf (peace be upon him).” So famine overtook them, which destroyed every kind of vegetation, to the extent that people began to eat hides, carcasses, and rotten animals, and due to hunger (their weakness became such that) when any of them looked towards the sky, he would see something like smoke. Then Abu Sufyan (who had not yet embraced Islam at that time) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, “O Muhammad! You command the worship of Allah and maintaining ties of kinship, and indeed these are your people (who are dying of hunger). Pray to Allah for them.” So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed to Allah for them. Then Allah the Exalted said: “So wait for the Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke. If We remove the punishment from these disbelievers, they will still disbelieve. Its punishment will befall them on the Day when We seize them with a mighty grasp.” (Ad-Dukhan: 10-16) Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the “grasp” (i.e., seizing) occurred on the Day of Badr, and indeed (in Surah Ad-Dukhan) the “smoke” and the “grasp,” and (in Surah Al-Furqan) “Lizam” (confinement), and the verse mentioned in Surah Ar-Rum—all have already occurred.