Surah Ad-Dukhaan (44) — Ayah 10

(Ayah 11,10) {فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَاْتِي السَّمَآءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِيْنٍ … :} In this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is comforted that if these people do not believe, then do not be distressed, rather wait for the day when a clear smoke from the sky will cover these people, which will be a very painful punishment. The meaning of being clear and covering is that it will not be imaginary smoke but real, and it will envelop all people. By {’’ يَوْمَ ‘‘} is meant the time during which the smoke remained, because that smoke did not remain for just one day, but for many days and months. What is meant by this smoke? Obviously, it cannot mean the smoke of the Day of Resurrection, because in these verses, after the disbelievers pray for its removal, there is mention of it being somewhat removed and their returning again to disbelief, whereas the punishment of the Day of Resurrection will never be removed in any way. Therefore, it means such smoke that is soon to cover them in this world. There are two opinions regarding this smoke: Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) very decisively considers it to be the smoke that spread as a result of the famine that occurred in Makkah after the migration due to the curse of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus, he says: [ إِنَّمَا كَانَ هٰذَا لِأَنَّ قُرَيْشًا لَمَّا اسْتَعْصَوْا عَلَی النَّبِيِّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ دَعَا عَلَيْهِمْ بِسِنِيْنَ كَسِنِيْ يُوْسُفَ، فَأَصَابَهُمْ قَحْطٌ وَجَهْدٌ حَتّٰی أَكَلُوا الْعِظَامَ، فَجَعَلَ الرَّجُلُ يَنْظُرُ إِلَی السَّمَاءِ فَيَرٰی مَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا كَهَيْئَةِ الدُّخَانِ مِنَ الْجَهْدِ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰی: «فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَاْتِي السَّمَآءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِيْنٍ (10) يَّغْشَى النَّاسَ هٰذَا عَذَابٌ اَلِيْمٌ » قَالَ فَأُتِيَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ فَقِيْلَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! اسْتَسْقِ اللّٰهَ لِمُضَرَ، فَإِنَّهَا قَدْ هَلَكَتْ، قَالَ لِمُضَرَ؟ إِنَّكَ لَجَرِيْءٌ، فَاسْتَسْقٰی فَسُقُوْا فَنَزَلَتْ: «اِنَّكُمْ عَآىِٕدُوْنَ » فَلَمَّا أَصَابَتْهُمُ الرَّفَاهِيَةُ عَادُوْا إِلٰی حَالِهِمْ، حِيْنَ أَصَابَتْهُمُ الرَّفَاهِيَةُ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : « يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرٰى اِنَّا مُنْتَقِمُوْنَ » قَالَ يَعْنِيْ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، سورۃ الدخان : ۴۸۲۱ ] "The reason for this was that when the Quraysh showed extreme rebellion against the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he supplicated for famine upon them, like the years of famine of Yusuf (peace be upon him). So famine and hunger overtook them, until they ate bones. A man would look towards the sky, and due to hunger, he would see something like smoke between himself and the sky. So Allah revealed this verse: « فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَاْتِي السَّمَآءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِيْنٍ (10) يَّغْشَى النَّاسَ هٰذَا عَذَابٌ اَلِيْمٌ» [ الدخان : ۱۰،۱۱ ] 'So wait for the day when the sky will bring a clear smoke, which will cover the people. This is a painful punishment.' Then a delegation came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Pray for rain for Mudar (tribe), for they have perished.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'For Mudar? (They are severe disbelievers and polytheists.) You are very bold.' Anyway, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for rain, and rain came upon them, so this verse was revealed: « اِنَّكُمْ عَآىِٕدُوْنَ » [ الدخان : ۱۵ ] 'Indeed, you will return to the same (deeds) again.' Then when prosperity came to them, they returned to their former state, so Allah revealed this verse: «يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرٰى اِنَّا مُنْتَقِمُوْنَ » [ الدخان : ۱۶ ] 'The day We will seize with the greatest seizure, indeed, We will take retribution.' Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'By this is meant the Day of Badr.' The interpretation of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) has been considered preferable by Imam Tabari and many commentators. According to this, this punishment has already passed.

The second opinion is that by this is meant the smoke that will appear near the Day of Resurrection. Hudhayfah bin Asid Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we were discussing something among ourselves when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَا تَذَاكَرُوْنَ؟ قَالُوْا نَذْكُرُ السَّاعَةَ، قَالَ إِنَّهَا لَنْ تَقُوْمَ حَتّٰی تَرَوْنَ قَبْلَهَا عَشْرَ آيَاتٍ فَذَكَرَ الدُّخَانَ وَالدَّجَّالَ وَالدَّابَّةَ وَطُلُوْعَ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا وَ نُزُوْلَ عِيْسَی ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَ يَأْجُوْجَ وَ مَأْجُوْجَ وَ ثَلَاثَةَ خُسُوْفٍ، خَسْفٌ بِالْمَشْرِقِ وَخَسْفٌ بِالْمَغْرِبِ وَخَسْفٌ بِجَزِيْرَةِ الْعَرَبِ وَآخِرُ ذٰلِكَ نَارٌ تَخْرُجُ مِنَ الْيَمَنِ تَطْرُدُ النَّاسَ إِلٰی مَحْشَرِهِمْ ] [مسلم، الفتن و أشراط الساعۃ، باب في الآیات التي تکون قبل الساعۃ : ۲۹۰۱ ] 'What are you discussing?' We said: 'We are discussing the Day of Resurrection.' He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'It will not be established until you see ten signs before it.' Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned those signs, (which are) the smoke, the Dajjal, the Beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him), Gog and Magog, three sinkings (of the earth): one in the east, one in the west, and one in the Arabian Peninsula, and at the end of all these, a fire will emerge from Yemen which will drive people to their place of gathering.' Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ بَادِرُوْا بِالْأَعْمَالِ سِتًّا، طُلُوْعَ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا أَوِ الدُّخَانَ أَوِ الدَّجَّالَ أَوِ الدَّابَّةَ أَوْ خَاصَّةَ أَحَدِكُمْ أَوْ أَمْرَ الْعَامَّةِ ] [ مسلم، الفتن و أشراط الساعۃ، باب في بقیۃ من أحادیث الدجال : ۲۹۴۷ ] 'Hasten to do good deeds before six things appear: the rising of the sun from the west, or the smoke, or the Dajjal, or the Beast, or individual punishment upon one of you, or collective punishment upon all of you.'

Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) preferred this second opinion, that by this smoke is meant the smoke that will appear near the Day of Resurrection, which is still awaited, but the statement of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) is correct, because in the verses there is mention of that smoke which will be removed a little, and in which the disbelievers will have the opportunity to believe, whereas after the signs near the Day of Resurrection, there will be no benefit in believing, as He said: « يَوْمَ يَاْتِيْ بَعْضُ اٰيٰتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا اِيْمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ اٰمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ اَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِيْۤ اِيْمَانِهَا خَيْرًا» [ الأنعام : ۱۵۸ ] 'The day when some of your Lord's signs comes, no soul will benefit from its faith if it had not believed before, or had not earned any good in its faith.' Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) also presented this as evidence, that can the punishment of the Day of Resurrection ever be removed!?

10. 1 This is a warning for the disbelievers that well, you wait for the day when smoke will appear in the sky.

10. So wait for the Day when the sky will bring forth a clear [8] smoke.

[8]
The Punishment of Famine Upon the Quraysh:

There is a difference of opinion among the commentators regarding the interpretation of verses 10 to 16. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ presents the interpretation of these verses with great emphasis and certainty in the following words: Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ says that when the Quraysh did not obey the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and persisted in their mischief, the Prophet ﷺ supplicated: "O Allah! Help me by sending upon them a seven-year famine like that of the time of Yusuf ؑ." Eventually, such a severe famine befell them that they began to eat bones and carrion, and the situation reached such an extent that if any one of them, due to the intensity of hunger, looked towards the sky, he would see something like smoke. At that time, Abu Sufyan came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "O Muhammad ﷺ! Your people are perishing, pray to Allah to remove this famine." So the Prophet ﷺ prayed. And the polytheists also began to say: "Our Lord! Remove this punishment from us, we will believe." Allah Almighty said to the Prophet ﷺ: "See, when this punishment is lifted, these people will return to polytheism." Anyway, due to your supplication, Allah Almighty removed this punishment, but they again returned to disbelief and polytheism. Eventually, Allah Almighty revealed this verse: ﴿يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرٰي اِنَّا مُنْتَقِمُوْنَ﴾. By "Batshah" is meant the punishment of Badr. As for the punishment of the Hereafter, it will never be lifted from them. Ibn Mas'ud says that there are five things that have already occurred: "Lizam" (the capture of prisoners at Badr), the resurgence of Rome, "Batshah" (the humiliating defeat at Badr), the splitting of the moon, and "Dukhan" (the punishment of smoke) [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير].

Which Smoke is Meant by the "Clear Smoke"?

And Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) interprets the smoke mentioned in verse 10 as the smoke that will envelop the earth near the Day of Judgment, and it will be a sign of the Hour. According to narrations, this smoke will cover the earth for forty days. Its effect on a righteous person will be mild, causing them something like a cold, but for the disbeliever and hypocrite, this smoke will prove to be extremely painful. This smoke may be the same material of the heavens mentioned in ﴿ثُمَّ اسْتَوٰٓي اِلَي السَّمَاءِ وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ﴾, and they interpret ﴿يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرٰي اِنَّا مُنْتَقِمُوْنَ﴾ as the punishment of the Day of Judgment. And Allah knows best what is correct. However, the events mentioned in these verses are related to the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Therefore, the interpretation of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ appears to be more preferable.