This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Hafiz Mubashir Hussain Lahori's book Signs of the Day of Judgment in the Light of Authentic Ahadith.
Sign of the Day of Judgment: Smoke will spread everywhere
فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِينٍ 10 يَغْشَى النَّاسَ ۖ هَٰذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
“Await that day when the sky will bring forth visible smoke that will envelop the people; this is a painful punishment.”
Reference: Surah Ad-Dukhan: 10, 11
In the light of Ahadith:
عن عبد الله بن مسعود رضى الله عنه قال : إن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم لما رأى من الناس إدبارا قال : اللهم سبعا كسبع يوسف فأخذتهم سنة حصت كل شيء حتى أكلوا الجلود والميتة والجيف وينظر أحدهم إلى السماء فيرى الدخان من الجوع فأتاه أبو سفيان فقال يا محمد ! إنك تأمر بطاعة الله وبصلة الرحم وإن قومك قد هلكوا فادع الله لهم ، قال الله تعالى : فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِينٍ إلى قوله : إِنَّكُمْ عَائِدُونَ 15 يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرَىٰ إِنَّا مُنتَقِمُونَ
It is narrated from Abdullah bin Masood (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw the arrogance of the disbelievers of Quraish, he prayed for a curse, saying, "O Allah! Send upon them a seven-year famine like the one sent during the time of Yusuf (Joseph), peace be upon him." Consequently, such a famine occurred that everything was destroyed, and people even ate leather and carrion. The intensity of hunger was such that when one looked towards the sky, it appeared like smoke. Eventually, out of compulsion, Abu Sufyan came and said, "O Muhammad (peace be upon him)! You command people to obey Allah and maintain kinship ties. Now your own people are facing destruction, so please pray to Allah for them." Allah Almighty said: "Wait for the Day when the sky will bring a visible smoke, and when We will seize them with a severe seizure." The severe seizure happened during the Battle of Badr. The matter of the smoke also passed (when the severe famine occurred), in which the mention of seizure and captivity is made, or in the verses of Surah Ar-Rum, all that has already happened.
Reference: Bukhari: Book of Rainmaking: Chapter on the Prophet's Prayer: Make it like the years of Joseph 1007 Muslim 2789 Tirmidhi 3254 Dala'il an-Nubuwwah 2/324 Ahmad 1/552 Tabarani Kabir 9/244
عن مسروق رحمه الله قال : بينما رجل يحدث فى كندة ، فقال : يجيء دخان يوم القيامة فيأخذ بأسماع المنافقين وأبصارهم يأخذ المؤمن كهيئة الزكام ففزعنا فأتيت ابن مسعود وكان متكئا فغضب فجلس فقال من علم فليقل ومن لم يعلم فليقل : الله أعلم فإن من العلم أن يقول لما لا يعلم : لا أعلم فإن الله قال لنبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم قُلْ مَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّفِينَ وإن قريشا أبطأوا عن الإسلام فدعا عليهم النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : اللهم أعني عليهم بسبع كسبع يوسف فأخذتهم سنة حتى هلكوا فيها وأكلوا الميتة والعظام ويرى الرجل ما بين السماء والأرض كهيئة الدخان فجاءه أبو سفيان فقال : يا محمد ! جئت تأمرنا بصلة الرحم وإن قومك قد هلكوا فادع الله فقرأ فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِينٍ إلى قوله عَائِدُونَ
Masrooq (may Allah have mercy on him) said that a man was preaching in the tribe of Kinda and said that on the Day of Judgment, a smoke will rise from which the ears and eyes of the hypocrites will become completely useless, but for the believers, its effect will be like a common cold. We were very frightened by his words. Then I went to Abdullah bin Masood (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him what that man had said. He was leaning at that time; upon hearing it, he became angry, sat up straight, and said: If someone has definitive knowledge about something, then he should state it, but if he does not have knowledge, he should say that Allah knows best. It is also knowledge when a person admits his ignorance and clearly says, "I do not know." Allah Almighty commanded His Prophet (peace be upon him) to say that he does not seek any reward from you for his invitation and preaching, nor does he act with any hardship (pretense). The actual event is that the Quraish would not accept Islam by any means, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed against them, "O Allah! Send upon them a famine like the time of Yusuf (peace be upon him) to help me." Then such a famine occurred that people were destroyed and began eating carrion and bones. If anyone looked at the atmosphere, due to hunger, it appeared like smoke. Then Abu Sufyan came and said, "O Muhammad (peace be upon him)! You command us to maintain kinship ties, but your people are being destroyed; pray to Allah (to remove this calamity from them)." Upon this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited this verse: "Wait for the Day when the sky will bring forth visible smoke." Ibn Masood (may Allah be pleased with him) said that this punishment of famine ended by the prayer of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Reference: Bukhari: Book of Tafsir: Tafsir of Surah Al-Mughallabat Ar-Rum 4774
وعن حذيفة رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : إنها لن تقوم حتى ترون قبلها عشر آيات فذكر الدخان
It is narrated from Hazrat Hudhaifa (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The Hour will never be established until you see ten signs before it. Then he mentioned them, one of which is that smoke will appear.
Reference: Muslim: Book of Tribulations: Chapter on the signs before the Hour 2901 Tirmidhi 2183 Abu Dawood 4311 Sharh as-Sunnah 7/432 Al-Hilyah 1/355 Ahmad 2/588
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : ثلاث إذا خرجن لم ينفع نفسا إيمانها لم تكن آمنت من قبل أو كسبت فى إيمانها خيرا طلوع الشمس من مغربها والدخان ودابة الأرض
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: When three signs appear, then no soul will benefit from believing if it had not believed before or had not earned any good in its faith:
(1) The sun rising from the west
(2) The smoke emerging
(3) And the emergence of the beast from the earth
Reference: Ahmad 2/588 Muslim 249 Tirmidhi 3072 Ibn Abi Shaybah 8/669 Abu Awana 1/107
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : بادروا بالأعمال ستا : الدجال والدخان ....
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Perform good deeds before six things happen:
(1) The Dajjal
(2) Before the smoke emerges.
Reference: Muslim: Book of Tribulations: Chapter on the remainder of the hadiths of the Dajjal 2947 Ahmad 2/428 Ibn Hibban 15/199 Hakim 4/561 Sharh as-Sunnah 7/431 Abu Ya'la 11/397 Tayalisi 2549
Benefits:
➊ The covering of the sky with clouds of smoke is a sign of the Day of Judgment.
➋ According to Hazrat Abdullah bin Masood (may Allah be pleased with him), Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him), Abu Al-Aaliyah (may Allah have mercy on him), Dhahak (may Allah have mercy on him), Atiyah (may Allah have mercy on him), and others, the mentioned sign of the Day of Judgment has already occurred, as is evident from the previous narrations in Bukhari and Muslim. The commentator Ibn Jarir (may Allah have mercy on him) also considered it more authentic that Allah Almighty promised the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِينٍ "You wait for the day when the sky will bring forth visible smoke." Therefore, there was also a warning for the polytheists in this, which was inevitable to be fulfilled during the life of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), so its occurrence has taken place.
Reference: For details see: Tafsir Tabari 15/114, Tafsir Qurtubi 16/131, Tafsir Ibn Kathir 7/233
➌ The position of Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), Abu Saeed (may Allah be pleased with him), Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him), Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), Abu Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), and many Tabi‘in is that the mentioned sign is among the signs of the Day of Judgment which will appear near the time of the Day of Judgment.
Dominant Issue:
Imam Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
أنه لم يات بعد وانما يكون قريبا من قيام الساعة
"The mentioned sign has not yet appeared, and surely it will appear near the Day of Judgment."
Reference: Sharh Muslim by Nawawi 18/12
Hafiz Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, discusses in detail and says:
مما فيه مقنع ودلالة ظاهرة على ان الدخان من الآيات المنتظرة مع أنه ظاهر القرآن
From this, it is established that the smoke is among the signs of the Day of Judgment that are still awaited, and this meaning is consistent with the apparent meaning of the Qur'an.
Reference: Tafsir Ibn Kathir 7/235, Al-Nihaya 1/224
➍ Some scholars say that there are two types of smoke: one that has already appeared (during the life of the Prophet ﷺ) and another that will occur near the Day of Judgment. Mujahid, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated a similar statement from Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him.
Reference: For details see: Al-Tadhkirah 655, Sharh Muslim by Nawawi 27/18
➎ According to some scholars, the smoke that appeared during the prophetic era was metaphorical, meaning that due to drought, the sky appeared as if it was enveloped in smoke, but in reality, it was not so; rather, it was the imagination and assumption of the people. Whereas near the Day of Judgment, a real smoke will appear, which is one of the major signs of the Day of Judgment and has not yet appeared.
Reference: See Al-Tadhkirah 655, Ibn Kathir 233/7
