Tafseer of The Smoke · Ad-Dukhaan · 44:10
Then watch for the Day when the sky will bring a visible smoke.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word, the Exalted: fa-irtaqib yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn (10) ("So wait for the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke").
The Exalted, glorified be His mention, means by His word fa-irtaqib ("so wait"): Wait, O Muḥammad, for these polytheists (mushrikīn) of your people, who are in doubt and play about. For it is the form iftaʿala, derived from raqabtuhu: when you wait for someone and watch over him.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: fa-irtaqib ("so wait"): that is, wait.
And His word yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn ("the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke") — the interpreters differed concerning that which Allah, mighty and exalted is He, commanded His Prophet ﷺ to wait for, and concerning which He informed him that the sky would come on it with a clear smoke: which day that is and when that is, and concerning the meaning of the smoke (dukhān) mentioned in this place. Some of them said: That was when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called upon his Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, against the Quraysh, that He afflict them with years like the years of Yūsuf, whereupon they were stricken with famine. They said: By the smoke is meant what befell them then in their eyes, due to the severity of the hunger, a darkness in the form of smoke.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿĪsā ibn ʿUthmān ibn ʿĪsā al-Ramlī related to me, saying: Yaḥyā ibn ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Masrūq, who said: We entered the mosque, and there was a man relating to his companions and saying: yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn — do you know what that smoke is? It is a smoke that will come on the Day of Resurrection and will afflict the hearing and the sight of the hypocrites (munāfiqīn), while it strikes the believers like something resembling a cold. He (Masrūq) said: Then we went to Ibn Masʿūd and mentioned this to him, while he was lying stretched out. He started up, sat upright, and said: Verily, Allah, mighty and exalted is He, has said to His Prophet ﷺ: qul mā asʾalukum ʿalayhi min ajrin wa-mā anā mina al-mutakallifīn ("Say: I ask you no reward for this, and I am not of those who impose themselves"). It is part of knowledge that a man, concerning what he does not know, should say: Allah knows best. I shall tell you about that: Verily, when the Quraysh were slow to accept Islam and opposed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he called upon Allah against them with years like the years of Yūsuf. Then such hardship and hunger befell them that they ate bones and carcasses, and they began to lift their eyes to the sky and saw nothing but smoke.
Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, said: yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn * yaghshā al-nāsa hādhā ʿadhābun alīm ("the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke that will cover the people; this is a painful punishment"). Then they said: rabbanā ikshif ʿannā al-ʿadhāba innā muʾminūn ("Our Lord, remove from us the punishment; verily, we are believers"). Allah, exalted be His praise, said: innā kāshifū al-ʿadhābi qalīlan innakum ʿāʾidūn * yawma nabṭishu al-baṭshata al-kubrā innā muntaqimūn ("We shall remove the punishment for a little while; verily, you will return. On the day when We shall seize with the great seizure, verily, We shall take vengeance"). He said: Then they returned on the day of Badr, and Allah took vengeance upon them.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Zuhrī related to me, saying: Mālik ibn Suʿayr related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Masrūq, who said: There was in the mosque a man admonishing the people. And he related something similar to the narration of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn ʿĪsā, except that he said: Then He took vengeance on the day of Badr, and that is the great seizure (al-baṭsha al-kubrā).
Ibn Ḥumayd and ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd related to us, both of them saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā Muslim ibn Ṣubayḥ, on the authority of Masrūq, who said: We were sitting with ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, while he was lying stretched out among us. Then a man came to him and said: O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, verily, there is a storyteller at the gates of Kinda who relates and claims that the sign of the smoke will come and seize the disbelievers by their breath, while it strikes the believers like something resembling a cold. Then ʿAbd Allāh stood up and sat, while he was angry, and said: O people, fear Allah. Whoever knows something, let him speak about what he knows, and whoever does not know, let him say: Allah knows best.
And ʿAmr said (in his version): For it is more knowledgeable for one of you to say, concerning what he does not know: Allah knows best; and it is no disgrace for one of you to say, concerning what he does not know: I do not know. For Allah, mighty and exalted is He, says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: qul mā asʾalukum ʿalayhi min ajrin wa-mā anā mina al-mutakallifīn ("Say: I ask you no reward for this, and I am not of those who impose themselves"). Verily, when the Prophet ﷺ saw that the people turned away, he said: "O Allah, seven years like the seven years of Yūsuf." Then a year befell them that devoured everything, until they ate hides, carcasses, and carrion. One of them would look at the sky and see smoke from the hunger. Then Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb came to him and said: O Muḥammad, verily, you have come to command obedience and the upholding of the family bond, and verily, your people have perished; so call upon Allah for them. Allah, mighty and exalted is He, said: fa-irtaqib yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn ("So wait for the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke")... up to His word innakum ʿāʾidūn ("verily, you will return"). He said: Then it was removed from them. yawma nabṭishu al-baṭshata al-kubrā innā muntaqimūn ("On the day when We shall seize with the great seizure, verily, We shall take vengeance") — the seizure was on the day of Badr. And the sign of the Romans (al-Rūm) and the sign of the smoke (al-dukhān) have already passed, as well as the seizure (al-baṭsha) and the persistent punishment (al-lizām).
Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Masrūq, who said: ʿAbd Allāh said: Five have already passed: the smoke (al-dukhān), the persistent punishment (al-lizām), the seizure (al-baṭsha), the moon (al-qamar), and the Romans (al-Rūm).
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, who said: I attended a funeral at which Zayd ibn ʿAlī was present. He began on that day to relate and said: Verily, the smoke will come before the Day of Resurrection and seize the believer by his nose like a cold, and seize the disbeliever by his hearing. He (ʿĀṣim) said: I said: May Allah have mercy on you, verily, our companion ʿAbd Allāh has said something other than this. He said: Verily, the smoke has already passed, and he recited this verse: fa-irtaqib yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn * yaghshā al-nāsa hādhā ʿadhābun alīm ("So wait for the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke that will cover the people; this is a painful punishment"). He said: Hardship befell the people, until a man would see smoke between himself and the sky. That is His word fa-irtaqib ("so wait"). And thus ʿAbd Allāh recited up to His word muʾminūn ("believers"). He said: innā kāshifū al-ʿadhābi qalīlan ("We shall remove the punishment for a little while"). I said to Zayd: Then they returned, and Allah brought Badr back upon them. That is His word wa-in ʿudtum ʿudnā ("and if you return, We shall return"). That is the day of Badr. He said: By Allah, he accepted it. ʿĀṣim said: Then a man spoke who contradicted him, and Zayd, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Verily, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Verily, narrators will come to you; whatever agrees with the Qurʾān, accept it, and whatever differs from that, leave it."
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, that he said: The great seizure (al-baṭsha al-kubrā) is on the day of Badr, and the smoke has already passed.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of ʿAwf, who said: I heard Abū al-ʿĀliya say: Verily, the smoke has already passed.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: The smoke passed in the years that befell them.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ayyūb related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad, who said: It was reported to me that Ibn Masʿūd used to say: The smoke has already passed; they were years like the years of Yūsuf.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Waraqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn ("the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke"), he said: The drought and the withholding of the rain from the disbelievers of the Quraysh, up to His word innā muʾminūn ("verily, we are believers").
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn ("the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke"), he said: Ibn Masʿūd used to say: The smoke has already passed; they were years like the years of Yūsuf. yaghshā al-nāsa hādhā ʿadhābun alīm ("that will cover the people; this is a painful punishment").
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn ("the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke"): The matter of the smoke has already passed.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh: yawma nabṭishu al-baṭshata al-kubrā ("on the day when We shall seize with the great seizure"), he said: The day of Badr.
And others said: The smoke is a sign among the signs of Allah, sent forth upon His servants before the coming of the Hour. It will penetrate into the hearing of those who disbelieve in it, and strike the believers with it like something resembling a cold. They said: And it has not yet come, but it will come.
* Mention of who said that:
Wāṣil ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of al-Walīd ibn Jumayʿ, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn al-Mughīra, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Baylamānī, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, who said: The smoke will go forth and strike the believer like a cold, and penetrate into the hearing of the disbeliever and the hypocrite, until he becomes like a roasted head.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Mulayka, who said: One day I went in the morning to Ibn ʿAbbās, and he said: I did not sleep this night until the morning. I said: Why? He said: They said: The star with the tail has risen, and I feared that the smoke had arrived, and so I did not sleep until the morning.
Muḥammad ibn Bazīʿ related to us, saying: Bishr ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, on the authority of ʿAwf, who said: al-Ḥasan said: Verily, the smoke is still among the remaining signs. When the smoke comes, the disbeliever will swell up until it comes out of every hearing-opening of his, and strike the believer like a cold.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿUthmān, that is Ibn al-Haytham, related to us, saying: ʿAwf related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, something similar.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd, who said: The smoke will throw the people into turmoil. As for the believer, it will strike him like a cold. And as for the disbeliever, it will throw him into turmoil until it comes out of every hearing-opening of his. He said: And some of the scholars used to say: The likeness of the earth on that day is none other than the likeness of a house in which a fire has been kindled without there being any opening in it.
ʿIṣām ibn Rawwād ibn al-Jarrāḥ related to me, saying: My father related to me, saying: Sufyān ibn Saʿīd al-Thawrī related to us, saying: Manṣūr ibn al-Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of Ribʿī ibn Ḥarāsh, who said: I heard Ḥudhayfa ibn al-Yamān say: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The first of the signs is the Dajjāl, and the descent of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam, and a fire that will come out from the bottom of ʿAdan Abyan and drive the people to the gathering-place, resting with them when they rest — and the smoke." Ḥudhayfa said: O Messenger of Allah, and what is the smoke? Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited the verse: yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn * yaghshā al-nāsa hādhā ʿadhābun alīm ("the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke that will cover the people; this is a painful punishment") — it will fill what is between the east and the west, and last forty days and nights. As for the believer, something of it will strike him like a cold. And as for the disbeliever, he will be like a drunkard; it will come out of his nostrils, his ears, and his backside.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAwf related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, saying: My father related to me, saying: Ḍamḍam ibn Zurʿa related to me, on the authority of Shurayḥ ibn ʿUbayd, on the authority of Abū Mālik al-Ashʿarī, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Verily, your Lord has warned you of three things: the smoke, which seizes the believer like a cold and seizes the disbeliever so that he swells up until it comes out of every hearing-opening of his; the second is the Beast (al-dābba); and the third is the Dajjāl."
And the more correct of the two statements concerning this is what has been related from Ibn Masʿūd: that the smoke which Allah commanded His Prophet ﷺ to wait for is that which befell his people of hardship through his supplication against them, as Ibn Masʿūd described it — provided that the narration of Ḥudhayfa, which we have mentioned from him on the authority of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, is not authentic. But if it is authentic, then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ knows best what Allah sent down upon him, and no one has, alongside his statement — which is authentically established from him — a statement of his own.
I have not, however, affirmed it (the narration of Ḥudhayfa) as authentic, because Muḥammad ibn Khalaf al-ʿAsqalānī related to me that he asked Rawwād about this narration: whether he had heard it from Sufyān? He said to him: No. I said to him: Did you then read it to him? He said: No. I said to him: Was it then read to him while you were present, and did he acknowledge it? He said: No. I said: From where then did you obtain it? He said: A group of people brought it to me and presented it to me, and they said to me: Hear it from us. Then they read it to me, and afterwards they went off and related it on my authority — or as he put it. When I learned this about it, I did not affirm it as authentic. I have only said: The statement that ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd made is the most fitting for the interpretation of the verse, because Allah, exalted be His praise, threatened the polytheists of the Quraysh with the smoke, and because His word to His Prophet ﷺ fa-irtaqib yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn ("So wait for the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke") stands in the context of Allah's address to the disbelievers of the Quraysh and His rebuke of them for their shirk, with His word lā ilāha illā huwa yuḥyī wa-yumītu rabbukum wa-rabbu ābāʾikumu al-awwalīn * bal hum fī shakkin yalʿabūn ("there is no god but He, He gives life and gives death, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers. Nay, they are in doubt and play about"). Then He followed that with His word to His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: fa-irtaqib yawma taʾtī al-samāʾu bi-dukhānin mubīn ("So wait for the day when the sky will come with a clear smoke") — as a command from Him to him to be patient until His punishment should come to them, and as a threat to the polytheists. It is therefore, since it is a threat against them, more fitting that it be something He brought down upon them, than that it be something He deferred away from them in favor of others.
And moreover, it is not to be denied that He brought down upon the disbelievers whom He threatened with this threat that with which He threatened them, and that He will at the same time, in the future, bring down smoke upon others, in accordance with what the narrations of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ have brought us. For the narrations of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ have been related in abundance that this will take place. And verily, that which ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd related from him has already come to pass. Both of the narrations related from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ are therefore authentic.
And if the interpretation of the verse in this place is as we have said, and since that which we have said about it is the more fitting of the two interpretations, then it is clear that its meaning is: So wait, O Muḥammad, for the polytheists of your people for the day when the sky will come to them with the affliction that will strike them on account of their disbelief, resembling clear smoke to whoever beholds it, that it is smoke.
