What Is the “Smoke” Mentioned as a Sign of the Hour?

Answered by Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib

Question

What is meant by the “smoke” mentioned among the signs of the Hour?

Answer

In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, his Family, his Companions, and those who follow him.

The signs of the Hour are related to the belief in the Last Day, which is a pillar of faith and is known necessarily from religion. There are many signs, several of which are mentioned in the Holy Quran and the noble Sunna. The smoke is one of the major signs of the Hour, and it is mentioned in the Quran in the verse:

“Wait then (O Prophet) for the day (when) the sky will be veiled in haze, clearly visible, overwhelming the people. (They will cry,) ‘This is a painful torment.’” [Quran, 44:10-11]

The books of Tafsir mention that the smoke referred to in this verse could be a sign that is one of the portents of the Hour. Several Companions, including Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Ibn ‘Abbas, Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with them), and many of the Successors, held that it is one of the major signs that will appear close to the Day of Judgment. [Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Ibn Kathir]

This is a brief explanation, followed by a detailed answer.

Detailed Answer

Scholars have divided the signs of the Hour into three categories: minor, intermediate, and major (great). The minor signs have already occurred, many of the intermediate signs have passed and some continue to appear, while the major signs will only occur near the establishment of the Hour, and the smoke is one of them. Evidence for this includes a hadith from Hudhayfa Ibn Usayd (Allah be pleased with him), who said:

“The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) appeared among us while we were discussing something. He asked, ‘What are you discussing?’ They replied, ‘The Hour.’ He said, ‘It will not come until you see ten signs before it,’ then he mentioned the smoke and the Dajjal…” [Muslim]

The signs of the Hour are related to the belief in the Last Day, which is a pillar of faith and is necessarily known from religion. There are many signs, several of which are mentioned in the Holy Quran and the noble Sunna. The smoke is one of the major signs of the Hour, and it is mentioned in the Quran in the verse:

“Wait then (O Prophet) for the day (when) the sky will be veiled in haze, clearly visible, overwhelming the people. (They will cry,) ‘This is a painful torment.’” [Quran, 44:10-11]

First Opinion

The commentators have two opinions regarding these verses. The first, which is the more famous and correct view as stated by the leading exegete Imam Tabari, is what has been narrated from Ibn Mas‘ud that the smoke which Allah commanded His Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) to watch for is what afflicted his people due to his supplication against them. [Tabari, Tafsir al-Tabari]

Imam Qurtubi said: “Allah removed it from them, and if it were on the Day of Judgment, it would not have been removed from them.” [Qurtubi, al-Jami‘ li Ahkam al-Quran]

Second Opinion

The second opinion is that it is established in Sahih Muslim that smoke is one of the signs of the Hour. To reconcile the evidence, interpreting the verse to refer to both the past and future occurrences of smoke is not contradictory. Ibn Kathir mentioned in his tafsir that Abdullah Ibn Abi Mulayka said:

“I went to Ibn Abbas one day, and he said: I did not sleep all night until the morning. I asked: Why? He replied: They said the star with the tail appeared, and I feared that the smoke had approached, so I did not sleep until the morning.” This narration is reported by Ibn Abi Hatim with a sound chain of transmission to Ibn Abbas, the scholar of the Umma and interpreter of the Quran. Ibn Kathir commented: “This is also the view of those who agreed with him among the Companions and Successors, along with the authentic and good hadiths and other narrations we have presented, which clearly indicate that the smoke is one of the awaited signs, as is evident from the Quran.” [Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Ibn Kathir]

If it is established that there was smoke that appeared to the Quraysh as a warning during the Prophethood, and there is smoke that will occur at the approach of the Hour, then there is a third occurrence of smoke which will happen at the destruction of Gog and Magog. The scholar, Barzanji, stated: “There will be smoke at the destruction of Gog and Magog, and it will last for three days. It may be this one or another, but it must occur before the coming wind because after the wind, no believers will remain, and when the smoke occurs, believers will still be present, as clearly stated.” [Barzanji, al-Isha‘a li Ashrat al-Sa‘a]

This is a summary of what has been mentioned regarding the verse of the smoke. The discussion can be extended with more hadiths and texts, but what we have mentioned suffices, God willing. For those who seek more, they should refer to the books of tafsir and the books compiled on the signs of the Hour. We ask Allah to protect us from trials, both apparent and hidden, and to take us to Him without being tested, in safety and well-being in faith, with perfect belief. All praise is due to Allah, first and last.

[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib

Shaykh Dr Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib is a prominent Islamic scholar from Yemen born in Shibam, Hadhramaut, in 1976. He received his degree in Shari‘a from Al-Ahqaf University, a master’s degree from the Islamic University of Beirut, and a PhD in Usul al-Din from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

He studied under great scholars such as Shaykh al-Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Shaykh Fadl Ba‘ fadl, Habib Salim al-Shatiri, Habib Ali Mashhur bin Hafeez, and others. He has served as the Director of Publications at Dar al-Fiqh, the former Deputy Director of Cultural Relations at Al-Ahqaf University, a former Assistant for Employee Affairs at Atiyah Iron Company, a researcher at the Sunna Center affiliated with the Dallah al-Baraka Foundation, and a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch.

Currently, he is a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch, teaches traditionally through the Ijaza system at Dar al-Fuqaha in Turkey, supervises the Arabic department at Nur al-Huda International Institute (SeekersGuidance), and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Manuscript House in Istanbul.

His works include “The Efforts of Hadhramaut Jurists in Serving the Shafi‘i School,” “Contributions of Hadhramaut Scholars in Spreading Islam and its Sciences in India,” “Hada’iq al-Na‘im in Shafi‘i Fiqh,” in addition to verifying several books in Fiqh, history, the art of biographies, and Asanid (chains of narration).