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The Smoke

الدخان

A major sign for most scholars: a clear smoke covering the people; the Prophet ﷺ counted it among the ten, Ibn Mas'ud and others explained it as the Meccan famine of the drought years, while most scholars hold it is still awaited 1 2.

Depth

At a glance

CreedAfterlife and eschatology

Summary

A clear smoke covering the people; counted among the ten. Ibn Mas'ud read it as the Meccan famine of the drought years, while most scholars hold it is still awaited.

In the texts

Note

The disagreement is Companion-old: two documented readings, and the text does not settle its time.

Opinions on the question

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

The Smoke is an awaited sign among the major signs, not yet come

Most scholars hold that the Clear Smoke is a future sign among the ten Hour-signs the Prophet counted, not the famine that struck Quraysh {cite:tafsir-ibn-kathir} {cite:sahih-muslim}.

Held by: Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim)

Basis: Tafsir Ibn Kathir

More opinions (1)

Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

The Smoke was the famine that struck Quraysh until men saw a smoke-like haze between sky and earth

Bukhari and Muslim report from Ibn Mas'ud that the verse came down about the Meccan famine of the drought years when the Prophet prayed against them, and God lifted it when they submitted {cite:sahih-al-bukhari} {cite:sahih-muslim}.

Held by: Abdullah ibn Mas'udSahih Muslim

Basis: Sahih Muslim Sahih al-Bukhari

People and things also explored

Al-barzakh· The Basin (al-Hawd) of the Prophet on the Day of Resurrection· The Reckoning· The major signs of the Hour· The rivers of Paradise· The causes that remove punishment for sins· The Throne-Bearers· The endings of deeds (khawatim)

Sources

  1. Sahih Muslim
  2. Tafsir Ibn Kathir
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Smoke”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-dukhan/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-09.

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Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Al-barzakh

The barrier between this world and the next in which souls remain until the day they are raised; in it are the grave's bliss and its punishment as the texts report.