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The torment of the Day of the Shadow

عذاب يوم الظلة

In al-Mas'udi the Day of the Shadow fell in king Kalamn's reign at Madyan — a door of fire opened from the sky while Shu'ayb sheltered at the thicket of al-Ayka, and the white pleasant cloud the people drove the believers into became their fire; Kalamn's daughter Haritha lamented him from the Hijaz 1.

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At a glance

Era
Pre-Islamic Arabia
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ProphetsAfterlife and eschatology

Overview

Al-Mas'udi relates that the punishment of the Day of the Shade was in the reign of Kalaman, king of Madyan, and that Shu'ayb called them and they denied him. This is al-Mas'udi's account in "The Meadows of Gold", and it is read as a transmitted historical report. 1

The report

Shu'ayb promised them the punishment of the Day of the Shade, and a gate of fire from heaven was opened upon them. Shu'ayb withdrew with those who believed with him to a place known as al-Aykah, a thicket near Madyan. 1

When the heat became severe upon them, they sought him, and a white cloud fine of breeze overshadowed them, in which they found no pain of the punishment. They brought him out with those who believed with him from their place, and God made it fire upon them, and it consumed them. 1

Al-Mas'udi says that Haritha daughter of Kalaman, who was in the Hijaz, lamented her father. 1

What is not covered here: what other sources say about the event. This needs an additional source.

People and things also explored

The Prophet's dream of the two gold bracelets, interpreted as the two liars· Umar's denial of the Prophet's death and Abu Bakr's reply· Abraham and the one who argued with him about his Lord· Islamic eschatology· al-Amin, the Trustworthy (the Prophet's title before his mission)· Delivery of the message and the limit of the Prophet's charge· Loss and gain in time (al-khusr)· Raising the foundations of the House: who built the Ka'ba

Sources

  1. Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p. 459
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The torment of the Day of the Shadow”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/yawm-al-zulla/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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The Prophet's dream of the two gold bracelets, interpreted as the two liars

The Prophet addressed the people from his minbar saying he had seen the Night of Power and then been made to forget it, and had seen on his arms two gold bracelets which he disliked and blew away, interpreting them as the two liars, the man of Yemen and the man of al-Yamama, that is al-Aswad al-Ansi and Musaylima; Ibn Ishaq has it from Yazid ibn Abdullah ibn Qusayt from Ata' ibn Yasar or his brother Sulayman from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri. He also reports from Abu Hurayra that the Hour will not come until thirty impostors appear, each claiming prophethood.