“One day I went early in the morning to Ibn Abbās—may Allah be pleased with him and his father. He said, ‘I did not sleep last night until morning.’ I asked, ‘Why?’ He replied, ‘People said that a comet had appeared, and I feared that the Smoke had come upon us, so I did not sleep until morning.’” (1).

Ibn Kathīr said, “This chain of transmission to Ibn Abbās—the learned scholar of the Muslim community and interpreter of the Quran—is authentic. This was likewise the view of all the Companions and Successors who agreed with him. Together with the hadiths traced back to the Prophet—whether authentic, good, or otherwise—this provides sufficient proof and clear evidence that the Smoke is one of the signs still awaited. This is also the apparent sense of the Quran. Allah Most High says, ‘Then wait for the Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke’; that is, plain and manifest, which everyone will see. By contrast, what Ibn Masūd—may Allah be pleased with him—interpreted it as was merely an illusion that they saw before their eyes because of severe hunger and hardship.

“He also says, ‘It will engulf the people’; that is, it will envelop all of them. Had it been an imagined phenomenon confined to the Makkan polytheists, it would not have been said of it, ‘It will engulf the people.’” (2).

It is established in the two Sahīh collections that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said to Ibn Sayyād, “I have concealed something for you.” He replied, “It is al-dukh.” The Prophet said to him, “Begone! You will never go beyond your station.” The verse that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—had concealed for him was: “Then wait for the Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke.” (3).