(44:16) The Day when We shall seize them with a mighty seizing, that will be the Day on which We shall inflict upon you full retribution. *13

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*13) The commentators have seriously disputed the meaning of these verses, and the difference of opinion existed even in the time of the Companions. Masruq, the well-known pupil of Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, states: One day when we entered the mosque of Kufah, we saw a preacher addressing the people. He recited the verse: Yauma ta'tis-sama-u bidukhan-im-mubin, then asked: "Do you know what kind of smoke it is ? This smoke will appear on the Day of Resurrection and will make the disbelievers and the hypocrites blind and deaf, but the believers will be affected only to the extent as if they had caught cold.' Hearing this commentary we went to Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud and reported to him what the preacher had said. Hadrat 'Abdullah at that time was lying down. On hearing this commentary he sat up startled and said: "When a person does not have the knowledge he should ask those who have it. The fact is that when the people of the Quraish went on refusing to accept Islam and continued to oppose the Holy Prophet, the Holy Prophet prayed: O God, help me with a famine like the famine of Joseph (peace be upon him); consequently, a very severe famine overtook Makkah and the people were forced to eat bones, skins and carrion. The conditions became so bad that whoever looked up to the sky would see nothing but smoke due to intensity of hunger. At last, Abu Sufyan came to the Holy Prophet and said: "You tell the people to treat their kindred kindly: your own people are starving: kindly pray to God to remove this calamity." This was the time when the people of the Quraish had started saying: "O God, if You remove this torment from us, we will believe." This same event has been referred to in these verses; and the severest blow implies the calamity that was inflicted on the Quraish in the Battle of Badr. " This tradition has been related by Imam Ahmad, Bukhari Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim from Masruq with several chains of authorities. Besides Masruq, Ibrahim Nakha'i Qatadah. `Asim and 'Amir also have related that Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud had given the same commentary of this verse. Therefore there cannot be any doubt that Ibn Mas'ud actually held this same opinion. Among the immediate followers of the Companions, Mujahid, Qatadah. Abul 'Aliyah, Muqatil, Ibrahim Nakha'i, Dahhak and 'Atiyyah al-'Aufi and others havc also concurred with Ibn Mas'ud in this commentary.
On the contrary, scholars like Hadrat 'Ali, Ibn 'Umar, Ibn 'Abbas, Abu Said Khudri, Zaid bin 'AIi, and Hasan Basri say that in these verses mention has been made of the time just before Resurrection, and the smoke that has been foretold will envelop the earth at that time. This commentary is further strengthened by the Traditions that havc been reported from the Holy Prophet. Hudhaifah bin Asid al-Ghifari says: One day when we were talking about Resurrection, the Holy Prophet came out to us and said: "Resurrection will not be established till ten Signs have appeared one after the other: Rising of the sun in the west, smoke, the beast, emergence of God and Magog, descent of Jesus son of Mary, sinking of the earth in the East, in the West and in the Arabian Peninsula, and the appearance of a fire from Yaman, which will drive the people away." (Muslim) This is confirmed by Abu Malik Ash`ari's tradition which has been related by Ibn Jarir and Tabarani, and Abu Said Khudri's tradition which has been related by Ibn Abi Hatim. Both these traditions show that the Holy Prophet regarded the smoke as one of the Signs of Resurrection and also said that when that smoke will spread, it will affect the believer only like a cold, but will infuse every nerve of the disbeliever and come out from every part of his body.
A study of the verses under consideration can remove the disparity between the two commentaries. As for the commentary of Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, it is a fact that a severe famine had hit Makkah resulting from the Holy Prophet's prayer and it had unnerved the disbelievers considerably and they had requested the Holy Prophet to pray for its removal, as referred to at several places in the Qur'an. (See AI-An'am: 43, AI-A'raf: 94-95, Yunus: 21, AI-Mu'minun: 75-77 and the corresponding E.N.'s). In these verses also there is a clear pointer to the same conditions. The disbelievers' saying: "Our Lord, remove this torment from us: we will believe," Allah's saying: "How can they rid themselves of their heedlessness? Even when a manifest Messenger came to them, they paid no heed to hira, and said: He is a madman taught by others,"- then saying: "Were We to remove the torment a little, you would revert to the same that you were doing before." aII this can be relevant only if it refers to the conditions of the Holy Prophet's time. To apply them to what will happen near the time of Resurrection, is not correct. Therefore, in view of this, Hadrat `Abdullah bin Mas'ud's commentary seems to be correct, but its this part that "the smoke" also had appeared in that very time, in that when the people in their extreme state of hunger looked up to the sky, they could see nothing but smoke, dces not seem to be correct. It also dces not conform to the apparent words of the Qur'an and is against the Traditions as well. The Qur'an does not say: the sky brought forth the smoke and it spread over the people; but it says: "Wait for the Day when the sky will appear with a visible smoke, and it will envelop mankind. " A study of the subsequent verses clearly points to this meaning: "When you do not believe even after the Messenger's admonition, nor take heed from the warning given in the shape of the famine, then you should wait for Resurrection. At that time when you sec your doom confronting you, you will fully realize what was the truth and what was falsehood." Therefore, as for the smoke, the correct view is that it has nothing to do with the time of the famine, but it is a Sign of Resurrection and the same is also confirmed by the Hadith. It is surprising that those commentators who confirmed what Hadrat Ibn Mas`ud said confirmed him wholly and those who refined what he said refined him wholly, whereas a study of the verses and the Hadith clearly shows how far he was correct and how far he was wrong.