English translation
1007. Narrated Masrūq: We were with 'Abdullāh (bin Mas'ūd) and he said, "When the Prophet ﷺ saw the refusal of the people to accept Islām he said, "O Allāh! Send (on them) seven (famine years) like the seven (years of famine) of (Prophet) Yūsuf (Joseph عليه السلام)." So, drought overtook them for one year and destroyed every kind of life to such an extent that the people started eating hides, carcasses and rotten dead animals. Whenever one of them looked towards the sky, he would (imagine himself to) see smoke because of hunger. So, Abū Sufyān went to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "O Muḥammad! You order people to obey Allāh and to keep good relations with kith and kin. No doubt the people of your tribe are dying, so please invoke Allāh for them." So Allāh revealed: "Then wait you for the Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke... up to... Verily you will revert (to disbelief). On the Day when We shall seize you with the greatest seizure (punishment)..." (V.44:10-16) "Al-Baṭsha (i.e. grasp) happened in the battle of Badr and no doubt Ad-Dukhān (smoke), Al-Baṭsha, Al-Lizām, and the Verse of Sūrah Ar-Rūm have all passed.
