English translation
(1). 3254. Masrūq said: "A man came to 'Abdullāh and said: 'A story teller has said that a smoke will appear from the earth, taking the hearing of the disbelievers and manifesting as a cold for the believers.” He became angry, and since he was reclining, he sat up then said: ‘When one of you is asked about something he knows, then let him speak accordingly’ – Manšūr (one of the narrators) narrated it as: “Then let him inform of it” – “And when asked about what he does not know, then let him say: “Allāh knows best.” For indeed, it is part of a man’s knowledge, that when he is asked about something he does not know, he says: “Allāh knows best.” For verily Allāh, Most High said to His Prophet: Say: “No wage do I ask of you for this, nor am I one of the pretenders.”[1] When the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ saw that the Quraish were behaving stubbornly with him, he said: “O Allāh! Assist me against them with seven (years of famine) like the seven of Yūsuf.” So He punished them with drought making everything barren, until they ate skins and carcasses” – and one of them said: “bones.’ He said: ‘And it appeared that smoke was coming out of the earth. So Abū Sufyān came to him and said: “Verily your people are being destroyed, so supplicate to Allāh for them.”’ He said: “So this is about His saying: ‘The Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke, covering the people, this is a painful torment.’”[2] Manšūr narrated it as: “So this is about His saying: Our Lord! Remove the 38:86. 44:10,11. torment from us, really we shall become believers.”[1] – “So shall the punishment be removed from them in the Hereafter? Al-Baṭṣhah,[2] Al-Lizām,[3] the smoke,” – one of them said: “the moon” the other said: “The Romans have all passed.” (Ṣaḥīḥ) [Abū ‘Eisā said:] Al-Lizām [means] the Day of Badr. [He said:] This Ḥadīth is Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ.