حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي الضُّحَى، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ، قَالَ دَخَلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، قَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ مَنْ عَلِمَ شَيْئًا فَلْيَقُلْ بِهِ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَعْلَمْ فَلْيَقُلِ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ، فَإِنَّ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ أَنْ يَقُولَ لِمَا لاَ يَعْلَمُ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ، قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِنَبِيِّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ {‏قُلْ مَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّفِينَ‏} ‏ وَسَأُحَدِّثُكُمْ عَنِ الدُّخَانِ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم دَعَا قُرَيْشًا إِلَى الإِسْلاَمِ فَأَبْطَئُوا عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَيْهِمْ بِسَبْعٍ كَسَبْعِ يُوسُفَ ‏"‏، فَأَخَذَتْهُمْ سَنَةٌ فَحَصَّتْ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ حَتَّى أَكَلُوا الْمَيْتَةَ وَالْجُلُودَ حَتَّى جَعَلَ الرَّجُلُ يَرَى بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ دُخَانًا مِنَ الْجُوعِ، قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ‏ {‏فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُبِينٍ * يَغْشَى النَّاسَ هَذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ‏} ‏ قَالَ فَدَعَوْا ‏{‏رَبَّنَا اكْشِفْ عَنَّا الْعَذَابَ إِنَّا مُؤْمِنُونَ * أَنَّى لَهُمُ الذِّكْرَى وَقَدْ جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مُبِينٌ * ثُمَّ تَوَلَّوْا عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا مُعَلَّمٌ مَجْنُونٌ * إِنَّا كَاشِفُو الْعَذَابِ قَلِيلاً إِنَّكُمْ عَائِدُونَ‏}‏ أَفَيُكْشَفُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ قَالَ فَكُشِفَ ثُمَّ عَادُوا فِي كُفْرِهِمْ، فَأَخَذَهُمُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ‏ {‏يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرَى إِنَّا مُنْتَقِمُونَ‏} ‏‏.‏

We came upon `Abdullah bin Mas`ud and he said "O people! If somebody knows something, he can say it, but if he does not know it, he should say, "Allah knows better,' for it is a sign of having knowledge to say about something which one does not know, 'Allah knows better.' Allah said to His Prophet: 'Say (O Muhammad ! ) No wage do I ask of You for this (Qur'an) nor am I one of the pretenders (a person who pretends things which do not exist).' (38.86) Now I will tell you about Ad- Dukhan (the smoke), Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) invited the Quraish to embrace Islam, but they delayed their response. So he said, "O Allah! Help me against them by sending on them seven years of famine similar to the seven years of famine of Joseph." So the famine year overtook them and everything was destroyed till they ate dead animals and skins. People started imagining to see smoke between them and the sky because of severe hunger. Allah said: 'Then watch you for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible, covering the people. . . This is painful torment.' (44.10-11) (So they invoked Allah) "Our Lord! Remove the punishment from us really we are believers." How can there be an (effectual) reminder for them when an Apostle, explaining things clearly, has already come to them? Then they had turned away from him and said: 'One taught (by a human being), a madman?' 'We shall indeed remove punishment for a while, but truly, you will revert (to disbelief).' (44.12-15) Will the punishment be removed on the Day of Resurrection?" `Abdullah added, "The punishment was removed from them for a while but they reverted to disbelief, so Allah destroyed them on the Day of Badr. Allah said: 'The day We shall seize you with a mighty grasp. We will indeed (then) exact retribution." (44.16)