(It was said to him that) a man was delivering a speech in the tribe of Kinda, he said, Smoke will prevail on the Day of Resurrection and will deprive the hypocrites of their faculties of hearing and seeing. The believers will be afflicted with something like cold only thereof." Ibn Mas'ud was reclining whereupon he became angry, sat up and said, "He who knows a thing can say it, but if he does not know, he should say, 'Allâh knows best, 'for it is an aspect of knowledge to say, 'I do not know, 'if you do not know a certain thing. Allâh said to His Prophet (ﷺ): ' Say (O Muhammad (ﷺ) No wage do I ask of you for this (the Qur'ân), nor am I one of the Mutakallifun (those who pretend and fabricate things which do not exist.) ' (V.38:86). The Quraish delayed in embracing Islâm for a period, so the Prophet (ﷺ) invoked evil on them, saying, 'O Allah ! Help me against them by sending seven years (of famine) like those seven of Yûsuf (Joseph). ' So they were afflicted with such a severe year of drought (famine) that they were destroyed therein and ate dead animals and bones. They started seeing something like smoke between the sky and the earth (because of severe hunger). Abu Sufyân then came (to the Prophet ﷺ) and said, '0 Muḥammad ! You came to order us for to keep good relations with kith and kin, and your kinsmen have now perished, so please invoke Allâh (to relieve them). ' " Then Ibn Mas'ûd recited: " Then wait you for the Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke Verily ! You will revert ! " (V.44:10-15) Ibn Mas'ud added, Then the punishment was stopped, but truly, they reverted to heathenism (their old way). So Allâh (threatened them thus): ' On the Day when We shall seize you with the greatest grasp. ' (V.44:16) And that was the day of the battle of Badr. Allâh's saying:-" Lizâma (the punishment) " refers to the day of Badr." [6:297-O.B]