What Punishment Does Verse 44:10 Refer to?
Question:
What is meant by " dukhanin mubin" in verse 44:10? there are different interpretations which include famine, the punishment for the nation of Aad, thamud and the coming of Qiyamah.
In your view which one is correct and why?
Answer:
The verse and the following verses that relate to it are as follows:
فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتىِ السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِين
يَغْشىَ النَّاسَ هَذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيم
رَّبَّنَا اكْشِفْ عَنَّا الْعَذَابَ إِنَّا مُؤْمِنُون
So watch out for a day when sky brings a vivid smoke that covers people, this is a painful punishment. (People will say in that day) Our Lord remove this punishment from us, we are (now) believers. (44:10-12)
A simple reading of the above verses establish a number of facts:
- This is about a punishment that involves smoke coming from sky. This can be in a literal sense or it may be referring to any other punishment that is very much similar to a smoke coming from sky. In any case, this cannot be about famine.
- The prophet (pbuh) and, through him, the Quraysh are the direct addressees of this verse and are addressed as the main players of that situation. Therefore the punishment cannot be at the end of the world. Moreover, the events of the end of the world are not listed as punishment in the Qur'an.
My conclusion from the above is that the punishment that is mentioned in this verse is a worldly punishment where a punishing smoke from sky or something similar to it was supposed to fall on the Quraysh due to their arrogant persistence in rejecting the messenger of the Almighty. The stories of the worldly punishment for Fir’un and his ruling body as well as the worldly punishment of people of Tubba’ have been mentioned immediately after the above verses, which again reveal that the verse referred to a worldly punishment for Quraysh.
We do not have any references in the Qur’an that indicates that this punishment actually came to Quraysh, neither the history reveals any punishment like this happening to them.
Therefore my final conclusion, according to my current understanding of the verse, is as follows:
The chapter of Dukhan warns the Quraysh of a painful worldly punishment that they are about to witness due to their arrogant behaviour (44:9, 44:13, 14). The stories of the people and nations before them should be enough evidences for them about the truth of the message of the prophet (pbuh) and the certainty of this punishment if they do not let go of their arrogance attitude (44:17-37). Those among the Quraysh who survived the war with believers (which itself was a mean for God’s punishment) eventually accepted the message of truth and became believers soon enough to avoid the mentioned punishment in this chapter. Therefore this punishment, that served as a warning, never arrived in its full and ultimate shape. God knows best, but it can be that the punishment was supposed to come on the day of victory in Mecca to support the army of the Muslims, if the Quraysh had not surrendered.
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Farhad Shafti
October 2013
What is meant by " dukhanin mubin" in verse 44:10? there are different interpretations which include famine, the punishment for the nation of Aad, thamud and the coming of Qiyamah.
In your view which one is correct and why?
Answer:
The verse and the following verses that relate to it are as follows:
فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتىِ السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِين
يَغْشىَ النَّاسَ هَذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيم
رَّبَّنَا اكْشِفْ عَنَّا الْعَذَابَ إِنَّا مُؤْمِنُون
So watch out for a day when sky brings a vivid smoke that covers people, this is a painful punishment. (People will say in that day) Our Lord remove this punishment from us, we are (now) believers. (44:10-12)
A simple reading of the above verses establish a number of facts:
- This is about a punishment that involves smoke coming from sky. This can be in a literal sense or it may be referring to any other punishment that is very much similar to a smoke coming from sky. In any case, this cannot be about famine.
- The prophet (pbuh) and, through him, the Quraysh are the direct addressees of this verse and are addressed as the main players of that situation. Therefore the punishment cannot be at the end of the world. Moreover, the events of the end of the world are not listed as punishment in the Qur'an.
My conclusion from the above is that the punishment that is mentioned in this verse is a worldly punishment where a punishing smoke from sky or something similar to it was supposed to fall on the Quraysh due to their arrogant persistence in rejecting the messenger of the Almighty. The stories of the worldly punishment for Fir’un and his ruling body as well as the worldly punishment of people of Tubba’ have been mentioned immediately after the above verses, which again reveal that the verse referred to a worldly punishment for Quraysh.
We do not have any references in the Qur’an that indicates that this punishment actually came to Quraysh, neither the history reveals any punishment like this happening to them.
Therefore my final conclusion, according to my current understanding of the verse, is as follows:
The chapter of Dukhan warns the Quraysh of a painful worldly punishment that they are about to witness due to their arrogant behaviour (44:9, 44:13, 14). The stories of the people and nations before them should be enough evidences for them about the truth of the message of the prophet (pbuh) and the certainty of this punishment if they do not let go of their arrogance attitude (44:17-37). Those among the Quraysh who survived the war with believers (which itself was a mean for God’s punishment) eventually accepted the message of truth and became believers soon enough to avoid the mentioned punishment in this chapter. Therefore this punishment, that served as a warning, never arrived in its full and ultimate shape. God knows best, but it can be that the punishment was supposed to come on the day of victory in Mecca to support the army of the Muslims, if the Quraysh had not surrendered.
-----------------
Farhad Shafti
October 2013
