Narrated Masruq: While 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 their faculties of hearing and seeing. The believers will be afflicted with something like cold only thereof". That news scared us, so I went to (Abdullah) Ibn Mas'ud while he was reclining (and told him the story) 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, 'Allah knows best,' for it is an aspect of knowledge to say, 'I do not know,' if you do not know a certain thing. Allah said to His prophet'.Say (O Muhammad): No wage do I ask of you for this (Qur'an), nor I am one of the pretenders (a person who pretends things which do not exist)' (38:86) The Qur'aish delayed in embracing Islam 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 of Joseph'. So they were afflicted with such a severe year of 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 Sufyan then came (to the Prophet) and said, "O Muhammad! You came to order us for to keep good relations with Kith and kin, and your kinsmen have now perished, so please invoke Allah (to relieve them)'. Then Ibn Mas'ud recited:-- 'Then watch you for the day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible.but truly you will return! (to disbelief) (44:10-15) Ibn Mas'ud added, Then the punishment was stopped, but truly, they reverted to heathenism (their old way). So Allah (threatened them thus): 'On the day when we shall seize you with a mighty grasp'. (44:16) And that was the day of the Battle of Badr. Allah's saying- "Lizama" (the punishment) refers to the day of Badr Allah's Statement: Alif-Lam-Mim, the Romans have been defeated, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious,' (30:1- 3) (This verse): Indicates that the defeat of Byzantine has already passed.
This hadith teaches us that we should always seek knowledge before speaking or giving advice as it is an aspect of knowledge itself to admit what we don't know instead of pretending we do know something when we don't have any idea at all. We should also remember that even though Allah may punish us for our wrongdoings, He can still forgive us if we repent sincerely and turn back towards Him in faithfulness again.
