Clouds of Dukhan (Smoke)
from East to West
In another tradition, the Prophet of Islam mentioned ten indicators signaling the approach of Doomsday, one of the last being smoke (dukhan):
Hudhaifa bin Usaid al-Ghifari reported: “God’s Messenger said: The Last Hour will not come until you see ten signs before and (in this connection) he made a mention of the smoke. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2901)
The same is predicted in the Quran in these words: “Watch out for the day when the sky brings out plainly visible clouds of smoke (dukhan) that will envelop the people. This will be a painful punishment.” (The Quran, 44:10-11)
The above Quranic verse and various traditions of the Prophet of Islam predict visible clouds of dukhan or smoke as one of the major signs of the coming of Doomsday.
On 14 April, 2010, a volcano erupted all of a sudden from beneath the glaciers in Iceland, an island in the north Atlantic about 200 miles south east of Greenland. So much ash was emitted that it spread throughout the greater part of Europe’s atmosphere. Darkness enveloped the entire region leading to the grounding of thousands of flights in the region.
The ash that is seen from satellite images appear to be ‘a visible cloud of smoke.’ It is, therefore, entirely possible that the ash thrown up by the volcanic eruption is the smoke which was predicted in the Quran and Hadith traditions.
The 21st century is witnessing a substantial increase in volcanic activity. Scientists found that volcanic eruptions increased as the climate became hotter, “After glaciers are removed the surface pressure decreases, and the magma more easily propagate to the surface and thus erupt.” (Email of Graeme Swindles, University of Leeds to Scientific American) Therefore, scientists are also confirming that global warming is leading to increased volcanic activity in the form of lave and ash that leads to ‘a thick visible smoke in the sky.’
On 19th September 2021, the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma, sending lava shooting into the air and streaming in rivers towards houses in two villages from the Cumbre Vieja national park in the south of the island. (“Lava pours out of volcano on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands”, Reuters, September 20, 2021) Plumes of thick, black smoke which are blocking the sun above the island is seen in the images, captured by a satellite of the U.S. Earth observation company Maxar Technologies on Thursday (October 14), indicating that iron mixed with magma, is rising from Cumbre Vieja volcano crater. The Instituto Volcanológico de Canarias (INVOLCAN) suggested that the current eruption could persist for weeks to months. (NASA Earth Observatory , October 4, 2021)
A tradition of the Prophet of Islam states that the smoke will last for forty days:
“There will be smoke (dukhan) that fills the space from east to west and will last forty days.” (Tafsir al-Tabari, Vol. 21, p. 19)
The forty days of smoke referred to in the above tradition may refer to the plumes of thick black smoke blocking the sun of the La Palma volcano. That La Palma volcanic activity continuing for weeks might be a realization of the prediction in the above tradition of Prophet Muhammad. The Spanish Island volcano is erupting more lava than ever on Day 37, according to a report, "A volcano erupting for the last five weeks on the Spanish island of La Palma is more active than ever, officials said. A powerful new river of molten lava rock gushed out of the Cumbre Veja volcano early on Monday. The Canary Island Volcanology Institute described it as 'a giant lava fountain'." ('Lava Fountain', Times Global, Times of India, October 26, 2021)
Plumes of thick smoke (dukhan) seen from east to
west is one of the last major signs of the approach
of Doomsday. Now, circumstances tell us that the
last hour has come for man to take heed, before it
is too late for him to reform himself.
The cloud of smoke emitted by the La Palma volcano is spreading over Europe, reaching altitudes of up to 3.1 miles (5 kilometres), according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). It is expected to cross Europe from west to east over the coming days, CAMS senior scientist Mark Parrington said on Twitter.
Japan’s volcanic Mount Aso started erupting on Wednesday, 20th October 2021 blasting ash several miles into the sky. A massive column of grey smoke is billowing into the sky according to ABC News (20th October, 2021). Television networks broadcast images of a dark cloud of ash looming over the volcano that quickly obscured large swathes of the mountain.
According to a hadith, “smoke will rise before Doomsday which will fill the east and the west.” (Al-Sunan al-wāridah f i al-fitan by Al-Dāni, Vol. 5, p. 1108)
This tradition clearly refers to the spreading of a cloud of smoke from east to west. The plume of thick clouds of volcanic ash spreading in the east in Japan and in the west in the Spanish Canary Islands may be the realization of this tradition, which is one of the last signs of Doomsday. An October 22nd report showing live drone footage of Mount Aso, under the title, “Dukhan hits Japan”, showed eruptions sending stones tumbling down and plumes of ash rain clouds 3,500 meters high. (https://youtu.be/jmkL3WRdTkQ) The Japan Meteorological Agency raised the warning level for Mount Aso to three on a scale of five.
If we stop and ponder that these predictions made 1500 years ago in the 7th century are being realized in the 21st Century, we will discover the Creator of the world as only He could have foreseen these events and predicted them as the signs of Doomsday.
History shows that probably other signs, as are mentioned in the Hadith, have already appeared. The sign of dukhan is probably the last but one sign. The final sign which is going to appear is perhaps the rising of the sun from the West. The Angel Israfeel will then blow the trumpet at some point.
According to the chapter 44, verses 10-11 of the Quran as mentioned above, the “painful punishment” does not mean the punishment of Doomsday. It means rather the punishment for which the term “lesser punishment” has been used in the Quran (21:32). According to the Quran, the greater punishment is the one which will be meted out after the trumpet has been blown by the Angel Israfeel at the time of Doomsday. But before this, warnings will come in the form of lesser punishments, so that people may heed the warnings and reform themselves. Global warming, scarcity of water, greater frequency of earthquakes, floods, dukhan (smoke), etc., are in the nature of lesser punishments. Now, circumstances tell us that the last hour has come for man to take heed, before it is too late for him to reform himself.
