Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...

Asbab al-Nuzul
there are among them priests and monks, and because they are not proud)”. 26
Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Farisi informed us> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Hamdun ibn al-Fadl>
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan> Muhammad ibn Yahya> Abu Salih, the scribe of al-Layth> al-
Layth> Yunus> Ibn Shihab> Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyab and ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr as well as others who said:
“The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent ‘Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri with a
message to the Negus. The latter read the message of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give
him peace, and then called Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib and all the Emigrants with him and he also invited priests
and monks to the assembly. He ordered Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib to recite to them from the Qur’an, and he
read Surah Maryam, peace be upon her. They believed in the Qur’an and tears flowed from their eyes.
It is about them that Allah, exalted is He, revealed (And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affecion to
those who believe (to be) those who say: Lo! We are Christians) up to His words (Inscribe us as among the
witnesses)”. 27
Other commentators said: “Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib and his companions came from Abyssinia accompanied
by a delegation from the Negus to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. The
delegation included seventy men, all wearing wool. There were sixty-two from Abyssinia and eight from
Syria: Bahirah the monk, Abrahah, Idris, Ashraf, Tammam, Quthaym, Durayd and Ayman. When the
Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, recited to them Surah Yasin, they wept and believed.
They commented: ‘How similar is this to what used to be revealed to Jesus’. And so Allah, exalted
is He, revealed about them these verses”. 28
Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-‘Adl informed us> Zahir ibn Ahmad> Abu’l-Qasim al-Baghawi> ‘Ali ibn
al-Ja‘d> Sharik> Salim> Sa‘id ibn Jubayr who, commenting on Allah’s words (That is because there are
among them priests and monks), said: “The Negus sent thirty men among his best subjects to the Messenger
of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and
give him peace, recited to them Surah Yasin, they wept, and so this verse was revealed”. 29
(O ye who believe! Forbid not the good things which Allah hath made lawful for you…) [5:87].
Abu ‘Uthman ibn ‘Amr al-Mu’adhdhin informed us> Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hamdan> al-Husayn
ibn Nasr ibn Sufyan> Ishaq ibn Mansur> Abu ‘Asim> ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id>> ‘Ikrimah> Ibn ‘Abbas who
related that a man went to see the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: “I have forbidden
meat on myself because whenever I eat it I feel the urge to sleep with women”, and so the verse (O ye
who believe! Forbid not the good things which Allah hath made lawful for you) and also (Eat of that which
Allah hath bestowed on you as food lawful and good…) [5:88]. 30
The commentators of the Qur’an said: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace,
sat down one day and gave an admonition to people whereby he described the Day of Judgement to
them and did not mention anything other than things which would instil fear in them. People cried as
a result of the softening of their hearts. Then ten of the prophetic Companions gathered in the house
of ‘Uthman ibn Maz‘un al-Jumahi. They included Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, ‘Abd Allah ibn
Mas‘ud, ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Salim, the client of Abu Hudhayfah, al-Miqdad ibn
al-Aswad, Salman al-Farisi and Ma‘qil ibn Muqarrin. They agreed to fast the day and stand in prayer at
night, never to sleep in their beds, eat meat or fat, never to sleep with their wives or use perfume. They
also agreed to wear coarse wool garments, reject the worldly life, wander through the land and become
monks, and cut off their male organs. When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace,
heard of this, he gathered them and said: ‘I was informed that you agreed to do such-and-such things, is
26
Durr, :131-132; Qurtubi, :499.
27
Durr, :131-132.
28
Tabari, :4-5; Durr, :130.
29
Cf. Durr, :130; Tabari, :4 (in the traditions mentioned by Tabari, the number of priests sent by the Negus is slightly different).
30
Durr, :139; Tabari, :11.
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