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

Asbab al-Nuzul
‘Umayr, who belonged to the tribe of Banu ‘Abd al-Dar. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give
him peace, saw Ubayy’s clavicle through a hole in the armour, and he stabbed him in it with his spear. No
blood came out of his wound but Ubayy fell from his horse and broke a rib. His companions came to him
and found him mooing like a bull. They said to him: ‘How weak you are, this is nothing but a scratch!’
He said: ‘By Him in whose hand is my soul, if the pain from which I am suffering were to be inflicted on
all the people of al-Majaz, they would all die’. Ubayy then died to hell before reaching Mecca, away with
the dwellers of the Fire! And Allah, exalted is He, revealed the verse (And thou (Muhammad) threwest
not when thou didst throw, but Allah threw…)”.
Safwan ibn ‘Amr reported that ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Jubayr related that on the day of the conquest of
Khaybar, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, asked for a bow, and so they
brought a long bow. He said: “Bring me another one”, and so they brought him a bow whose handle fills
one’s palm. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, threw an arrow toward the
fortress which hit and killed Kinanah ibn Abi al-Huqayq while he was in his bed, and so Allah, exalted is
He, revealed (And thou (Muhammad) threwest not when thou didst throw, but Allah threw…). 4
However, most Qur’anic commentators are of the opinion that the above verse was revealed about the
handful of valley dust that the Messenger of Allah threw on the idolaters on the Day of Badr. In that occasion
he threw the handful of dust and said: “Let the faces be distorted”, and some of this dust went into
the eyes of every single idolater.
Said Hakim ibn Hizam: “On the Day of Badr, we heard a noise coming down from heaven. It was like
the noise made by dust when it falls into a basin. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him
peace, threw that dust and we were defeated. Hence the words of Allah, exalted is He (And thou (Muhammad)
threwest not when thou didst throw, but Allah threw)”. 5
((O Quraysh!) If ye sought a judgment, now hath the judgment come unto you…) [8:19].
Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Farisi informed us> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Fadl al-Tajir> Ahmad
ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Hafiz> Muhammad ibn Yahya> Ya‘qub ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa‘d> his
father> Salih> Ibn Shihab> ‘Abd Allah ibn Tha‘labah ibn Su‘ayr who said: “The person who sought judgment
was Abu Jahl. He said when the two armies met: ‘O Allah, destroy this day whoever amongst us
has severed ties of kinship and brought that which we had never known!’ This was the judgement that
he sought. Allah, exalted is He, revealed regarding this ((O Quraysh!) If ye sought a judgment, now hath
the judgment come unto you…) up to His words (Allah is with the believers)”. 6 This was narrated by al-
Hakim Abu ‘Abd Allah in his Sahih from al-Qati‘i from the son of Ibn Hanbal from Ahmad ibn Hanbal
from Ya‘qub.
Said al-Suddi and al-Kalbi: “Before they set off to fight the Prophet, Allah bless him and give peace, in
Uhud, the idolaters grabbed the covers of the Ka‘bah and prayed: ‘O Allah, give victory to the greatest of
the two armies, the most guided of the two camps, the noblest of the two parties and the best of the two
religions’, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”.
‘Ikrimah said: “The idolaters said: ‘O Allah, we do not recognize that which Muhammad has brought, so judge
between us with the truth’, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse (If ye sought a judgment…)”. 7
4
Imam Qurtubi questions the authenticity of this narration, for there are authentic narrations which indicate that Ibn Abi al-
Huqayq did not die in this fashion. Cf. Qurtubi, :358.
5
Durr, :40; Tabari, :204-205.
6
Durr, :42; Tabari, :208.
7
Durr, :42; Tabari, :208.
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