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

Asbab al-Nuzul
(Lo! those who disbelieve spend their wealth in order that they may debar (men) from the way of
Allah…) [8:36].
Said Muqatil and al-Kalbi: “This was revealed, on the Day of Badr, about those who customarily fed the
pilgrims in the season of Hajj. They were twelve men: Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, ‘Utbah and Shaybah the sons
of Rabi‘ah, Nubayh and Munabbih the sons of Hajjaj, Abu’l-Bukhturi ibn Hisham, al-Nadr ibn al-Harith,
Hakim ibn Hizam, Ubayy ibn Khalaf, Zam‘ah ibn al-Aswad, al-Harith ibn ‘Amir ibn Nawfal, al-‘Abbas
ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib. All these men were from Quraysh and each one of them gave ten containers of food
daily”. 13
Sa‘id ibn Jubayr and Ibn Abza said: “This verse was revealed about Abu Sufyan ibn Harb who had hired,
on the day of Uhud, two thousand Abyssinian men to fight against the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless
him and give him peace, without counting those Arabs who answered his call to fight with him. About
them, Ka‘b ibn Malik says:
We came to sea waves in the middle of which
Were Abyssinians, some of whom were veiled and some with their heads uncovered.
There were three thousand of them whereas we were a group of nobles:
three hundred of us or four hundred at most. 14
Al-Hakam ibn ‘Utaybah said: “Abu Sufyan spent 40 Uqiyyah 15 of gold on the idolaters at the Battle of
Uhud, and so this verse was revealed about him”. 16
Reporting from his sources, Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: “When the Quraysh returned to Mecca after
their defeat at Badr and Abu Sufyan returned unharmed with their caravan, a group of men from the
Quraysh whose fathers, sons and brothers were killed at this battle, including ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi‘ah,
‘Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, Safwan ibn Umayyah, went to see Abu Sufyan and those who had a share in that
caravan and said to them: ‘O men of Quraysh, Muhammad has harmed you and killed the best among
you, so help us with this property which escaped unscathed that haply we may take revenge on him for
what was inflicted on us’. They did and Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”.
(O Prophet! Allah is Sufficient for thee and those who follow thee of the believers) [8:64].
Abu Bakr ibn al-Harith informed us> Abu’l-Shaykh al-Hafiz> Ahmad ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Abd al-Khaliq>
Safwan ibn al-Mughlis> Ishaq ibn Bishr> Khalaf ibn Khalifah>> Anas ibn Hashim al-Rummani> Sa‘id
ibn Jubayr> Ibn ‘Abbas who said: “First, there were thirty-nine people who had embraced Islam and then
‘Umar embraced Islam and they became forty. Gabriel, peace be upon him, brought down the words of
Allah, exalted is He: (O Prophet! Allah is Sufficient for thee and those who follow thee of the believers)”. 17
(It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land…) [8:67-69].
Said Mujahid: “It happened that some of that which was revealed from heaven agreed with many of
‘Umar’s opinions. When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, consulted the
Muslims about the prisoners of Badr, they said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, they are your cousins, so free
them in exchange for a ransom’. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab said: ‘No, O Messenger of Allah, you should kill
13
Sirah, :223-224.
14
Durr, :63; Tabari, :244-245.
15
One Uqiyyah is equivalent to 7 Mathaqil, 20 Keerats or 40 dirhams.
16
Durr, :63.
17
Durr, :101.
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