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

Asbab al-Nuzul
tain trail while ‘Abd Allah ibn Ubayy camped his troops at a clear trodden path below the mountain trail
of al-Wada‘. His troops were no less than the troops which were with the Prophet. When the Messenger
of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, marched again, ‘Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, the hypocrites and
the doubters stayed behind. To consol His Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, Allah, exalted is
He, revealed (Had they gone forth among you they had added to you naught save trouble…).
(Of them is he who saith: Grant me leave (to stay at home) and tempt me not…) [9:49].
This was revealed about Jadd ibn Qays the hypocrite. 13 This is because when the Messenger of Allah, Allah
bless him and give him peace, was preparing for the Battle of Tabuk, he said to him: “O Abu Wahb,
would you not like to have scores of Byzantine women and men as concubines and servants” He said:
“O Messenger of Allah, my people know that I am very fond of women and, if I see the women of the
Byzantines, I fear I will not be able to hold back. So do not tempt me by them, and allow me not to join
and, instead, I will assist you with my wealth”. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, turned
away from him and said: “I allow you”, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse.
When this verse was revealed, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, asked Banu
Salamah, the tribe of al-Jadd: “Who is your master, O Banu Salamah” They said: “Al-Jadd ibn Qays
except that he is a miser and a coward”. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, responded: “Is
there any sickness worse than miserliness Rather, your master is the fair, curly-haired youth: Bishr ibn
al-Bara’ ibn Ma‘rur”. Hasan ibn Thabit composed about him the following lines:
And the Messenger of Allah said and truth catches up
With him about whom he said: who do you consider as your master.
We said: Jadd ibn Qays even though
We consider him a miser and a troublesome one.
He said: what is worse than that
With which you reproach Jadd and which make a hand needy.
And he appointed Bishr ibn al-Bara’ as chief for his magnanimity
And it is befitting that Bishr who answers others’ call be appointed
as chief.
When a delegation comes to him, he spends his wealth
And says: take it for tomorrow it will return.
The verses after this one verse and up to Allah’s words (The alms are only for the poor and the needy)
[9:60] are about the hypocrites.
(And of them is he who defameth thee in the matter of the alms…) [9:58].
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tha‘labi informed us> ‘Abd Allah ibn Hamid> Ahmad ibn Muhammad
ibn al-Hasan al-Hafiz> Muhammad ibn Yahya> ‘Abd al-Razzaq> Ma‘mar> al-Zuhri> Abu Salamah
ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman> Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri who said: “While the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless
him and give him peace, was dividing alms, Ibn Dhu Khuwaysirah al-Tamimi (Hurqus ibn Zuhayr, the
origin of the Kharijites) came to him and said: ‘Be fair with us, O Messenger of Allah!’ The Prophet re-
13
Durr, :213; Tabari, :148.
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