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

Chapter 9: Surah al-Anfal
plied to him: ‘Woe unto you, who is going to be fair if I am not’ And then the verse (And of them is he
who defameth thee in the matter of the alms…) was revealed”. 14 This was narrated by Bukhari from ‘Abd
Allah ibn Muhammad from Hisham from Ma‘mar.
Al-Kalbi said: “This was revealed about those whose hearts are to be reconciled, i.e. the hypocrites. One
of them, whose name is al-Jawaz, said to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace: ‘You did not
divide [the alms] fairly!’ And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (And of them is he who defameth thee in
the matter of the alms)”.
(And of them are those who vex the Prophet and say: He is only a hearer…) [9:61-62].
This was revealed about a group of hypocrites who used to harm the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him
and give him peace, by saying about him things that should not be said. One of them said: “Do not do
this, for we fear that what we say might reach him and he will punish us”. Al-Julas ibn Suwayd said: “We
will say whatever we wish to say and when we go to him he will believe whatever we tell him, for Muhammad
is nothing but a hearer”, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. 15
Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar and others said: “This verse was revealed about one hypocrite whose
name is Nabtal ibn al-Harith. 16 This man was dark-skinned, red-eyed, burned in the cheeks and deformed.
It is this man about whom the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘Whoever
wants to look at the devil, let him look at Nabtal ibn al-Harith’. This man was a tale-bearer; he related the
words of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, to the hypocrites. And when he was told to
stop doing this, he said: ‘Indeed, Muhammad is but a hearer, he believes everything that people tell him.
We say whatever we like and then we go to him and swear that we never said it and he believes us’. And
so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”.
Al-Suddi said: “A group of hypocrites, including Julas ibn Suwayd ibn al-Samit and Wadi‘ah ibn Thabit,
gathered and wanted to speak ill of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace. They had with
them a boy from the Helpers by the name of ‘Amir ibn Qays. These hypocrites mocked the Prophet and
then spoke and said ‘By Allah, if what Muhammad says is true, then we are worse than asses’. The boy
got angry and said: ‘By Allah, what Muhammad says is true and you are worse than asses’. The boy then
went to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and informed him about what they said. The
Prophet summoned them and when he asked them they swore that ‘Amir was a liar. ‘Amir also swore
that they were liars. ‘Amir then prayed: ‘O Allah, do not make us disperse until you show who is lying
and who is telling the truth’. And so this verse was revealed about them (And of them are those who vex
the Prophet and say: He is only a hearer) and He also revealed (They swear by Allah to you (Muslims) to
please you…) [9:62]”. 17
(The hypocrites fear lest a Surah should be revealed concerning them, proclaiming what is in their
hearts…) [9:64].
Al-Suddi said: “One hypocrite said: ‘By Allah, I wish to be flogged one hundred lashes rather than have
something revealed about us that exposes us’. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse”.
And Mujahid said: “They [the hypocrites] used to say things amongst themselves and then exclaim:
‘Haply, Allah will not reveal our secret!’ ”. 18
14
Tabari, :157; Qurtubi, :166; Durr, :219.
15
Ibn Hisham, Sirah, :144.
16
Tabari, :168; Durr, :227.
17
Qurtubi, :206; Durr, :228.
18
Durr, :229; Tabari, :171.
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