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

Chapter 13: Surah al-Ra‘d
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
(He launcheth the thunderbolts and smiteth with them whom He will…) [13:13].
Nasr ibn Abi Nasr al-Wa‘iz informed us> Abu Sa‘id ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Nusayr> Muhammad
ibn Ayyub al-Razi> ‘Abd al-Wahhab> ‘Ali ibn Abi Sarah al-Shaybani> Thabit> Anas ibn Malik who
reported that once the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent a man to one of
the Arab tyrants, saying: “Go and tell him to come and see me”. He said: “O Messenger of Allah, he is
too haughty to comply”. He said: “Go and tell him to come and see me”. The man went and said to him:
“The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, asks you to come and see him”. The man
retorted: “What is Allah Is He made of gold, silver or copper” The man went back and informed the
Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, saying: “I told you that he is too haughty to
comply”. He said: “Go to him a second time and ask him to come and see me”. He went and the man
repeated exactly what he said in the previous occasion. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace,
asked the man to go and call him a third time, and the man repeated what he said in the two previous occasions.
The man said: “As he was talking to me, Allah sent above his head a cloud which thundered and
a bolt of lightning struck him and removed his skull”. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (He launcheth
the thunderbolts and smiteth with them whom He will while they dispute (in doubt) concerning Allah,
and He is mighty in wrath).
According to the reports of Abu Salih, Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Zayd, Ibn ‘Abbas said: “This verse and the verse
before it were revealed about ‘Amir ibn al-Tufayl and Arbad ibn Rabi‘ah. These two men went to see the
Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and, as they were coming, one of the prophetic
Companions said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, here is ‘Amir ibn al-Tufayl coming toward you’. He said: ‘Leave
him, Allah will guide him if He wants good for him’. He proceeded along until he stood in front of the
Prophet and said: ‘O Muhammad, what do I get if I become Muslim’ He said: ‘You get what the Muslims
get and you suffer what they suffer’. He said: ‘In that case put me in charge after you die’. He said: ‘No,
that is not up to me; that is up to Allah, exalted is He, and He appoints whoever He wills’. He said: ‘In that
case, put me in charge of the Arab nomads and you will be in charge of the settlers’. The Prophet said:
‘No!’ He said: ‘What are you going to give me, then’ He said: ‘I will give you the reins of horses to use in
military conquest’. He said: ‘Do I not have them already’ This man had told Arbad ibn Rabi‘ah, that once
he started talking to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, he should go behind the Prophet
and strike him with his sword. Arbad pulled out his sword about a span but Allah, exalted is He, jammed
it and he could not pull it out completely. When ‘Amir started gesturing to Arbad, The Messenger of Allah,
Allah bless him and give him peace, turned back and saw Arbad handling his sword. He prayed: ‘O
Allah, deal with them for me as You will’. Allah, exalted is He, sent on Arbad a thunderbolt, on a sunny
day, and burned him. ‘Amir ran away, saying: ‘O Muhammad, you called your Lord and He killed Arbad.
By Allah, I will fill the land against you with unsaddled horses and unbearded youths’. The Messenger of
Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘Allah, exalted is He, will stop you from doing that, as
will the Aws and the Khazraj’. ‘Amir then spent the night in the house of a woman from Banu Salul. In the
morning, he collected his weapons and left saying: ‘By the Lat and al-‘Uzza, would Muhammad and his
companion (meaning the angel of death) show themselves to me, I will stab them with my spear’. When
Allah, exalted is He, saw how he behaved, He sent him an angel who hit him with his wing and thrust
him on the dust. A huge gland, resembling a camel’s gland, straightaway appeared on each of his knees.
He returned to the house of the woman from Banu Salul, saying: ‘A gland like a camel’s gland, and dying
in the house of the woman from Banu Salul’, and he died on the back of his horse. Allah, exalted is He,
revealed about him this (Alike of you is he who hideth the saying and he who noiseth it abroad) [13:10]
up to His saying (The prayer of disbelievers goeth (far) astray) [13:14]”. 1
1
Qurtubi, :296; Tabari, :136.