Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...
Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...
Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...
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Chapter 20: Surah Ta Ha<br />
In the name of <strong>Al</strong>lah, the Beneficent, the Merciful<br />
(Ta. Ha. We have not reve<strong>al</strong>ed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur’an that thou shouldst be<br />
distressed) [20:1-2].<br />
Muqatil said: “Abu Jahl and <strong>al</strong>-Nadr ibn <strong>al</strong>-Harith said to the Prophet, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him<br />
peace: ‘You have become distressed because of leaving our religion’. <strong>The</strong>y said this because they saw him<br />
immersed in worship for long times and striving hard. And so <strong>Al</strong>lah, ex<strong>al</strong>ted is He, reve<strong>al</strong>ed this verse”. 1<br />
Abu Bakr <strong>al</strong>-Harithi informed us> Abu’l-Shaykh <strong>al</strong>-Hafiz> Abu Yahya> <strong>al</strong>-‘Askari> Abu M<strong>al</strong>ik> Juwaybir><br />
<strong>al</strong>-Dahhak who said: “When the Qur’an was reve<strong>al</strong>ed to the Prophet, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him<br />
peace, he and his Companions stood up to pray. <strong>The</strong> unbelievers of Quraysh said: ‘This Qur’an was only<br />
reve<strong>al</strong>ed to Muhammad to make him distressed’. And so <strong>Al</strong>lah, ex<strong>al</strong>ted is He, reve<strong>al</strong>ed (Ta. Ha), He says:<br />
O man (We have not reve<strong>al</strong>ed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur’an that thou shouldst be distressed)”. 2<br />
(And strain not thine eyes…) [20:131].<br />
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim <strong>al</strong>-Tha‘labi informed us> Shu‘ayb ibn Muhammad <strong>al</strong>-Bayhaqi><br />
Makki ibn ‘Abdan> Abu’l-Azhar> Rawh> Musa ibn ‘Ubaydah <strong>al</strong>-Rabdhi> Yazid ibn ‘Abd <strong>Al</strong>lah ibn<br />
Qusayt> Abu Rafi‘, the client of the Messenger of <strong>Al</strong>lah, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him peace, who reported<br />
that a guest dropped by the Messenger of <strong>Al</strong>lah, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him peace, and so he<br />
summoned me and asked me to go to a Jewish man who sold food. He entrusted me to tell him: “Muhammad,<br />
the Messenger of <strong>Al</strong>lah, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him peace, has received a guest and does not<br />
have what to offer him for food. Could you sell me such-and-such measure of ground wheat or lend me<br />
some food which I will repay at the appearance of the moon of Rajab”. <strong>The</strong> Jew said: “I will not sell him<br />
or lend him except in exchange for a security”. I went back to the Prophet, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him<br />
peace, and when I repeated what the Jew had said, he exclaimed: “By <strong>Al</strong>lah, I am trustworthy in heaven<br />
as I am trustworthy on earth. Had he sold to me or lent me, I would have paid back. Take my armour as<br />
security”. This verse was reve<strong>al</strong>ed to consol him about this world (And strain not thine eyes toward that<br />
which We cause some wedded pairs among them to enjoy, the flower of the life of the world, that We may<br />
try them thereby…). 3<br />
1<br />
Qurtubi, :168; Tabari, :135.<br />
2<br />
Tabari, :137; Qurtubi, :167; Durr, :549.<br />
3<br />
Tabari, :235; Qurtubi, :262; Durr, :612. Qurtubi mentions that Ibn ‘Atiyyah rejected this incident as being the occasion of<br />
the verse. This is because the Surah is Meccan while this incident happened at the end of the Prophet’s life, for he died while his<br />
armour was still kept by the Jew as a security. Cf. Qurtubi, :263.
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