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

Chapter 2: Surah al-Baqarah
to my Lord’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to him: ‘May Allah bless
for you that which you have kept and that which you have given’. And as for ‘Uthman, may Allah be well
pleased with him, he said: ‘Upon me is the equipment of anyone who has no equipment for the Battle
of Tabuk’. 103 And so he equipped the Muslims with one thousand camels with their hunches and saddle
blankets and also gave to charity a well that he owned. This verse was revealed about him”.
Said Abu Sa‘id al-Khudr: “I saw the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, raising
his hand and praying for ‘Uthman, saying: ‘O Lord! Be well pleased with ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan for I am
well pleased with him’. His hands remained raised until the break of dawn. Allah, exalted is He, revealed
about him (Those who spend their wealth for the cause of Allah…)”.
(O ye who believe! Spend of the good things which ye have earned…) [2:267].
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad al-Saydalani informed us> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn
Nu‘aym> Ahmad ibn Sahl ibn Hamdawayh> Qays ibn Unayf> Qutaybah ibn Sa‘id> Hatim ibn Isma‘il>
Ja‘far ibn Muhammad> his father> Jabir who said: “The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace,
commanded that the poor-due of the break of fast (Zakat al-Fitr) was to be one measure (Sa‘) of dates.
One man brought low quality dates, as a result of which this Qur’anic verse was revealed (O ye who believe!
Spend of the good things which ye have earned, and of that which We bring forth from the earth for
you, and seek not the bad (with intent) to spend thereof (in charity) when ye would not take it for yourselves
save with disdain)”. 104
Abu Ishaq Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Wa‘iz informed us> ‘Abd Allah ibn Hamid al-Asfahani> Muhammad
ibn Isma‘il al-Farisi> Ahmad ibn Musa al-Jammaz> ‘Amr ibn Hammad ibn Talhah> Asbat ibn
Nasr> al-Suddi> ‘Adiyy ibn Thabit> al-Bara’ who said: “This verse was revealed about the Helpers. At
the time of the harvest of dates, the Helpers used to bring out of their fields bunches of dates and unripe
dates and then hang them on a rope between two pillars in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah, Allah
bless him and give him peace, so that the poor among the Emigrants could eat of them. Some people
used to hang therein bunches of very low quality dates, thinking that no one will notice, due to the
abundance of these bunches that people usually placed there. Allah, exalted is He, revealed, about those
people who do this: (and seek not the bad (with intent) to spend thereof (in charity)…), in reference here
to bunches of low quality dates, for ‘if the same was gifted to you, you would not accept it’ ”. 105
(If ye publish your almsgiving…) [2:271].
Said al-Kalbi: “When the saying of Allah, exalted is He, (And whatsoever good thing ye spend…) [2:272],
the Companions asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Is giving alms in secret better or giving it in the open’
In response Allah revealed this verse”.
(The guiding of them is not thy duty…) [2:272].
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Harith informed us> ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Ja‘far>
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Muslim> Sahl ibn ‘Uthman al-‘Askari> Jarir> Ash‘ath ibn Ishaq>
Ja‘far ibn al-Mughirah> Sa‘id ibn Jubayr who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and
give him peace, said: “Do not give alms except to the people of your own religion”. Allah, exalted is He,
then revealed (The guiding of them is not thy duty…), upon which the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless
103
The expedition of Tabuk, also known as Ghazwat al-‘Usrah, took place in 9 a.h./630 c.e. There was no fighting at this expedition.
See: A. Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, Karach: Oxford University Press, 1990,
pp. 602-609.
104
Durr, :58-59.
105
Tabari, :82; Durr, :58-59.
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