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

Asbab al-Nuzul
‘Ata’ and ‘Ikrimah also said: “This verse was revealed about al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and ‘Uthman
ibn ‘Affan who had lent someone dates. When it was time for the collection of the dates, the owner of
the dates said to them: ‘If you take all of what is due to you what remains will not be enough for me and
my dependents. Why do you not take half of what is due to you and I will double the interest that was
initially agreed’ They both agreed. When the term was due, they both asked the man to pay what was
agreed. This reached the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and he warned them
against going ahead with it. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse. Both ‘al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-
Muttalib and ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan complied and took back only the capital they initially lent to the man.
Said al-Sudd: “This verse was revealed about al-‘Abbas and Khalid ibn al-Walid who were partners in the
pre-Islamic period. Both of them used to lend others money with usury. When Islam came, people owed
huge sums of money to them because of usury. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse, and the
Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘Any usurious transaction agreed in the pre-Islamic
period is cancelled and the first usury I cancel is that of al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib’ ”. 115
(And if the debtor is in straitened circumstances…) [2:280].
Said al-Kalbi: “The Banu ‘Amr ibn ‘Umayr said to Banu’l-Mughirah: ‘Give us our capitals and we will
spare you the payment of the usury on them’. The Banu’l-Mughirah said: ‘We are now in straitened
circumstances, please give us some respite until the time of the harvest’. Banu’l-Mughirah refused this
request. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (And if the debtor is in straitened circumstances…)”.
(The messenger believeth in that which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord…) [2:285].
The Imam Abu Mansur ‘Abd al-Qahir ibn Tahir informed us> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Ali ibn
Ziyad> Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Bushanji> Umayyah ibn Bistam> Yazid ibn Zuray‘> Rawh ibn al-
Qasim> al-‘Ala’> his father> Abu Hurayrah who said: “When Allah, exalted is He, revealed to His Messenger,
Allah bless him and give him peace, the verse (… and whether ye make known what is in your
minds or hide, Allah will bring you to account for it…) [2:284], the prophetic Companions found this
hard to cope with. They went to the Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: ‘We have
been entrusted with works that we can not bear: the prayer, fasting, Jihad, almsgiving; and now Allah
has revealed to you this verse which we are not able to bear’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him
and give him peace, said to them: ‘Do you want to say as the people of the two Scriptures 116 said before
you — the narrator said: I think he quoted the verse (We hear and we rebel!) [2:93] — Say, rather, (We
hear, and we obey. (Grant us) Thy forgiveness, our Lord. Unto Thee is the journeying)’. When they heard
this, they did not answer. Allah revealed after this (The messenger believeth in that which hath been revealed
unto him from his Lord…) the whole verse, and Allah abrogated it by His revelation (Allah tasketh
not a soul beyond its scope…) [2:286] to the end of the verse”. This report was narrated by Muslim from
Umayyah ibn Bistam.
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya informed us> his father> Muhammad ibn Ishaq
al-Thaqafi> ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar and Yusuf ibn Musa> Waki‘> Sufyan> Adam ibn Sulayman who said:
“I heard Sa‘id ibn Jubayr relating from Ibn ‘Abbas who said: ‘When the verse (… and whether ye make
known what is in your minds or hide, Allah will bring you to account for it…) was revealed, objection
crept into the hearts of the prophetic Companions as it never did before. The Prophet, Allah bless him
and give him peace, said to them: Say, ‘we hear and we obey’. Allah then revealed (Allah tasketh not a
soul beyond its scope), up to His saying (or miss the mark) upon which he said: You did. He repeated this
with each sentence of this verse until the end of it’ ”. This was narrated Muslim from Abu Bakr ibn Abi
Shaybah from Waki‘.
115
Cf. Tabari, :106-107; Durr, :107-108.
116
The Jews and the Christians.
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