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

Chapter 4: Surah al-Nisa’
(It is not for a believer to kill a believer unless (it be) by mistake…) [4:92].
Abu ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Ishaq informed us> Abu ‘Amr ibn Nujayd> Abu Muslim Ibrahim ibn ‘Abd Allah>
Ibn Hajjaj> Hammad> Muhammad ibn Ishaq> ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim> his father who reported
that al-Harith ibn Shadid was hard on the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace. He was on his
way to embrace Islam when he was met by ‘Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi‘ah, and not realising that al-Harith
wanted to embrace Islam, he killed him. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse (It is not for a
believer to kill a believer unless (it be) by mistake…). 42
Al-Kalbi explained this event, saying: “‘Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi‘ah al-Makhzumi had embraced Islam but
was fearful of coming in the open about it. He fled to Medina and took refuge in one of its fortresses.
His mother was distressed a great deal. She said to her two sons Abu Jahl and al-Harith ibn Hisham,
who were his half brothers from his mother’s side: ‘By Allah, I will stay outside in the sun, not eating or
drinking, until you bring him back to me’. And they went looking for him, accompanied by al-Harith ibn
Zayd ibn Abi Anisah, until they reached Medina. They went to ‘Ayyash in his fortress, and said to him:
‘Come down, your mother has not entered the confines of a house since you left. She has also sworn that
she will not eat or drink until you go back to her. By Allah we give you assurance that we will not coerce
you to do anything nor will we come between you and your religion’. When they mentioned his mother’s
distress and gave him their assurance, he came down to them. They took him out of Medina, tied him up
with strings and whipped him a hundred lashes each, and then took him to his mother. His mother said
to him: ‘I will not untie your fetters until you disbelieve in that which you have believed’, and he was left
fettered in the sun until he gave them some of what they had wanted. Al-Harith ibn Yazid went to him
and said: ‘O ‘Ayyash, by Allah, if that which you followed was guidance, you have now left it, and if it was
error, you were already in error’. ‘Ayyash got very angry because of what al-Harith said to him and this
prompted him to say to him: ‘By Allah, I will kill you if I find you alone’. Afterwards, ‘Ayyash embraced
Islam and migrated to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, in Medina. Al-Harith
ibn Yazid also embraced Islam and migrated to Medina. This happened at a time when ‘Ayyash was not
present. As such, he was unaware of al-Harith becoming Muslim. As he was walking outside Quba’, he
met al-Harith ibn Yazid. When he saw him, he attacked and killed him. People said to him: ‘What on
earth have you done He had become Muslim!’ ‘Ayyash went back to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless
him and give him peace, and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, you know what happened between me and
al-Harith; I was unaware of his acceptance of Islam and I killed him’. And so Gabriel, peace be upon him,
came down with the words of Allah, exalted is He, (It is not for a believer to kill a believer unless (it be)
by mistake…)”. 43
(Whoso slayeth a believer of set purpose…) [4:93].
Said Ibn ‘Abbas, according to the report of al-Kalbi from Abu Salih: “Maqis ibn Subabah, who was Muslim,
found his brother Hisham murdered at Banu’l-Najjar. He went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah
bless him and give him peace, and mentioned what had happened to him. The Messenger of Allah, Allah
bless him and give him peace, sent with him an emissary from Banu Fihr and said to him: ‘Go to Banu’l-
Najjar, greet them with the greeting of peace and say to them: ‘The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him
and give him peace, commands you, if you know the killer of Hisham ibn Subabah, to hand him over
to his brother to exact his retaliation; and if you do not know the killer, to pay him the blood money’.
‘The man from Fihr conveyed to them the message of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace,
and they said: ‘We hear and obey Allah and His Messenger. By Allah, we do not know who the killer is,
but we are willing to pay the blood money’. They gave him one hundred camels and they headed toward
Medina. When they were very close to Medina, the devil whispered to Miqyas: ‘What have you done
Your acceptance of your brother’s blood money will be a slur on you. Kill the person who is with you and
it would be as if you have avenged your brother in surplus of the blood money’. Miqyas did just that. He
fractured the skull of the man from Fihr with a rock, rode a camel and drove away the rest to Mecca. He
42
Durr, :616; Tabari, :204.
43
Cf. Durr, :616; Tabari, :204; Qurtubi, :313.
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