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

went back to Mecca as a disbeliever.
Asbab al-Nuzul
Through him I avenged Fihr and charged his blood-wit
To the chiefs of Banu’l-Najjar, the lords of Fari‘ castle.
By killing him I gave vent to my vengeance and eased my tension,
And was the first to return to the idols.
This verse was then revealed (Whoso slayeth a believer of set purpose…). The Prophet, Allah bless him
and give him peace, sentenced him to death upon the conquest of Mecca. He was chased and captured
by some people in the market place and executed”. 44
(O ye who believe! When ye go forth (to fight) in the way of Allah, be careful to discriminate…)
[4:94].
Abu Ibrahim Isma‘il ibn Ibrahim al-Wa‘iz informed me> Abu’l-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn
Hamid> Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn ‘Abd al-Jabbar> Muhammad ibn ‘Abbad> Sufyan> ‘Amr>> ‘Ata’> Ibn
‘Abbas who said: “Some Muslims chased a man for his booty. When they got to him, he said: ‘Peace be
with you’. But they killed him and took his booty. The verse was then revealed (… and say not unto one
who offereth you peace: “Thou art not a believer”, seeking the chance profits of this life), i.e. that booty”. 45
This was narrated by Bukhari from ‘Ali ibn ‘Abd Allah and also by Muslim from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah;
and both transmitters related it from Sufyan.
Isma‘il informed us> Abu ‘Amr ibn Nujayd> Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Khalil> Abu Kurayb>
‘Ubayd Allah> Isra’il> Simak> ‘Ikrimah> Ibn ‘Abbas who said: “A man from Sulaym who had sheep with
him passed by a group of Companions of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace.
He greeted them with the greeting of peace, but they said to each other: ‘He greeted you with the greeting
of peace only to seek refuge from you’. And so they killed him and took his sheep and went to the Messenger
of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, after which Allah, exalted is He, revealed (O ye who
believe! When ye go forth (to fight) in the way of Allah, be careful to discriminate)”. 46
Abu Bakr al-Asfahani informed us> Abu’l-Shaykh al-Hafiz> Abu Yahya al-Razi> Sahl ibn ‘Uthman>
Waki‘> Sufyan> Habib ibn Abi ‘Amrah> Sa‘id ibn Jubayr who said: “Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad went out
one day at the head of a military expedition and they came across a man with some possession. They
wanted to kill him, but the man said: ‘There is no god but Allah!’ Despite this, al-Miqdad went ahead and
killed him. He was told: ‘How can you kill a man who has said, there is no god but Allah He would have
rather fled with his family and property’. When they went back to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless
him and give him peace, they mentioned what had happened, and the verse (O ye who believe! When ye
go forth (to fight) in the way of Allah, be careful to discriminate) was revealed”. 47
Said al-Hasan: “The Companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, went out in a
reconnaissance patrol. While they were there, they met with some idolaters whom they fought and defeated.
One of the men ran away and a Muslim man followed him, in pursuit of his stuff. When he was
about to strike him with his sword, the man said: ‘I am a Muslim, I am a Muslim!’ The Muslim man did
44
Durr, :623; Tabari, :217; Qurtubi, :333. In the printed edition of Tabari, the name of the murderer is stated as Miqyas ibn
Dubabah and also as Miqyas ibn Hubabah (cf. Tabari, :217 and footnote on the same page).
45
Durr, :632; Tabari, :223.
46
Durr, :632; Tabari, :223.
47
Tabari, :225; Durr, :633-634.
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