Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

(They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month�) [2:217]. Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Shirazi informed us> Abu'l-Fadl Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Khimayruwayh al-Harawi> Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Khuza'i> Abu'l-Yaman> al-Hakam ibn Nafi'> Shu'ayb ibn Abi Hamzah> al-Zuhri who said: �'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr informed us that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent a military expedition and appointed 'Abd Allah ibn Jahsh al-Asdi as its leader. This expedition proceeded until they reached Nakhlah where they found 'Amr ibn al-Hadrami leading a trade caravan for the Quraysh. That day was the last day of the sacred month. The Muslims were divided in their opinion. Some of them said: 'We know for certain that today belongs to the sacred month, we are of the view that you should not violate it because of greed'. The opinion of those who desired the stuff of this world gained the upper hand; they attacked Ibn al-Hadrami, killed him and seized his camels. Ibn al-Hadrami was the first person to be killed in a fight between the Muslims and the disbelievers. The disbelievers of the Quraysh heard about the incident and sent a delegation to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace. They said to him: 'Do you allow fighting in the sacred month?' As a response, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse (They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month�)�. Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Harithi informed us> 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far> 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Razi> Sahl ibn 'Uthman> Yahya ibn Abi Za'idah> Muhammad ibn Ishaq> al-Zuhri that he said: �The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent 'Abd Allah ibn Jahsh with a group of Emigrants [in a military expedition]. One of the men who accompanied him, 'Abd Allah ibn Waqid al-Laythi, killed one of the disbelievers, 'Amr ibn al-Hadrami, in the last day of Rajab; they also captured two prisoners and seized the camels of the disbelievers. When the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, found out, he told them: 'I did not command you to fight in the sacred month'. But the Quraysh said: 'Muhammad has violated the sacred month'. It was then that was revealed (They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month) up to His saying (for persecution is worse than killing�), i.

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

Surely those who have faith, those who emigrate, and those who struggle in God's path- it is they who hope for God's mercy, and God is the Forgiving, the Ever-Merciful. After faith, He spoke of emigration. Emigration is of two sorts: one outward, the other inward. Outward emigration has two sides: One side is to emigrate from one's home, homeland, and means and to go forth seeking knowledge. The other side is what comes to be known by seeking. Any traveling that is outside of these two has no weight or worth. The Prophet alluded to this with his words, “People are knowers or learners; the rest of the people are rabble.” You should not say that the seeker of knowledge and the seeker of the Known have one level. The seeker of knowledge is himself traveling, and the seeker of the Known is being pulled by the Real. He who is himself traveling dwells in suffering, distress, and hunger, like Moses in the jour- ney in which he was seeking knowledge: “Bring us our food. We have certainly met with weari- ness on this journey of ours” [18:62]. Another time, when he set off seeking the Known, he was confirmed to such a degree by the Real's protection and pulling that he stayed thirty days waiting for the Real's speech, and he was not aware of being tired or hungry. The master Abū ʿAlī Daqqāq said, “The caressing of the seekers of knowledge reaches a place such that tomorrow, when they rise up from the dust, they will be mounted on the feathers of an- gels, according to the Prophets words, 'Surely the angels will put down their wings for the seeker of knowledge, approving what he is doing.'” Then Abū ʿAlī said, “Since the seekers of knowledge will be mounted on the feathers of angels, how can anyone imagine what the seekers of the Known will be mounted on?” Did we but know that the visit is true, we would make our face an earth so that You might approve. * Beautiful idols walk on forbidden ground. I will make my eyes the ground-come stroll on my eyes! This then was the explanation of outward emigration. Inward emigration is that one goes from the soul to the heart, from the heart to the secret core, from the secret core to the spirit, and from the spirit to the Real.

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

They ask thee about wine and gambling.... And they ask thee what they should expend. God has servants on the earth who drink the wine of recognition and are drunk from the cup of love. There is no more than a whiff of this wine's reality in this world, and nothing but a show of that drunkenness, for this world is a prison, and what can a prison put up with? Today there is no more than that. Nonetheless, wait until tomorrow, the assembly of repose and ease [56:89], the arena of union with the Beloved, when the servants will be gazing on the Real. Hope for union with you has added to my life. What can union itself be, when hope does that!? A man in turmoil entered the shop of a wine merchant with one dirham. He said, “Give me wine for this dirham.” The merchant replied, “There's no wine left.” The man said, “I'm already in turmoil. I can't tolerate wine's reality. Show me a drop so I may smell it-you'll see how drunk I become and what turmoil I'll stir up.” Glory be to God! What is this lightning that has shone from the Beginningless! It has burnt up the two worlds and nothing remains. To someone He gave the wine of bewilderment from the cup of awe, and he became drunk with bewilderment. He said, “I am bewildered in Thee, take my hand, O guide of those bewildered in Thee!” * The work is difficult-how can I make it easy? The pain has no cure-how can I find a remedy? I've become secure from the headache of empty words- what can I do with the stories of the drunkards? To someone else He gave the wine of recognition from the storeroom of hope. At the top of the street of yearning he kept on saying in hope of union, “One day luck will enter the door of my house, one day the sun of elation will rise over me. One day You will glance in my direction, one day this grief of mine will come to an end!” To someone else He gave the wine of union from the cup of love. He showed him the way to the carpet of bold expansiveness and gave him a spot on the leaning place of intimacy.

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

(And they question thee concerning orphans�) [2:220]. Abu Mansur �Abd al-Qahir ibn Tahir informed us> Abu�l-Hasan Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Sarraj> al-Hasan ibn al-Muthanna ibn Mu�adh> Abu Hudhayfah Musa ibn Mas�ud> Sufyan al-Thawri> Salim al-Aftas> Sa�id ibn Jubayr who said: �When the verse (Lo! Those who devour the wealth of orphans wrongfully, they do but swallow fire into their bellies�) [4:10] people rushed to separate their own wealth from the wealth of orphans they were in charge of. Then Allah revealed (And if ye mingle your affairs with theirs, then (they are) your brothers) upon which they mixed their own wealth with the wealth of orphans�. Sa�id ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Zahid informed us> Abu �Ali al-Faqih> �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Baghawi> �Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah> Jarir> �Ata� ibn al-Sa�ib> Sa�id ibn Jubayr> Ibn �Abbas who said: �When Allah, exalted is He, revealed the verse (And approach not the wealth of the orphan save with that which is better�), whoever had an orphan�s wealth with him proceeded to isolate his food and drink from the orphan�s food and drink, and whatever remained of the orphan�s food was kept aside until the orphan would use it or it gets bad; and this was a source of anguish for people. They went and mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and as a response, Allah, glorified and exalted, revealed (And they question thee concerning orphans. Say: To improve their lot is best), by mixing their food and drink with their food and drink�.