Conveying the message by Prophet Mohamed: the call of the Safa and the banquet of Ali

’Warn your nearest kin’: the call of the Safa

The chapter of Allah’s command to His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to convey the message to the kindred and the common folk, of the command to him of patience, endurance and turning away from the ignorant, the obstinate deniers after the proof is established against them, and of sending the great messenger to them: and the account of what he suffered from them, he and his companions (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Allah the Most High said: "And warn the people nearest to you. And lower your wing [be gentle] to the believers who follow you. But if they disobey you, say to them: I disown what you do. And rely upon the Almighty, the Most Merciful, who sees you when you rise, and (sees) your movements among those who prostrate. Truly He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing", the verses of ash-Shu’ara, from the two hundred and fourteenth to the two hundred and twentieth. And He said: "It is certainly a reminder [the Quran] for you and your people. And you will be questioned", the forty-fourth verse of az-Zukhruf.

And He said: "He who ordained the Quran upon you will surely return you to a place of return", the eighty-fifth verse of al-Qasas: that is, He who made the conveying of the Quran obligatory upon you will return you to the hereafter, which is the place of return, and He will question you there, as He said: "We shall question those to whom messengers were sent, and We shall question the messengers", the sixth verse of al-A’raf: and He said: "By your Lord! We shall question them all about what they did", the verses of al-Hijr, from the ninety-second to the ninety-third. The verses and hadiths on this are very many: we have already treated it in our commentary, and expounded at the word of the Most High in surah ash-Shu’ara: and warn the people nearest to you, and inserted many hadiths therein, among them:

Imam Ahmad said: Abdallah ibn Numayr told us, from al-A’mash, from Amr ibn Murra, from Sa’id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas: when Allah sent down "And warn the people nearest to you", the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to the Safa, climbed upon it, then called out: "O people of the morning!" The people gathered to him, some coming and some sending their messenger. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "O sons of Abd al-Muttalib, O sons of Fihr, O sons of Lu’ay: what do you think: were I to inform you that horses at the foot of this mountain intend to raid you, would you believe me?" They said: yes. He said: "I am a warner to you before a severe punishment." Abu Lahab, may Allah curse him, said: may you perish the rest of the day: is this why you called us? And Allah sent down: "May the hands of Abu-Lahab perish, and may he himself perish", the first verse of al-Masad: and the two reported it, from the hadith of al-A’mash, in like manner.

’Save yourselves from the Fire’: Fatima, Safiyya and Banu Abd al-Muttalib

Ahmad said: Mu’awiya ibn Amr told us, from Zayda, from Abd al-Malik ibn Umayr, from Musa ibn Talha, from Abu Hurayra: when this verse came down, "And warn the people nearest to you", the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called Quraysh, in general and in particular, and said: "O Quraysh, save yourselves from the Fire. O people of Banu Ka’b, save yourselves from the Fire. O people of Banu Hashim, save yourselves from the Fire. O people of Banu Abd al-Muttalib, save yourselves from the Fire. O Fatima daughter of Muhammad, save yourself from the Fire: for I have, by Allah, no power over you before Allah: except that you have a tie of kinship which I shall uphold perfectly." Muslim reported it from the hadith of Abd al-Malik ibn Umayr: and the two reported it in the two Sahihs, from the hadith of az-Zuhri, from Sa’id ibn al-Musayyab and Abu Salama, from Abu Hurayra: and it has other chains from Abu Hurayra in the Musnad of Ahmad and elsewhere.

And Ahmad also said: Waqi’ told us: Hisham told us, from his father, from A’isha: when "And warn the people nearest to you" came down, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rose and said: "O Fatima daughter of Muhammad, O Safiyya daughter of Abd al-Muttalib, O sons of Abd al-Muttalib: I have no power over you before Allah: ask me of my wealth whatever you wish." And Muslim reported it likewise.

Ali’s banquet: forty guests and the call for support

The hafiz Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi said in ad-Dala’il: Muhammad ibn Abdallah the hafiz informed us: Abu l-Abbas Muhammad ibn Ya’qub told us, from Ahmad ibn Abd al-Jabbar, from Yunus ibn Bukayr, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq: the one who heard Abdallah ibn al-Harith ibn Nawfal, whose name was withheld from me, told me, from Ibn Abbas, from Ali ibn Abi Talib: when this verse came down upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "And warn the people nearest to you. And lower your wing to the believers who follow you", the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: I knew that if I began with my people I should see from them what I detest, so I fell silent. Jibril (peace be upon him) came to me and said: O Muhammad, if you do not do what your Lord has commanded you, your Lord will punish you. Ali said: so he called me and said: "O Ali, Allah has commanded me to warn my nearest kin: so make for us, O Ali, a sheep upon a sa’ of food, and prepare for us a skin of milk, then gather for me the sons of Abd al-Muttalib." I did so, and they gathered for him: they were that day forty men, a man more or less, among them his uncles: Abu Talib, Hamza, al-Abbas, and Abu Lahab the wicked disbeliever.

I set before them that platter, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) took a morsel from it, broke it with his teeth, then cast it upon its sides, and said: "eat in the name of Allah." The people ate until they rose from it seeing only the traces of their fingers: and by Allah, the man ate the like of it. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "give them drink, O Ali." I brought that bowl, and they drank from it until they all had their fill: and by Allah, the man drank the like of it. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wished to speak to them, Abu Lahab, may Allah curse him, forestalled him and said: enough! Your companion has bewitched you. So they scattered, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not speak to them.

The next day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "O Ali, bring us the like of what you made for us yesterday of food and drink: for this man has forestalled me, as you heard, before I spoke to the people." I did so, then gathered them for him: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did as yesterday, and they ate until they rose from it: and by Allah, the man ate the like of it. Then he said: "give them drink, O Ali." I brought that bowl, and they drank from it until they all had their fill: and by Allah, the man of them drank the like of it. When the Messenger of Allah wished to speak to them, Abu Lahab, may Allah curse him, forestalled his speech and said: enough! Your companion has bewitched you. So they scattered, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) spoke not to them. The next day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "O Ali, bring us the like of what you did yesterday of food and drink: for this man has forestalled me, as you heard, before I spoke to the people."

I did so, then gathered them for him: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did as yesterday, they ate until they rose from it, then I gave them drink from that bowl until they rose from it: and by Allah, the man of them ate the like of it and drank the like of it. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "O sons of Abd al-Muttalib: by Allah, I know of no young man of the Arabs who came to his people with better than what I bring you: I have come to you with the affair of this world and the hereafter." Thus al-Bayhaqi reported it, through Yunus ibn Bukayr, from Ibn Ishaq, from an elder whose name is abbreviated, from Abdallah ibn al-Harith.

And Abu Ja’far ibn Jarir reported it, from Muhammad ibn Humayd ar-Razi, from Salama ibn al-Fadl al-Abrach, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from Abd al-Ghaffar Abu Maryam ibn al-Qasim, from al-Minhal ibn Amr, from Abdallah ibn al-Harith, from Ibn Abbas, from Ali: and he mentioned the like of the foregoing, and added, after his word: I have come to you with the best of this world and the hereafter: and Allah has commanded me to call you to Him: which of you will aid me in this matter, to be my brother, my minister and my successor? He said: the people all held back from it: and I said: I am the youngest of them in age, the reddest of the two eyes, the biggest of belly, and the slenderest of the two shanks: I, O Prophet of Allah, shall be your minister over it. He took me by the neck and said: "this is my brother, my minister and my successor: listen to him and obey him." He said: the people rose laughing, saying to Abu Talib: he commands you to listen to your son and obey him! This account was reported alone by Abd al-Ghaffar ibn al-Qasim Abu Maryam, who is a lying Rafidite, accused of fabricating hadiths by Ali ibn al-Madini and others, and weakened by the rest.

But Ibn Abi Hatim reported in his commentary, from his father, from al-Husayn ibn ’Issa ibn Mayssara al-Harithi, from Abdallah ibn Abd al-Quddus, from al-A’mash, from al-Minhal ibn Amr, from Abdallah ibn al-Harith: Ali said: when this verse came down, "And warn the people nearest to you", the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to me: "prepare for me a leg of a sheep with a sa’ of food, and a vessel of milk, and call for me the sons of Hashim." So I called them: they were that day forty men or so. And he related the account like what preceded, until he said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forestalled their speech and said: "which of you will settle my debts, and be my successor among my family?" He said: they fell silent: and al-Abbas fell silent, fearing that this might swallow his wealth: and I myself was silent out of regard for the age of al-Abbas: then he said it a second time: al-Abbas was silent: and when I saw that, I said: I, O Messenger of Allah. He said: "you." And I was that day the meanest of them in appearance: reddish of the two eyes, big of belly, slender of the two shanks. And this chain is a witness to what precedes, except that it does not mention Ibn Abbas: so Allah knows best. And Imam Ahmad reported in his Musnad, from the hadith of Abbad ibn Abdallah al-Asadi and Rabi’a ibn Najidh, from Ali, the like of the foregoing, or the like of its witness. And Allah knows best.

And the meaning of his word in this hadith, "which of you will settle my debts and be my successor among my family", is: when I die: and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as it were, feared, upon rising to convey the message to the polytheists of the Arabs, that they might kill him: so he sought the surety of one who would care for his family after him and settle his debts: and Allah guaranteed him that in His word: "O Messenger, convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord. If you did not, you would not have conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people", the verse of al-Ma’ida.

The unceasing call and the two uncles: the wisdom of Abu Talib’s standing

The point is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) persisted in calling to Allah the Most High night and day, in secret and openly: none turned him from that, none repelled him from it, none barred him from it: he pursued the people in their markets and their gatherings, and in the seasons and stations of the pilgrimage: calling whoever he met, free or slave, weak or strong, rich or poor: all creation stood equal before him therein. And the strongest and mightiest of the polytheists of Quraysh gained dominion over him and over those who followed him of the weak of the people, with injuries of tongue and deed. And the harshest of the people against him was his uncle Abu Lahab, whose name was Abd al-Uzza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, and his wife Umm Jamil, Arwa bint Harb ibn Umayya, sister of Abu Sufyan.

And opposed to that was his uncle Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib: and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was the most beloved of Allah’s creation to him by nature: he cherished him, was good to him, defended him and protected him, and opposed his people therein: while being upon their religion and their customs: Allah the Most High had tested his heart with love of him, a natural love, not a legislated one: and his persisting in his people’s religion is of the wisdom of Allah the Most High, and of what He prepared for His Messenger of protection: for had Abu Talib become a Muslim, he would have had with the polytheists of Quraysh neither standing nor word: they would neither have feared him nor respected him: they would have dared against the Prophet, stretching their hands and tongues toward him in evil: and your Lord creates what He wills and chooses: and He has divided His creation into kinds and classes. So these two uncles were both disbelievers, Abu Talib and Abu Lahab: but this one will be on the Day of Resurrection in a shallow pool of the Fire, and that one in the lowest depth of the Fire: and Allah revealed concerning him a surah in His Book, recited upon the pulpits, read in sermons and orations, containing that he shall roast in a flaming Fire, and his wife a carrier of firewood.

’Say: there is no god but Allah’ at the market of Dhu l-Majaz

Imam Ahmad said: Ibrahim ibn Abi l-Abbas told us, from Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi az-Zinad, from his father: a man informed me, called Rabi’a ibn Abbad, of Banu ad-Dil, who was of the Jahiliyya and then became a Muslim: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the Jahiliyya, at the market of Dhu l-Majaz, saying: "O people, say: there is no god but Allah, and you will prosper." And the people were gathered upon him: and behind him a man of bright face, cross-eyed, with two projecting eyes, saying: he is a lying Sabian: he followed him wherever he went. I asked about him, and they said: this is his uncle, Abu Lahab. Then he and al-Bayhaqi reported it, from the hadith of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi az-Zinad, in like manner.

And al-Bayhaqi also said: Abu Tahir the jurist told us: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Qattan told us, from Abu l-Azhar, from Muhammad ibn Abdallah al-Ansari: Muhammad ibn Amr told us, from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, from Rabi’a ad-Dili: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at Dhu l-Majaz pursuing the people in their dwelling places, calling them to Allah: and behind him a cross-eyed man whose two temples protruded, and he was saying: O people, let not this one beguile you from your religion, and the religion of your fathers. I said: who is this? It was said: this is Abu Lahab. Then he reported it likewise through Shu’ba, from al-Ash’ath ibn Sulaym, from a man of Kinana: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at the market of Dhu l-Majaz, saying: "O people, say: there is no god but Allah, and you will prosper." And behold, a man behind him was throwing dust upon his head: and behold, it was Abu Jahl, saying: O people, let not this one beguile you from your religion: he only intends that you forsake the worship of al-Lat and al-Uzza. Thus it is said: Abu Jahl: and the apparent is that it was Abu Lahab: and we shall mention the rest of his biography at the mention of his death, after the battle of Badr, Allah willing. As for Abu Talib: he was at the utmost of compassion and natural tenderness, as will appear from his deeds, his qualities, and his reliance upon that whereby he protected the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions.

’Do you see this sun?’ and ’the sun in my right hand’

Yunus ibn Bukayr reported, from Talha ibn Yahya ibn Talha ibn Ubaydallah, from Musa ibn Talha: Aqil ibn Abi Talib informed me: Quraysh came to Abu Talib and said: this nephew of yours has harmed us in our club and our sanctuary, so restrain him from us. He said: O Aqil, go and bring me Muhammad. I set out to him: I brought him out of a chamber, or he said, a hut, meaning a small house. I came with him at midday, in the intense heat: when he came to them, he said: these cousins of yours claim you harm them in their club and their sanctuary: so desist from harming them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) lifted his sight to the heaven and said: "do you see this sun?" They said: yes. He said: "I am no more able to forsake that than you to blow a flame from it." Abu Talib said: by Allah, your nephew has never lied: so return. Al-Bukhari reported it in his History, from Muhammad ibn al-’Ala, from Yunus ibn Bukayr: and al-Bayhaqi reported it, from al-Hakim, from al-Asamm, from Ahmad ibn Abd al-Jabbar, from him: and this is his wording.

Al-Bayhaqi then reported, through Yunus, from Ibn Ishaq: Ya’qub ibn ’Uqba ibn al-Mughira ibn al-Akhnas told me he was told that when Quraysh said this word to Abu Talib, he sent to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said to him: O nephew: your people have come to me and said so and so: spare me and spare yourself, and burden me not with this affair what I cannot bear, I and you: so cease from your people what they hate of your words. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) thought his uncle had changed toward him, and that he would forsake him and hand him over, and was too weak to stand with him: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "O uncle: were the sun set in my right hand, and the moon in my left, I would not forsake this affair, until Allah makes it prevail, or I perish in seeking it." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sobbed and wept: then he turned away: when Abu Talib saw how far the matter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had gone, he said: go, O nephew: he turned to him: pursue your affair, and do what you love: for by Allah I shall never hand you over for anything. Ibn Ishaq said: Abu Talib then said upon that:

And by Allah they shall never reach you with their gathering, until I am laid in the dust, buried.

Pursue your affair, upon you no hindrance: rejoice, and by that our eye is gladdened.

You called me, and I knew you my sincere counselor: you spoke true, and you were the core of our trust.

You brought a religion I knew to be of the best of religions of mankind, our religion.

Were it not for blame, or the fear of revilement, you would have found me fully welcoming of it.

Al-Bayhaqi then said: Ibn Ishaq mentioned for Abu Talib upon that other verses: and in all of that is an indication that Allah the Most High protected him by his uncle despite his differing from him in religion: and He can protect him where his uncle is not, as He wills: none repels His judgment.

Abu Jahl’s stone: the camel of Jibril, the closed heaven, and the ditch of fire

Yunus ibn Bukayr said: Muhammad ibn Ishaq told me, from a man of the people of Egypt, of old, some forty-three years ago, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas, in a long account that passed between the polytheists of Mecca and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rose from them, Abu Jahl ibn Hisham said: O company of Quraysh, Muhammad will not desist from what you see: reviling our religion, cursing our fathers, making our minds folly, and reviling our deities: and I make a covenant with Allah that tomorrow I shall sit for him with a stone: and when he prostrates in his prayer, I shall crush his head with it: and let the sons of Abd Manaf do then as they see fit. When Abu Jahl arose in the morning, may Allah curse him, he took a stone, then sat for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) awaiting him: and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came in the morning as he was wont to come: and his qibla was Syria: when he prayed he prayed between the Black Rukn and the Yemenite, having made the Kaaba between him and Syria. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood to pray, and Quraysh had come in the morning and sat in their clubs, waiting.

When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prostrated, Abu Jahl lifted the stone, then advanced toward him: when he drew near to him he turned back, pale, trembling, terrified, his two hands stuck to his breast, until he cast the stone from his hand. Men of Quraysh rose to him and said: what is with you, O Abu l-Hakam? He said: I rose to him to do what I told you last night: and when I drew near to him there appeared before him a camel stallion: and by Allah I never saw the like of its head, its neck, its fangs, of any stallion: and it intended to devour me. Ibn Ishaq said: it was mentioned to me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "that is Jibril: had he come near me, he would have seized him."

And al-Bayhaqi said: the hafiz Abu Abdallah informed us: Abu an-Nadr the jurist informed me: Uthman ad-Darimi told us, from Abdallah ibn Salih, from al-Layth ibn Sa’d, from Ishaq ibn Abdallah ibn Abi Farwa, from Abban ibn Salih, from Ali ibn Abdallah ibn Abbas, from his father, from al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib: I was one day in the sanctuary, and Abu Jahl, may Allah curse him, came and said: Allah has a claim upon me: if I see Muhammad prostrating, I shall tread upon his neck. I went out to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) until I entered upon him, and informed him of the word of Abu Jahl: he went out angry until he came to the sanctuary: I hastened to enter by the door, but he charged through the wall. I said: this is an evil day. So I girded myself, then followed him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered and recited: "Read, in the name of your Lord who created, who created man from a clinging form", the verses of al-’Alaq, from the first to the second: and when he reached the affairs of Abu Jahl: "Beware! Truly man becomes rebellious, when he deems himself self-sufficient", the verses of al-’Alaq, from the sixth to the seventh: a man said to Abu Jahl: O Abu l-Hakam, this is Muhammad. Abu Jahl said: do you not see what I see? By Allah, the heaven has been shut upon me like a horizon. And when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reached the end of the surah, he prostrated.

And Imam Ahmad said: Abd ar-Razzak told us: Ma’mar informed us, from Abd al-Karim, from Ikrima: Ibn Abbas said: Abu Jahl said: if I see Muhammad praying by the Kaaba I shall surely tread upon his neck. That reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he said: "were he to do it, the angels would seize him openly." Al-Bukhari reported it, from Yahya, from Abd ar-Razzak. Dawud ibn Abi Hind reported, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas: Abu Jahl passed by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while he prayed, and said: did I not forbid you to pray, O Muhammad? You know none frequents the club more than I. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rebuked him: then Jibril recited: "Let him call his assembly. We shall call the wardens [of Hell]", the verses of al-’Alaq, from the seventeenth to the eighteenth: and by Allah, were he to call his assembly, the warden of punishment would seize him. Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi reported it, and he authenticated it: and an-Nasa’i reported it through Dawud.

And Imam Ahmad said: Isma’il ibn Yazid Abu Yazid told us, from Furat, from Abd al-Karim, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas: Abu Jahl said: if I see the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) praying by the Kaaba I shall come to him until I tread upon his neck. He said: he said: "were he to do it, the angels would seize him openly."

And Abu Ja’far ibn Jarir said: Ibn Humayd told us, from Yahya ibn Wadih, from Yunus ibn Abi Ishaq, from al-Walid ibn al-’Ayzar, from Ibn Abbas: Abu Jahl said: if Muhammad returns to praying at the Maqam I shall surely kill him. So Allah sent down "Read, in the name of your Lord who created", until the verse reached: "We shall surely seize him by the forelock, a lying, sinful forelock. Let him call his assembly. We shall call the wardens [of Hell]", the verses of al-’Alaq, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to pray, and it was said to Abu Jahl: what prevents you? He said: what is between him and me has blackened with rows of armies. Ibn Abbas said: and by Allah, had he moved, the angels would have seized him, and the people were looking at him.

And Ibn Jarir said: Ibn Abd al-A’la told us, from al-Mu’tamir, from his father, from Nu’aym ibn Abi Hind, from Abu Hazim, from Abu Hurayra: Abu Jahl said: does Muhammad smite his face red among your backs? They said: yes. He said: by al-Lat and al-Uzza, if I see him pray so I shall surely tread upon his neck, and smite his face in the dust. He came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while he prayed, to tread upon his neck. He turned back to them walking backward upon his heels, shielding himself with his two hands. It was said to him: what is with you? He said: between him and me is a ditch of fire, and a terror, and wings. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "had he come near me, the angels would have seized him limb by limb." And Allah the Most High sent down, I know not whether in the hadith of Abu Hurayra or not: "Beware! Truly man becomes rebellious, when he deems himself self-sufficient": to the end of the surah. Ahmad, Muslim, an-Nasa’i, Ibn Abi Hatim and al-Bayhaqi reported it, from the hadith of al-Mu’tamir ibn Sulayman ibn Tarkhan at-Taymi.

The pluck upon the Prophet’s back and the curse of the chieftains of Quraysh

And Imam Ahmad said: Wahb ibn Jarir told us, from Shu’ba, from Abu Ishaq, from Amr ibn Maymun, from Abdallah: I never saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) invoke against Quraysh except on one day: he was praying, and a group of Quraysh sat, and the birth-membrane of a fat sheep lay near him. They said: who will take this membrane and cast it upon his back? ’Uqba ibn Abi Mu’ayt said: I. So he took it and cast it upon his back: and he did not cease prostrating until Fatima came and took it from his back. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "O Allah, upon You be this assembly of Quraysh. O Allah, upon You be Utbah ibn Rabi’a. O Allah, upon You be Shayba ibn Rabi’a. O Allah, upon You be Abu Jahl ibn Hisham. O Allah, upon You be ’Uqba ibn Abi Mu’ayt. O Allah, upon You be Ubayy ibn Khalaf, or Umayya ibn Khalaf": Shu’ba doubted between the two. Abdallah said: I saw them slain on the day of Badr, all of them, then dragged to the well: except Ubayy, or Umayya: for he was an enormous man, and he broke apart. Al-Bukhari reported it in multiple places of his Sahih: and Muslim, through chains from Abu Ishaq: and the correct is Umayya ibn Khalaf: for he it was who was slain on the day of Badr: and his brother Ubayy was only slain on the day of Uhud, as its explanation will come. And the birth-membrane: it is what comes out with the young of the camel, like the swaddling of a child.

And in some wordings of the Sahih: when they did that they laughed, until some of them leaned upon others: that is, this one leaned upon that one from the intensity of laughter: may Allah curse them. And therein: that Fatima, when she cast it from him, turned upon them and reviled them: and that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), when he finished his prayer, raised his two hands invoking against them: and when they saw that the laughter quieted among them, and they feared his invocation: and that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) invoked against their chieftains in sum, and named seven in his invocation: and in most narrations the naming of six of them: Utbah and his brother Shayba, sons of Rabi’a, al-Walid ibn Utbah, Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, ’Uqba ibn Abi Mu’ayt, and Umayya ibn Khalaf. Abu Ishaq said: and I forgot the seventh. I say: it is Umara ibn al-Walid: his naming occurs in the Sahih of al-Bukhari.