Persecution of Prophet Muhammad by Al-Walid Ibn Mughira

Walid ibn Mughira of Banu Makhzoom was one of the senior officials of the Quraysh, ¹ who tried to mentally persecute the Holy Prophet . Thus, he gathered all the other officials of Quraysh in Dar Al-Nadwah and told them that the dates of the annual pilgrimage and the fair of Ukkaz were near, and on these occasions, a large number of people, from all over Arabia visited Makkah. He knew that

Muhammad would propagate the message of to these people, thus, he suggested the officials to agree on a single narrative against the Holy Prophet , which would be communicated to all these people and would protect them from being influenced by the message of the Holy . ^{2 3} The other officials asked his suggestion in this matter, but Walid asked them to present their opinions first. Their discussion is mentioned as:

  فقالوا: نقول: كاهن، فقال: ما هو بكاهن، لقد رأيت الكهان فما هو بزمزمة الكاهن وسجعه فقالوا: نقول مجنون، فقال:ما هو بمجنون، لقد رأينا الجنون وعرفناه، فما هو تخنقه، ولا تخالجه، ولا وسوسته، فقالوا: نقول: شاعر، فقال ما هو بشاعر قد عرفنا الشعر برجزه وقريضه، ومقبوضه، ومبسوطه، فما هو بالشعر، قالوا: فنقول:ساحر، قال: ما هو بساحر، قد رأينا السحار وسحرهم، ما هو بنفثه ولا عقده، قالوا: فما نقول يا أبا عبد شمس؟ قال: والله إن لقوله لحلاوة، إن أصله لغدق، وإن فرعه لجناً، فما أنتم بقائلين من هذا شيئاً إلا عرف أنه باطل، وإن أقرب القول لأن تقولوا: ساحر، فقولوا ساحر يفرق بين المرء وبين أبيه، وبين المرء وبين أخيه، وبين المرء وزوجته، وبين المرء وعشيرته، فتفرقوا عنه بذلك. ⁴

  They said: ‘He is a kahin’ (soothsayer). He (Al-Walid ibn Mughira) stated: ‘By Allah, he is not that, for I have seen the Kahins (Soothsayers), he does not speak like a Kahin (Soothsayer). They said: (then) he is a mad man. Al-Walid ibn Al-Mughira replied: “No, he is not that as we know how mad people behave and talk. He (the Holy Prophet ) does not talk nonsense; he does not make strange sounds or behave in an inappropriate manner. They said: ‘Then, he is a poet.’ He (Al-Walid) replied: No, he is not a poet, for we distinguish poetry in all its types and genres. So, they said: He is a sorcerer, but he (Al-Walid ibn Al-Mughira) and said: No, we have seen sorcerers and their sorcery, and here in this case there is no casting of spells and no use of knots. (In utmost confusion) they asked: O Abu ‘Abd Al-Shams (what do you say then). Al-Walid ibn Al-Mughira replied: By Allah, his speech is sweet, his root is of a palm-tree whose branches are fertile, so everything which you have said would be acknowledged as false. The closest thing to the truth is to claim that he is a sorcerer, who has brought a message through which he splits a person from his father, or from his brother, or from his wife, or from his family.

After Walid’s advice, people were appointed at the paths which the pilgrims used to come to the pilgrimage and annual fair. These people gave false information about Muhammad to every individual which came by these roads. As a result, most of the Arabs went back home and talked about him. ⁵ In response,

Almighty revealed the following verses:

  ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا 11 وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُ مَالًا مَمْدُودًا 12 وَبَنِينَ شُهُودًا 13 وَمَهَّدْتُ لَهُ تَمْهِيدًا 14 ثُمَّ يَطْمَعُ أَنْ أَزِيدَ 15 كَلَّا إِنَّهُ كَانَ لِآيَاتِنَا عَنِيدًا 16 سَأُرْهِقُهُ صَعُودًا 17 إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ 18 فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ 19 ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ 20 ثُمَّ نَظَرَ 21 ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ 22 ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ 23 فَقَالَ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ 24 إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا قَوْلُ الْبَشَرِ 25 سَأُصْلِيهِ سَقَرَ 26 ⁶

  Leave me alone, (to deal) with the (creature) whom I created (bare and) alone! To whom I granted resources in abundance, and sons to be by his side! To whom I made (life) smooth and comfortable, yet is he greedy-that I should add (yet more); By no means! For to Our Signs he has been refractory, soon will I visit him with a mount of calamities, for he thought and he plotted; And woe to him! How he plotted! Yea, Woe to him; how he plotted! Then he looked round, then he frowned and he scowled, then he turned back and was haughty, then said he: This is nothing but magic, derived from of old. This is nothing but the word of a mortal! Soon will I cast him into Hell-Fire.

These verses referred to Walid ibn Al-Mughaira, who had conspired against

Muhammad and the . ⁷ Resultantly, an old wound of Walid, which had been cured, became fresh again. This occurred because angel Gabriel (Jibrail) pointed towards it, and caused it to become fresh and ooze blood. Walid was not able to get this wound healed and died due to it. ⁸

 

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• ¹ Abu Al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad Al-Basri Al-Mawardi (1409 A.H.), ‘Alaam Al-Nubuwah, Dar wa Maktabah Al-Hilal, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 76.
• ² Abu Al-Husain Al-Jabbar Al-Hamzani (N.D.), Tathbeet Dalail Al-Nubuwah, Dar Al-Mustafa, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 1, Pg. 54.
• ³ Abu Nua’ym Ahmed ibn Abdullah Al-Asbahani (2012), Dalail Al-Nabuwah, Dar Al-Nafais, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 232.
• ⁴ Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar Al-Madani (1978), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Ishaq, Dar Al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 151.
• ⁵ Ibid., Pg. 152.
• ⁶ Holy Quran, Al-Mudathir (The Cloaked One) 74: 11-26.
• ⁷ Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Umar Fakhar Al-Din Al-Raazi (1420 A.H.) Tafseer Al-Kabeer, Dar Al-Ihya Al-Turath Al-Arabi, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 30, Pg. 704.
• ⁸ Abu Nua’ym Ahmed ibn Abdullah Al-Asbahani (1406 A.H.), Dalail Al-Nabuwah, Dar Al-Nafais, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 269-270.