Ibn Isḥāq¹ relates: They persisted in those practices until Allah sent Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and revealed the Qur’an to rebut their innovations: “Then flow forth from where the people flow forth,² and seek Allah’s forgiveness; indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (al-Baqarah 2:199).

We have already noted that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to stand at ʿArafāt before revelation reached him, by a grace Allah had granted him. Allah then revealed further verses refuting their ban on clothing and food: “Children of Adam, adorn yourselves with your finery at every place of worship, and eat and drink but do not be wasteful—for He loves not the wasteful. Say: Who has forbidden the adornment Allah has produced for His servants and the wholesome things of provision…?” (al-Aʿrāf 7:31–32).

Ziyād al-Bakkāʾī reports from Ibn Isḥāq: “I do not know whether they introduced these practices before the Year of the Elephant or after it.”

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¹ The numbering follows the author’s own notes.
² That is, the great multitude of Arabs proceeding from ʿArafāt.