Chapter: The Polytheists’ Debate with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the Establishment of Decisive Proof Against Them, and Their Inward Admission of the Truth—Even Though They Outwardly Opposed It out of Stubbornness, Envy, Aggression, and Denial

Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh said:
“ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated to us, from Maʿmar, from Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, that al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Prophet recited the Qur’an to him. It seemed to soften him, and news of that reached Abū Jahl.
He came to al-Walīd and said,
‘O uncle, your people want (1) to gather some money for you.’
Al-Walīd asked, ‘Why?’
Abū Jahl replied, ‘So they may give it to you, for you have gone to Muhammad to listen to what he possesses.’
Al-Walīd said, ‘Quraysh know full well that I am among the richest of them.’
Abū Jahl said, ‘Then say something about him that will reach your people, letting them know that you repudiate him.’
Al-Walīd answered, ‘What shall I say? By Allah, there is no man among you more knowledgeable of poetry than I—of its meters, its qasīd, or even the poetry of the jinn. By Allah, what he says does not resemble any of that. Indeed, by Allah, what he utters is endowed with sweetness; it is adorned with grace; its upper portion is fruitful and its lower portion abundant; it rises above and nothing rises above it; it crushes whatever is beneath it.’
Abū Jahl said, ‘Your people will not be satisfied with you until you say something about it.’
Al-Walīd replied, ‘Leave me (2) for a while so that I may think.’
After he had reflected, he declared, ‘This is nothing but inherited sorcery, something he has taken from others.’
So the verses were revealed:
‘Leave Me alone with the one whom I created single-handedly, to whom I granted extensive wealth and sons ever present…’ (al-Muddaththir, 11–13) and the remaining verses.

Al-Bayhaqī (3) narrated it in this manner through al-Ḥākim, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣanʿānī of Mecca, from Isḥāq, with this chain.

Hammād ibn Zayd also reported it, from Ayyūb, from ʿIkrimah as a mursal report, stating that the Prophet recited to him: ‘Indeed Allah commands justice, excellence, and giving to relatives; and He forbids indecency, wrongdoing, and transgression. He admonishes you so that you may remember’ (an-Naḥl: 90).

Al-Bayhaqī (4) likewise said: from al-Ḥākim, from al-Aṣamm, from Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār (5), from Yūnus ibn Bukayr (6), from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, who said: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad related to me, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr—or ʿIkrimah—from Ibn ʿAbbās that al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah gathered together with a number of Quraysh. He was an elder among them, and the pilgrimage seasons (7) were approaching, so he said, ‘The delegations…’