Al-mukā’ means whistling. In the language, it is the name of a white bird found in the Hijaz which has a whistle; it is as though He said: “nothing but the sound of a mukā’.” Al-taṣdiyah means clapping.

Ibn Abbas said: Quraysh used to circumambulate the House naked, whistling and clapping. (1)

Mujahid said: Every group from the clan of Banu Abd al-Dar would confront the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, during circumambulation, mock him, put their fingers in their mouths, and whistle. Thus, al-mukā’ is putting the fingers into the side of the mouth, while al-taṣdiyah is whistling. From it comes al-ṣadā, the echo heard by one who raises his voice in the mountains.

Ja‘far ibn Rabi‘ah said: I asked Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman about His words, exalted is He, “nothing but whistling and clapping,” so he brought his palms together and then blew into them, producing a whistle. (2)

Muqatil said: Whenever the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed in the mosque, two men would stand on his right and whistle, while two others stood on his left and clapped, in order to disrupt the Prophet’s prayer. They were from Banu Abd al-Dar. (3)

Sa‘id ibn Jubayr said: Al-taṣdiyah means their barring the believers from the Sacred Mosque, from the religion, and from prayer. According to this interpretation, the word is al-taṣdīdah, with two d’s; one of the two d’s was changed into a y, just as one says tazannaytu, derived from al-ẓann, and taqaḍḍā al-bāzī when the falcon breaks apart—that is, taqaḍḍa al-bāzī. Ibn al-Anbari said: It was only called prayer because they had been commanded to pray in the mosque, but they made this their prayer.

“So taste the punishment for your disbelief.”

“Indeed, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to bar people from the way of Allah. They will continue to spend it, then it will become a source of regret for them; then they will be defeated. And those who disbelieve will be gathered in Hell.” (36)

His saying, exalted is He, “Indeed, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to bar people from the way of Allah,” means: to turn people away from the religion of Allah.

Al-Kalbi and Muqatil said: It was revealed concerning those who provided food on the day of Badr. They were twelve men: Abu Jahl ibn Hisham; Utbah and Shaybah, the sons of Rabi‘ah ibn Abd Shams; Nabih and Munabbih, the sons of al-Hajjaj; Abu al-Bakhtari ibn Hisham; al-Nadr ibn al-Harith; Hakim ibn Hizam; Ubayy ibn Khalaf; Zam‘ah ibn al-Aswad; and al-Harith ibn Amir ibn Nawfal