16 – Al-Kalbī said: Concerning them the words were revealed, “Rivalry for increase has distracted you, until you visit the graves” (Sūrat al-Takāthur 1–2). They therefore set about counting those of their clan who had already died. Ibn Kharbūdh added, “They went on counting their dead in the so-called ‘days of the serpents,’ and all of this took place before the descent of revelation, during those very ‘snake days.’ The reason was that a quarrel had broken out between them and the descendants of ʿAbd Manāf ibn Quṣayy. They boasted, ‘We outnumber you,’ and began reckoning even their long-deceased forebears. It was then that this verse was sent down about them on the tongue of Muḥammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”