Ibn Abi Ḥātim also transmits from Ḥudhayfah that he saw a man with a thread tied around his hand to ward off fever; Ḥudhayfah cut it off and recited: wa-mā yuʾminu aktharuhum billāhi illā wa-hum mushrikūn — “Most of them believe in Allah only while still associating partners with Him” (Yūsuf 12:106).

Ibn Abi Ḥātim: that is, the report is related by Ibn Abi Ḥātim, the author of al-Jarḥ wa-l-Taʿdīl.

from Ḥudhayfah: namely Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān al-ʿAbsi, an ally of the Anṣār, an illustrious Companion and one of the earliest Muslims; d. 36 AH.

from fever: meaning, he claimed the thread would protect him from fever so that it would not strike him.

and he recited: that is, he read the verse as evidence while denouncing what he had seen.

Overall meaning of the report: Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān saw a man who had tied a thread around his upper arm to protect himself from fever, so he removed it in disapproval and cited the verse in which Allah states that the idolaters combine acknowledgment of His lordship with worshipping others beside Him.

Relevance of the report to the chapter: it regards wearing a thread to repel illness as an act of shirk that must be rejected.

Points derived from the report:

1. Wearing a thread to remove or ward off affliction is blameworthy and constitutes shirk.
2. One who is able must eliminate a wrongful practice.
3. Verses revealed about major shirk may legitimately be applied to minor shirk, for they encompass both.
4. The idolaters affirm Allah’s lordship yet remain polytheists because they do not devote their worship exclusively to Him.