Fath al-Rabbani

Narrated from Sayyiduna Harith bin Dirar Khuzai (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he invited me to Islam, so I entered the fold of Islam. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) invited me to pay Zakat, and I accepted that as well. I said: O Messenger of Allah! I will return to my people and invite them to Islam and command them to pay Zakat. Whoever accepts my word, I will collect his Zakat and keep it with me. Then, after some time, send your representative to me so that he may bring the Zakat I have collected to you. When Sayyiduna Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) and those who accepted his word had collected the Zakat, and the appointed time had passed in which the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had intended to send a representative, that representative was delayed for some reason and could not go. Meanwhile, Sayyiduna Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) thought that perhaps some displeasure had arisen with Allah and His Messenger regarding him. So he gathered the prominent people of his tribe and said to them: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had told me that he would send a representative to me within this period to collect the Zakat from me, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never breaks his promise. The reason for the delay, in my opinion, is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is displeased. Let us go to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (so that we may find out the reason). Meanwhile, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as promised, had sent Walid bin Uqbah as a representative to Harith so that he could bring the Zakat wealth collected with him. When Walid set out, he became afraid on the way and returned, and came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! Harith has refused to give me Zakat and has tried to kill me. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a military detachment towards Harith bin Dirar (may Allah be pleased with him). On the other side, Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) was coming with his companions. When they encountered the detachment, which had already left Madinah, they said: This is Harith. When they came near, Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the members of the detachment: Where have you been sent? They said: To you. He asked: Why? They said: The reason is that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Walid bin Uqbah to you, but according to him, you did not give him Zakat and then tried to kill him. Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) said: No, by the One Who sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with the truth, I have not even seen him, nor did he come to me. Then when Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: You withheld Zakat and tried to kill my representative. Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) said: No, by the One Who sent you with the truth, I have not even seen him, nor did he come to me. I only came when I saw that the representative of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not come and was delayed, so I became afraid that perhaps Allah or the Messenger of Allah had become displeased with me. So these verses were revealed: {یَا أَ یُّہَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوْا إِنْ جَائَ کُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَیَّنُوْا … … وَاللّٰہُ عَلِیْمٌ حَکِیْمٌ۔}