The words of Allah the Exalted: "O you who believe, if a sinful person comes to you with news, verify it"

Sayyiduna al-Harith bin Dirar al-Khuza'i (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He invited me to Islam; I affirmed it and entered Islam. He invited me to zakah, and I affirmed it. I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Shall I go back to my people and invite them to Islam and to paying zakah? Whoever accepts my invitation, I will collect his zakah, and then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) should send his messenger to me after such-and-such a period." When Sayyiduna al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) had collected the zakah from those people, and the time came at which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was to send his messenger to those people, that messenger did not come there. Sayyiduna al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) thought that perhaps some displeasure had arisen concerning them from Allah Almighty and His Messenger. So he summoned the notables of his people and said to them: "The Messenger of Allah fixed a time with me at which he would send his messenger to me to collect the zakah that is with me. There can be no breaking of a promise on the part of the Messenger of Allah. I think that since that messenger has not come, it means there is some displeasure. So come along! Let us go to the Messenger of Allah." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent al-Walid bin Uqbah to al-Harith to take from him the collected zakah that was with him. When al-Walid set out and reached a certain point on the way, he became afraid and turned back. He came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Al-Harith refused to give me the zakah, and he intended to kill me." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) dispatched a military expedition to al-Harith. Meanwhile al-Harith was coming with his companions, and he encountered that expedition; this was outside Madinah. When al-Harith encountered those people, they said: "This is al-Harith." When he reached them, al-Harith asked them: "To whom have you been sent?" They said: "To you." Al-Harith asked: "Why is that?" They said: "Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent al-Walid bin Uqbah to you, and he says that you did not give him the zakah and that you intended to kill him." Al-Harith said: "No! By the One who sent Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with the truth, I have not even seen him, nor did he come to me." When al-Harith came before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Did you withhold the zakah and also intend to kill my messenger?" Al-Harith said: "No! By the One who sent you with the truth, I have not seen him at all, nor did he come to me. When the messenger of the Messenger of Allah did not come to me by the fixed time, I feared that this might be because of some displeasure from Allah and His Messenger." The narrator said: Then these verses of Surah al-Hujurat were revealed about this: "O you who believe! If a sinful person comes to you with some news, then verify it, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and then become regretful over what you have done." The verse continues up to: "A bounty and a favour from Allah Almighty, and Allah Almighty is All-Knowing, All-Wise."
Ahmad and al-Tabarani recorded it, except that he (al-Tabarani) recorded the name as al-Harith bin Sirar in place of al-Harith bin Dirar; and Ahmad's narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Alqamah bin Najiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent al-Walid bin Uqbah bin Abi Mu'ayt to us to collect the zakah on our wealth. He set out, and when he came near us he went back; this was after the battle of al-Muraysi'. I rode after him. He came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! I went to a people who are still in their state of Jahiliyyah. They took the clothing and refused to give the zakah." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had not yet done anything further about it when this verse was revealed concerning it: "O you who believe! If a sinful person comes to you with some news" Then the people of Banu al-Mustaliq came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after al-Walid, driving their sadaqah animals and the like, along with other things that were loaded upon them. They mentioned this to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): that they had set out with their sadaqat looking for al-Walid but had not found him. So they handed over to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the things that were with them. They said: "O Messenger of Allah! News reached us that your representative had set out, and we were happy about that. We wanted to meet him, but then we learned that he had gone back, so we feared that this might be because of some displeasure with us." Then they proposed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he buy from them the things that remained. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted the obligatory dues from them and said: "Take back the things for your expenses. We will not sell anything from the sadaqat until we have taken possession of it." So they returned to their families, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent someone to them to collect the remainder of their sadaqat.

In one narration the wording is: Alqamah narrated that he was among the delegation of Banu al-Mustaliq that came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning the matter of al-Walid bin Uqbah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go back, in a state in which you are neither detained nor besieged."
Al-Tabarani recorded it with two chains. One of the chains contains the narrator Ya'qub bin Humayd bin Kasib, whom Ibn Hibban declared thiqah (trustworthy) while the majority declared him da'if (weak); the remaining narrators of this narration are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent al-Walid bin Uqbah to Banu Wali'ah. There had been enmity between them since the time of Jahiliyyah. When Banu Wali'ah learned of this, they came out to receive al-Walid bin Uqbah, in order to see what was in his heart. Al-Walid became afraid of those people, went back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Banu Wali'ah intended to kill me, and they also refused to give me the zakah." When Banu Wali'ah learned of what al-Walid had said before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Al-Walid has made a false statement. There has been enmity between us and him since the time of Jahiliyyah, and we feared that, because of the old enmity between us, he might harm us." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Either Banu Wali'ah will desist, or I will send to them a man who is like my own self; he will kill their fighting men and take their families captive, and it is this man." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) struck his blessed hand on the shoulder of Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him). The narrator said: This verse was revealed about al-Walid: "O you who believe! If a sinful person comes to you with some news"
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain contains the narrator Abdullah bin Abd al-Quddus al-Tamimi, whom the majority declared da'if (weak) while Ibn Hibban declared him thiqah (trustworthy); the remaining narrators of this narration are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came back to her house and offered two rak'ahs in her house after Asr. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) sent a message to Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) asking: "What prayer was this that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) offered in your house?" Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer two rak'ahs (sunnah) after Zuhr. The delegation of Banu al-Mustaliq came to him; they had come about what the official (that is, the person in charge of collecting the zakah), al-Walid bin Uqbah, had done to them. They kept presenting their apologies to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until the mu'adhdhin came and called the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to the Asr prayer. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) offered the obligatory prayer, and then he offered those two rak'ahs in my house, with me (the ones he had not been able to offer after Zuhr). He never offered these two rak'ahs before that or after it."

Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: This verse was revealed about Banu al-Mustaliq, concerning the conduct of al-Walid bin Uqbah, the person in charge of collecting their zakah, towards them (Allah Almighty says): "O you who believe! If a sinful person comes to you with some news, then verify it." Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent al-Walid bin Uqbah to those people to collect the zakah on their wealth. When those people heard of his coming, some riders came, and they said: "We will travel with the one sent by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and provide him with a mount." When al-Walid heard (the sound of their coming), he thought that perhaps these people were coming to him to kill him, so he went back and said: "O Messenger of Allah! The people of Banu al-Mustaliq have refused to give the zakah." The people of that tribe came to Madinah and formed a row behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (and offered the prayer). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) completed the prayer, they too finished the prayer, came forward and said: "We seek refuge in Allah from the wrath of Allah and the wrath of His Messenger. O Messenger of Allah! We learned about your representative whom you had sent to collect the zakah on our wealth, and we were happy about it and our eyes were cooled by it. We intended to meet him so that we could travel with the representative of the Messenger of Allah, but then we learned that he had gone back. We feared that perhaps this return was because of some wrath upon us from Allah and His Messenger." Then they kept presenting their apologies to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until this verse was revealed about them. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: In the "Sahih" only the part of it relating to offering two rak'ahs after Asr is recorded.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains the narrator Musa bin Ubaydah, who is da'if (weak).

Mujahid narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent al-Walid bin Uqbah bin Abi Mu'ayt to Banu al-Mustaliq to collect the zakah.
Al-Tabarani recorded it as a "mursal" narration; its chain contains the narrator Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Sa'id bin Abi Maryam, who is da'if (weak).