Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 3603 — Surah al-An'am

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Khabbab bin al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning this saying of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted: "And do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face. You are not accountable for them in anything, nor are they accountable for you in anything, so that you would drive them away and become one of the wrongdoers" [Surah al-An'am: 52]. He said: Al-Aqra' bin Habis and Uyaynah bin Hisn al-Fazari (may Allah be pleased with them both) came and found the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting with Sayyiduna Bilal, Suhayb and Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with them) and other weak and poor Muslims. When these chiefs saw these Companions around him (peace and blessings be upon him), they looked down on them. Then they came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him in private: "We would like you to set aside a special gathering for us through which the Arabs will recognize our merit and superiority, for we are the noble chiefs of the Arabs and various delegations come to us. So we feel ashamed that the Arabs should see us sitting with these slaves. So when we come to you, make them get up and leave you, and when we have finished and gone, then seat them with you if you wish." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said (to win their hearts): "Very well (I will do so)." They said: "Then have a written agreement drawn up for us." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) called for a sheet and summoned Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to write. We were sitting in a corner when suddenly Jibril (peace be upon him) came down with this saying of Allah Almighty: "And do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face" [Surah al-An'am: 52] up to "of the wrongdoers". Then Allah, Exalted in His Majesty, said: "And when those who believe in Our verses come to you, say: Peace be upon you. Your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself" [Surah al-An'am: 54]. (On hearing this) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) threw the sheet from his hand and called us, so we came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was saying: 'Salamun alaykum, kataba rabbukum ala nafsihi al-rahmah' (Peace be upon you; your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself). So we sat so close to him (peace and blessings be upon him) that our knees touched his blessed knees. After that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would sit with us, and when he (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to get up, he would get up and leave us (so that we would not be hurt). Then Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed this verse: "And keep yourself patiently with those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face, and do not let your eyes pass beyond them, desiring the adornment of the life of this world" [Surah al-Kahf: 28]. The narrator said: what is meant by this was the desire for the gathering of those nobles of Quraysh. And He said: "And do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance" [Surah al-Kahf: 28], meaning Uyaynah and al-Aqra'. And in "and who follows his own desires and whose affair is ever furutan" [Surah al-Kahf: 28], "furutan" means "ruin and destruction". Then Allah Almighty set forth for them the parable of two men and of the life of this world. (Sayyiduna Khabbab says that after this) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would remain sitting with us, and when the time came at which he would get up, we ourselves would get up and leave him (for his ease); otherwise he (peace and blessings be upon him) would always remain seated with patience and steadfastness until we ourselves got up.
Imam Abu Bakr said: Ahmad bin al-Mufaddal narrated to us; he mentioned this narration in full from Asbat bin Nasr. And Imam Ibn Majah recorded it in abridged form through the route of Amr al-Anqazi.