Mu'jam Kabir Tabarani 16065 — There was a household called Banu

Qatadah bin al-Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There was a household called Banu Ubayriq, among whom were Bishr, Bashir and Mubashshir. Bashir was a hypocrite. He would compose poetry satirizing the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then attribute it to some other Arab, saying: So-and-so said this, and so-and-so said that. When the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) heard that poetry, they would say: By Allah, no one composes this poetry except that wicked man. He would say: Whenever a man composes an ode, will you say that Ibn Ubayriq composed it? They were a household of poverty and need, both in the Days of Ignorance and in Islam. The food of the people in Madinah was only dates and barley; a man who had means would eat wheat. Once grain came from Syria, and my uncle Rifa'ah bin Zayd bought a load of fine flour and put it in an upper room of his. In that upper room were also his weapons: two coats of mail with their swords, and their related equipment. In the night it was broken into: a hole was made in the upper room, and the food and the weapons were taken. My uncle Rifa'ah came to me and said: My nephew, you know that we were robbed last night; a hole was made in the upper room and our food and weapons were taken away. So we searched in the neighbourhood and asked around, and it was said: We saw Banu Ubayriq, and they had lit a fire tonight, and we think they have got their hands on some of your food. While we were asking around in the neighbourhood, Banu Ubayriq kept saying: By Allah, we do not think your man is anyone but Labid bin Sahl, a righteous Muslim man from among us. When Labid heard that, he drew his sword and said: I would steal? By Allah, either this sword will tangle with you, or you will make this theft perfectly clear. They said: Keep away from us, man; by Allah, you are not the one who did it. So we asked around in the neighbourhood until there was no doubt that the theft was by Banu Ubayriq. My uncle said to me: My nephew, if only you would go to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and mention this to him. So I said: O Messenger of Allah, a rude household from among us went for my uncle Rifa'ah bin Zayd, made a hole in his upper room and took his weapons and his food. Let them return our weapons to us; as for the food, we have no need of it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I will look into that." When Banu Ubayriq heard of this, they came to a man from among them called Usayd bin Urwah and spoke to him about it, and thirty men of the neighbourhood gathered with him. They all came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, Qatadah bin al-Nu'man and his uncle have gone for a household of ours, a household of Islam and righteousness, accusing them of theft without any evidence or proof. Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and spoke to him about it, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you go for people known for Islam and righteousness, accusing them of theft?" So I came back, wishing in my heart that I had given up some of my wealth and had not spoken to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about it at all. Then my uncle Rifa'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to me and said: My nephew, what did you do? I told him what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had said to me, and he said: Allah is the One whose help is sought. Not long after, the Qur'an was revealed: "Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book with the truth so that you may judge between the people by what Allah has shown you, and do not be an advocate for the treacherous" [Surah al-Nisa: 105] - meaning Banu Ubayriq - "and seek forgiveness of Allah" [Surah al-Nisa: 106] - meaning for what you said to Qatadah - "Indeed, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And do not argue on behalf of those who betray themselves" [Surah al-Nisa: 107] - meaning Banu Ubayriq - "Indeed, Allah does not love one who is treacherous and sinful. They hide from people but they cannot hide from Allah, for He is with them when they plot by night with words He does not approve, and Allah encompasses what they do. Here you are, those who argued on their behalf in the life of this world, so who will argue with Allah on their behalf on the Day of Resurrection?" - from the verse up to the words "Forgiving, Merciful" [Surah al-Nisa: 111] - meaning that had they sought forgiveness of Allah, He would have forgiven them - "And whoever earns a sin only earns it against himself, and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise", "And whoever earns an offence or a sin and then casts it upon an innocent person has burdened himself with a slander and a manifest sin" - this was the accusation of theft they cast upon Labid - "And were it not for the bounty of Allah upon you and His mercy, a group of them would have resolved to mislead you, yet they mislead none but themselves, and they cannot harm you in the least" [Surah al-Nisa: 113], to the end of the verse. When the Qur'an was revealed, the weapons were brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) returned them to Rifa'ah (may Allah be pleased with him). Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I brought the weapons to my uncle - he was an old man who had gone blind in the Days of Ignorance, and I used to consider his Islam doubtful - when I brought him the weapons, he said: My nephew, they are in the path of Allah. Then I knew that his Islam was sincere. When the Qur'an was revealed, Bashir went over to the polytheists and lodged with Sulafah bint Sa'id bin Suhayl, and Allah revealed concerning him: "And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers, We will turn him to what he has turned to and admit him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination. Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills, and whoever associates partners with Allah has certainly gone far astray" [Surah al-Nisa: 115]. When he lodged with Sulafah bint Sa'id, satirical verses were composed about her, so she picked up his belongings, put them on her head, took them out and threw them into al-Abtah. And he went to some people intending to steal their goods, and Allah dropped a rock upon him, which became his grave.