Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 34699 — Reports on Bilal, Suhayb and Khabbab

Abu al-Kunud (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Khabbab bin al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) said concerning the occasion of revelation of the verse, 'Do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His countenance' [Al-An'am: 52]: "Al-Aqra' bin Habis al-Tamimi and Uyaynah bin Hisn al-Fazari came, and they found the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting with Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Suhayb (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Khabbab bin al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him), who were the weakest people among the Muslims. They looked at us with contempt. Then these people came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), took him (peace and blessings be upon him) aside and said: 'We would like you (peace and blessings be upon him) to appoint a separate sitting for us, so that the Arabs may thereby recognize our superiority. Delegations of the Arabs come to you (peace and blessings be upon him), and we feel ashamed that they should see us sitting with these slaves. So when we come to you (peace and blessings be upon him), have these people get up and leave us, and when we have finished, then sit with them if you (peace and blessings be upon him) wish.' He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Yes, very well.' They said: 'Then write a document for us.' He (peace and blessings be upon him) called for a sheet so that this could be written, and he called Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) so that he might write it. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to have it written, and we were sitting in a corner, Jibril (peace be upon him) came down with these verses: 'Do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His countenance' up to 'and so drive them away and become one of the wrongdoers' [Al-An'am: 52]."