(They it is who say: Spend not on behalf of those (who dwell) with Allah's messenger…) [63:7]. 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Abdan informed us> Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Hafiz> Abu'l-'Abbas Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Mahbubi> Sa'id ibn Mas'ud> 'Ubayd Allah ibn Musa> Isra'il> Abu Sa'id al-Azdi> Zayd ibn Arqam who said: “We went out in a military expedition with the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and some desert Arabs came along with us. We used to hasten for water but the desert Arabs always preceded us to it. Once a desert Arab got to the water first, he would fill the pond, circle it with stones and place a leather mat on it until his friends would arrive. One man from the Helpers came along wanting to let his camel drink from one such pond, but a desert Arab refused to let him use the pond. The Helper removed one of the stones encircling the water which caused the water to spill. The desert Arab grabbed a piece of wood and struck him on the head, fracturing his skull in the process. The Helper went to 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, the leader of the hypocrites, and informed him of the incident. This Helper was one of the followers of Ibn Ubayy. 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy got very angry and said: 'Do not spend on those who are with the Messenger of Allah, until they [i.e. the desert Arabs] disperse'. He also said to his followers: 'When you go back to Medina, let the most powerful drive the weakest out of Medina'. Zayd ibn Arqam said: 'I was riding behind my uncle and I heard what 'Abd Allah said. I told my uncle of what I heard and he informed the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, then summoned 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy. But the latter denied that he ever said what he was accused of and swore that he never said it. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, believed him and disbelieved me. My uncle came to me and said: 'All you have done is that you caused the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, to loath you and the Muslims to give you the lie'.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
