(He launcheth the thunderbolts and smiteth with them whom He will…) [13:13]. Nasr ibn Abi Nasr al-Wa'iz informed us> Abu Sa'id 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Nusayr> Muhammad ibn Ayyub al-Razi> 'Abd al-Wahhab> 'Ali ibn Abi Sarah al-Shaybani> Thabit> Anas ibn Malik who reported that once the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent a man to one of the Arab tyrants, saying: “Go and tell him to come and see me”. He said: “O Messenger of Allah, he is too haughty to comply”. He said: “Go and tell him to come and see me”. The man went and said to him: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, asks you to come and see him”. The man retorted: “What is Allah? Is He made of gold, silver or copper?” The man went back and informed the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, saying: “I told you that he is too haughty to comply”. He said: “Go to him a second time and ask him to come and see me”. He went and the man repeated exactly what he said in the previous occasion. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, asked the man to go and call him a third time, and the man repeated what he said in the two previous occasions. The man said: “As he was talking to me, Allah sent above his head a cloud which thundered and a bolt of lightning struck him and removed his skull”. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (He launcheth the thunderbolts and smiteth with them whom He will while they dispute (in doubt) concerning Allah, and He is mighty in wrath). According to the reports of Abu Salih, Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Zayd, Ibn 'Abbas said: “This verse and the verse before it were revealed about 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl and Arbad ibn Rabi'ah. These two men went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and, as they were coming, one of the prophetic Companions said: 'O Messenger of Allah, here is 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl coming toward you'. He said: 'Leave him, Allah will guide him if He wants good for him'. He proceeded along until he stood in front of the Prophet and said: 'O Muhammad, what do I get if I become Muslim?' He said: 'You get what the Muslims get and you suffer what they suffer'.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
