(And We remove whatever rancour may be in their breasts…) [15:47]. ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Hamdan al-‘Adl informed us> Ahmad ibn Ja‘far ibn Malik> ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal> Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Khalid al-Fahham> ‘Ali ibn Hashim> Kathir al-Nawwa’ who said: “I said to Abu Ja‘far: ‘So-and-so related to me that he related from ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn, may Allah be pleased with father and son, that this verse was revealed about Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Ali, may Allah be well pleased with them (And We remove whatever rancour may be in their breasts. As brethren, face to face, (they rest) on couches raised)’. He said: ‘By Allah, it was revealed about them; and about whom else would it be revealed if not about them’. I asked: ‘What rancour is that which is referred to here?’ He said: ‘The rancour of the time of ignorance; there was rancour between the Banu Taym, the Banu ‘Adiyy and the Banu Hashim during the period of ignorance. When these people embraced Islam, they loved each other. In one occasion, Abu Bakr had pain in his waist, so ‘Ali warmed his hand and applied it on Abu Bakr’s waist. This verse was then revealed’ ”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
