(And they indeed strove hard to beguile thee (Muhammad) away from that wherewith We have inspired thee…) [17:73]. ‘Ata’ reported that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “This was revealed about the delegation of Thaqif. They went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and asked for unacceptable things. They said: ‘Allow us to worship al-Lat for one year and make our valley inviolable — its trees, birds and wild animals — just as you have made Mecca inviolable’. They persisted and insisted but the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, rejected all their demands. They said: ‘We want the Arabs to know our merit over them. If you dislike what we say and you are afraid that the Arabs say, you have given them that which you did not give us, simply say that Allah has commanded you to do so’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not answer them and this raised their hope. But ‘Umar shouted in their faces: ‘Do you not see that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not answer you because he does not like what you have come for?’ The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was on the verge of giving them what they wanted. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”. Said Sa‘id ibn Jubayr: “The idolaters said to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace: ‘We will not leave you alone until you come close to our idols, even if you only have to touch them with your fingers’. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said in reply: ‘And what harm is there in me doing so, if Allah knows that I dislike it’. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse (And they indeed strove hard to beguile thee (Muhammad) away from that wherewith We have inspired thee) up to His words (… accepted thee as a friend)”. Said Qatadah: “It was mentioned to us that one night the Quraysh met the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, alone and their meeting lasted until morning. They talked to him, treated him as if he was one of their greats and chiefs and were agreeable to him. They said: ‘You have brought something that no human being has brought before; you are our master and the son of our master’, and they kept talking to him until he almost agreed to some of the things they wanted. But Allah, exalted is He, protected him. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
