(O ye who believe! Profane not Allah’s monuments…) [5:2]. Said Ibn ‘Abbas: “This was revealed about al-Hutam whose full name is Sharih ibn Dubay‘ah al-Kindi. This man went from al-Yamamah to Medina to see the Prophet, Allah bless him and his Household and give him peace. When he arrived at Medina, he went in alone to speak with the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace. He said: ‘What do you call people for?’ he said: ‘To testify that there is no god but Allah, to establish the prayer and to pay the poor due’. The man said: ‘This is good, except that I have chiefs without whose consultation I cannot take any decision. It may be that I embrace Islam and bring them with me’. And then he left. Before this, the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, had said to his Companions: ‘A man will enter in on you and will speak with the tongue of the devil’. When the man left, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘He has come in with a disbeliever’s countenance and retreated with the steps of a treacherous one. The man is no Muslim’. The man passed by the camels of Medina which graze freely and led them away with him. People went after him but could not find him. When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace went to perform the pilgrimage in the year of Hudaybiyyah, he heard the chanting “Labbayk” from the pilgrims of al-Yamamah. He said to his Companions: ‘Here is al-Hutam and his followers!’ This man had put garlands on the camels he stole from Medina and offered them to the Ka‘bah. When the Muslims wanted to get him, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (O ye who believe! Profane not Allah’s monuments…), by monuments here is meant that which is offered for Allah, even if those who offer it profess a religion other than Islam”. Said Zayd ibn Aslam: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and his Household and give him peace, and his Companions were in Hudaybiyyah when the idolaters barred them from entering the Sacred House. The Muslims were devastated. Then, a group of idolaters passed by them, they were in their way to perform the lesser pilgrimage. Some of the Companions of the Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘Let us bar these people as their friends have barred us. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (O ye who believe! Profane not Allah’s monuments nor the Sacred Month nor the offerings nor the garlands, nor those repairing to the Sacred House)’, i.e. do not transgress against these pilgrims because their friends have barred you from entering the Sacred House”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
