(…So make provision for yourselves; for the best provision is to ward off evil…) [2:197]. ‘Amr ibn Abu ‘Amr al-Muzakki informed us> Muhammad ibn al-Makki> Muhammad ibn Yusuf> Muhammad ibn Isma‘il> Yahya ibn Bashir> Shababah> Warqa’> ‘Amr ibn Dinar> ‘Ikrima> Ibn ‘Abbas who said: “The People of Yemen were in the habit of going to the pilgrimage without taking any provision with them. They used to say: ‘We are the ones who trust in Allah’. But once in Mecca, they used to beg from people. And so Allah, glorious and majestic is He, revealed this verse (So make provision for yourselves; for the best provision is to ward off evil)”. ‘Ata’ ibn Rabah said: “People used to travel and carry their own burden on others. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (So make provision for yourselves; for the best provision is to ward off evil)”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
