(What aileth you that ye are become two parties regarding the hypocrites…) [4:88]. Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya informed us> Abu 'Amr Isma'il ibn Najid> Yusuf ibn Ya'qub al-Qadi> 'Amr ibn Marzuq> Shu'bah> 'Adiyy ibn Thabit> 'Abd Allah ibn Yazid ibn Thabit who reported that a group of people initially accompanied the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, to Uhud but then turned back and returned to Medina. The Muslims were divided in their opinions about them. Some of them were of the opinion that they should be killed while others thought they should be spared, and so this verse was revealed. This was revealed by Bukhari> Bundar> Ghundar and also by Muslim> 'Abd Allah ibn Mu'adh> his father; and both transmitters (Ghundar and Ibn Mu'adh's father) related it from Shu'bah. 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Hamdan al-'Adl informed us> Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ja'far ibn Malik> 'Ubayd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal> his father> al-Aswad ibn 'Amir> Hammad ibn Salamah> Muhammad ibn Ishaq> Yazid ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Qusayt> Abu Salamah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman> his father who related that a group of Arabs came to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and embraced Islam. Then they contracted the illness and fever that was going round in Medina and, as a result, renounced Islam and left Medina. They were met by a group among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace who asked them: “Why did you leave Medina?” They replied: “We contracted the illness of Medina and for this reason we disliked remaining there”. The Companions said: “Do you not have a good example in the person of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace?” Some of the Companions were of the opinion that these Arabs were hypocrites while others thought they were still Muslims. And because of this difference of opinion, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (What aileth you that ye are become two parties regarding the hypocrites…). Mujahid said apropos this verse: “This was revealed about some people who left Mecca to Medina, claiming to be Emigrants. They then renounced Islam and asked permission from the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, to go to Mecca to bring some merchandise with which to trade.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
