(And whoever among you is sick or hath an ailment of the head…) [2:196].
Ustadh Abu Tahir al-Ziyadi informed us> Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Muhammadabadhi> al-‘Abbas al-Duri> ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Musa> Isra’il> ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Asfahani> ‘Abd Allah ibn Ma‘qil> Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah who said: “The verse (And whoever among you is sick or hath an ailment of the head…) was revealed about me. I had informed the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, that I had lice in my head [while I was in a state of ritual consecration]. He said to me: “Shave your head and, as expiation, fast three days, offer a sacrifice, or feed six poor people, giving a measure of food (sa‘) for each one of them”.
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Muzakki informed us> Abu ‘Amr ibn Matar, by dictation>Abu Khalifa> Musaddid> Bishr> Ibn ‘Awn> Mujahid> ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla who said: “Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah said: ‘This verse was revealed about me. I went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and he asked me to get closer to him. I moved forward to get closer to him twice or three times. Then he asked me: ‘Are you harmed by the vermin you carry?’ (Ibn ‘Awn said: ‘And I think he said that he did’) And he asked me to fast, give something to charity or slaughter whatever was available”. This report was narrated by Muslim> Abu Musa> Ibn Abi ‘Adiyy, as well as by Bukhari> Ahmad ibn Yunus> Ibn Shihab. Both Ibn Abi ‘Adiyy and Ibn Shihab related it from Ibn ‘Awn.
Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Makhladi> Abu’l-Hasan al-Sarraj> Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Sulayman al-Maruzi> ‘Asim ibn ‘Ali> Shu‘bah> ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Asfahani who said: “I heard ‘Abd Allah ibn Ma‘qil saying: ‘I sat with Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah in this mosque—the mosque of Kufah—where I asked him about the verse (… must pay a ransom of fasting or almsgiving or offering…). He said: ‘Fast three days, or feed six poor people, giving each one of them half a measure of food. This was specifically revealed about me but it applies to all of you’ ”. This was narrated by Bukhari from the reports of Adam ibn Abi Iyas and Abu’l-Walid, and also by Muslim from the report of Bundar from Ghundar. Adam ibn Abi Iyas and Abu’l-Walid and Ghundar related this narration from Shu‘bah.
Abu Ibrahim Isma‘il ibn Ibrahim al-Sufi informed us> Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Ghifari> Ishaq ibn Muhammad al-Ras‘ini> his grandfather> al-Mughirah al-Saqlabi> ‘Umar ibn Bishr al-Makki> Ibn ‘Abbas who said: “When we camped at Hudaybiyyah, Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah came up to Allah’s Messenger with lice all over his forehead. He said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! These lice are devouring me’. The Messenger of Allah said to him: ‘Shave your head off and offer expiation for it’. And so Ka‘b shaved his head off and offered a cow for sacrifice. Allah, glorious and majestic is He, then revealed regarding this incident (And whoever among you is sick or hath an ailment of the head…)”.
Said Ibn ‘Abbas: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘Three days for the fast, an ewe for sacrifice, and almsgiving is to be distributed on six poor people, two dry measures for each one of them’ ”.
Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mansuri informed us> ‘Ali ibn ‘Umar al-Hafiz> ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Muhtadi> Tahir ibn ‘Isa ibn Ishaq al-Tamimi> Zuhayr ibn ‘Abbad> Mus‘ab ibn Mahan> Sufyan al-Thawri> Ibn Abi Najih> Mujahid> ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla> Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah who said: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, passed by him at Hudaybiyyah while he was trying to lit a fire under his pot and said: ‘Are the lice hurting you?’ He said: ‘Yes!’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Shave your hair’. Then this verse was revealed (And whoever among you is sick or hath an ailment of the head must pay a ransom of fasting or almsgiving or offering). The Messenger of Allah said: ‘'Three days for the fast, the almsgiving is to be distributed on six poor people, two dry measures for each one of them, and an ewe for sacrifice’ ”.
‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas al-Harawi informed me in writing that al-‘Abbas ibn al-Fadl ibn Zakariyya related to them> Ahmad ibn Najdah> Sa‘id ibn Mansur> Abu ‘Awana> ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Asfahani> ‘Abd Allah ibn Ma‘qil who said: “We were sitting in the mosque when Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah came and sat with us. He said: ‘It was about me that this verse was revealed (And whoever among you is sick or hath an ailment of the head…)’. I said: ‘What happened to you?’ He said: ‘We traveled with the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, in a state of ritual consecration. Lice got to my head, beard, moustache and even to my eyebrows. I mentioned this to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and he said: ‘I did not know that you were suffering this much. Call for the barber’. The barber came and shaved my head off. The Prophet then said to me: ‘Can you afford to offer a sacrifice?’ I said: no! (an ewe was to be offered as sacrifice)’. He said: ‘In that case, fast for three days or feed the equivalent of three measures to six poor people’. And so this verse was revealed specifically about me but apply to all people in general’ ”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou