(O ye who believe! If an evil-liver bring you tidings, verify it…) [49:6-8].
These verse were revealed about al-Walid ibn ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu‘ayt. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent him to collect the poor-due from Banu’l-Mustaliq. However, there was an old enmity between him and them in the pre-Islamic period. When these people heard of his coming, they came out to receive him out of reverence for Allah, exalted is He, and His Messenger. But he was scared of them and the devil whispered to him that they wanted to kill him. He returned halfway and went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, saying: “Banu’l-Mustaliq have refused to pay the poor-due and wanted to kill me”. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, became angry and was about to attack them. Meanwhile, when Banu’l-Mustaliq realised that the emissary had gone back, they went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: “We heard of your emissary and we went out to receive him, honour him and give him that which was due upon us of the right of Allah, exalted is He. But your emissary went back and we feared that what sent him back might be a message he received from you because you are angry with us. And we seek refuge in Allah from His wrath and from the wrath of His Messenger”. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (O ye who believe! If an evil-liver) i.e. al-Walid ibn ‘Uqbah (bring you tidings, verify it…).
Al-Hakim Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Shadhyakhi informed us> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Zakariyya al-Shaybani> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Daghuli> Sa‘id ibn Mas‘ud> Muhammad ibn Sabiq> ‘Isa ibn Dinar> his father> al-Harith ibn Dirar who said: “I went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and he invited me to embrace Islam. I embraced Islam and believed. He enjoined me to pay the poor-due and I agreed. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I will go to my people and invite them to embrace Islam and pay the poor-due. I will collect the poor-due from whoever accepts my invitation and at such-and-such a time you send for me so that I bring you the poor-due I collect’ ”. When al-Harith ibn Dirar collected the poor-due from those who accepted to embrace Islam and it was the agreed time for sending it to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, the emissary failed to show. Al-Harith thought that Allah and His Messenger were angry with him. He gathered the leaders of his people and said to them: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, has set a specific time for me to send an emissary to collect the poor-due that I have with me. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, does not go back on his word. I think that the emissary has failed to show up because of anger. Let us go to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace”. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, had sent al-Walid ibn ‘Uqbah to al-Harith to fetch the poor-due that the latter had collected. After travelling a while, al-Walid got scared and returned back. He said: “O Messenger of Allah, al-Harith refused to hand the poor-due over to me and wanted to kill me”. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent a dispatch to al-Harith and met al-Harith and his companions who were coming to see the Prophet close to Medina. Al-Harith met them there and they recognized him. He asked them: “To whom have you been sent?” They said: “To you”. “Why?” he asked. They said: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent you al-Walid ibn ‘Uqbah but he came back claiming that you refused to give him the poor-due and that you wanted to kill him”. He said: “No, by Him Who has sent Muhammad with the truth; I did not see him nor did he come to me”. When al-Harith entered in on the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, he said to him: “You withheld the poor-due and wanted to kill my emissary!” Al-Harith said: “No, by Him Who has sent Muhammad with the truth; I did not see your emissary nor did he come to me. I only came when your emissary failed to show up and I feared that Allah and His Messenger might be angry with us”. Then these verses of al-Hujurat were revealed (O ye who believe! If an evil-liver bring you tidings, verify it, lest ye smite some folk in ignorance and afterward repent of what ye did) up to His words ((It is) a bounty and a grace from Allah; and Allah is Knower, Wise) [49:8].
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou