(Lo! the guilty are in error and madness… Lo! We have created every thing by measure) [54:47-49].
Abu’l-Qasim ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Sarraj informed us (by dictation)> Abu Muhammad ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Musa al-Ka‘bi> Hamdan ibn Salih al-Ashajj> ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Abi Rawwad> Sufyan al-Thawri> Ziyad ibn Isma‘il al-Makhzumi> Muhammad ibn ‘Abbad ibn Ja‘far> Abu Hurayrah who said: “The Quraysh came to dispute the question of Destiny. Allah, exalted is He, therefore revealed (Lo! the guilty are in error and madness… Lo! We have created every thing by measure)”. This was narrated by Muslim from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah> Waki‘> Sufyan.
By Allah, I bear witness that Abu’l-Harith Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahim al-Hafiz informed us in Jurjan; he said: “By Allah, I bear witness that Abu Nu‘aym Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Bazzaz informed us; he said: ‘By Allah, I bear witness that I heard ‘Ali ibn Jandal saying: ‘By Allah, I bear witness that I heard Abu’l-Hasan Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ubayy in Khurasan say: ‘By Allah, I bear witness that I heard ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Saqr al-Hafiz say: ‘By Allah, I bear witness that I heard ‘Ufayr ibn Ma‘dan say: ‘by Allah, I bear witness that I heard Salim ibn ‘Amir say: ‘By Allah, I bear witness that I heard Abu Umamah al-Bahili say: ‘By Allah, I bear witness that I heard the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, say: ‘This verse was revealed about the deniers of Destiny (al-Qadariyyah): (Lo! the guilty are in error and madness… Lo! We have created every thing by measure).
Abu Bakr ibn al-Harith related to us> ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Asfahani> Jarir ibn Harun> ‘Ali al-Tanafisi> ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Musa> Bahr al-Saqa’> A Shaykh from Quraysh> ‘Ata’ who said: “The bishop of Najran came to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: ‘O Muhammad, you claim that sins are created by measure and that the seas and heaven are also created by measure. If it is true that the seas and heaven are created by measure, sins nevertheless cannot be’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘You are Allah’s adversaries!’ And then Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Lo! the guilty are in error and madness) up to His words (Lo! We have created every thing by measure)”.
Abu Bakr informed us> ‘Abd Allah> ‘Amr ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Hasan> Ahmad ibn al-Khalil> ‘Abd Allah ibn Raja’ al-Azdi> ‘Amr ibn ‘Ala’, the brother of Abu ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ala’> Khalid ibn Salamah al-Qurashi> Sa‘id ibn ‘Amr ibn Ja‘dah al-Makhzumi> Ibn Abi Zurarah al-Ansari> his father who related that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, read this verse (Lo! the guilty are in error and madness) and then said: “This verse was revealed about some future people from amongst this community who will deny the Destiny of Allah, exalted is He”.
Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Hiri informed us> Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub al-Ma‘qili> Abu ‘Utbah Ahmad ibn al-Faraj> Baqiyyah> Ibn Thawban> Bakir ibn Usayd> his father who said: “I was with Muhammad ibn Ka‘b when he said: ‘If you ever see me talk about Destiny, then tie me up for I am then a madman. By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, these verses have not been revealed except about madmen’. Then he recited (Lo! the guilty are in error and madness… Lo! We have created every thing by measure)”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou