(It is not for the idolaters to tend Allah’s sanctuaries…) [9:17].
The commentators of the Qur’an said: “When al-‘Abbas [ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib] was taken prisoner on the Day of Badr, the Muslims went over to him and insulted him for his unbelief as well as for severing his ties of kinship, and ‘Ali [ibn Abi Talib] addressed him in a harsh way. Al-‘Abbas answered them: ‘How is it that you mention our evil deeds but you do not mention our good deeds?’ ‘Ali retorted: ‘Do you have any good deeds?’ He replied: ‘Yes, we tend to the Sacred Mosque, serve as gatekeepers of the Ka‘bah, provide water for the pilgrims, and relieve the afflicted’. Allah, glorious and majestic is He, revealed as an answer to al-‘Abbas (It is not for the idolaters to tend Allah’s sanctuaries)”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou