(Hast thou seen him who disbelieveth in Our revelations…) [19:77].
Abu Ishaq al-Tha'alibi informed us> 'Abd Allah ibn Humayd> Makki ibn 'Abdan> 'Abd Allah ibn Hashim> Abu Mu'awiyah> al-A'mash> Abu'l-Duha> Masruq> Khabbab ibn al-Aratt who said: “I had a debt with al-'As ibn Wa'il and I went to settle it with him. He said: 'By Allah, I will not pay you until you disbelieve in Muhammad'. I said: 'No, by Allah, I will not disbelieve in Muhammad until you die and be resurrected'. He said: 'In that case, when I die and am resurrected I will have children and wealth and I will be able to pay you'. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”.
Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Ibrahim informed us> 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Zahid> al-Baghawi> Abu Khaythamah> 'Ali ibn Muslim> Waki'> al-A'mash Abu'l-Duha> Masruq> Khabbab who said: “I used to be a blacksmith and I had an unpaid debt with al-'As ibn Wa'il and so I went to him to ask for it to be paid. He said to me: 'I will not pay you until you disbelieve in Muhammad, peace be upon him'. I said: 'I will not disbelieve in him until you die and be resurrected'. He said: 'Will I be resurrected after death? In that case, I will pay you back when I return to my wealth [after the resurrection]'. This verse was then revealed (Hast thou seen him who disbelieveth in Our revelations and saith: Assuredly I shall be given wealth and children?)”. This was narrated by Bukhari from al-Humaydi from Sufyan and also by Muslim from al-Ashajj from Waki'; both Waki' and Sufyan related it from al-A'mash.
Al-Kalbi and Muqatil said: “Khabbab ibn al-Aratt used to be a blacksmith working for al-'As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi who used to delay his payment. One day, Khabbab went to him to ask him for his payment when al-'As said to him: 'I do not have anything today to pay you with'. Khabbab said: 'I am not leaving until you pay me'. Al-'As retorted: 'O Khabbab, what is wrong with you? You did not use to be like this; you used to ask nicely for your payment'. Khabbab said: 'That was because I was following your religion, as for now I have a different religion: I follow Islam'. Al-'As said: 'Do you not claim that there is gold, silver and silk in the Garden?' Khabbab said: 'Indeed!' Al-'As said: 'Then wait for me until I pay you in the Garden', he said this mockingly 'by Allah, if what you say is true, I will have a better share of it than you', and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Hast thou seen him who disbelieveth in Our revelations) meaning: al-'As”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou