"And if you ask them, they will surely say, 'We were only conversing and playing,'" up to His saying: "because they were criminals." Al-Kalbi said:
It has reached us that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was returning from Tabuk, while he was traveling, he encountered a group of four men walking ahead of him, and they were laughing. Jibril (Gabriel) descended upon the Prophet (ﷺ) and informed him that they were mocking Allah—Exalted is His remembrance—and His Messenger and His Book. So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent Ammar ibn Yasir and said: 'Overtake them before they depart, and ask them: "What are you laughing about?" For they will say: "We were only talking about what the riders talk about when they travel."' So Ammar caught up with them,
﴿وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ إِنَّمَا كُنَّا نَخُوض وَنَلْعَب﴾ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: ﴿بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ﴾ قَالَ الْكَلْبِيُّ:
بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ حِينَ رَجَعَ مِنْ تَبُوكَ بَيْنَمَا هُوَ يَسِيرُ إِذَا هُوَ برهطٍ أربعةٍ يَسِيرُونَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ؛ وَهُمْ يَضْحَكُونَ، فَنَزَلَ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَأَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّهُمْ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ بِاللَّهِ - تَعَالَى ذِكْرِهِ - وَرَسُولِهِ وَكِتَابِهِ. فَبَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَمَّارَ بْنَ يَاسِرٍ، فَقَالَ: أَدْرِكْهُمْ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَحْتَرِقُوا، وَاسْأَلْهُمْ: مِمَّ يَضْحَكُونَ؟ فَإِنَّهُمْ سَيَقُولُونَ مِمَّا يَخُوضُ فِيهِ الرَّكْبُ إِذَا سَارُوا. فَلَحِقَهُمْ عمار،
