He is a man from the city of the tyrants called Bal'am, who knew the Greatest Name of Allah. When Moses reached them, his cousins and his people came to him and said: "Moses is a man with a new religion and possesses many soldiers. If he defeats us, he will destroy us. So, pray to Allah that He repels Moses and those who are with him." He replied: "If I pray to Allah to repel Moses and those who are with him, my worldly life and my hereafter will be lost." They did not cease pressing him until he prayed against them, so he stripped himself of what he was upon. This is the meaning of His statement: "but he detached himself from them, so Satan pursued him, and he became of the straying ones."

The Fifth Aspect:

8546 - Abu Zur'ah narrated to us, Safwan told us, al-Walid told us, Sa'id told us, from Qatadah, who said: Ka'b al-Ahbar said: "And recite to them the news of him to whom We gave Our signs," he is Bal'am ibn Ba'ura'. He was a man from the people of al-Balqa', and he knew the Greatest Name of Allah, which, if one is called upon by it, He answers. He was with the tyrants who were in Jerusalem.

8547 - 'Ali ibn al-Husayn narrated to us, 'Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah told us, Jarir told us, from Mughirah, from al-Sha'bi, regarding "And recite to them the news of him to whom We gave Our signs, but he detached himself from them," he said: Ibn 'Abbas said: He is Bal'am ibn Ba'ura', a man from the Children of Israel. He said: And Thaqif say: He is Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt, and the Ansar say: He is the monk for whom the Mosque of Dissent (Masjid al-Shiqaq) was built.

The Sixth Aspect:

8548 - Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us, al-'Abbas told us, Yazid told us, from Sa'id, from Qatadah, regarding "And recite to them the news of him to whom We gave Our signs," he said: This is a parable Allah struck for whomever guidance is presented to, but he refuses to accept it and abandons it.

His statement, the Exalted: "We gave Our signs."

8549 - My father narrated to us, Ibn Abi 'Umar al-'Adani told us, Sufyan told us, from Abu Sa'd al-A'war, from 'Ikrimah, from Ibn 'Abbas, regarding His statement: "And recite to them the news of him to whom We gave Our signs, but he detached himself from them." He said: He is a man who was given three supplications that would be answered for him. He had a wife with whom he had a child. She said: "Grant me one of them." He said: "You have one, so what do you want?" She said: "Pray to Allah to make me the most beautiful woman among the Children of Israel." He prayed to Allah, and He made her the most beautiful woman among the Children of Israel. When she knew that there was no one like her among them, she became averse to him and wanted something else. He prayed to Allah that...