with this, and said: "This is from the devil." So Allah revealed: "And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet."

13999 - Via Musa ibn 'Uqbah, from Ibn Shihab, he said: When Surat al-Najm was revealed, the polytheists used to say: "If this man were to mention our gods favorably, we would accept him and his companions; but he does not mention those who oppose his religion, like the Jews and Christians, with the same insults and evil that he uses to mention our gods." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was deeply distressed by what he and his companions suffered from their harm and denial, and their misguidance saddened him, so he wished for their harm to be averted. When Allah revealed Surat al-Najm, he said: "Have you considered al-Lat and al-'Uzzah, and Manat, the third, the other one?" The devil cast at that point some words, and when he mentioned the false deities, he said: "And they are the exalted gharaniq, and indeed their intercession is the one to be hoped for." That was from the rhymed prose (saja') and temptation of the devil. These two phrases fell into the heart of a polytheist in Makkah, and their tongues flowed with them, and they rejoiced at it, saying: "Muhammad has returned to his first religion and the religion of his people." When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) reached the end of al-Najm, he prostrated, and everyone present, Muslim or polytheist, prostrated. This saying spread among the people, and the devil publicized it until it reached the land of Abyssinia. So Allah revealed: "And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet." When Allah clarified His decree and absolved him from the rhymed prose of the devil, the polytheists returned to their misguidance and hostility toward the Muslims, and they intensified their actions against him.

14000 - From Abu al-'Aliyah, he said: The polytheists said to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): "If you were to mention our gods in your speech, we would sit with you, for there is no one with you except the lowest of people and their weak ones. If they saw us with you, people would talk about that and come to you." So he stood up to pray and recited "The Star" (al-Najm) until he reached: "Have you considered al-Lat and al-'Uzzah, and Manat, the third, the other one? Those are the exalted gharaniq, and their intercession is hoped for, and the like of them is not forgotten." When he finished the end of the surah, he prostrated, and the Muslims and the polytheists prostrated. It reached Abyssinia that the people had accepted Islam. This weighed heavily upon the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), so Allah revealed: "And We did not send before you [any messenger]..." up to His saying: "the punishment of a barren day."