His saying: "This is nothing but the legends (asatir) of the ancients." Al-Kalbi said:
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) narrated to his people the accounts of the first generations, al-Nadr ibn al-Harith—one of the Banu 'Abd al-Dar—said: "If I wished, I could say the like of this. This is nothing but the legends of the ancients: the lies and falsehoods of the ancients."
Muhammad [Ibn Abi Zamanin] said: "The singular of 'asatir' is 'usturah' (legend/fable)."
قَوْلُهُ: ﴿إِنْ هَذَا إِلا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلين﴾ قَالَ الْكَلْبِيُّ:
لَمَّا قَصَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ شَأْنَ الْقُرُونِ الأُولَى، قَالَ النَّضْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ - أَحَدُ بَنِي عَبْدِ الدَّارِ -: لَوْ شِئْتُ لَقُلْتُ مِثْلَ هَذَا، إِنْ هَذَا إِلا أَسَاطِيرُ الأَوَّلِينَ: كَذِبِ الأَوَّلِينَ وَبَاطِلِهِمْ.
قَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ: الأَسَاطِيرُ: وَاحِدهَا: أسطورة.
