His saying: "If Allah knows any good in your hearts"

9177 - My father narrated to us, 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Munib narrated to us, Abu Mu'adh al-Nahwi narrated to us, 'Ubayd ibn Sulayman narrated to us, from al-Dahhak, regarding His saying: "O Prophet, say to whoever is in your hands of the captives"—meaning al-'Abbas and his companions who were taken captive on the day of Badr. Allah the Exalted says: "If you act in obedience to Me and give sincere counsel to Me and My Messenger, I will give you better than what was taken from you and I will forgive you."

His saying: "He will give you better than what was taken from you"

9178 - My father narrated to us, Abu Salih narrated to us, Mu'awiyah ibn Salih narrated to us, from 'Ali ibn Abi Talhah, from Ibn 'Abbas: "O Prophet, say to whoever is in your hands of the captives, 'If Allah knows any good in your hearts, He will give you better than what was taken from you.'" Al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib had been taken captive on the day of Badr and ransomed himself for forty uqiyahs of gold. When this verse was revealed, al-'Abbas said: "Allah has granted me two attributes for which I would not exchange the entire world: I was taken captive on the day of Badr and ransomed myself for forty uqiyahs, and Allah gave me forty slaves in return, and I hope for the forgiveness that Allah has promised us."

9179 - My father narrated to us, al-Husayn ibn al-Rabi' narrated to us, Ibn Idris narrated to us, he said: Ibn Ishaq said: 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Najih narrated to us, from 'Ata', from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas: "If Allah knows any good in your hearts, He will give you better than what was taken from you." Al-'Abbas used to say: "By Allah, it was revealed regarding me when I informed the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, of my Islam and asked him to count the twenty uqiyahs he had taken from me against my dues, but he refused to count it against me. Then, Allah gave me twenty slaves in exchange for those twenty uqiyahs, all of whom are merchants possessing wealth, in addition to the forgiveness I hope for from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic."

And (His saying): Muhammad ibn Sa'd ibn 'Atiyyah informed us in what he wrote to me, my father narrated to us, my uncle narrated to us, from his father, from his grandfather, from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas, regarding "and He will forgive you; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful," meaning: "I have forgiven you."

His saying: "But if they intend to betray you"

9180 - Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Maymun al-Iskandarani narrated to us, al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us, Muhammad Sa'id ibn Bashir narrated to us, from Qatadah, he said: Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said: "But if they intend to betray you, they have already betrayed Allah before; and He empowered [you] over them." He said: 'Abd Allah ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Sarh used to write the revelation for the Prophet, peace be upon him, then he turned hypocritical and fled to the polytheists in Mecca, saying: "By Allah, I do not know but that Muhammad writes whatever I wish." A man from the Ansar heard that and swore that if Allah enabled him, he would strike him with his sword. On the day of the conquest of Mecca, 'Uthman ibn 'Affan brought him, as there was a foster-relationship between them, and he said: "O Messenger of Allah, this is 'Abd Allah who has come back regretful." The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, turned away from him, and the Ansari man came with him holding his sword, circling around him. Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, extended his hand to accept his pledge of allegiance and said to the Ansari: "I have been stalling him today." The Ansari asked: "Why did you not signal to me?" He said: "It is not befitting for a Prophet to signal [to kill]."