وَكَانَ فِى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ تِسْعَةُ رَهْطٍ يُفْسِدُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا يُصْلِحُونَ
26:153.
Important Words:
رھط (party) is derived from (rahata) which means, he took large bits; he devoured greedily. ارتھط القوم means, the people assembled. رھط means, a man’s people or tribe consisting of his near relations or kinsfolk; a number of men less than ten among whom there is no woman; or a number of men from three to ten or from seven to ten (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
By implication the reference in the verse is to the enemies of the Holy Prophet, prominent among whom were nine persons. Eight of them were killed in the Battle of Badr and the ninth, the notorious Abu Lahab, died at Mecca on hearing of the news of the defeat at Badr. The eight were: Abu Jahl, Mut‘im bin ‘Adiyy, Shaibah bin Rabi‘ah, ‘Utbah bin Rabi‘ah, Walid bin ‘Utbah,’ Ummayah bin Khalf, Nadar bin Harith and ‘Aqbah bin Abi Mu‘ait. All these nine men conspired to murder the Holy Prophet. The actual plan to select one man from every tribe of the Quraish and then make a concerted murderous attack upon the Holy Prophet so that no particular tribe might be held responsible for his murder came from Abu Jahl, the leader of this wicked junta.
The present Surah was revealed towards the middle of the Meccan period and the plot against the Holy Prophet matured just before his departure for Medina. Thus mention of such a plot in the account of Prophet Salih implied a prophetic reference to a similar plot against the Holy Prophet at a later date. A reference to the plot against the Holy Prophet has also been made in 8:31. See next verse.
26:153.
By implication the reference in the verse is to the nine prominent enemies of the Holy Prophet. Eight of them were killed in the Battle of Badr and the ninth, the notorious Abu Lahab, died at Mecca on hearing the news of the defeat at Badr. These eight were: Abu Jahl, Mut‘im bin ‘Adiyy, Shaibah bin Rabi‘ah, ‘Utbah bin Rabi‘ah, Walid bin ‘Utbah, Umayyah bin Khalf, Nadar bin Harith and ‘Aqbah bin Abi Mu‘ait. They conspired to murder the Holy Prophet. The actual plan was to select one man from every tribe of the Quraish and then make a concerted murderous attack upon him so that no particular tribe might be held responsible for his murder. The plan came from Abu Jahl, the leader of this wicked junta.