Al-Walid Meets with Quraysh to Agree on a Description

Ibn Ishaq said: Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, an elder of Quraysh, gathered men as the pilgrimage season approached and Arab delegations were expected. He urged them to agree on one description of Muhammad so they would not contradict one another. They proposed calling him a soothsayer; al-Walid rejected it, saying his speech was unlike their muttered spells and rhymed utterances. They proposed madness; he said it showed none of its signs. They proposed poetry; he said it was unlike the forms of Arabic verse. They proposed sorcery; he said it was unlike sorcerers’ blowing and knots. At last he said Muhammad’s speech had sweetness, a firm root, and fruitful branches. He advised them to call it sorcery that separated a man from his father, brother, wife, and clan. The Quraysh accepted this as their public claim.

The notes explain the muttered speech of soothsayers, the knots into which sorcerers blow (Qur’an 113:4), and al-Walid’s images of a palm tree or abundant water. The source records variant wording.