Walid Ibn ‘Uqbah

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Abi Mu’eet Walid Ibn ‘Uqbah was a Muslim who initially appeared to be such a righteous individual that the Noble Prophet (S) even assigned him the responsibility of collecting the zakat and sadaqat from the tribe of Bani Mustalaq. When the people of the tribe came to know of the arrival of a representative of the Noble Prophet (S), they came forward to welcome him.

During the Age of Ignorance, there had existed enmity between Walid and this tribe, and seeing the people come towards him in a large group, thought that they had prepared themselves to kill him. He quickly turned back and returned to Madinah.

He went to the Noble Prophet (S), and told him that the people of the tribe were not willing to pay their zakat, which obviously was not true.

The Noble Prophet (S) was upset to hear this and made up his mind to despatch an army towards the tribe, when Allah revealed the following verse: “O you who believe! If an evil-doer comes to you with a report, look carefully into it4(to ascertain the veracity of it).”5

After the revelation of this verse, the liar Walid came to be recognized as a corrupt person.

“He is of the inmates of Hell,” the Noble Prophet (S) said about him.

Walid later teamed up with ‘Amr Ibn ‘As and the two would consume intoxicants and harboured feelings of animosity towards the Noble Prophet (S) and Amirul Mu’mineen (as).

The third caliph, during his caliphate, appointed him the governor of Kufah and one morning, in a state of intoxication, he led the morning congregational prayers by performing four-rak’ats instead of the stipulated two.( Safinatul Bihar, Volume 2, Page 361 )

Reference : Anecdotes for Reflection Part 2