He sends the thunderbolts and smites with them whom He pleases, yet they dispute concerning Allah, and He is mighty in Punishment..

Amir bin At-Tufayl said, "O Muhammad! What will you give me if I embrace Islam'' The Messenger of Allah said,

«لَكَ مَا لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَعَلَيْكَ مَا عَلَيْهِم»

(You will have the rights and duties of all Muslims.)

`Amir bin At-Tufayl said, "Will you make me your successor if I embrace Islam'' The Messenger of Allah said,

«لَيْسَ ذَلِكَ لَكَ وَلَا لِقَوْمِكَ، وَلَكِنْ لَكَ أَعِنَّةَ الْخَيْل»

(That is not your right, nor your people's right. However, I could appoint you a commander of the horsemen (i.e., war).)

`Amir said, "I am already the commander of the horsemen of Najd (in the north of Arabia). Give me control over the desert and you keep the cities.''

The Messenger of Allah refused. When these two men were leaving the Messenger of Allah ,

`Amir said, "By Allah! I will fill it (Al-Madinah) with horses and men (hostile to Muslims).'' The Messenger of Allah replied,

«يَمْنَعُكَ الله»

(Rather, Allah will prevent you. )

When `Amir and Arbad left, `Amir said, "O Arbad! I will keep Muhammad busy while talking to him, so you can strike him with the sword. Verily, if you kill Muhammad, the people (Muslims) will agree to take blood money and will hate to wage war over his murder. Then we will give them the blood money.'' Arbad said, "I will do that,'' and they went back to the Messenger .

`Amir said, "O Muhammad! Stand next to me so that I can talk to you.'' The Messenger stood up, and they both stood next to a wall talking to each other. Arbad wanted to grab his sword, but his hand froze when it touched the sword's handle and he could not take the sword out of its sheath. Arbad did not strike the Messenger as `Amir suggested, and the Messenger of Allah looked at Arbad and realized what he was doing, so he departed. When Arbad and `Amir left the Messenger of Allah and arrived at Al-Harrah of Waqim area, they dismounted from their horses.

However, Sa`d bin Mu`adh and Usayd bin Hudayr came out saying, "Come, O enemies of Allah! May Allah curse you.'' `Amir asked, "Who is this with you, O Sa`d'' Sa`d said, "This is Usayd bin Hudayr.''

They fled until they reached the Riqm area, where Allah struck Arbad with a bolt of lightning and he met his demise. As for `Amir, he went on until he reached the Kharim area, where Allah sent an open ulcer that struck him. During that night, `Amir took refuge in a woman's house, from Banu Salul. `Amir kept touching his open ulcer and saying, "An ulcer as big as a camel's hump, while I am at the house of a woman from Bani Salul, seeking to bring my death in her house!'' He rode his horse, but he died while riding it headed to his area. Allah sent down these Ayat (13:8-11) in their case,

[اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنثَى]

(Allah knows what every female bears) until,

[وَمَا لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ]

(..and they will find besides Him no protector.)

Ibn `Abbas commented, "The angels in succession, guard Muhammad, peace be upon him, by the command of Allah.'' He next mentioned the demise of Arbad by Allah's command, reciting this Ayah,

[وَيُرْسِلُ الصَّوَعِقَ]

(He sends the thunderbolts,)'' Allah said next,

[وَهُمْ يُجَـدِلُونَ فِى اللَّهِ]

(yet they (disbelievers) dispute about Allah.) they doubt Allah's greatness and that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him,

[وَهُوَ شَدِيدُ الْمِحَالِ]

(And He is Mighty in strength and Severe in punishment.)

Surah al Ra'd [the Thunder] 13:13;
http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=13&tid=25593




Also;

Anas bin Malik narrated:

"The Messenger of Allah sent a man from his Companions to a man from the people of disbelief in order to call him to Allah - the Blessed and Exalted - so, he said to the Companion:

"What is this Lord of yours that you call me to? Is He made of iron? Is He made of copper? Is He made of silver? Is He made of gold?"

So, the Companion returned to the Prophet and told him of what had happened, so, he sent the Companion back a second time. The man told him the same thing, so, he was sent a third time. The man told him the same thing, so the Companion returned and informed the Prophet, so, Allah - the Blessed and Exalted - sent a lightining bolt that struck the man and burned him up.

The Messenger of Allah then said: "Verily, Allah - the Blessed and Exalted - has sent upon this man that you know a lightning bolt which has burned him up."

The verse was then revealed: {"... He sends lightning bolts, and therewith He strikes whom He Wills, yet they dispute about Allah, and He is mighty in strength and severe in punishment."} [ar-Ra'd; 13]"

[Reported by al-Bayhaqi in 'as-Sunan al-Kubra' (11259), al-Haythami in 'Majma' az-Zawa'id' (7/24), and it is authentic]


Let those who oppose the Messenger beware...;
http://salaf-stories.blogspot.com/2007/12/httpwww.html

Smashing Idols!

Prophet Ibrahim Al-Khalil proclaimed,

[أَتَعْبُدُونَ مَا تَنْحِتُونَ]

("Worship you that which you (yourselves) carve'') [37:95]

Allah's Khalil, peace be upon him, broke and disgraced the idols of his people, just as Allah said he did,

[فَرَاغَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضَرْباً بِالْيَمِينِ ]

(Then he turned upon them, striking (them) with (his) right hand,) [37:93] and,

[فَجَعَلَهُمْ جُذَاذاً إِلاَّ كَبِيراً لَّهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ يَرْجِعُونَ ]

(So he broke them to pieces, (all) except the biggest of them, that they might turn to it.) [21:58]

The two Mu'adhs following the example of Prophet Ibrahim & the Conversion of 'Amr to Islam;

Mu`adh bin `Amr ibn Al-Jamuh and Mu`adh bin Jabal, may Allah be pleased with both of them, were still young when they embraced Islam after the Messenger of Allah came to Al-Madinah.

So they were attacking the idols of the idolators at night, breaking, disfiguring them and using them as fuel for needy widows. They sought to give a lesson to their people to make them aware of their error. `Amr bin Al-Jamuh, who was one of the chiefs of his people, had an idol that he used to worship and perfume. The two Mu`adhs used to go to that idol, turn it on its head and tarnish it with animal waste. When `Amr bin Al-Jamuh would see what happened to his idol, he would clean it, perfume it and leave a sword next to it, saying, "Defend yourself.'' However, the two young men would repeat their actions, and he would do the same as before. Once, they took the idol, tied it to a dead dog and threw it in a well while tied to a rope! When `Amr bin Al-Jamuh saw this, he knew that his religion was false and said, "By Allah! Had you been a god who has might, you would not end up tied to a dog on a rope!'' `

Amr bin Al-Jamuh embraced Islam, and he was strong in his Islam. He was later martyred during the battle of Uhud, may Allah be pleased with him, give him pleasure. and grant him Paradise as his dwelling.



Surah Al A'raf - tafsir ibn Kathir;
http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=7&tid=19369

Destroying of al Laat

Destroying a False Goddess

A few days elapsed and delegation from Madinah sent by the Prophet [Muhammad - peace be upon him] arrived at Ta'if. The delegations was under the leadership of Khalid ibn Walid and included al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah. They went straight to al-Lat[1] to destroy it. All the Thaqif (2) came to witness that event: men, women and children. The vast majority of them did not think for a moment that al-Lat, the goddess the were worshiping until yesterday, would be destoryed. They seriously thought that she had the power to protect herself. Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah. who belonged to the Thaqif but had accepted Islam a few years earlier, tool the axe in his hand and aid quietly to his fellow Muslims: "I will give you a good laugh at the Thaqif". As he hit al-Lat with the axe, he pretended to fall down immediately. The people of Ta'if cheered loudly. They said: "Away with al-Mughirah. He has been killed by the Rabbah [female goddess]". They could not conceal their pleasure when they saw him falling down. They turned to the Muslim delegation from Madinah and said to them: "Let any one of you who dares try to destroy her. You will soon realize that you cannot touch her".

At this moment, al-Mughirah sprang to his feet and said to them:" Foul on you Thaqif. What is she but a heap of mud and stone? It is about time you recognized God's blessings and worshiped Him alone". He hit the door with the axe to break it and together with his fellow Muslims, climbed the wall of the place housing al-Lat. They broker her up into pieces until the place was completely leveled down. The key-keeper of the place said repeatedly: "The foundation will now show its fury and they will sink down into the bottom of the earth".

Al-Mughriah then said to Kahlid: "Let me dig up her foundation". He did so and the earth underneath was turned upside down. The Muslims took off all the jewellery which was placed on al-Lat, a great amount. The Thaqif were bewildered as the Muslims went ahead with their task. The destruction of al-Lat went a long way towards reassuring the Thaqif that they had chosen the right course. They realized that al-Lat was absolutely useless; she was nothing more than a stone statue. Hence, their acceptance of Islam proved to be genuine.

When the Prophet [Muhammad - peace be upon him] received the jewelery and the fine garments which the Muslim delegation brought with them from their mission to destroy al-Lat, he thanked God and praised him for His help and kindness. A few months earlier the Prophet [Muhammad - peace be upon him] has received two young men from the Thaqif who came to declare that they were Muslims.

[1]The Arabs had changed the name of Allah (who they believed in since they were descendants of Prophet Ibrahim/Abraham and believed they were following his religion) into a female names, to Al Laat from Allaah, the same way they had changed other names of Allah like Al Manaan to Manaat, Al Azeez to al 'Uzza etc. These were innovations in the religion which led them to associating partners with Allah which is shirk (associating partners with Allah/God), the worst sin in the sight of Allah/God.

[2]The Thaqeef were the people who lived in Al Ta'if near Makkah, they were of the last of the great tribes to become Muslim in Arabia.



source:

Al Waqidi p968-9, oxford uni press publishing.

Original text from Muhammad, Man and Prophet by Adil Salahi.