What is the authenticity of the hadith: "Then, if you turn away, is it not expected of you that you would cause corruption in the land?" and the interpretation of "this clan from Quraysh"?
Only a small portion of Al-Tabari's "Tahdhib al-Athar" has been printed. Al-Tha'labi narrated in his Tafsir, on the authority of Al-Musayyab ibn Sharik and Al-Farra, that the meaning of the verse: ﴿فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ﴾ "Then, is it to be expected of you, if you were put in authority," means: if you were given authority over people, ﴿أَن تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ﴾ "that you will do mischief in the land," through injustice, and that it was revealed concerning Banu Umayyah. Al-Tha'labi adduced a Hadith from Abdullah ibn Mughaffal, narrated in a Marfu' form, explaining the verse to mean that the المقصود (intended people) are this clan from Quraysh, and that Allah took a covenant from them not to cause mischief in the land and not to sever their ties of kinship. However, the chain of narration for this Hadith is very weak, as one of its narrators, Nufay' ibn Al-Harith Abu Dawud Al-Qass, is abandoned (Matruk) and Ibn Ma'in accused him of lying. A number of exegetes have transmitted from Al-Tha'labi that the intended people are Banu Umayyah, and some of them added "and Banu Hashim."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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