al-Nadr ibn al-Harith

Al-Nadr ibn al-Harith was a Qurashi who travelled to al-Hira and came back with tales of the Persian kings. He offered his storytelling as a counter to the Prophet's recitation. He was taken captive at Badr and executed on the journey home.

Wherever the Prophet recited, al-Nadr would recount the Persian cycles of Rustam and Isfandiyar, to hold the gatherings of Quraysh. The exegetical tradition links his name to the Qur'anic verses about a person who buys diverting talk in order to lead others astray from God's path. ¹

At Badr he fought in the ranks of Mecca and was taken prisoner. Like Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt, he was one of two captives executed on the return journey. The account says this was by the Prophet's order, because of years of his mockery. ^{1 2}

He is the rival storyteller: two men telling the tales of the peninsula in the same marketplace, until the contest between them was decided. The exhibition presents his fate without comment. The first war was fought in speech before it was fought in blood.

The book states that al-Nadr ibn al-Harith tried to counter the Qur'an with Persian legends. Whenever the Prophet sat reminding people of God, al-Nadr would sit behind him and tell them about the kings of Persia, Rustam and Isfandiyar. He is reported to have said that Muhammad's talk was no better than his own. ^{3 4 5}