Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah

Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah al-Makhzumi was among the wealthiest and most influential men in Mecca at the time of the Prophet's mission. He was from the Banu Makhzum, the same clan as Abu Jahl, and was renowned among the Quraysh for his judgment, eloquence, and wealth. He had ten sons, many of whom later accepted Islam, including Khalid ibn al-Walid, who became one of the greatest military commanders in Islamic history.

Al-Walid is historically significant because Allah addressed him directly and in detail in the Quran, making his account one of the most searching analyses of the psychology of rejection. In Surah al-Muddaththir (74:11-26), Allah says: 'Leave Me with the one I created alone, and to whom I granted extensive wealth, and children present before him, and spread [everything] before him, then he desires that I should add more. No! Indeed, he has been toward Our verses, obstinate. I will cover him with arduous torment. Indeed, he thought and deliberated — so may he be destroyed for how he deliberated, then may he be destroyed for how he deliberated — then he looked, then he frowned and scowled, then he turned back and was arrogant, and said: This is not but magic imitated [from others]. This is not but the word of a human being.'

The circumstances of this revelation describe al-Walid going to hear the Quran being recited and privately acknowledging to himself its extraordinary beauty and power — it was unlike poetry, unlike magic, unlike anything human. He knew its merit. Yet he chose, after deliberation, to call it 'sorcery passed down' in public, because he feared losing his social status. His private recognition of the Quran's truth while publicly denying it is seen by commentators as among the gravest forms of rejection.

Al-Walid was also among those who attempted to negotiate with the Prophet ﷺ, offering wealth, leadership, and honor if he would stop calling people to Islam — all of which the Prophet ﷺ declined. Al-Walid died before the Battle of Badr from injuries related to an altercation with Abu Jahl over an old financial dispute. His son Khalid ibn al-Walid went on to accept Islam in 8 AH and became the 'Sword of Allah,' one of the most celebrated figures in Islamic military history.