﴿ Say, [O Muhammad], "If you truly love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."
(Surah Aali 'Imran, 3:31) 🌿
Narrated by Ibn Abbas (via al-Dahhak):
When the Prophet ﷺ encountered the Quraysh at the Sacred Mosque 🕌 — they had set up their idols, adorned them with ostrich eggs 🥚, and placed earrings in their "ears" 🎀 — he declared:
"O Quraysh! By Allah, you have diverged from the religion of your forefathers Ibrahim and Ismail — they were upon Islam!"
The Quraysh responded:
"We only worship these idols out of love for Allah, so they might bring us nearer to Him."
Thus, Allah revealed:
"Say: If you truly love Allah, then follow me..."
indicating that following the Messenger ﷺ was superior to idol worship.
🛑 (Chain of narration: Extremely weak)
Reported by Ibn Abbas (via al-Kalbi):
The verse was revealed when the Jews claimed:
"We are the sons of Allah and His beloved ones."
(Qur'an 5:18)
🔎 (Chain of narration: Extremely weak)