The Qurayshi Delegation
According to classical tafsir (reported by Ibn Abbas): when Quraysh sent a delegation to Medina to counter the Prophet’s preaching before the Hajj season (so they could warn the tribes against him), they gathered at al-Walid’s house to agree on what to say. They debated various characterizations — poet, soothsayer, sorcerer, madman — and al-Walid dismissed each: he was personally acquainted with poetry and this was different; he knew soothsayers and this was different; he had heard the Prophet and the words were clearly not those of a madman.
He reportedly described the Quran as: “By God, it has sweetness and it has beauty; its branches are fruitful and its roots are deep, and nothing above it surpasses it.”
But then — pressed by the assembled leaders who needed a unified counter-message — he settled on “sorcery” (sihr): something plausible that average people would understand.
The Quranic Response
The Quran responds directly in Surah al-Muddathir (74:11-30): describing al-Walid’s deliberation, his rejection after internal acknowledgment, and the consequence. The passage describes a person who thought (74:18-19): “he thought and deliberated. Then he frowned and scowled, then turned away in arrogance” — choosing social status over truth he had recognized.
His Son Khalid ibn al-Walid
Al-Walid’s son Khalid ibn al-Walid became one of the greatest Muslim generals in history — converting after the Battle of Khaybar and leading the Muslim armies in Syria, Persia, and the Ridda Wars. The father’s choice and the son’s reversal form one of the early Islamic community’s most striking family narratives.
See also: Al Muddaththir, Seerah Khalid Ibn Walid, Seerah Pre Islam, Ijaz Al Quran, Nubuwwa Prophethood