Abdullah bin Abbas reported,

A group of Quraysh, the leading men of every clan, gathered to enter the assembly house. Iblis intercepted them in the form of a venerable old man. When they saw him they asked, "Who are you?"He replied, "An old man from Najd. I heard that you were meeting, so I wished to attend with you, and you will not find me lacking in opinion or counsel."They said, "Very well, come in."So he went in with them and said, "Consider the situation of this man. By Allah, he is on the verge of overrunning your affairs with this business of his."One of them said, "Bind him in fetters, then wait for death to take him, until he perishes as the poets before him perished, Zuhayr and Nabighah. He is just like one of them."At that the enemy of Allah, the old man of Najd, cried out and said, "By Allah, that is no plan for you. By Allah, his Lord will bring him out of his prison to his companions, and they will soon leap to his defense and snatch him from your hands and shield him from you. I would not feel safe for you that they might drive you out of your own land."They said, "Then think of something else."Another said, "Expel him from your midst so that you may be rid of him. Once he has gone, whatever he does and wherever he lands will not harm you, since his trouble will be far from you, you will have peace, and his affair will be someone else's concern."The old man of Najd said, "By Allah, that is no plan for you either. Have you not seen the sweetness of his speech, the fluency of his tongue, and how his words take hold of hearts? By Allah, if you do that, and then he presents himself to the Arab tribes, they will unite against you, and he will come against you and drive you from your land and kill your nobles."They said, "By Allah, he speaks the truth. Look for some other plan."Then Abu Jahl said, "By Allah, I will propose a plan to you that I do not think you have yet perceived, and I see no other."They asked, "What is it?"He said, "We take from every clan a young man of middling standing, strong and vigorous. Each of them is given a sharp sword. Then they all strike him with a single blow. When they have killed him, his blood will be spread among all the clans, and I do not think this household of Banu Hashim will be able to make war on the whole of Quraysh. When they see that, they will accept blood money, we will have peace, and we will have cut off his trouble from ourselves."The old man of Najd said, "By Allah, this is the plan. The word is what the young man has said, and I see no other."So they dispersed on that, resolved upon it. Then Jibreel came to the Prophet ﷺ and commanded him not to sleep that night in the bed where he usually slept, and Allah gave him permission at that point to depart. After he reached Madinah, Allah revealed to him Surah Anfal, reminding him of His favors upon him and His care for him, "And remember when those who disbelieved plotted against you to imprison you or kill you or drive you out. They plotted, and Allah plotted, and Allah is the best of plotters" [Anfal 8:30]. And concerning their saying, "Wait for death to take him, until he perishes as the poets before him perished," He revealed, "Or do they say, he is a poet, we await for him the calamity of death" [Tur 52:30]. That day was called the Day of the Crowding, because of the plan they had agreed upon.

عن ابن عباس

أن نفرا من قريش من أشراف كل قبيلة اجتمعوا ليدخلوا دار الندوة، فاعترضهم إبليس في صورة شيخ جليل، فلما رأوه، قالوا: من أنت؟ قال: شيخ من نجد، سمعت أنكم اجتمعتم، فأردت أن أحضر كم، ولن يعدمكم مني رأي ونصح. قالوا: أجل ادخل! فدخل معهم فقال: انظروا إلى شأن هذا الرجل، والله ليوشكن أن يواثبكم في أموركم بأمره. قال: فقال قائل: احبسوه في وثاق، ثم تربصوا به ريب المنون حتى يهلك كما هلك من كان قبله من الشعراء: زهير والنابغة، إنما هو كأحدهم! قال: فصرخ عدو الله الشيخ النجدي. فقال: والله ما هذا لكم برأي! والله ليخرجنه ربه من محبسه إلى أصحابه، فليوشكن أن يثبوا عليه حتى يأخذوه من أيديكم فيمنعوه منكم، فما آمن عليكم أن يخرجوكم من بلادكم قالوا: فانظروا في غير هذا. قال: فقال قائل: أخرجوه من بين أظهر كم تستريحوا منه، فإنه إذا خرج لن يضركم ما صنع وأين وقع إذا غاب عنكم أذاه واسترحتم، وكان أمره في غيركم. فقال الشيخ النجدي: والله ما هذا لكم برأي، ألم تروا حلاوة قوله، وطلاقة لسانه، وأخذ القلوب ما تسمع من حديثه؟ والله لئن فعلتم، ثم استعرض العرب لتجتمعن عليكم، ثم ليأتين إليكم حتى يخرجكم من بلادكم ويقتل أشرافكم. قالوا: صدق والله! فانظروا رأيا غير هذا. قال: فقال أبو جهل: والله لأشيرن عليكم برأي ما أراكم أبصر تموه بعد ما أرى غيره قالوا: وما هو؟ قال: نأخذ من كل قبيلة غلاما وسيطا شابا نهدا، ثم يعطى كل غلام منهم سيفا صارما، ثم يضربوه ضربة رجل واحد، فإذا قتلوه تفرق دمه في القبائل كلها، فلا أظن هذا الحي من بني هاشم يقدرون على حرب قريش كلها، فإنهم إذا رأوا ذلك قبلوا العقل، واسترحنا وقطعنا عنا أذاه. فقال الشيخ النجدي هذا والله الرأي القول ما قال الفتى لا أرى غيره! قال: فتفرقوا على ذلك وهم مجمعون له، قال: فأتى جبريل النبي ﷺ، فأمره أن لا يبيت في مضجعه الذي كان يبيت فيه تلك الليلة، وأذن الله له عند ذلك بالخروج، وأنزل عليه بعد قدومه المدينة الأنفال، يذكره نعمه عليه، وبلاءه عنده: {وإذ يمكر بك الذين كفروا ليثبتوك أو يقتلوك أو يخرجوك ويمكرون ويمكر الله والله خير المكرين}، وأنزل في قولهم: تربصوا به ريب المنون حتى يهلك كما هلك من كان قبله من الشعراء: {أم يقولون شاعر نتربص به ريب المنون} [سورة الطور: ٣٠] وكان يسمى ذلك اليوم: يوم الزحمة للذي اجتمعوا عليه من الرأي.