The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sitting in the shade of a tree when he said, "A man is about to come to you who will look at you with the eyes of a devil. When he comes, do not speak to him."Before long a blue-eyed man appeared, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called him over and asked, "Why do you and your companions insult me?"The man went off and brought his companions, and they swore by Allah that they had said nothing and done nothing, until he pardoned them. Then Allah revealed, "They swear by Allah that they said nothing" [Tawbah 9:74], and He went on to describe them all, to the end of the verse.
كان رسول الله ﷺ جالسا في ظل شجرة، فقال: إنه سيأتيكم إنسان، فينظر إليكم بعيني شيطان، فإذا جاء فلا تكلموه. فلم يلبث أن طلع رجل أزرق، فدعاه رسول الله ﷺ، فقال: علام تشتمني أنت وأصحابك؟ فانطلق الرجل، فجاء بأصحابه، فحلفوا بالله ما قالوا وما فعلوا حتى تجاوز عنهم، فأنزل الله: {يحلفون بالله ما قالوا} ثم نعتهم جميعا، إلى آخر الآية.
Ibn Jareer Tabari related it in his Tafsir (11/571) from Ayub bin Ishaq bin Ibrahim, who said, Abdullah bin Raja narrated to us, who said, Israel narrated to us, from Simak, from Saeed bin Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, who said, then he mentioned it. Its chain is hasan because of Ayub bin Ishaq, Abdullah bin Raja, and Simak bin Harb, for all of them have hasan hadith.Similar in meaning to this is what was narrated from Anas bin Malik, who said, Zayd bin Arqam heard a man from the hypocrites saying, while the Prophet ﷺ was delivering a sermon, "If this man is telling the truth, then we are worse than donkeys." Zayd said, "By Allah, he is telling the truth, and you are worse than a donkey." This was reported to the Prophet ﷺ, and the speaker denied it, so Allah revealed, "They swear by Allah that they did not say it" [Tawbah 9:74], the rest of the verse. So the verse came to confirm what Zayd had said.Ibn Abu Hatim extracted it in his Tafsir (6/1842–1843) from Abu Zura, who said, Yaqub bin Humayd bin Kasib narrated to us, who said, Muhammad bin Fulayh narrated to us, from Musa bin Uqba, from Abdullah bin Fadl, from Anas bin Malik, who said, then he mentioned it. Its chain is daif because of Yaqub bin Humayd bin Kasib, for his hadith is rendered hasan only when corroborated.