Musaylimah Kazzab was a resident of Yamamah which was area of Najd. This place is now called Jubail. He claimed prophethood that is why he is called Kazzabb (a liar). It is a saying in Arabic, “even a worst liar than Musaylimah”.
It is narrated that Hazrat Amr ibn al-Aas went to Yamamah and met Musaylimah. Musaylimah asked, “What is the recent revelation that has revealed to your master?” Amr ibn al-Aas said, “A chapter has revealed upon him which is very short and very eloquent.” He asked what it was. Amr ibn al-‘Aas recited Chapter Al-Asr to him:
“I swear by the passage of time, that man is surely in a state of loss, except for those who believe and do good deeds and exhort one another to hold fast to the Truth, and who exhort one another to stead-fastness.”
Hearing this, Musaylimah was silent for a while. Then he said that the same kind of words have revealed on me. Amr ibn al-‘Aas asked what it was.
Musaylimah recited few random words.
Then he asked, “O Amr, what do you think?” Amr ibn al-‘Aas replied: By God, you know very well that I consider you a liar (Tafsir Ibn Katheer 745/4). Musaylimah knew that his words were nonsensical, but he recited them properly to mock the Qur’an.
Now take another example. This chapter Al-Asr was revealed in Makkah. When it revealed, some of the companions wrote it on a wooden piece and hung it on the wall of the Ka’bah. Then different people read it. One of them was Labīd ibn Rabī’a Al-Amri. He was also a resident of Najd area. He is counted among the greatest poets. He later converted to Islam by swearing allegiance to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
It is said that his first introduction to Islam was through chapter Al-Asr. He came to Makkah and recited the short Surah Al-Asr written on the wall of the Ka’bah. It had such an effect on him that he became enthusiastic and started circumambulating the Ka’bah at the same time. Finally he said: by God, these are not the words of any human being.
After that, he converted to Islam. He was a prominent Arab poet. But he gave up poetry. Someone asked why he left poetry, he replied: Even after the Qur’an!. After converting to Islam, he wrote only one poem.
One incident led one person astray and another man was guided by it. What was the reason for this difference? There was only one reason for this, and that is ego. Musaylimah was holding selfishness in his heart. He considered himself the greatest. He was lost in his own self, so he was deprived of seeing the truth. He knew himself, but he couldn’t realize the greater reality beyond his being.
The opposite was the case with Labīd. He considered the truth to be the greatest. He was free from selfishness. He was able to rise above personal interests and see the facts. Therefore, when the truth came, he immediately recognized it, and immediately surrendered himself to it.
The greatest crime in this world is the denial of truth, and the greatest good is the confession of truth. The first thing takes a person to hell, and the second thing makes him deserving of heaven.