A Surah Named to One Companion by Name

A hadith preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari reports that the Prophet told the companion Ubayy ibn Kab that God had commanded him, Gabriel having conveyed the instruction, to recite Al-Bayyina to Ubayy specifically by name, an episode classical commentators treat as a striking instance of revelation directed, at least in its transmission, toward a single named individual rather than only to the community at large. Ubayy is reported to have wept upon hearing that his own name had been mentioned in this way, and the episode became a frequently cited example in later Islamic devotional writing of the personal, individually addressed dimension some hadith attribute to revelation alongside its general public delivery.

Classical scholars note the report does not suggest the surah's content was altered or composed specifically for Ubayy, only that the Prophet was instructed to recite this particular, already given surah to him by name, a distinction preserving the general applicability of Al-Bayyina's content on pure religion and the clear proof of revelation while still allowing for this individually addressed moment within its transmission history. The report is cited in later devotional writing less as a claim about Ubayy's exceptional status than as evidence of the personal warmth reported between the Prophet and individual companions in matters otherwise addressed to the community at large.