Abu Tufail narrates: I presented myself before Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both). I said: O Ibn Abbas, individuals from your people state: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ramal and it is a Sunnah. So Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: They have stated some things correctly and some things incorrectly. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did perform ramal, but it is not a Sunnah. Then he explained that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came (to Makkah Mukarramah), the polytheists were sitting at the place of Qaiqan and were talking in a mocking manner about the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the companions to perform ramal, so that they could show their strength to those people.