The Quran

إِذ جَعَلَ الَّذينَ كَفَروا في قُلوبِهِمُ الحَمِيَّةَ حَمِيَّةَ الجاهِلِيَّةِ فَأَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكينَتَهُ عَلىٰ رَسولِهِ وَعَلَى المُؤمِنينَ وَأَلزَمَهُم كَلِمَةَ التَّقوىٰ وَكانوا أَحَقَّ بِها وَأَهلَها ۚ وَكانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيءٍ عَليمًا

Muhammad Asad

Whereas they who are bent on denying the truth harboured a stubborn disdain in their hearts - the stubborn disdain [born] of ignorance¹ - God bestowed from on high His [gift ofl inner peace upon His Apostle and the believers, and bound them to the spirit of God-consciousness:² for they were most worthy of this [divine gift], and deserved it well. And God has full knowledge of all things.

Although this reference to the "stubborn disdain" (hamiyyah) on the part of the pagan Quraysh may have been characteristic of their over-all attitude towards the Prophet and his mission, it is probable - as Zamakhshari points out - that its special mention here relates to an incident which occurred at Hudaybiyyah during the truce negotations between the Prophet and the emissary of the Meccans, Suhayl ibn 'Amr. The Prophet began to dictate to 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib the text of the proposed agreement: "Write down, 'In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace'"; but Suhayl interrupted him and said: "We have never heard of [the expression] 'the Most Gracious'; write down only what we know." Whereupon the Prophet said to 'Ali: "Write, then, 'In Thy name, O God'." 'Ali wrote as he was told; and the Prophet continued: "This is what has been agreed upon between Muhammad, God's Apostle, and the people of Mecca...". But Suhayl interrupted again: "If thou wert [really] an apostle of God, [this would be an admission on our part that] we have been doing wrong to thee; write, therefore, as we understand it." And so the Prophet dictated to 'Ali: "Write thus: 'This is what has been agreed upon between Muhammad, the son of 'Abd Allah, son of 'Abd al-Muttalib, and the people of Mecca..." (This story is recorded in many versions, among others by Nasa'i, Iba Hanbal and Tabari.)
Lit., "the word of God-consciousness" (kalimat at-taqwa): implying that their consciousness of God and of His all-pervading power enabled them to bear the "stubborn disdain" of their enemies with inner calm and serenity.