Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Mecca, as the contents of its verses suggest. → Introduction
Time: At the beginning of the Prophet's mission, and in a single revelation, given the evident connection between all its verses. Some scholars make an exception for the three verses beginning So if you are in doubt… (), and others for verse 40, which they say was revealed about the Jewish tribes of Medina; Al-Mizan: nothing in the wording of these verses supports such a claim. → Introduction
The occasion: Al-Mizan: it appears to have been revealed after the idolaters of Mecca had rejected the Prophet's claim to revelation and called the Qur'an nothing but magic. This is shown by its opening () and its close (), and by its repeated return to the revelation of the Qur'an and their denial of it; hence its many warnings that God will judge between the Prophet and his people. → Introduction
Verse 15: Tafsīr al-Qummī says Quraysh asked the Prophet to bring a Qur'an other than this one, saying he had learned it from the Jews and Christians. Al-Mizan: there is some uncertainty about applying this to the verse, since in it the idolaters address him as "Messenger of God." → Narrations
Verse 94: In a reply to Yaḥyā b. Aktham, Mūsā b. Muḥammad reports his brother's explanation that So if you are in doubt… addresses the Prophet, who was not in doubt; it was revealed because the ignorant asked why an angel had not been sent to them, and God told the Prophet to ask those who read the Book before you, in the presence of the ignorant, whether any earlier messenger had not eaten and walked in the markets. Al-Mizan: this confirms his reading of the verse. Some narrations, and al-Zuhrī, say it was revealed on the eve of the Night Journey and that the Prophet was to ask the spirits of the earlier prophets; Al-Mizan: it is not clear how this fits the wording of the verse. → Narrations
A summary prepared from Tafsīr al-Mīzān: where and when the sūrah was revealed, and the occasions reported for its verses, with the ʿAllāmah's view of them. Each point links to the full discussion.