Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Mecca. Exegetes differ over whether it was revealed in Mecca or Medina, but its theme matches the Meccan sūrahs. → Introduction
The occasion: Narrations say it was revealed when al-Walīd b. al-Mughīrah, al-ʿĀṣ b. Wāʾil, al-Aswad b. al-Muṭṭalib and Umayyah b. Khalaf offered the Prophet a compromise: they would worship what he worshipped, and he would worship what they worshipped. Imam al-Ṣādiq gives the Quraysh's offer as worshipping each other's gods by turns, a year at a time, and explains the repetition in verses 2–5 as God answering each part of that offer in turn. Al-Mizan: the Quraysh repeated themselves to propose a continuous cycle, a year of worshipping their gods, then a year of worshipping God. → Narrations · Commentary on verses 4–5
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.