Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Mecca, as the context of the verses gives the impression. Some reports say that verse 130 (Bear then patiently what they say), or verse 131 (do not stretch your eyes…), is Medinan; Al-Mizan: the wording does not support these claims. → Introduction
Verses 1–2: Narrations from Imams al-Bāqir and al-Ṣādiq, ʿAlī and Ibn ʿAbbās say they were revealed when the Prophet stood so long in prayer that his feet swelled, and he began lifting one foot and resting on the other or standing on his toes. In ʿAlī's account this followed the revelation of Rise to pray in the night (), and Gabriel came down with Ṭā Hā. We have not revealed the Qur'an to you that you may be unsuccessful. Al-Mizan: the accepted view is that ʿAlī's narration is the original account, each of the others giving part of the story as the occasion; but it is difficult to see how the verses apply to the story, and the explanation of Ṭā Hā as "step on the ground" does not fit it and may be the narrator's own words. → Narrations
Verse 105: Ibn Jurayj reports that the verse They ask you about the mountains was revealed when someone asked the Prophet what his Lord would do with the mountains on the Day of Resurrection; Majmaʿ al-bayān says the questioner was a man of Thaqīf. → Narrations
Verse 114 (do not make haste with the Qur'an): Tafsīr al-Qummī says the Prophet would hasten to recite the Qur'an before the revelation of a verse was complete; al-Suddī adds that he did so for fear of forgetting, and Al-Mizan answers that forgetting revelation is incompatible with the infallibility of prophethood. Al-Ḥasan reports that it was revealed when the Prophet set up retribution for a woman whose husband had slapped her, and that he waited until Men are the maintainers of women was revealed; Al-Mizan: this is not free of problems, since neither verse matches the story. → Narrations
Verse 131: Abū Rāfiʿ reports that it was revealed to console the Prophet after a Jew refused to lend him flour for a guest without security, and he pledged his armor. Al-Mizan: the purport of the verse, especially its end, does not fit the story. → Narrations
Verse 132 (enjoin prayer on your family): Narrations say that after it was revealed the Prophet came to ʿAlī's door for eight months (nine in another report) calling them to prayer and reciting the verse of purification. Al-Mizan: the apparent sense would make the verse Medinan, but as far as he recalls no one holds that; the meaning may be that he acted on the verse in Medina although it was revealed in Mecca, though this is far from the wording. → 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.