Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Mecca. It is unanimously agreed that the sūrah is Meccan, and its content and context testify to this. → Introduction
Time: Al-Mizan: one of the oldest Meccan sūrahs. → Narrations
Verse 34 (We did not ordain eternal life for any mortal before you): A narration says it was revealed when Gabriel told the Prophet of his death and he asked, "My Lord, then who will there be for my nation?" Al-Mizan's view: the report does not fit the verses' context of censure, nor the Prophet's status; and this is one of the oldest Meccan sūrahs, while the news of his death came at the end of his life. → Narrations
Verse 36 (when those who disbelieve see you, they do not take you but for mockery): A narration says it was revealed after Abū Jahl laughed at the Prophet in front of Abū Sufyān, calling him the prophet of Banū ʿAbd Manāf, and the Prophet rebuked him. Al-Mizan: like the previous report, this story does not fully fit the verse. → Narrations
Verses 98–102, Ibn al-Zabaʿrā: Imam al-Bāqir reports that when you and what you worship besides Allah are the fuel of Hell () was revealed, the people of Mecca were distressed; ʿAbd-Allāh b. al-Zabaʿrā challenged the Prophet with Jesus and the angels, whom others worship, and the Prophet answered that he had said "except those excluded by God," citing verses 101–102. Al-Mizan: this account is also narrated by Sunni chains, but this text is more robust and acceptable.
In the Sunni version from Ibn ʿAbbās, verse 101, and also (), were revealed after Ibn al-Zabaʿrā's challenge. Al-Mizan's view: this text has problems: it mentions Ezra in an incident at the start of the mission, though Ezra is named only in Sūrah al-Tawbah, among the last Medinan sūrahs; it says the Jews worshiped Ezra; it makes the explanation come after it was needed; and () has no link to the incident. Other versions (the Prophet saying "I said what you worship, not whom"; the devils answer; a claim that verse 101 abrogated verse 98) he finds weak; the first is also reported from Ibn Ḥajar to be baseless. → Narrations
Verses 101 and 103: A Prophetic hadith tells ʿAlī that these verses were revealed about him and his followers. Al-Mizan: this means either that they are specific applications (jary) of the verses, or that the verses were initially and/or primarily revealed about them; other narrations name other groups of believers as their applications. → 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.