Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Mecca. Ibn ʿAbbās and ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Zubayr say it was revealed in Mecca; another report from Ibn ʿAbbās says Medina, and Qatādah, speaking of verses 10–11, says "these ten verses are Medinan." Al-Mizan's view: the whole sūrah must be Meccan; its contents fit only the time of great pressure and hardship before the migration, and those who say it is Medinan, in whole or in part, are incorrect. → Introduction · Narrations
The occasion: From the tone of its verses, some who had believed in the Prophet in Mecca before the migration withdrew from him for fear of the persecution the polytheists threatened them with, some under pressure from their parents (verse 8); the sūrah was sent down concerning them. → Introduction
Verses 1–13, the reports: Ibn Jurayj says verse 2 was revealed about ʿAmmār b. Yāsir; al-Shaʿbī, about Muslims in Mecca whom the idolaters stopped from emigrating; Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ, that verse 8 came down when his mother refused food until he disbelieved; al-Kalbī, that verse 10 was revealed about ʿAyyāsh b. Abī Rabīʿah, whom his half-brothers Abū Jahl and al-Ḥārith brought back from Medina and beat until he renounced Islam. Al-Mizan: the divergence of these reports is plain, and the tenor of the verses marks them as entirely Meccan. → Narrations
Verses 10–11, hypocrites: Some argue that these verses, which mention hypocrites, and verse 6 (whoever strives), are Medinan, since hypocrisy and armed jihād appeared only after the migration. Al-Mizan's view: this is ill-considered: the hypocrisy described is of those who forsake their faith when tormented for it, which fits Mecca, where the Muslims were persecuted; and the striving of verse 6 is the struggle with the self. Nothing in the sūrah indicates that any part was revealed in Medina. → Commentary on verse 11
Verse 13: A report says Abū Jahl and the notables of Quraysh would meet those going to the Prophet and tell them to come back, promising to bear their burdens, and the verse came down. → Narrations
Verse 51: One report says it was revealed when some Companions were writing down parts of the Torah, and the Prophet rebuked them. Al-Mizan: the context and tone of the verses do not allow it to have been revealed about Companions. → Narrations
Verses 57 and 60: A report says verse 57 (Every soul shall taste death) came down after the Prophet asked whether the prophets would survive when all others died; Al-Mizan: its content is problematic, since the Prophet knew that the prophets before him had died. Ibn ʿUmar reports that verse 60 (How many an animal there is that does not carry its own provision) was revealed in an orchard of the Anṣār; Al-Mizan: its chain is weak and its content does not match the context. → Narrations
Verse 67: A report says it was revealed when people told the Prophet that only fear of being despoiled by the more numerous Arabs kept them from his religion. → 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.