Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Al-Mizan does not discuss the place of the sūrah as a whole, but refers to its verses in general as Meccan. Of verses 38–39 it says that they resemble Medinan verses more than Meccan ones, and that the claims made about their provenance on the basis of narrations or consensus have no validity. → Commentary on verse 38 · Commentary on verse 39
Time: The sūrah was revealed in the days when the Romans had been routed by the Persians in a nearby territory, which appears to be the Hejaz. It opens with the promise that the Romans would defeat the Persians within a few years (between three and nine), as a sign that God will equally fulfill His promise to give His religion victory. → Introduction · Commentary on verses 1–4
Verses 2–5, the wager: Ibn ʿAbbās reports that the idolaters hoped for a Persian victory and the Muslims for a Roman one; Abū Bakr, at the Prophet's word, made a wager with the idolaters, and the Romans won. Sufyān heard that their victory came on the day of Badr. The reports differ on the parties to the wager (Ubayy b. Khalaf is named in some), its term, whether it ended in Mecca or after the migration, and whether the Roman victory coincided with Badr or with Ḥudaybiyyah. Al-Mizan's view: none of these reports can be deemed authentic. Gambling was already sinful () and sin was forbidden in the Meccan Sūrah al-Aʿrāf (), so the Prophet would never have instructed a wager; and the reports that he called the winnings ill-gotten contradict the claim that it was then permitted. Nor were the Persians idol worshipers. He also rejects the reading that the faithful will rejoice at Allah's help refers to Badr rather than the Roman victory. → Commentary on verses 4–5 · Narrations
Verse 28: Tafsīr al-Qummī says it was revealed after the Prophet condemned the altered pilgrim's cry of Quraysh, "You have no partner except your partner," which Iblīs had taught them. → Narrations
Verse 38: It is narrated that when Give the relative his right was revealed, the Prophet gave Fadak to Fāṭimah. Al-Mizan: if the verse is Medinan, its apparent meaning in context concerns khums, and the relative means the relatives of the Prophet; if it is Meccan like the rest of the sūrah, it concerns generosity to relatives, the needy and travelers in general. → Commentary on verse 38 · 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.