Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Mecca, the whole sūrah, except verses 18–20, which some say are Medinan. Ibn ʿAbbās reports that it was revealed in Mecca except for the three verses beginning Is someone who is faithful like someone who is a transgressor? → Introduction · Narrations
Verse 18: Imam al-Bāqir reports that ʿAlī and al-Walīd b. ʿUqbah had a dispute; al-Walīd boasted that he was sharper of tongue and better at writing, ʿAlī answered that he was nothing but a fāsiq, and God sent down Is someone who is faithful like someone who is a transgressor? They are not equal. Al-Mizan: the same is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿAṭāʾ b. Yasār, Ibn Abī Laylā and others, in Shia and Sunni sources. → 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.