Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Mecca, based on the content of its verses. → Introduction
Time: According to the narrations, one of the sūrahs revealed in the early stages of the Prophet's mission in Mecca. Al-Mizan adds that it appears to be one of the oldest Meccan sūrahs: the zakat in verse 7 means charitable giving in general, since obligatory almsgiving had not yet been legislated when it was revealed. → Introduction · Commentary on verse 7
Verses 1–13, recited to ʿUtbah: Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh reports that Quraysh sent ʿUtbah b. Rabīʿah to the Prophet, who accused him of dividing their community and reviling their faith, and offered him wealth and women; the Prophet recited the opening of this sūrah up to I warn you of a thunderbolt, like the thunderbolt of ʿĀd and Thamūd, and ʿUtbah returned saying he had understood nothing but the mention of the thunderbolt. Al-Mizan notes similar accounts in other sources, in some of which ʿUtbah says it is neither poetry, nor magic, nor soothsaying. → Narrations
Verses 13–25: Al-Mizan: accounts have been narrated about the occasions of revelation of some of these verses, but they do not match the context of the verses, so the ʿAllāmah does not include them. → Narrations
Verse 40 (Is someone who is cast in the Fire better off, or someone who arrives safely on the Day of Resurrection?): ʿIkrimah reports that it was revealed about ʿAmmār b. Yāsir and Abū Jahl; a report from Ibn ʿAbbās names Abū Jahl and Abū Bakr. Al-Mizan: this is the application of a general verse to a specific case. → 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.