Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Medina, as the context of its verses shows. → Introduction
The occasion: The sūrah tells of the expulsion of the Jewish tribe of Banū al-Naḍīr after they broke their covenant with the Muslims, the hypocrites' false promises of support to them, and the rulings on the spoils taken from them. → Introduction · Commentary on verse 2
Time: Muḥammad b. Isḥāq reports that the exile of Banū al-Naḍīr took place after the Prophet's return from Uḥud; al-Zuhrī held that it was before Uḥud, six months after Badr. Al-Mizan does not decide between them. → Narrations
Verses 2–4: Tafsīr al-Qummī gives the story: the Prophet went to Banū al-Naḍīr to borrow toward the blood money for two men; Kaʿb b. al-Ashraf planned to kill him, and Gabriel warned him. The Prophet ordered them to leave or face war; ʿAbd-Allāh b. Ubayy urged them to hold out and promised help, then betrayed them; after a siege they left, some to Fadak and Wādī al-Qurā, some to Syria, and these verses were revealed about them. Other reports differ on the terms on which they left, and al-Mizan notes the difference. → Narrations · Narrations on verses 11–17
Verse 5: It is narrated that when the Prophet ordered their palm trees cut down, some protested that he had once forbidden causing mischief on the land, and this verse was revealed: whatever was cut or left standing was by God's will, to disgrace Banū al-Naḍīr. → Commentary on verse 5 · Narrations
Verses 6–8, the spoils (fayʾ): Al-Mizan: the wealth of Banū al-Naḍīr was given to the Messenger alone, since it was taken without riding horses or camels against them, their fortresses being close to Medina; verse 7 widens the ruling to the spoils of other towns. Ibn ʿAbbās reports that verse 7 was revealed when some asked why these spoils were not divided. A narration says the Prophet divided the spoils of Banū al-Naḍīr among the Emigrants alone, giving none of the Anṣār except two or three of their poor. Al-Mizan: the mention of the poor Emigrants in verse 8 is an instance of spending in God's way, not a sign that they are direct shareholders in the spoils. → Commentary on verse 6 · Commentary on verse 8 · Narrations
Verse 9: Ibn ʿAbbās reports that on the day of Banū al-Naḍīr the Prophet gave the Anṣār the choice of sharing in the spoils or leaving them to the Emigrants, and they chose to share their homes and wealth with the Emigrants and take nothing of the spoils; so they give preference over themselves was revealed. Al-Mizan: these and other accounts of their generosity seem to be applications of the verse to the event. → Narrations
Verses 11–17: Al-Mizan: the hypocrites are ʿAbd-Allāh b. Ubayy and his companions, and their brethren among the People of the Book are Banū al-Naḍīr. Those who, recently (verse 15) are Banū Qaynuqāʿ, who broke their treaty after Badr and were banished despite the hypocrites' promises; this fits the context better than the view that they are the disbelievers of Mecca at Badr. Ibn ʿAbbās names the hypocrites who made the promise. → Commentary on verse 11 · Commentary on verse 15 · 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.