Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Medina. → Introduction
Verse 11 (when they see merchandise or sport they break up for it, and leave you standing): Al-Mizan: Shia and Sunni reports agree that a trade caravan arrived in Medina on a Friday while the Prophet stood delivering the sermon before the prayer; its people beat the drum and the tambourine to announce their arrival, the congregation scattered toward it, leaving the Prophet standing, and this verse was revealed. Jābir b. ʿAbd-Allāh reports that only twelve men stayed, he among them; Muqātil b. Sulaymān names the merchant as Diḥyah al-Kalbī, arriving from Syria before he became Muslim. Al-Mizan: the account comes through many Shia and Sunni chains, which differ over how many stayed behind, from seven to forty. → Commentary · 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.