Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Medina, as the content of its verses testifies. → Introduction
Verse 14: Imam al-Bāqir reports that it concerned men who wanted to migrate to the Prophet while their wives and children clung to them and begged them to stay. Some gave in and stayed, and God warned them to beware of their families; others left, vowing not to help their families if they did not migrate with them, and when God brought them together again, He told them to pardon, forbear and forgive. Al-Mizan: al-Suyūṭī cites the same meaning from Ibn ʿAbbās. → Narrations
Verse 15: Buraydah reports that the Prophet came down from the pulpit during a sermon to carry al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, then recited your possessions and your children are only a trial. Al-Mizan's view: the report is open to criticism, since temptation could not overwhelm the Prophet, who is infallible and aided by the Holy Spirit; similar reports (from ʿAbd-Allāh b. ʿUmar and Yaḥyā b. Abī Kathīr) are worse, and such reports are to be discarded unless they can be reinterpreted. → Narrations
Verse 16: A report from ʿAlī says that when be careful of Allah with the care which is due to Him () was revealed, the Companions protested that they were incapable of it, and God revealed be careful of Allah as much as you can. Al-Mizan's view: the two verses do not contradict each other, and the opinion that verse 16 abrogates is invalid. → Commentary on verse 16 · 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.