Circumstances of Revelation
Place: Mecca, as its content shows. → Introduction
Background: Al-Mizan: the sūrah harshly criticizes those who persecuted believing men and women for their faith in God, which is what the polytheists of Mecca did to those who believed in the Prophet, to force them back to polytheism; some believers held firm, while the weak among them turned back. The story of the People of the Ditch is told as a prelude, to encourage the believers to be steadfast, and the story of Pharaoh and Thamūd to assure the Prophet of God's support and to threaten the polytheists. → Introduction
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.