Meccan and Medinan Sūrahs

The ʿAllāmah usually decides where a sūrah was revealed from its own verses: their tone, their subject and the people they address. Reports from the Companions and the Successors are weighed against that, and he sets aside those the text does not support. The sūrahs are grouped here by his verdict, with the reason he gives. Each name opens that sūrah's Circumstances of Revelation, which gives the occasions of its verses.

Al-Mizan does not give a complete chronological order of the sūrahs, so they are listed here in the order of the muṣḥaf.

Revealed in Mecca (78)

Sūrahs that al-Mizan places in Mecca, before the Hijrah. Some have verses that others call Medinan; the note on each says so.

• 6. Al-Anʿām (The Cattle): Mecca. Exegetes and narrators agree that the sūrah is Meccan, though some except verses 91–93 and 151–153 as Medinan, others verses 151–152, others two verses revealed in Medina about a Jew who said Allah has not revealed anything to a mortal (), and one person verse 111. Al-Mizan's view: there is no contextual proof for any of these exceptions; the sūrah has a single, well-connected theme, addressed almost entirely to the polytheists.
• 7. Al-Aʿrāf (The Heights): Mecca, although there is some difference of opinion about some of its verses. Its verses are addressed to the polytheists and the small number of believers in Mecca. Ibn ʿAbbās reports that it was revealed in Mecca; Qatādah says one verse is Medinan, Ask them about the town that was situated on the seaside… (), and the rest Meccan. Al-Mizan: this is Qatādah's personal opinion.
• 10. Yūnus (Jonah): Mecca, as the contents of its verses suggest.
• 11. Hūd (Hūd): Mecca, as its verses, their contents and the clear connection between them attest, and it was revealed all at once. Some reported that verse 12 (lest you should disregard aught of what has been revealed to you) is Medinan, and others made exceptions of verse 17 or verse 114. Al-Mizan: there is no textual evidence for these claims, and the continuity of the sūrah shows it is Meccan from start to finish.
• 12. Yūsuf (Joseph): Mecca, as the context of its verses indicates. Some narrations from Ibn ʿAbbās say that four of its verses are Medinan: the first three, and In Joseph and his brothers there are certainly signs for the seekers (). Al-Mizan: this is contradicted by the fact that all these verses form part of a single, continuous context.
• 13. Al-Raʿd (The Thunder): Mecca, the whole sūrah, as the context and contents of its verses show.
• 14. Ibrāhīm (Abraham): Mecca, as the context of its verses indicates. Ibn ʿAbbās, al-Ḥasan and Qatādah are reported to have said it is Meccan except for two verses (), revealed about the polytheists killed at Badr. Al-Mizan: those two verses are not overtly indicative of that context.
• 15. Al-Ḥijr (The Rocky Tract): Mecca, as its verses indicate. A report in Majmaʿ al-bayān from al-Ḥasan excepts verse 87 (the seven oft-repeated verses and the great Qur'an) and verse 90 (the dividers).
• 16. Al-Naḥl (The Bee): Mostly Mecca, with some Medinan verses. Al-Mizan's view: the opening forty verses seem to have been revealed in the last days of the Prophet's stay in Mecca, on the eve of the Emigration. Weighing all aspects, the passages that are Medinan by their context are verse 41 (Those who migrate for the sake of Allah after they have been wronged) and the verses after it, verse 106 (Whoever renounces faith in Allah after affirming his faith…) with a few verses after it, and verses 126–128; the rest seem more likely Meccan. This may not conform to some narrations, but the context is more deserving to be followed.
• 17. Al-Isrāʾ (The Night Journey): Mecca, as the content of its verses shows. Some exegetes made exceptions of verses 73 and 76; al-Ḥasan of verses 26, 32, 33, 57 and 78; Muqātil of verses 60, 73, 76, 80 and 107; and a report from Ibn ʿAbbās of verses 73–80. Al-Mizan: the content and themes of the verses bear no indication of a Medinan sūrah, and none of its laws concern matters revealed only in Medina; similar laws were revealed in Meccan sūrahs such as al-Anʿām and al-Aʿrāf.
• 18. Al-Kahf (The Cave): Mecca, as the context of the verses shows, except for verse 28 (And keep yourself patient with those who call upon their Lord).
• 19. Maryam (Mary): Mecca, without a doubt, as the content of its verses shows and by the consensus of the exegetes; every verse of the sūrah is Meccan.
• 20. Ṭā Hā (Ṭā Hā): Mecca, as the context of the verses gives the impression. Some reports say that verse 130 (Bear then patiently what they say), or verse 131 (do not stretch your eyes…), is Medinan; Al-Mizan: the wording does not support these claims.
• 21. Al-Anbiyāʾ (The Prophets): Mecca. It is unanimously agreed that the sūrah is Meccan, and its content and context testify to this.
• 23. Al-Muʾminūn (The Believers): Mecca, as the content of the sūrah shows.
• 25. Al-Furqān (The Criterion): Mecca, as the tone and content of its verses show. Some exegetes made an exception of verses 68–70 as Medinan, apparently because they imply the prohibition of adultery. Al-Mizan's view: adultery and wine were known to be prohibited in Islam from the beginning of its call, so this is no reason to make them Medinan; stranger still is the claim of some that the whole sūrah is Medinan except its first three verses.
• 26. Al-Shuʿarāʾ (The Poets): Mecca, the whole sūrah, as the flow of its verses suggests. Some exegetes say the last five verses were revealed in Medina, and some say verse 197 was; Al-Mizan rejects both views (see below).
• 28. Al-Qaṣaṣ (The Story): Mecca, as the context of its verses attests.
• 29. Al-ʿAnkabūt (The Spider): Mecca. Ibn ʿAbbās and ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Zubayr say it was revealed in Mecca; another report from Ibn ʿAbbās says Medina, and Qatādah, speaking of verses 10–11, says "these ten verses are Medinan." Al-Mizan's view: the whole sūrah must be Meccan; its contents fit only the time of great pressure and hardship before the migration, and those who say it is Medinan, in whole or in part, are incorrect.
• 30. Al-Rūm (The Romans): Al-Mizan does not discuss the place of the sūrah as a whole, but refers to its verses in general as Meccan. Of verses 38–39 it says that they resemble Medinan verses more than Meccan ones, and that the claims made about their provenance on the basis of narrations or consensus have no validity.
• 31. Luqmān (Luqmān): Mecca, based on the tone of its verses.
• 32. Al-Sajdah (The Prostration): Mecca, the whole sūrah, except verses 18–20, which some say are Medinan. Ibn ʿAbbās reports that it was revealed in Mecca except for the three verses beginning Is someone who is faithful like someone who is a transgressor?
• 34. Sabaʾ (Sheba): Mecca, as the content of its verses indicates.
• 35. Fāṭir (The Originator): Mecca, as the content of its verses indicates. Some exegetes exclude two verses, 29 and 32, from this; al-Mizan notes that their content does not make clear whether they were revealed in Mecca or Medina.
• 36. Yā Sīn (Yā Sīn): Mecca, as the content of its verses indicates.
• 37. Al-Ṣāffāt (Those Ranged in Ranks): Mecca, as the style and content of the text indicate.
• 38. Ṣād (Ṣād): Mecca, as the context indicates.
• 39. Al-Zumar (The Companies): Mecca, as the tone and context of its verses show.
• 40. Ghāfir (The Forgiver): Mecca, the whole sūrah. Al-Mizan: this is clear from the connectedness of its verses and the nature of its content; claims that some of it was revealed in Medina have no merit.
• 41. Fuṣṣilat (Explained in Detail): Mecca, based on the content of its verses.
• 42. Al-Shūrā (The Consultation): Mecca, except for two passages: from And those who respond to their Lord… () to the third verse after it, and from Say, I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives () to the fourth verse after it.
• 43. Al-Zukhruf (The Ornaments): Mecca, on the evidence of the content of its verses. Verse 45 (Ask those of Our Messengers We have sent before you…) is said to be an exception, but Al-Mizan says this has not been established.
• 44. Al-Dukhān (The Smoke): Mecca, as the tone and context of the verses attest.
• 45. Al-Jāthiyah (The Kneeling): Mecca, judging by the tone and content of its verses. Some commentators made an exception for verse 14 (Say to the faithful to forgive…); Al-Mizan: nothing attests to their opinion.
• 46. Al-Aḥqāf (The Sand Dunes): Mecca, the whole sūrah, except for two verses over which commentators disagree: verse 8 (Do they say, "He has fabricated it…?") and verse 10 (Say, "Tell me, if it is from God…").
• 50. Qāf (Qāf): Mecca, as the context of its verses shows. It has been suggested that one or two verses, beginning with verse 38, could be Medinan, but there is no textual indication of this.
• 51. Al-Dhāriyāt (The Scatterers): Mecca, as the tone of its verses shows; there is no disagreement about this.
• 52. Al-Ṭūr (The Mount): Mecca. The context and tone of the verses attest to it.
• 53. Al-Najm (The Star): Mecca, on the evidence of the context and tone of its verses; Al-Mizan: no heed should be given to the view that some or all of its verses are Medinan. Some have said that its first verses were a general announcement which the Prophet recited to believers and idolaters together.
• 54. Al-Qamar (The Moon): Mecca, as the tone and context of its verses show. Al-Mizan: the theory that it was revealed at Badr should be discounted, as should the theory that some of its verses were revealed in Medina.
• 56. Al-Wāqiʿah (The Event): Mecca, judging by the context, content and tone of its verses.
• 67. Al-Mulk (The Kingdom): Mecca, as the contents of its verses testify.
• 68. Al-Qalam (The Pen): Mecca, by the overall context of the verses. Ibn ʿAbbās and Qatādah report that verses 1–16 were revealed in Mecca, verses 17–33 in Medina, verses 34–47 in Mecca, and the last four verses in Medina. Al-Mizan: there is a point in this, since verses 17–33 resemble Medinan rather than Meccan verses.
• 69. Al-Ḥāqqah (The Sure Reality): Mecca, as the themes and context of its verses indicate.
• 70. Al-Maʿārij (The Ways of Ascent): Commonly held to be Meccan; it is said that the exegetes agree it was revealed in Mecca, and its theme resembles the Meccan sūrahs. Al-Mizan's view: there is clear evidence against this, and a consensus does not stand against clear evidence. If a known right (verse 24) is the zakāt, legislated in Medina, then by their unity of context verses 19–35, and verses 36–44 which follow from them, are Medinan too; and the closing verses fit the hypocrites around the Prophet in Medina. Nor can one rely on the narration from Ibn ʿAbbās that it was revealed after Sūrah al-Ḥāqqah. (Imam al-Ṣādiq is reported to explain a known right as a fixed share one sets for oneself, not the obligatory zakāt.)
• 71. Nūḥ (Noah): Mecca, as the context of the sūrah shows.
• 72. Al-Jinn (The Jinn): Mecca, as the sūrah's content shows.
• 73. Al-Muzzammil (The Wrapped One): Mecca, except perhaps the last verse (see verse 20 below).
• 74. Al-Muddaththir (The Cloaked One): Mecca.
• 75. Al-Qiyāmah (The Resurrection): Mecca, as the theme of its verses testifies.
• 77. Al-Mursalāt (Those Sent Forth): Mecca; the theme of the sūrah clearly shows this.
• 78. Al-Nabaʾ (The Tidings): Mecca, as the sūrah's theme clearly shows.
• 79. Al-Nāziʿāt (Those Who Pull Out): Mecca, as the theme of its verses shows.
• 80. ʿAbasa (He Frowned): Mecca, beyond doubt.
• 81. Al-Takwīr (The Folding Up): Mecca, beyond any doubt.
• 82. Al-Infiṭār (The Cleaving): Mecca. Al-Mizan reports no occasion of revelation for this sūrah.
• 83. Al-Muṭaffifīn (The Defrauders): The introduction labels the sūrah Meccan, but Al-Mizan notes that the theme of the opening verses, on the defrauders in measure and weight, is more compatible with Medinan sūrahs, while the rest of the verses could be either Meccan or Medinan.
• 84. Al-Inshiqāq (The Rending): Mecca, as the theme of its verses indicates.
• 85. Al-Burūj (The Constellations): Mecca, as its content shows.
• 86. Al-Ṭāriq (The Night-Comer): Mecca, as the context of the sūrah suggests.
• 87. Al-Aʿlā (The Most High): Mecca, with its end revealed in Medina. The opening verses fit the context of Meccan verses. But narrations from the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, and Sunni accounts, say that Delivered is one who purifies oneself () concerns the zakāt and prayer of Eid al-Fiṭr; since fasting, and the zakāt and Eid prayer that follow it, were legislated in Medina after the Hijrah, Al-Mizan concludes that the last part of the sūrah () was revealed in Medina. The narrations that count the sūrah as Meccan can be taken to refer to its beginning.
• 88. Al-Ghāshiyah (The Overwhelming Event): Mecca. The theme of its verses testifies to its being revealed there.
• 89. Al-Fajr (The Dawn): Mecca, as the theme of the verses testifies. Al-Mizan reports no occasion of revelation for this sūrah.
• 90. Al-Balad (The City): Mecca. Al-Mizan: the theme of its verses resembles the Meccan sūrahs; some have claimed a consensus that it is Meccan. The claim that it is Medinan is not supported by the theme of the verses; some have also claimed that it is Medinan except for the first four verses.
• 91. Al-Shams (The Sun): Mecca, as the theme of the verses testifies; the story of Thamūd is an indirect threat to the people of Mecca.
• 92. Al-Layl (The Night): Mecca, according to the introduction, which adds that its contents are appropriate for either Mecca or Medina.
• 95. Al-Tīn (The Fig): Mecca, likely, given And by this secure land (). Al-Mizan: this is not explicit, so it could also be Medinan, revealed after the Hijrah at a time when the Prophet was back in Mecca.
• 96. Al-ʿAlaq (The Clot): Mecca, beyond doubt.
• 101. Al-Qāriʿah (The Calamity): Mecca.
• 102. Al-Takāthur (Rivalry in Increase): Mecca. The ʿAllāmah adds that the content of the sūrah is compatible with its having been revealed in either Mecca or Medina.
• 103. Al-ʿAṣr (Time): Mecca. Al-Mizan: it could be either Meccan or Medinan, though it resembles the Meccan sūrahs more.
• 104. Al-Humazah (The Slanderer): Mecca.
• 105. Al-Fīl (The Elephant): Mecca.
• 106. Quraysh (Quraysh): Mecca.
• 108. Al-Kawthar (Abundance): Mecca. The narrations differ over where it was revealed, but it appears to be Meccan; some exegetes suggested it was revealed twice, to reconcile them.
• 109. Al-Kāfirūn (The Disbelievers): Mecca. Exegetes differ over whether it was revealed in Mecca or Medina, but its theme matches the Meccan sūrahs.
• 111. Al-Masad (The Palm Fibre): Mecca.
• 112. Al-Ikhlāṣ (Sincerity): Mecca. Al-Mizan notes that the sūrah could have been revealed in either Mecca or Medina, but some accounts of its occasion suggest Mecca.

Revealed in Medina (29)

Sūrahs that al-Mizan places in Medina, after the Hijrah, or whose content it ties to events of the Medinan years.

• 2. Al-Baqarah (The Cow): Medina. It is the first sūrah revealed in Medina, before the Battle of Badr.
• 3. Āl ʿImrān (The Family of Imrān): Al-Mizan does not name the place in so many words. The introduction places the sūrah at a time when Islam had begun to spread in Arabia but had not yet established a firm foothold outside Medina: it mentions the Battle of Uḥud and the imprecation with the Christians of Najrān, warns against the Jews, and exhorts the believers against the polytheists.
• 4. Al-Nisāʾ (The Women): Medina, after the Hijrah, as its subject matter indicates. It was apparently revealed piecemeal, not all at once.
• 5. Al-Māʾidah (The Table): Medina; Al-Mizan calls it a sūrah of the Medinan period, revealed in the last days of the Prophet.
• 8. Al-Anfāl (The Spoils of War): Medina, as the content of its verses shows.
• 9. Al-Tawbah (The Repentance): Al-Mizan does not name the place as such. The historians are unanimously agreed that the opening verses were revealed in the year 9 AH; Imam al-Ṣādiq said they came after the Prophet returned from the expedition to Tabūk, in the ninth year. Of verse 80, Al-Mizan says it was revealed towards the end of the Prophet's mission, preceded by all the Meccan and most of the Medinan chapters and verses.
• 22. Al-Ḥajj (The Pilgrimage): Medina.
• 24. Al-Nūr (The Light): Medina, as its content shows.
• 33. Al-Aḥzāb (The Confederates): Medina, as the tone of its verses indicates. The sūrah recounts the Battle of Khandaq (the Trench) and refers to the Jewish tribe of Banū Qurayẓah.
• 47. Muḥammad (Muḥammad): Medina. Based on the tone of the verses, it can reliably be said to be Medinan.
• 48. Al-Fatḥ (The Victory): Medina, that is, after the Hijrah.
• 49. Al-Ḥujurāt (The Chambers): Medina, as the content of its verses attests. An exception is said to be verse 13 (O mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and a female…).
• 57. Al-Ḥadīd (The Iron): Medina, as the tone and context of its verses evidently show; some have even claimed a consensus of the exegetes on this.
• 58. Al-Mujādilah (The Pleading Woman): Medina, as the content of its verses shows.
• 59. Al-Ḥashr (The Banishment): Medina, as the context of its verses shows.
• 60. Al-Mumtaḥanah (The Examined One): Medina, plainly: the sūrah concerns the friendship of some believers in Medina with the disbelievers of Mecca, the women who emigrated to Medina, and the pledge of allegiance of believing women.
• 61. Al-Ṣaff (The Ranks): Medina, as the content of its verses testifies.
• 62. Al-Jumuʿah (Friday): Medina.
• 63. Al-Munāfiqūn (The Hypocrites): Medina.
• 64. Al-Taghābun (Mutual Loss and Gain): Medina, as the content of its verses testifies.
• 65. Al-Ṭalāq (Divorce): Medina, as the context indicates.
• 66. Al-Taḥrīm (The Prohibition): Medina, without doubt.
• 76. Al-Insān (Man): Medina. Either the whole sūrah is Medinan, or verses 1–22 are Medinan and verses 23–31 Meccan. Shia narrations from the Ahl al-Bayt agree that it was revealed in Medina, and numerous (mustafīḍah) Sunni narrations confirm this.
• 98. Al-Bayyinah (The Clear Evidence): Medina. Al-Mizan: the sūrah could be either Meccan or Medinan, although it best resembles the Medinan sūrahs.
• 99. Al-Zalzalah (The Earthquake): Medina, according to the introduction, which adds that the verses are compatible with having been revealed in either Mecca or Medina.
• 100. Al-ʿĀdiyāt (The Chargers): Medina. Al-Mizan's view: the oaths, such as By the snorting chargers (), apparently refer to the horses of the cavalry, and jihad was ordained only after the Prophet's migration to Medina. Shia narrations from the Imams support this, and so do some Sunni narrations.
• 110. Al-Naṣr (The Help): Medina.
• 113. Al-Falaq (The Daybreak): Medina, as can be deduced from some narrations about the context of its revelation.
• 114. Al-Nās (Mankind): Medina, like the sūrah before it, on the evidence of the narrations on the occasion of its revelation; the narrations indicate that the two sūrahs were revealed together.

Mecca or Medina (5)

Sūrahs whose content, the ʿAllāmah says, fits either city; the note says which way he leans.

• 55. Al-Raḥmān (The Beneficent): Either Mecca or Medina, although in style it is closest to the Meccan sūrahs.
• 93. Al-Ḍuḥā (The Morning Brightness): Mecca or Medina; the sūrah's content is compatible with either.
• 94. Al-Sharḥ (The Expansion): Either Mecca or Medina, although the context better suits the Meccan sūrahs.
• 97. Al-Qadr (The Majesty): Mecca or Medina; the sūrah could have been revealed in either. Some narrations from the Imams support Medina.
• 107. Al-Māʿūn (Small Kindnesses): Either Mecca or Medina; some have said that half of it was revealed in Mecca and the other half in Medina.

Place not discussed (2)

Sūrahs for which al-Mizan does not discuss the place of revelation.

• 1. Al-Fātiḥah (The Opening): Al-Mizan does not discuss where or when al-Fātiḥah was revealed.
• 27. Al-Naml (The Ant): Al-Mizan does not discuss where or when Sūrah al-Naml was revealed.