Al-Aʿlā
This sūrah was revealed in Mecca and consists of 19 verses. It commands the audience to hold God’s unity as it befits His sacred precinct. One must glorify the sublime essence of the divine by not invoking the name of any other being beside His. One should also not ascribe to others what must be ascribed to God, such as the creation of beings, the direction of their affairs, and the provision of their sustenance. God promises the Prophet to support him with knowledge and a retention, and to pave the path for him where he can propagate and preach his message most conveniently and appropriately.
The context of the opening verses matches Meccan verses. However, according to narrations from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, as well as Sunni accounts, the verse Delivered is one who purifies oneself () pertains to the zakāt and prayer of Eid al-Fiṭr. Since fasting—and the zakāt and Eid Prayer which are a sequel to that—were legislated in Medina after the Prophet’s migration, it follows that the last part of the chapter [verses ] were revealed in Medina. Therefore, the beginning of the chapter is Meccan, while its end is Medinan. This does not contradict the narrations which include the chapter under the Meccan chapters, because those accounts can be interpreted as referring to the sūrah’s beginning.
This is the ʿAllāmah's introduction to the sūrah, from the opening of the commentary.