Meaning
What is the context of revelation for this āyah?
Answer
Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:
- The Companions were afflicted by hardship and siege on the Battle of the Trench (al-Aḥzāb), so this āyah was revealed. [al-Suddī from his teachers, Qatādah]
- When the Prophet (ﷺ) and his Companions entered Madinah, they experienced severe hardship, so this āyah was revealed. [ʿAṭāʾ]
- The hypocrites said to the believers, "If Muḥammad were a prophet, you would not be victims of killing." The believers responded, "Whoever is killed among us will enter Paradise." The hypocrites replied, "Why do you give yourselves false hopes?" So this āyah was revealed. [Muqātil, who claimed that it was revealed on the Day of Uḥud]

