Period of Revelation
The commentators and traditionists are unanimous about the occasion of the revelation of this Sura. According to them
once some big chiefs of Makkah were sitting in the Holy Prophet's assembly and he was earnestly engaged in trying to persuade them to accept Islam. At that very point
a blind man
named IbnUmmMaktum
approachcd him to seek explanation of some point concerning Islam. The Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) disliked his interruption and ignored him. Thereupon Allah sent down this Sura. From this historical incident the period of the revelation of this Sura can be precisely determined. In the first place
it is confirmed that Hadrat IbnUmmMaktumwas one of the earliest converts to Islam. Hafiz Ibn Hajar and Hafiz Ibn Kathir have stated that he was one of those who had accepted Islam at a very early stage at Makkah. Secondly
some of the traditions of the Hadith which relate this incident show that he had already accepted Islam and some others show that be was inclined to accept it and had approached the Holy Prophet in search of the truth. Hadrat Aishah states that coming to the Holy Prophet he had said: "O Messenger of Allah
guide me to the straight path." (Tirmidhi
Hakim
Ibn Hibban
Ibn Jarir
Abu Ya'la. According to Hadrat Abdullah bin Abbas
he had asked the meaning of a verse of the Qur'an and said to the Holy Prophet: "O Messenger of Allah
teach me the knowledge that Allah has taught you." Ibn Jarir
Ibn Abu Hatim). These statements show that he had acknowledged the Holy Prophet (upom whom be peace as a Messenger of Allah and the Quran as a Book of Allah. Contrary to this
Ibn Zaid has interpreted the words la allahu yazzakka of verse 3 to mean: la allahu yuslim: "maybe that he accepts Islam." (Ibn Jarir) And Allah's own words: "What would make you know that he might reform
or heed the admonition
and admonishing might profit him?" and "The one who comes to you running
of his own will
and fears
from him you turn away"
point out that by that time he had developed in himself a deep desire to learn the truth: he had come to the Holy Prophet with the belief that he was the only source of guidance and his desire would be satisfied only through him; his apparent state also reflected that if he was given instruction
he would benefit by it. Thirdly
the names of the people who were sitting in the Holy Prophet's assembly at that time
have been given in different traditions. In this list we find the names of `Utbah
Shaibah
Abu Jahl
Umayyah bin Khalaf
Ubayy bin Khalaf
who were the bitterest enemies of Islam. This shows that the incident took place in the period when these chiefs were still on meeting terms with the Holy Prophet and their antagonism to Islam had not yet grown so strong as to have stopped their paying visits to him and having dialogues with him off and on. All these arguments indicate that this is one of the very earliest Suras to be revealed at Makkah.
Theme and Subject Matter
In view of the apparent style with which the discourse opens
one feels that in this Sura Allah has expressed His displeasure against the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) for his treating the blind man with indifference and attending to the big chiefs exclusively. But when the whole Sura is considered objectively
one finds that the displeasure
in fact
has been expressed against the disbelieving Quraish
who because of their arrogant attitude and indifference to the truth
were rejecting with contempt the message of truth being conveyed by the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace). Then
besides teaching him the correct method of preaching
the error of the method that he was adopting at the start of his mission has also been pointed out. His treating the blind man with neglect and disregard and devoting all his attention to the Quraish chiefs was not for the reason that he regarded the rich as noble and a poor blind man as contemptible
and
God forbid
there was some rudeness in his manner for which Allah reproved him. But
as a matter of fact
when a caller to Truth embarks on his missinn of conveying his message to the people
he naturally wants the most influential people of society to accept his message so that his task becomes easy
for even if his invitation spreads among the poor and weak people
it cannot make much difference. Almost the same attitude had the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) also adopted in the beginning
his motive being only sincerity and a desire to promote his mission and not any idea of respect for the big people and hatred for the small people. But Allah made him realize that that was not the correct method of extending invitation to Islam
but from his mission's point of view
every man
who was a seeker after truth
was important
even if he was weak
or poor
and every man
who was heedless to the truth
was unimportant
even if he occupied a high position in society. Therefore
he should openly proclaim and convey the teachings of Islam to all and sundry
but the people who were really worthy of his attention
were those who were inclined to accept the Truth
and his sublime and noble message was too high to be presented before those haughty people who in their arrogance and vanity thought that they did not stand in need of him but rather he stood in need of them. This is the theme of vv. 1-16. From verse 17 onward the rebuke directly turns to the disbelievers
who were repudiating the invitation of the Holy Messenger of Allah (upon whom be peace). In this
first they have been reproved for their attitude which they had adopted against their Creator
Providence and Sustaner. In the end
they have been warned of the dreadful fate that they would meet in consequence of their conduct on the Day of Resurrection.