Period of Revelation
Whether or not it was revealed
at Makkah or Madianah
is disputed. Ibn Masud
Ata
Jabir
and Mjahid say that it is a Makki Sura and a statement of Ibn Abbas also supports this view. On the contrary
Qatadah and Muqatil say that it is Madini and another statement of Ibn Abbas also has been cited in support of this view. That it is a Madani Sura is reasoned from a tradition from Hadrat Abu Said Khudri
which Ibn Abi Hatim has related from him. He says: "When the verse Fa-man ya mal mithqala dharratin khairan yarah
wa man ya mal mithqala dharratin sharran yarah
was revealed
I said: "O Messenger of Allah
shall I really see my deeds?The Holy Messenger replied in the affirmative. I submitted: And every major sin?He replied yes. I said: And the minor sins too? He replied yes. Thereupon I exclaimed that I would then be ruined. The Holy Prophet said: Rejoice
O Abu Sa'id
for each good act will be equal to ten good acts like it." The basis of the argument for this Sura's being Madani is that Hadrat Abu Sa'ld Khudri was an inhabitant of Madinah and reached maturity after the Battle of Uhud. Therefore
if this Sura was revealed in his presence
as is apparent from his statement
it must be a Madani Sura. However
the practice that the Companions and their immediate successors followed in respect of the occasion of the revelation of the verses and Suras
has already been explained in the Introduction to Sura Ad-Dahrabove. Therefore
a Companion's saying that a verse was sent down on this or that particular occasion is no proof that it was sent down on that very occasion. It may well be that after coming of age when Hadrat Aba Sa'id heard this Sura for the first time from the Holy Prophet
terrified by its last portion he might have asked the Holy Prophet the questions which we have cited above
and he might have narrated the incident saying that when this verse was revealed he put this and this question to the Holy Prophet. In the absence of this tradition every reader who reads the Qur'an with understandings will feel that it is a Makki Sura. More than that: from its theme and style he would feel that it must have been sent down in the earliest stage at Makkah when the fundamental principles and beliefs of Islam were being presented before the people in a concise but highly effective way.
Theme end Subject Matter
Its theme is the second life after death and presentation in it before man of the full record of the deeds done by him in the world. In the first three sentences it has been told briefly how the second life after death will take place and how confounding it will be for man. In the next two sentences it has been said that this very earth on which man has lived and performed all kinds of deeds thoughtlessly
and about which he never could fancy that this lifeless thing would at some time in the future bear witness to his deeds
will speak out on that Day by Allah's command and will state in respect of each individual person what act he had committed at a particular time and place. Then
it has been said that men on that Day
rising from their graves
will come out in their varied groups from all corners of the earth
to be shown their deeds and works
and their presentation of the deeds will be so complete and detailed that not an atom's weight of any good or evil act will be left unnoticed or hidden from his eyes.