Circumstances of The Revelation

How are the circumstances of the revelation of the verses to be understood?

It is not permissible for one to express an opinion of their own; i.e., one that has not been narrated by someone who witnessed the Revelation of the relevant verse, without knowing the circumstances or having a thorough knowledge about them. Pertaining to this subject Muhammad ibn Sirin states: “I asked Ubayda about a verse in the Qur’an and he said to me: ‘Fear God and speak the truth! Those who knew the circumstances of Revelation have all passed away.’”
Only the Companions of the Prophet were able to know the circumstances of the Revelation. If they were not very well acquainted with the circumstances they would not give a definite opinion on the matter. An example of this can be found with the matter of some verses in Sura Nisa. Abdullah ibn Zubayr narrated that a dispute arose between Zubayr and a person from the Ansar over an irrigation channel and they turned to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, for a solution. After evaluating the issue, the Prophet said: “O Zubayr! You water your land first and later let your neighbor water his!” The man from the Ansar said: “O God’s Messenger! What can one say? He is your cousin!” The Prophet’s
face changed at this serious allegation. Zubayr said: “I think the following verses were revealed upon this incident: “But no! By your Lord, they do not (truly) believe unless they make you the judge regarding any dispute between them, and then find not the least vexation within themselves over what you have decided, and surrender in full submission” (Nisa 4:65).
This incident shows that only a few of the Companions, not all, would be aware of the circumstances in which particular verses were revealed. Therefore, it would not be right to determine one event as the circumstance of Revelation only through guess-work or supposition.

 

Akgul, Muhittin (2009). The Quran in 99 Questions (Abdullah Erdemli Trans.). New Jersey: Tughra Books. (Originally published in Turkish as Kur’an İklimine Seyahat)