(Revealed before Hijrah)
According to Ibn ‘Abbas and Ibn Zubair the whole of this Surah was revealed at Mecca (Manthur). Almost all the Commentators of the Qur’an appear to be agreed upon this point. Western scholars have assigned the Surah to the sixth year of the Call, but most probably it was revealed in the fourth or fifth year. Anas reports that the Surah was revealed in one whole and was guarded by seventy thousand angels (Manthur, vol. 4, p. 210). In Chapter An-Nahl the prophecy that the Holy Prophet would meet with severe opposition from the Jews and the Christians had been dealt with at some length. This subject was further elaborated in Surah Bani Isra’il in which it was stated that he would be taken to regions where he would live among the Jews and would establish new contacts with them and later meet with opposition from both the Jews and the Christians and in the end would conquer them. The Surah Bani Isra’il mentioned a Vision of the Holy Prophet, which also embodied a prophecy that he would conquer the Holy Land of the Jews, and alluded to two revolts of the Jews foretold in the Book of Deuteronomy. The first revolt took place after the time of David as a consequence of which the Jews were expelled from their native land. They repented of their sins and their homeland was restored to them. But they again relapsed into iniquitous practices, defied God’s commandments and revolted for the second time in the time of Jesus. This second defiance brought upon them severer punishment. Their holy places were destroyed and they were exiled from their beloved Land of Promise. These prophecies had also mentioned the conditions and circumstances under which the first part of the Israelites—the Jews—had to pass. A description of their condition, however, gave rise to two obvious questions: (a) If Christians, who form the second part of the Mosaic Dispensation, have been spared the punishment with which the Jews who were its first part were afflicted, does it not follow that Christians are heirs to the Divine blessings and favours promised to the Jews? (b) Why are Muslims warned to be on their guard lest they incur Divine displeasure by following in the footsteps of the Jews, and what does this warning portend and what has the future in store for them?
Both these very natural and pertinent questions have been answered in the present Chapter and some light has also been shed on the vicissitudes through which Christianity—second branch of the Mosaic Dispensation—was to pass. Mention has also been made of how Muslims would behave and make themselves the object of Divine wrath by imitating the iniquitous ways of the Jews. An answer has also been supplied to yet another question, viz. what connection is there between these matters and the story of the Dwellers of the Cave, and of Dhul-Qarnain and Gog and Magog and the parable of "Two Gardens" and the Isra’ (Spiritual Journey) of Moses? The answer which this Surah gives to this question is that these parables describe in metaphorical language the rise and fall of Christian nations and also the hardships and tribulations which the Muslims were to suffer from them on account of their own iniquities.
In order to expand the subject and give it more clarity, the Isra’ (Spiritual Journey) of Moses has been mentioned after the parable of the "Two Gardens." This Spiritual Journey of Moses describes in metaphorical language the great material and moral progress which his followers were to make just as the phenomenal progress of the followers of the Holy Prophet has been described in his own Isra’, mentioned in Chapter Bani Isra’il. The Isra’ of Moses describes in detail when and how this great advancement would commence and where it would stop and when the Israelites would become deprived of Divine favours which would be transferred to the House of Ishmael. After this we are told that the Ishmaelites, after having inherited God’s favours, would, in their turn, incur His displeasure by defying His commandments and would be punished by Gog and Magog who would, at one time, spread over and dominate the entire world. Towards the end of the Surah mention is made of one—Dhul-Qarnain, who stood in the way of the domination of the whole world by Gog and Magog. Thus light is thrown on the material and spiritual conditions of Christians both in the early stages of their Faith and in the Latter Days. The Dwellers of the Cave symbolize early Christians in the period of their weakness, and Gog and Magog represent them in the heyday of their glory in the Latter Days. The Surah closes with an assurance to the followers of Islam that God would break and shatter the forces of irreligiousness unleashed by Gog and Magog, and would bring about the deliverance of Muslims by means of a second Dhul-Qarnain. This second Dhul-Qarnain is the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement who is a follower of the Holy Prophet.
The Surah being very important, some additional details of its subject-matter may be mentioned. It states that God has revealed the Qur’an in order to remove the errors that had crept into previous heavenly Scriptures. It warns those who ascribe a son to God that by so doing they incur Divine displeasure. These people hate Islam, and their beginning is not like their end. In the beginning they were very weak and were subjected to bitter persecution. God had mercy on them and delivered them from their trials and tribulations and put them on the road to progress and prosperity. But when they grew rich and prosperous, they resorted to idolatrous practices, and instead of turning to God they turned to the world and became entirely lost in it. Muslims are warned to take a lesson from their fate and in the day of their own power and glory to be on their guard, particularly against being remiss in Divine worship, against excessive love of wealth and worldly possessions, and against a life of ease and luxury. The glory and power of Christian nations as compared with the degradation and poverty of Muslims are then graphically depicted in 'the parable of two men', one rich and the other poor. The rich man—Christian nations—would be proud of his riches while the poor man would turn to God. Pride and conceit would come to grief in the long run and circumstances beyond human control would bring about the rich man’s decline and fall. The Surah proceeds to give some details of those great changes which were revealed to Moses in his Vision in which he was told that the development and progress of his Dispensation would fall far short of the great heights which another and a later Dispensation would attain. This later Dispensation—Islam—would bring to perfection and completion the teaching which the Mosaic Dispensation had left incomplete, and would emerge triumphant from the ashes of a declining and decadent Christendom. After having dealt with the decline and fall of Christian nations and with the rise of Islam, the Surah describes the conditions which would follow the triumph of Islam. It is stated that a time would come when Muslims would also turn their backs upon religion and would become entirely engrossed in the pursuit of material wealth and power. To punish them for their sins God would once again grant success and prosperity to Christian nations which for a time had been restrained from advancing into Southern and Eastern regions. Then would come great destruction upon the world and nations of the world would become divided into two hostile camps, wedded to two opposite ideologies. Sin and iniquity would prevail in the world and injustice and tyranny would become rampant. When things would come to such a pass God would create circumstances which would finally check the seemingly irresistible onrush of the flood threatening to engulf the entire world. While dealing with this subject the Surah clearly hints that the same people would play an important part in arresting and stopping this flood who had once before broken the political power of Gog and Magog—true followers of the Holy Prophet. See also "The Larger Edition of the Commentary," pp. 1474-1480.