(Revealed before Hijrah)
Prominent Muslim scholars like Ibn ‘Abbas and Ibn Zubair hold the view that the Surah was revealed very early at Mecca. William Muir agrees with their opinion. The Surah possesses very close resemblance with some previous Chapters, especially with Al-Fajr and Al-Balad. In the immediately preceding Surah, Ash-Shams, it was hinted that the supreme object of the building of the Ka‘bah, which was the principal theme of Surah Al-Balad, could not have been achieved without a great Divine Messenger—the Spirit par excellence. In the present Surah, however, it is stated that when an ideal Teacher like the Holy Prophet is blessed with ideal disciples like his Companions, progress of the cause of Truth becomes doubly accelerated. It also mentions some of the prominent moral qualities that marked the Companions of the Holy Prophet. In contrast, two glaring bad qualities that lead to the undoing of a people are also mentioned.