This Surah's period of revelation is not known from any authentic tradition, however, it appears that it was revealed in the same period in which the Surahs Al-M'umin, As-Sajdah and As-Shura were sent down. It appears that the revelation of this series of the Surahs began when the disbelievers of Makkah were planning to assassinate the Prophet. They were holding consultations day and night in their assemblies relating to this issue. An attempt of assassination had also been made as is clearly referred in vv. 79-80.
- Al-Qur'an is a transcript from the Mother-Book which is in Allah's keeping.
- Supplication before riding a conveyance.
- Creed of the mushrikin that angels are female divinities is false.
- An example of the Prophet Ibrahim who recognized the Oneness of Allah and rejected the shirk using merely his common sense and observing His signs from nature.
- If it were not that all mankind will become one race of unbelievers, Allah would have given the unbelievers houses which were made with sterling silver.
- He who turns away from the remembrance of Allah, Allah appoints a Shaitan to be his intimate friend.
- Hold fast to The Qur'an if you want to be rightly guided.
- The Prophet Isa (Jesus) was no more than a mortal whom Allah favored and made an example for the children of Israel.
- O Prophet tell the Christians: "If Allah had a son, I would have been the first one to worship him."
In this Surah, a forceful criticism has been made of the Qureysh and other Arab's creeds and superstitions of ignorance. The disbelievers were admitting the fact that the Creator of the earth, the heavens, themselves and their deities is only Allah. They also knew and admitted that the blessings they were benefiting from, had been bestowed by Allah; yet they insisted on making others associates of Allah in His Godhead. They believed that the angels were goddesses; they had carved their images as females; they adorned them with female dresses and ornaments, and called them daughters of Allah: they worshipped them and invoked them for the fulfillment of their needs. They had no answer to the question as to how do they knew that the angels were female? When they could not find the basis for their claims and superstitions, they presented the pretence of destiny and said: "Had Allah disapproved our these practices, we could not have worshipped these deities." Whereas the means of finding out whether Allah had approved of something or not, are His Books and not those things which are happening in the world according to His Will. For under His Will not only idol worship but crimes like theft, adultery, robbery, murder, etc. also are being committed. Can this argument be used to justify crime and evil in the world?
When they were asked: "Have you any other authority, apart from this wrong argument, for the polytheism of yours?" They replied: "The same has been the practice since the time of our forefathers." In other words this, in their opinion, was a strong enough argument for a creed's being right and true, whereas the Prophet Ibrahim, being the descent of whom was the only basis of their pride and distinction, had rejected the religion of his elders left his home, and had discarded every such blind imitation of his forefathers which did not have the support of any rational argument.
After criticizing each practice of ignorance of the disbelievers and rejecting it with rational arguments, this discourse has pointed out: " Allah has neither any offspring, nor are there separate gods for the earth or heavens, nor is there any intercessor who may be able to protect the disbelievers from Allah's punishment. Allah is far above from having a child. He Alone is the God of the whole universe: all others are His servants."