Which was revealed in Al-Madina

Surah Al `Imran was revealed in Al-Madinah, as evident by the fact that the first eighty-three Ayat in it relate to the delegation from Najran that arrived in Al-Madinah on the ninth year of Hijrah (632 CE). We will elaborate on this subject when we explain the Ayah about the Mubahalah 3:61 in this Surah, Allah willing. We should also state that we mentioned the virtues of Surah Al `Imran along with the virtues of Surat Al-Baqarah in the beginning of the Tafsir of Surat Al-Baqarah.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

This is the first section of Surah 'A1-` Imran, the third Surah of the Holy Qur'an. It will be recalled that at the end of the Surah Al-Fatihah a prayer for guidance to the straight path was made. After that, by be-ginning the Surah Al-Baqarah with الم ﴿1﴾ ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَ‌يْبَ فِيهِ (This Book which has no doubt in it), it was pointed out that the prayer made in Su-rah Al-Fatihah for guidance to the straight path has been accepted and Allah Almighty has sent down this Qur'an which provides guidance to the straight path. Then came many injunctions of the Islamic law taken up briefly or in details. As a corollary to this, frequent mention was made of the hostility of the disbelievers and the need to confront them. Towards the end, this sequence was concluded with (Help us, then, against disbelieving people) - in the mode of prayer. Since the prayer was made in order that Muslims could confront and prevail over the disbelievers, it was in consonance with that prayer that, in the following Surah 'Al-` Imran, the text deals with the modalities of dealing with disbelievers, as well as, with the need to carry out Jihad against them, verbally and physically. This is, so to speak, an elaboration and extension of فَانصُرْ‌نَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِ‌ينَ (Help us, then, against disbelieving people).

A Summary of Meanings