Dating the Surah Al-Ma’ārij

Abstract

Sūrah al-Ma’ārij, according to some of the asbāb al-nuzūl traditions, is regarded as Madanī; however, in the traditions of the order of descent, this sūrah is mentioned among the Makkī sūrahs, and for this reason, as well as the existence of some other asbāb al-nuzūl traditions in the interpretive sources of Sunni and some Shiite interpretations, Sūrah al-Ma’ārij has been considered as Makkī sūrahs. In order to achieve the descendant date of this sūrah, one should use Extra-Textual Evidences and Intra-Textual Evidences. Therefore, this research with a descriptive-analytic method attempts to answer this question: "what is the dating of Sūrah al-Ma’ārij based on the extra and intra-textual evidences?" The findings of the study indicated that there was a criticism about the extra-textual evidences, the order of descent traditions and the asbāb al-nuzūl traditions that confirmed this sūrah is Makkī. But, the traditions of the order of descent regarding the sūrah as Madanī, as well as the views of some commentators and intra-textual evidences, which were obtained by thinking in the concept of the verses of this sūrah, proved that Sūrah al-Ma’ārij is Madanī and, based on the sum of the evidences, this sūrah has been revealed to the Prophet (PBUH) in the last year of emigration and in the last months of his life.