Audience-Study and Dating the Āya 91 of Sūrat al-An‘ām

Audience-study and dating the āya 91 of Sūrat al-An‘ām has been one of the exegetical controversies among the Muslims since early centuries up to the present, which has always incited some disputes under this āya. Some have, contrary to the obvious evidences of this admonitory āya, assumed the addressees to be the polytheists and have made reference to the Prophet’s non-interaction with the People of Scripture in Mecca for proving their claim. Whereas, some others have, with reliance on the textual evidences of the āya, assumed its addressees to be the Jews; however, given the above presupposition, they have assumed the Revelation of this āya to have been in Medina. The third group have also regarded the āya’s addressees to be the Jews and its Revelation simultaneous with other parts of the sūra in Mecca, but have got into trouble in reconciling between this historical presupposition and the quality of admonishing the Jews in Mecca. Upon examining the viewpoints, this writing has accepted the Jews as being the addressees of this āya and then, in light of other Meccan āyas, has dealt with the claim of the Prophet’s non-interaction with the People of Scripture in this juncture and while rejecting it, has proved the āya’s being Meccan and the likelihood of admonishing the Jews in this period.