Name of the Surah and place of its revelation

According to the consensus of scholars, this Surah was revealed in Madinah. Its other name is Surah At-Tawdi`. The word Tawdi` means 'to bid farewell'. As this Surah indicates the approach of the demise of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، it bids farewell to him and is thus entitled Surah At-Tawdi'.

The Last Surah and the Last Verses of the Noble Qur’ an

It is recorded in Sahih of Muslim on the authority of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، that Surah An-Nasr was the last Surah to be revealed. [ Qurtubi ]. This means that this was the last complete Surah that was revealed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . No complete Surah was revealed after this. Some individual verses reported to have been revealed after this are not in conflict with this statement, because no complete Surah was sent down after the present one. It is like Surah Al-Fatihah which is said to be the first Surah, while a few verses of Surah Al-'Alaq, a few verses of Surah Al-Muddaththir, and a few verses of other Surahs were revealed even before Surah Al-Fatihah, because it means that it was the first Surah to be revealed completely. No complete Surah was revealed before Al-Fatihah.

Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar ؓ reports that this Surah was revealed during the Farewell Pilgrimage, and shortly after that a fragment of verse [ 3] of Surah [ 5] الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ (...Today, I have perfected your religion for you_[ 5:3]) was revealed. After these two revelations, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ lived only for eighty days, after which he passed away. After these two revelations, the Holy Prophet ﷺ received the verse of kalalah. Then the Holy Prophet ﷺ lived for fifty days. After that he received the following verse [ 9:128] of Surah [ 9] لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَ‌سُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ (Surely, there has come to you a Messenger from amongst you, hard on whom is your suffering, for the good of you he craves...) After this revelation, he lived for 35 days. After this verse was revealed the following verse: [ 2:281] اتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْ‌جَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّـهِ (And be fearful of a day when you shall be returned to Allah...). After this verse he lived only for twenty-one days, and according to Muqatil, he lived for seven days only and passed away. [ Qurtubi ]

Verse [ 110:1] إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ‌ اللَّـهِ وَالْفَتْحُ (When there comes Allah's help and the victory). The expression 'victory' here is in reference to 'the promised Victory or Conquest of Makkah'. There is complete unanimity on this historical fact. However, the scholars disagree whether this Surah was revealed before or after the Conquest. The phrase idha ja'a [ when there comes ] apparently indicates that its revelation took place before the Conquest. Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani cites a narration from Al-Bahr-ul-Muhit which concurs with this view, in which it is stated that this Surah was revealed while returning from the expedition of Khaibar. It is a known fact that the victory of Khaibar took place prior to the Conquest of Makkah. Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani cites, on the authority of ` Abd Ibn Humaid, Sayyidna Qatadah's statement that the Prophet ﷺ lived for two years after the revelation of this Surah. Narratives report that it was revealed on the occasion of the Conquest of Makkah or on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage may be explained by saying that the Holy Prophet ﷺ might have recited this Surah and proclaimed it on one of those occasions; as a result people must have thought that it was revealed on that occasion. Please refer to Bayan-ul Qur'an for fuller explanation.

Several Prophetic Traditions and statements of the Companions narrate that this Surah indicates that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has fulfilled his task, and accomplished his mission of life, and he could look forward to returning to his Lord in full favour as his death was approaching fast. The Surah teaches the Holy Prophet ﷺ the beautiful manners of asking Allah's forgiveness and offering constant praise and thanks to his Lord.

It is reported in Muqatil's narration that when this Surah was revealed, the Holy Prophet ﷺ recited it in a gathering of the blessed Companions, among whom were Sayyidna Abu Bakr, ` Umar, Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas ؓ . All were happy at the revelation of this Surah, because it contained the glad tidings of the Conquest of Makkah, but Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ began to weep. The Holy Prophet ﷺ asked him the reason for weeping, and he replied that it covertly conveys the termination of your life and nearness of your death. The Holy Prophet ﷺ confirmed this. Sahih of Bukhari records a similar explanation of this Surah given by Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہما in which there is the addition that when Sayyidna ` Umar رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ heard this, he concurred with him and said: 'I do not know anything about it other than what you [ Ibn ` Abbas ] have said'. [ Transmitted by Tirmidhi who graded it as hasan, Sahih vide Qurtubi ]