The “causes of revelation” and their importance:

Knowing the reason behind the revelation of a verse of the Quraan is very important in helping us to understanding it. There is a whole science of the Quraan dedicated to this know as Asbaabun Nuzool (Causes of Revelation). Knowing the reason of revelation will help you understand the Quraan and clear any doubt you may have, because in some verses explanation and clarification is needed.

For instance in the verse:

و ﻟﻠﻪ ﺍﻟﻤﺸﺮﻕ ﻭ ﺍﻟﻤﻐﺮﺏ فأينما ﺗﻮﻟﻮﺍ فثم ﻭﺟﻪ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ… ﺍﻻﻳﺔ

“And for Allah is the east and the west so wherever you turn you will find the countenance of Allah.” [2:115]

A person may misunderstand from this verse that it is permissible to perform salaah facing any direction other than the qiblah, but the person who thinks like this would be mistaken, because facing the qiblah is a condition for the correctness of salaah. As Allah commands in another verse:

فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ

“So turn your face in the direction of Al-Masjid Al-Haram (at Makkah).” [2:144]

The “cause of revelation” of the first verse clarifies it.

Ibn Abbas relates that a group of companions of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم went out on a journey. They encountered heavy fog at the time of Salaah. So they faced the direction that their hearts said was the qiblah. When the fog lifted  they realized that the direction that they had faced was incorrect. On returning to the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم they asked him concerning this, on which this verse was revealed. [Tafsir Baghawi 1:140]

From this we realize that this verse is concerning a particular situation when the qiblah is unknown and there is no way to verify its direction. While in normal circumstances it is incumbent to face the ka’bah as mentioned in the second verse of the Quraan.

There are many more verses like this where the أسباب ﺍﻟﻨﺰﻭﻝ (causes of revelation) give us the clarification of the verses of the Quraan.