A Study of the Circumstance of Revelation for the Verse of the Inheritors of the Earth Relying on Sunni and Shi’ite Exegeses

Studying Qur’anic verses relying on their circumstance of revelation unveils some hidden truths about them. In this article, the 5th verse of Surah al-Qisas known as the Inheritors of the Earth is studied by such an approach. As it appears from its context, this verse implies that the will of God desired to show favor upon the Bani Isrā’il who were under the oppression of the Pharaoh to make them the heirs of a land named the Promised Land in the Holy Book. The present article discuses that although the context of this verse refers to the Bani Isrā’il during the age of Prophet Moses, regarding the fact that it was revealed in the Makki period when the Muslims were oppressed by the Mushrik leaders, it is definitely considered as good tidings for the Muslims that like Bani Isrā’il, they would relieve from tyranny and oppression, reach leadership, and inherit a land. Of course, this verse involves the general principle that the divine tradition desires that the oppressed people in every era specially Ākher al-Zamān (End Time) would achieve the leadership and inheritance of the earth.