Dating the Sūrah Al-'Ikhlās (Sūrah Al-Tawḥīd)

The Qur’anic sūrahs were gradually sent down to the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) during two periods of Mecca and Medina. In Qur’anic studies it’s very important to know when and where a sūrah was revealed. Sūrah al-Tawḥīd is one of the disputed ones, which in order to achieve the descending date of it, two categories of extra and intra-textual evidences must be studied. From this point of view, the present research, in a descriptive-analytical method, seeks to answer the question: “what is the dating of Sūrah al-Tawḥīd based on the extra and intra-textual evidences?” Findings show that both the extra and intra-textual evidences indicate to its being as Meccan and accordingly, based on these evidences, its revelation is estimated to the third year of the Mission, coincided with the public invitation of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).