[citation needed] Regarding the timing and contextual background of the asbāb al-nuzūl or circumstances of revelation, the chapter is believed to have been either the second or third of the Medinan surahs, as it references both the events of the battles of Badr and Uhud.

[25] According to Christian tradition, Joachim is the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, mother of Jesus.

"[27] Although Islamic studies of the beginning of the 20th century tended to note genealogical discrepancies, in more recent Islamic Studies of the 21st century the general consensus is, according to Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai and Michael Marx, that the Quran does not make a genealogical error but instead makes use of typology.

The words "sister" and "daughter", like their male counterparts, in Arabic usage, can indicate extended kinship, descendance or spiritual affinity.

[31][32] Rather it serves as a pun for the name Miriam, daughter of Amram and the sister of Aaron, venerated for helping to save her brother Moses as an infant.