Sufyān and others likewise transmitted it from Mansūr, but they halted the report with Mujāhid.

The third opinion holds that it was revealed once in Mecca and once in Medina, so it is both Makkan and Medinan. Abū al-Layth even reported that half of it descended in Medina and the other half in Mecca (1). Another view says that it was revealed somewhere between Mecca and Medina.

The soundest position, however, is that it was revealed in Mecca. Sūrat al-Ḥijr is, by unanimous agreement, Makkan, and within it Allah declares, “We have certainly given you the seven oft-repeated verses and the Magnificent Qur’an” (al-Ḥijr 15:87). The Prophet ﷺ explained that these seven verses are al-Fātiḥah, which proves that its revelation preceded that of al-Ḥijr. Furthermore, the prescribed prayer was made obligatory in Mecca, and there is no report whatsoever that the Prophet ﷺ or his Companions ever performed a prayer without the Opening of the Book. All this indicates that its revelation was in Mecca.

As for the narration claiming that it was the very first sūrah revealed from the Qur’an, the authentic ḥadiths refute it.