(Say: He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally Besought of all…) [112:1-4]. Qatadah, al-Dahhak and Muqatil said: “A group of Jewish people went to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said to him: 'Describe to us your Lord, for He has revealed His description in the Torah. Tell us: what is He made of? And to which species does He belong? Is He made of gold, copper or silver? Does He eat and drink? Who did He inherit this world from? And to whom will He bequeath it?' And so Allah, gloried and exalted is He, revealed this Surah. It is Allah's specific lineage. Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Mihrajani informed us> 'Ubayd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Zahid> Abu'l-Qasim ibn Bint Mani'> his grandfather Ahmad ibn Mani'> Abu Sa'd al-Saghghani> Abu Ja'far al-Razi> al-Rabi' ibn Anas> Abu'l-'Aliyah> Ubayy ibn Ka'b who related that the idolaters said to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace: “What is the lineage of your Lord?” and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Say: He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally Besought of all). The eternally Besought of all (al-Samad) is Him Who (begetteth not nor was begotten) for anyone who is begotten will certainly die and whoever dies will be inherited. Allah does not die nor is He inherited. (And there is none comparable unto Him), He does not have anyone who resembles Him or is like Him (Naught is as His likeness…) [42:11]. Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi informed us> Abu'l-Hasan al-Sarraj> Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Hadrami> Surayj ibn Yunus> Isma'il ibn Mujalid> Mujalid> al-Sha'bi> Jabir who said: “The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, was asked: 'O Messenger of Allah, tell us about the lineage of your Lord!' And so this Surah (Say: He is Allah, the One!...) was revealed”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
