I originally posted this back in December, but I thought I would bring it back for a new audience, inshallah, and add a little bit more explanation and commentary.
According to Islamic history, the Quran was revealed gradually over a period of about 22 years starting in 610 C.E. and continuing until the death of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in 632 C.E. The earliest revelations dealt with the basics of belief: the oneness of God, that God communicates His commands and instructions to humankind (i.e., prophecy), and the reality of the Day of Judgment. Later revelations expanded on this and provided more details. Commands regarding worship practices were given, then later on, moral commands and prohibitions and ultimately detailed guidelines for living.
Aisha, one of the wives of the Prophet (pbuh) and a prominent scholar in her own right, explained in a well-known report that if the whole structure of Islam had come down at once, people would never have obeyed it because they did not want to give up how they were living (Aisha specifically mentions the prohibitions on fornication and drinking). However, because it was revealed gradually, a foundation of faith was built in peoples' hearts and they progressed step-by-step until they were ready to follow all the rules.
Very often, Quranic verses would provide guidance for ongoing situations that had developed. The way that the Prophet (pbuh) understood and implemented each verse then served as an explanation to the Muslims of what God's revelation meant.
Because of the nature of the revelations, then, the first generation of Muslims paid close attention to and preserved reports of the circumstances in which Quranic verses were revealed. These reports are contained in the major commentaries on the Quran.
With this background in mind, I'd like to present selections from the commentary of Ibn Kathir (which dates from the 1300s C.E.) for two verses of the Quran that deal with women.
The first verse is Surah Ali Imran verse 195:
Umm Salama said, "O Messenger of Allah, Allah does not mention women in connection with migration". Allah sent down the verse, And their Lord seeks to answer them, "I do not lose the work of a worker from you, male or female. The one of you is of the same nature as the other one. Then those who emigrate or go out from their residence and were injured in My way, and fought and were killed, I expiate from them their evil deeds and will enter them in Paradise, under which rivers flow, a reward from with God". And God, with Him is the most beautiful of rewards This verse explains the type of answer Allah gave them, stating that no deed of any person is ever lost with Him. Rather, He will completely reward each person for his or her good deeds. Allah's statement means 'you are all equal in relation to gaining My reward' [1]The second verse is Surah al-Ahzab verse 35:
Umm Salama said, "I said to the Prophet, 'Why is it that we (women) are not mentioned in the Quran as men are?' Then one day without my realizing it, he was calling from the Minbar and I was combing my hair, so I tied my hair back then I went out to my chamber in my house, and I started listening out, and he was saying from the Minbar: Surely the Muslim men and the Muslim women, and the faithful men and the faithful women, and the devout men and the devout women, and the honest men and the honest women, and the enduring men and the enduring women, and the humble men and the humble women, and the men giving to charity and the women giving to charity, and the fasting men and the fasting women, and the men guarding their modesty and the women guarding their modesty, and the men remembering God much and the women remembering - God prepares for them all a place of forgiveness and a mighty wage [2]The Umm Salama mentioned in both reports is another of the wives of the Prophet (pbuh) and also a prominent scholar. [1] source [2] source