This surah has a relation to the previous surah Lahab because Abu Lahab was continuously on the focus of Allah's Messenger due to his acts of insults and abuse. But Allah told in the previous surah that He would gradually destroy [tabb] Abu Lahab and his efforts against the message. Now that Allah will deal with Abu Lahab, now you (O Muhammad) should focus on Allah's Oneness alone, and the conveying of it to others. When people have a long conflict, people forget the agenda of the conflict. So we come back to the main message which caused these disputes between disbelievers and believers - it is the legacy of Ibraheem - the Tawheed (Oneness of Allah).
If there were Multiple gods:
If there were therein gods beside Allah, then verily both (the heavens and the earth) had been disordered. Glorified be Allah, the Lord of the Throne, from all that they ascribe (unto Him). [Anbiya 21:22]
If there had been among them gods except Allah, surely there would be corruption. Multiple gods - brings corruption and disruption. Since two equals in power - compete for that power. And there are many Mythological stories amongst Hindu and Greek and other Polytheistic scriptures which show their gods' fighting with each other for power.
Historical Context:
The scholars disputed whether it was a Makki, or Madani surah. Both had strong legitimate proofs for their opinions.
Allah: The polytheist arabs would use the word Allah for God, but what they associated with Him was not correct. So when Allah's Messenger came with the correct teachings on who Allah was, the polytheists would be confused.
'We believe in Allah, and you believe in Allah, so why do we dispute?'
"siflannaa Rabbak" - describe for us the Attributes (sifaat) of your Lord.' They would say.
A min dhahab, a min fiddah (is He made of gold, is he made of silver?) they had these thoughts because they believed these metals were precious and expensive - so their gods were a source of competition of pride i.e. our god is made of gold. They boasted.
Ansib hu? - what's his lineage/family descendence?
Hadith: A polytheist once came to Allah's Messenger and said; Everything was created by Allah, fa man khalaqAllah? - then who created Allah? Allah's Messenger became extremely angry, so Angel Jibreel calmed him down and Allah revealed this surah.
Linguistic Definitions:
Allah:
A - Ishtiqaaq words (Mushtaq) - Words which have an origin from another word.
B - Asmaa al-Jamida - words which are original words without being derived from other words. Unique by itself.
A - The Mushtaq Opinion - that the word Allah comes from other words;
Allah comes from هل Illaah.
Al أ ل + Illaah هل (hamza, lam, ha) = Allaah.
Alaha/ya'lahu - to worship.
Illaah - one who is worshipped.
Aliha هل - this word is used when a child is thirsty and desperately seeking his mother for milk.
So Illaah = one who is worshipped, obeyed and who people desperately turn to [ilha].
This is the origin of Illaah. There is none to turn to except He.
B - Jamid view - the word Allah is an Original Word without a Root word:
1 - Other scholars say Allah is the Universal word for Allah (without coming from the root word Illah), in every language. So every Messenger sent by Allah said that Allah is God, no matter what language they spoke the message in. I.e. Even in Aramaic, and Hebrew - the word Eloah אלוה [in Hebrew] and Ellah [in Aramaic] were used for God. Similarly, Elohim is used like we say Allahumma [Oh Allah] in arabic.
2 - It would be Linguistically Incorrect to say Ya Allah! (O Allah!)
Al + Illaah = Allah.
when you call someone, you place a Yaa before that. I.e. Ya Raheem (O Especially Merciful (one)) However, you can never place a AL before it. I.e. Ya AL Raheem - since that is linguistically incorrect. It can either be; AL Raheem, or YA Raheem.
So they argue that if Allah is made up of the word Al + Illah, then it does not make linguistic sense to say "Ya Al Illah/Allah!" No Arab would say this due to wrong grammar, so it is possible that Allah is not made up of the wordings; Al + Illaah.
3 - Allah is unique in the way it is pronounced.
Normally when Alif and Lam are placed together, they make a light sound. I.e. Alif and Lam would be pronounced as A-llaa. However, the word Allah is pronounced with a heavier sound. Ie. as Al-laa.
Final Comment:
mamnoo'a min al Sarf - When a word comes from another language and enters into the Arabic language, you cannot place a; Fat-ha [zabar/A], Damma [peysh/U], or Kasra [zeyr/I] on it.
However, Allah does place a Kasra on His Name in the ayah;
wa man asdaqu minAllahI qeela - and who is truer in speech than Allah? - surah an-Nisa'.
So how can this have a Kasra [zeyr/I sound] on it, while not being an Arabic word?
The scholars reply that Allah is recognised in every culture and nation. So He is recognised, and this is why the word has become recognised as an Arabic word (mu'rab).
