2921 The reference is to a very severe famine felt in Makkah, which was attributed by the Unbelievers to the presence of the Prophet among them and his preaching against their gods. As this is a Makkan Surah, the famine referred to must be that described by Ibn Kathir as having occurred in the 8th year of the Mission , say about four years before the Hijrah. There was also a post-Hijrah famine, which is referred to by Bukhan, but that was a later event.