095 - Sūrat at-Tīn

In the name of Allah (who is) Rahmān (and) Rahīm.

[For explanation, see Sūrat al-Fātiha: 1]

1

By the fig and the olive, that is, the two [edible] foods - or [these denote the names of] two mountains in Syria on which these two foods grow -

2

and [by] the Mount Sinai, the mountain on which Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, spoke to Moses (sīnīn means 'the one blessed' or 'the fair one with fruitful trees'),

3

and [by] this secure land: Mecca, as people were secure in it in the time of pagandom and [are still secure in it] in Islam.

4

Verily We created man (al-insān: the generic) in the best of forms, [in the best] proportioning of his shape.

5

Then, in the case of certain individuals of his [species], We reduced him to the lowest of the low - a metaphor for old age and weakness, at which point a believer's deeds are fewer than when he was young; but he will still have his reward, as Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, says:

6

except those who believe and perform righteous deeds, for they shall have an unfailing reward, one unending - in a hadīth [it is stated], 'When a believer reaches that stage of old age which prevents him from performing [good] deeds, then what he used to do is recorded in his favour [instead]'.

7

So what makes you deny, O disbeliever, thereafter - after the mention of man being created in the best of forms and his being reduced to the vilest of age, all of which indicates the power [of Allahu ta’ālā] to resurrect - the Judgement?, the Requital that will be preceded by the Resurrection and the Reckoning. In other words, what makes you disbelieve in all this? Nothing does!

8

Is not Allahu ta’ālā the fairest of all judges?, the most just of all judges. His passing judgement by means of [the process of] requital is one such example. In a hadīth [it is stated], 'Whoever recites [sūrat] wa'l-tīni, 'By the fig', to the end of it, let him then say, “Yes Indeed! And I am of those who bear witness to this!” '