'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah At-Tin.

It is a Makki surah, and I do not know of any disagreement among the interpreters regarding that.

His saying, glorified and exalted is He:

﴿By the fig and the olive﴾ ﴿and Mount Sinai﴾ ﴿and this secure city﴾ ﴿Indeed, We created man in the best stature﴾ ﴿then We returned him to the lowest of the low﴾ ﴿except for those who believe and do righteous deeds; for them is a reward uninterrupted﴾ ﴿so what causes you to deny the recompense﴾ ﴿Is not Allah the most just of judges﴾

People have differed in the meaning of "the fig and the olive" by which Allah, the Exalted, swore. Ibn Abbas, Al-Hasan, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Ibrahim, Ata, Jabir ibn Zayd, and Muqatil said: It is the fig that is eaten and the olive that is pressed. The Prophet ﷺ ate figs that were gifted to him and said: "If I were to say that a fruit was sent down from Paradise, I would say this, because the fruit of Paradise has no seeds. So eat it, for it cuts hemorrhoids and is beneficial for the scabies." And he, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The best siwak is the siwak of the olive tree, the blessed tree; it is my siwak and the siwak of the prophets before me."

And Ka'b and Ikrimah said: The oath is by their places of growth, as the fig grows abundantly in Damascus, and the olive grows in Ilah. So Allah, the Exalted, swore by the two lands. And Qatadah said: They are two mountains in Sham, on one of which is Damascus, and on the other is Bayt al-Maqdis. And Ibn Zayd said: The fig is the mosque of Noah, peace be upon him, on Al-Judi, and the olive is the mosque of Bayt al-Maqdis. It was said: The fig is the mosque of Noah, and the olive is the mosque of Ibrahim, peace be upon them. And it was said: The fig, the olive, and Mount Sinai are three mosques in Sham. And Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi said: The fig is the mosque of the companions of the cave, and the olive is the mosque of Ilia. As for Mount Sinai, there is no disagreement that it is a mountain in Sham where Allah, the Exalted, spoke to Musa, peace be upon him.

And there was a difference in the meaning of "Sinin." Ikrimah and Mujahid said: Its meaning is: good and blessed. It was said: Its meaning is: full of trees. The majority read: "Sinin," while Ibn Abi Ishaq and Abu Raja read: "Saynin" with an open 's', which is the dialect of Bakr and Tamim. Umar ibn al-Khattab, Talhah, Al-Hasan, and Ibn Mas'ud read: "Sinan" with a broken 's' and an 'a', and Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, also read it with an open 's'.

And "the secure city" is Mecca without disagreement. It was said: The meaning of "Sinin" is: blessed. It was said: Its meaning is: a tree, one of which is called Siniyyah, as said by Al-Akhfash and Sa'id ibn Mis'ada. And "Amin" is a participle from security, meaning: secure is he who is in it and who enters it, and what is in it of birds and animals.

The oath is based on His saying, "Indeed, We created man in the best stature." This does not prevent that other creatures, like the sun and others, may be in better stature than him in relation. Some scholars said generally that "man" is the best of creatures in stature. No group has claimed that whoever swears by divorce that his wife is better than the sun, and they used this verse as evidence. People have differed regarding what is meant by the stature of man. Al-Nakha'i, Mujahid, and Qatadah said: It is his good form and senses. Some of them said: It is the uprightness of his stature. Abu Bakr ibn Tahir, in the book of Al-Thalabi, said: It is his intellect and perception, which we have adorned with distinction. Ikrimah said: It is youth and strength. The correct view is that all of this is good stature, except for Ikrimah's saying, as his statement would favor some animals over man. Here, "man" is a generic term, and the intended meaning is: in the best stature; because the best is a description that must apply to something described.

People have differed in the meaning of His saying, "Then We returned him to the lowest of the low." Ikrimah, Qatadah, Al-Dhahhak, and Al-Nakha'i said: Its meaning is: due to old age, loss of intellect, and the dominance of senility until he becomes one who knows nothing. However, the pen is lifted from the believer, and the exception in this case is disconnected. This is a good statement, and it does not mean that every person experiences this, but rather in the general sense, there are those who experience that. This is a lesson that is established. Ibn Mas'ud read: "the low" with the definite article.

Then Allah, the Most High, informed that those who believed and did righteous deeds - even if some of them experienced this in this world - for them in the Hereafter is a reward that is not diminished. Al-Hasan, Mujahid, Qatadah, Ibn Zayd, and Abu Al-Aliyah said: The meaning is: We returned him to the lowest of the low in the fire due to his disbelief. Then Allah, the Most High, excluded those who believed with a connected exclusion, so there is no one among them who is returned to the lowest of the low. In the hadith of Anas, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "When the believer reaches fifty years, Allah, the Most High, lightens his reckoning. When he reaches sixty, Allah grants him the ability to repent to Him. When he reaches seventy, the inhabitants of the heavens love him. When he reaches eighty, his good deeds are recorded, and Allah overlooks his sins. When he reaches ninety, his sins are forgiven, and he intercedes for his family. He is the captive of Allah on His earth. When he reaches one hundred - without having done anything - he is recorded as if he were doing what he used to do in his health, and no sin is recorded against him." In the hadith, "Indeed, when the believer is returned to the lowest of age, he is recorded for him the best of what he used to do among his people, and that is a reward that is not diminished." The term "not diminished" means: counted as a continuous favor upon them, as stated by Mujahid and others. Many of the commentators said: Its meaning is: cut off, from their saying, "a weak bond," meaning a weak and severed one.

And there is a difference regarding the addressed one in His saying, the Exalted: ﴿So what makes you deny the religion after this?﴾ - Qatadah, Al-Farra', and Al-Akhfash said: It is Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Allah said to him: So what is it that makes you deny what you inform about regarding the recompense and resurrection - and that is the religion - after this lesson that necessitates reflection on the truth of what you said? It is possible that 'the religion' - according to this interpretation - refers to all of his religion and law. A majority of the interpreters said: The addressed one is the disbelieving human, meaning: What makes you a liar regarding the religion, attributing partners to Allah, and claiming that there is no resurrection after these evidences? Mansur said: I asked Mujahid: Is His saying, the Exalted: ﴿So what makes you deny the religion after this?﴾ intended for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him? He said: Far from it, it means the one who doubts.

Then the Exalted established all of His creation upon the fact that He, glorified and exalted is He, is the Most Just of judges, in the context of affirmation. It has been narrated from Qatadah that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, when he recited this surah, would say: 'Indeed, I am among those who bear witness to that.'

The interpretation of Surah [At-Tin] has been completed, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.