Allah says, in Surah At-Teen:

وَالتِّينِ وَالزَّيْتُونِ
وَطُورِ سِينِينَ
وَهَذَا الْبَلَدِ الْأَمِينِ

Translation: By the fig and the olive. And [by] Mount SinaiAnd [by] this secure city [Makkah], … [Surah At-Tin, verses 1-3]

Allah is testifying. Allah, the Lord of the Universe, wants us to take something extra-extra-super-specially-important. We should always ask, ya Rabbi, why are you testifying?

As we mentioned before, testifications show the immensity and greatness of the thing testified by. Insha’Allah you will find lots of benefits in olilves (and olive oil), and in figs (possibly even the dried ones).

And beware, there are a lot of fabricated ahadith about the benefits of this or that. Like “if you eat eggplant, you’ll be untouched by Hellfire.” Who fabricated them? Eggplant farmers! (And other merchants of specific foods.)

Toori-Sineen, refers to Mount Sinai–the place where Musa (alayhi salaam) spoke to Allah. A very blessed place–just like “this city (Mekka),” also known in Arabic as Makkah Al-Mukarramah, or “the noble city.”

The maqsoom ‘alayh (thing testified to) is:

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ

Translation: We have certainly created man in the best of stature; [Surah Tin, verse 4]

That is, that humans are the best and most beautiful shape; we stand upright; we have opposable thumbs; and we lower our heads in submission to Allah.

One of the four great imams (I believe it was Imam Ash-Shafi’ee), rahimahullah, was once asked: “I told my wife, you’re divorced if you’re not more beautiful than the moon!” (Arabs considered the moon very beautiful.) “So am I divorced?”

Imam Ash-Shafiee thought about it, and said, “no … because your wife is more beautiful than the moon!” And the guy got angry and was ready to punch him out, like “have you been looking at my wife?!” kinda thing.

And the imam, rahimahullah, quoted this ayah–that we created humans in the BEST of forms. Subhanallah!

But there’s a catch! Allah continues:

ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَاهُ أَسْفَلَ سَافِلِينَ

Translation: Then We return him to the lowest of the low, [verse 5]

This meaning is similar to Surah Al-Asr–that “all humans are in loss,” by default, it’s like a water-slide; you just let go and let the dunya take you, and by default, you lose.

Then Allah spells out the recipe for success, how to be exceptional from this group of losers:

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ

Translation: Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, for they will have a reward uninterrupted. [verse 6]

Again, similar meaning to Surah Al-’Asr.

Then the final two verses:

فَمَا يُكَذِّبُكَ بَعْدُ بِالدِّينِ
أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ

Translation: So what yet causes you to deny the Recompense? Is not Allah the most just of judges? [verses 7-8]

The recompense means, the Day of Judgment, and the Hisaab–the final recompensation for every little thing that you did, good or bad. And we’ll discuss the final verse in the grammar, insha’Allah.

Wallahu ta’ala ‘alam. Insha’Allah we’ll post a subsequent post on the Arabic grammar, to try and keep each post short, insha’Allah.

Action Items: What else do you know from the tafseer of Surah At-Teen? Post a comment insha’Allah and share it with us!

References:

• Touched by an Angel: Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma. By Muhammad Alshareef. 2009.

Allah says, in Surah ‘Asr:

وَالْعَصْرِ
إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

“By Time. Indeed, mankind is at loss. Except for those who have believed, done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” [Asr: 1-3]

Allah swears by time–which shows how enormous and noble this creation is. Time.

Imam Shafi said about this revelation that had it been the only revelation sent to mankind, it would have been enough.  What motivated him to say this?

This surah reinforces one of the most beautiful qualities of the Qur’an – profound messages in succinct words.  In this surah of only 3 verses, Allah t’ala gives mankind essential direction.  Whenever I read this surah, I always reflect on how is paints a crystal clear picture for all of mankind.

The varying cultures of the world have interpreted the reality of life and the reality of time in different ways.  A popular belief is that Man struggles against nature to live as long as possible and to enjoy as much as possible.  That’s why birthdays are celebrated.  It’s one more year that a person has “beat Mother Nature.”  This surah however, gives a Muslim their bearings.  It’s not about how long you manage to live – because that has been predetermined.

Allah tells us: “By Time, Mankind is at loss.” [Asr: 1-2] Essentially, “we’re on the clock.” From the minute we’re born, there is a timer counting down to the day we will leave this planet.  And as a result, we look to succeed in the limited time that we have.

But Allah doesn’t leave Mankind hopeless, just saying “Well, guess what, you’re losing, too bad, so sad, see you later.”  (So don’t ever give up hope!) Rather, Allah follows up this statement with “EXCEPT, for those who have believed, done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” [Asr: 3]

So here, then is our recipe for success.  This is the blueprint – your road-map to Jannah.  Don’t want to be a LOSER? (And being a loser is by default–like a water-slide. You just let go, let the world sweep you buy, and you go down, down, down.) Then follow these simple steps!

1. Believe
2. Do righteous deeds
3. Advise one another to the truth
4. Advise one another to patience.

The first point is very critical.  If you want to be successful – we’re being told point blank here – you have to be a believer.  On top of that, point number two, your belief must manifest in action.  Don’t satisfy yourself by saying it’s in your heart.  If it’s really in your heart, it’ll be so powerful that your heart will pump it through every limb of your body and you will radiate actions.

Thirdly, we must call one another to the truth.  We must give dawah to those who have not found the correct path to Allah and we must help those who struggle on it.  Fourthly, we must be, and must help others be patient.  Life can be full of “interesting events and situations that may at first seem unfavourable or displeasing.”  Deal with it.  The fourth point is so beautiful because it’s such a nice of saying that life won’t be perfect, so train yourself in patience.  You’re going to need it.  If of course, you don’t want to be a loser.

Again, it’s not enough just to believe and do good deeds–you have to call to the truth, and call to patience.

Wallahu ‘alam.

Action Items:

• Memorize the surah: (Okay, you’ve probably memorized it because it’s so short.)  So memorize the accurate translation.
• Use the items as a checklist: At the end of every day, run down this small list, did you do everyone of these?  Will you be written amongst the successful?
• Post your reflections. What deep points strike you from what you know about this surah?

References:

• Touched by an Angel: Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma. By Muhammad Alshareef. 2009.
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