Commentary on Surah al-Tīn

“In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.”

“By the fig and the olive, and Mount Sinai, and this secure city! We have indeed created man in the best form. Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low, except those who believe and perform righteous deeds; theirs shall be an unending reward. What, then, causes you to deny the Judgment? Is Allah not the Wisest of judges?”

The formula “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful” has already been discussed.

“By the fig and the olive, and Mount Sinai, and this secure city.” Allah Most High swears by these four things: the fig, the olive, Mount Sinai, and this secure city. The latter means Makkah, for the surah was revealed in Makkah and the place being indicated is therefore nearby—namely, Makkah. “By the fig” refers to the well-known fruit, and the olive is likewise well known. Allah swears by them because they grow abundantly in Palestine. He swears by Mount Sinai because it is the mountain beside which Allah spoke to Moses—may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him and his family. “And this secure city”: Allah swears by it—meaning Makkah—because it is the land most beloved to Allah and the noblest land in the sight of Allah, Glorified and Exalted.

Some scholars said that Allah swears by these three because the first—“the fig and the olive”—refers to Palestine, the land in which the prophets lived, the last prophet of the Children of Israel being Jesus son of Mary, peace be upon him. He swears by Mount Sinai because it is the mountain around which Allah Most High revealed His message to Moses. As for the secure city, it is Makkah—