Even more astonishing is the claim of some that (wa’l-tīn) (“By the fig”) refers to Abu Bakr, (wa’z-zaytūn) (“and by the olive”) to ʿUmar, (wa ṭūr sīnīn) (“and by Mount Sinai”) to ʿUthmān, and (wa hādhā al-balad al-amīn) (“and by this secure city”) to ʿAlī.

Explanation
This is a book of Qur’anic exegesis, and the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—is quoting another commentary which states: the fig is Abu Bakr, the olive is ʿUmar, Mount Sinai is ʿUthmān, and this secure city is ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. He thus labelled them all with things either eaten or inhabited. We ask Allah for safety. Perhaps, because the fig appears first and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) is foremost, he began with him, reasoning: since Abu Bakr is the best of them and Allah started with the fig, then came the olive, this follows their order in the caliphate and in merit. He added: these are four words and there are four men, arranged like this—Abu Bakr, then ʿUmar, then ʿUthmān, then ʿAlī.

Such fables sometimes involve explaining a word in a way it can in no sense bear—for these words do not denote those persons. Likewise, His words (wa’lladhīna maʿahu ashiddaʾu ʿalā ’l-kuffār, ruḥamāʾu baynahum, tarāhum rukkaʿan sujjadā) “and those who are with him are stern against the disbelievers, merciful to one another; you see them bowing and prostrating,” are all descriptions of “those who are with him.” Grammarians call this “one predicate after another.” The point is that they are all attributes of a single entity—those who accompanied him—and it is impermissible to assign each predicate to a separate individual. At other times these interpretations restrict an unrestricted, general term to a single person, as in their assertion that His saying (innamā waliyyukum Allāhu wa rasūluhu)