95- Surat Altin/Tafseer
8 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi Ellahi Alrhmani Alraheem
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Wa altini wa alzayitun (1).
By the fig and the olive.
Wa turi sineen (2).
And by the Tur of Sinai.
Wa haza albaladi alameen (3).
And by this secure city.
Laqad khalaqna alinsana fee ahsani taqweem (4).
Indeed, We have created man in the best composition.
Thumma radadnahu asfala safileen (5).
Then We return him to the lowest of the low.
Ella allazina amanu wa amelu alsalehati fa-lahum ajrun ghairu mamnun (6).
Except those who believe and do righteous deeds, then for them is a reward uninterrupted.
Fama youkazzebuka ba'du bel-din (7).
So, What can make you to deny the judgment?.
A-laysa Allahu be-ahkami alhakimeen (8).
Is not Allah the Most Judge of the Judges?.
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Altin begins with four oaths before dealing with an important fact about the perfection of creation of man, and Allah's justice in dealing with his creations, where Allah swore by the fig and the olive in the first verse, then swore by the mount of Tur in Sainai, and by the City of Mecca in the next two verses.
The fig (Altin) has been mentioned only once in the current Surah, but the olive (alzayitun) has been mentioned seven times in the Holy Quran, and it was mentioned explicitly and implicitly, as Allah Almighty says in Surat Almu'minun Aya (20) {And a tree that comes out from the Tur of Sinai which produces oil and food for those who eat.
Allah has mentioned the tree of olive that grows from the Tur mount in Sinai in Surat Almu'minun when He is talking about His perfection of creation of man as in the current Surah, as He described the steps of creation of man in Surat Almu'minun Ayat (12-14), and He concluded the fourteenth verse by saying {So blessed is Allah, the Best of the Creators}. And this is equivalent to the fourth verse of the current Surah "We have created man in the best composition".
It has become clear that Allah has linked between His favor upon man and the perfection of His creation in the two Surahs, as He also has mentioned in Surat Almu'minun Aya (19) {For you in it are many fruits, and from them you eat}. The fruit came in general of which the fig is one of them.
But some commentators have gone beyond the original sense of the first three verses and said that they refer to three location, in each of them Allah sent a Prophet; the first is the locality of Fig and olive which is Bait Almaqdis (Palestine) in which Allah sent the Prophet Juses, The second is the Tur mount of Sainai in which Allah spoke to the Prophet Moses, and the third is Mecca which is the secure city, and it is the city in which the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sent.
Allah did not create mankind only in the best form and shape, but also He preferred them over much of what He has created, with definite preference as He has mentioned in Surat Alisraa Aya (17). But the destiny of man will be to Hellfire if he does not obey Allah and follow the Messenger, and Allah will return him to the lowest of the low as mentioned in Aya (5).
But as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, then for them is a never ending reward Aya (6), and this verse was also mentioned after Allah has talked about the disbelievers in Surat Alinshiqaq Aya (24) saying {So give them the tidings of a painful torment}, then Allah says in the next verse {Except those who believe and do righteous deeds, for them is a reward uninterrupted}.
After Allah mentioned His bounty upon man, and clarified the fate of the believers, and the infidels in the Hereafter, He asks man in the last two verses and says: what can make you to deny the judgment, Is not Allah the Most Judge of the Judges?, assuredly, Allah is the Most Judge of the Judges, and He is not unjust to the servant as He has stated in Aya (46) of Surat Fussilat {Whoever does righteousness, then it is for himself, and whoever does evil, then it is against it, and Your Lord is not unjust to the servants}.