At-Tīn التين "The Fig, The Figtree"

Holy Quran

At-Tīn ( التين, "The Fig, The Figtree") is the ninety-fifth surah of the Qur'an, with 8 verses

Summary

1-4 Oaths that God created man "a most excellent fabric"

5-6 God has made all men vile except true believers

7-8 None may rightly deny the judgment-day[1]

This sura opens by mentioning the fig (the sura's namesake), the olive of Jerusalem, Mount Sinai, and "this city secured" (generally considered to be Mecca)

Muhammad Asad, the author of The Message of The Qur'an comments on these verses:

The "fig" and the "olive" symbolize, in this context, the lands in which these trees predominate: i.e., the countries bordering on the eastern part of the Mediterranean, especially Palestine and Syria. As it was in these lands that most of the Abrahamic prophets mentioned in the Qur'an lived and preached, these two species of tree may be taken as metonyms for the religious teachings voiced by the long line of those God-inspired men, culminating in the person of the last Judaic prophet, Jesus. "Mount Sinai", on the other hand, stresses specifically the apostleship of Moses, inasmuch as the religious law valid before, and up to, the advent of Muhammad—and in its essentials binding on Jesus as well—was revealed to Moses on a mountain of the Sinai Desert. Finally, "this land secure" signifies undoubtedly (as is evident from 2:126) Mecca, where Muhammad, the Last Prophet, was born and received his divine call.

The cosmology of the Qur'an states that God made mankind out of clay. This sura suggests not only this, but that the mould which God used for man was "the best possible". The lowness of the clay has set humanity apart from God; because clay is heavier and more solid than fire, from which the Jinn were made, and light, from which the angels came.

However, not all humanity is condemned to absolute removal from God's company. The passage continues that "those who believe and do what is right will have a reward that will never be cut off". A human life, when perfected, will thus rise above its modest origins, giving the human condition a unique possibility for glory on the Last Day. God's judgment, for Heaven or Hell, cannot be contradicted, for "Is not God the best of judges?"

— Muhammad Asad, The Message of The Quran