Commentary on 'Surah At Tin': Second & Final Part
In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The
Most Merciful; By the Fig and the Olive, And the Mount of Sinai, And this City
of security; We have indeed created man in the best of moulds, Then do We
reduce him to the lowest of the low, Except for those who believe and do
righteous deeds, for they shall have a reward uninterrupted; Then what can, after
this, contradict thee, as to the judgment (to come)? Is not Allah the Best of
judges?” (And at the end, we reply: Bala!
Wa ana ala Zaaleka minash Shahideen - “Indeed, I am among those who testify
to this). (At-Tin 95: 1-9).
By the grace of Allah, I continue my sermon
today on the same subject as last Friday, i.e., on Surah At-Tin (Chapter
95). Last week I expounded on the first verse, on the Fig and the Olive and
today I shall give you an explanation on the rest of the verses of this Surah.
3.Wa Tuuri siiniina
And the Mount of Sinai
It is on Mount Sinai that Hazrat Musa (as)
received the Torah (the divine laws) - most particularly the ten commandments -
which had been revealed for the Jews. That exceptional moment when he received
those revelations, Allah manifested Himself to Hazrat Musa (as) in the form of
an Extraordinary Bright Light. But the Jews did not remain true to the
commandments of Allah and they disobeyed Him. They thus had to pay for the
consequences of their acts and they shall still suffer like this because of the
disobedience which they show before Allah.
This is indeed a lesson for all of
you that, whenever Allah sends His commandments for us - i.e. to revive the
teachings of the Holy Quran in particular - and His reformer to revive (or
bring back) those lost teachings, therefore you should never leave that clean
path which leads to the salvation of our souls, for otherwise, if you disregard
this and take the wrong path and turn your backs to the divine manifestations,
signs and commandments of Allah, your consequences shall be grievous (before
Allah).
And in the next verse, Allah says:
4.Wa haazal-Baladil-‘amiin,
And this City of security;
There is no doubt that “this City of
security” is Mecca. Even in the times when people used to pray idols, Mecca
had already acquired the reputation of being a sacred place and nobody used to
wage war in it. Despite its reputation as a sacred place which existed ever
since the times of Hazrat Ibrahim (as), this did not hinder the people of Mecca
to persecute our beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). Due to the great
persecutions, he had to leave his natal place and seek refuge in the town of
Medina. And he adopted that town with a great heart, so much so that this town
has become the second most sacred town after Mecca.
Therefore, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) accompanied
by Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra) and later on by the other companions left Mecca
for Medina so as to be safe from all the atrocious persecutions which the
Meccans had reserved for them. After the open proclamation of Hazrat Muhammad
(pbuh) as being an Envoy of Allah, those people wanted to kill him. They
thought that if they kill him, they would be able to put an end to Islam (i.e.
the religion of Muhammad (pbuh)) also. Like this adage say: “No one is
prophet in his own land!”
But later on, Allah turned the situation in the
favour of the Muslims and gave victory to His beloved prophet (pbuh) when He
enabled His prophet to enter Mecca with honour and perform the sacred
pilgrimage (Hajj). Allah upturn the situation in such a way that the majority
of those who used to persecute him became Muslims - accepted Islam - and the
rest (who did not accepted Islam) accepted his presence amidst them without seeking
to harm him (the Holy Prophet (pbuh)).
When that moment of glory came, Mecca regained
its honour as a truly sacred place and the Ka'aba most particularly got back
its splendour for all idols which were in it and around it were destroyed, and
once again the light of the unicity of Allah shone again in that sacred town. That
is the beauty of the history of Mecca, whereby with the advent of Islam, it had
gained back its dignity and honour and no Shirk came to touch it and
Allah purified it so much so that till today, it continues to be a place where
people who are truly sincere towards Allah come for the pilgrimage (Hajj) and
get the blessings of receiving the mercy and forgiveness of Allah because they
sacrifice themselves in that sacred path so as to accomplish the Hajj. Indeed,
it is Allah alone who has the capacity to judge the faith (Iman) of
people!
In the next verse, Allah says:
5.Laqad khalaqnal-‘insaana fiii
‘ahsani taqwiim,
We have indeed created man in the best of
moulds.
“Taqwiim” means:
form, mould, nature, symmetry, constitution. There is no mistake or defect in
the creation of Allah. Allah has perfected man in a most pure and best form
compared to His other creatures. As a result, man has the duty now to preserve
that God-given form and cultivate a good character and attitude so as to
perfect that form, like Allah ordains in the Quran:
“So direct your face toward the religion,
inclining to truth. (Adhere to) the fitrah of Allah (the nature made by Allah)
upon which He has created (all) people. No change should there be in the creation
of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.”
(Ar-Roum 30: 31).
Allah has created man in such a way that he
acquires the power of reflection and controls himself according to the
instructions of Allah. When Allah has bestowed upon him this favour, He has
given him (man) a superior position even to that of the angels. The angels were
ordered by Allah to show submission before man (i.e. Adam (as)) and to obey
him. But man in capacity as administrator of his own life needs to use his own
will and intelligence so that he may use in a good way this particular favour (i.e.
intelligence and proximity to Allah etc.) which Allah has bestowed upon him. He
needs to take the maximum benefit from all these favours so that Allah may be
pleased with him and through his good deeds, his status before the eyes of
Allah increase. But on the other hand, if he misuses those favours, i.e. the
faculties which Allah has given him, therefore there is a major risk that his
state becomes worse than an animal, and therefore, he loses Allah and all the
favours which he could have gotten if only he had shown himself sincere to
Allah.
Like Allah Himself says in the Quran:
“Except for those who believe and do
righteous deeds, for they shall have a reward uninterrupted” (At-Tin
95: 7).
“O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon
you clothing to conceal your private parts and as an adornment. But the
clothing of righteousness - that is best. Such are among the Signs of Allah,
that they may be mindful!” (Al-Arraf 7: 27).
In the next verse, Allah says:
6. Summa radadnaahu ‘asfala
Saafiliin
Then do We reduce him to the lowest of the low,
From this verse, it is clear that Allah is
informing us that if man revolts against Allah - when he rejects His divine
commandments (instructions) and prefers to continue doing wrong and attach
himself more to temporal vain things instead of Allah - therefore, it shall be
his own fault (not the fault of Allah). Due to his own stupidity he decreases
his moral and spiritual levels whereby he returns to the state of a repugnant
animal which is detestable in the eyes of Allah. When comes the moment when
Allah shall judge him, i.e. Judgement Day, there shall no other Judge Who shall
be more Just than our Creator that day. And there is no doubt that such a day
shall dawn on us where each one of us shall have to account for his or her
deeds before Allah.
And afterwards, Allah says:
7.‘Illal-laziina ‘aamanu wa
‘amilus-saalihaati falahum ‘ajrun ghayru mamnuun.
Except for those who believe and do righteous
deeds, for they shall have a reward uninterrupted.
According to this verse, Allah (swt) is making
us well understand that if someone improves his condition (behaviour) and
accepts and follows the divine message whenever Allah sends His Messenger to
revive His teachings (i.e. the Quran) which had been lost, therefore for such a
person Allah has decreed a really extraordinary and beautiful destiny, whereby
his moral and spiritual conditions increase as well as his overall conditions,
all because he has obeyed Allah and His Messengers. For these kinds of people,
their rewards shall be (good and) eternal with Allah and they begin receiving
these rewards in this very life (i.e., on earth) itself.
In the next verse, Allah says:
8. Famaa yukazzibuka ba'-du
bid-Diin?
Then what can, after this, contradict you, as
to the judgment (to come)?
Here “you” can either refer to the Holy
Prophet (pbuh) or to humanity as a whole. “After this” means that after
you have been well informed and made to understand that it is Allah alone Who
has created mankind so that he can become sincere, pure and truthful, and so
that he may well behave in society - and also to well understand that it is
Allah alone Who guides mankind as a whole - therefore, all those who revolt
against His commandments and reject His signs, orders, divine manifestations
and messengers, He shall punish them and abandon them in this very life and the
life to come.
There is a verse in the Quran where Allah is
addressing the believers. Allah says:
“O you who believe! do not make friends
with a people with whom Allah is wroth; indeed they despair of the hereafter as
the unbelievers despair of those in tombs.”
(Al-Mumtahana 60: 14).
In the light of this verse, Allah is informing
mankind as a whole that there shall come a day - Judgement Day - where all
people shall have to give an account of all their deeds, be him a believer or a
non-believer. In the verse, Allah is making the believers understand that they
should not take as allies people who have turned their backs to the signs of
Allah and who have invited upon themselves the wrath of Allah. Why did they
turn their backs to Allah? Do they not ponder that there shall come such a Day
- Judgement Day - where they shall have to account for all their deeds before
Allah? This is what Allah is explaining; for such people (who turn their backs
to Him and His signs, instructions and messengers) there is no hope for them in
the afterlife. They are like the non-believers; it is as if there is no
difference between them and the non-believers.
And at last, Allah says:
9.‘Alay-sallaahu
bi-‘Ahkamil-haakimiin?
Is not Allah the Best of judges?
Allah rewards someone for all his good deeds,
even the minimal ones which can be as tiny as an atom. And He also metes out
punishment for all wrong deeds, even the little ones. It is thus a great favour
that Islam has received from Allah whereby Allah has established for the
believers five times prayers a day and along with then, they recite the Holy Quran
and they remember Allah through Zikrullah (His Remembrance). Allah knows
very well that we, humans are indeed very weak. Therefore, those who are
righteous and just have no fear or worry to take in this regard. It is only
those who turn their backs to the divine instructions, signs and messengers who
need to fear for it is them who shall be retributed with a severe punishment
from Allah, and their chastisement shall be eternal. There shall be no escape
from such punishment!
There is a verse in the Quran where Allah says:
“Surely those who disbelieve and turn away
from the Path of Allah and oppose the Messenger after that guidance has become
clear to them cannot harm Allah in any way, and He will make null their deeds.”
(Muhammad 47: 33).
And it is with the advent of a Messenger and
the divine manifestations that you come to discover/ witness the true face of
people, and the maladies in their hearts. Indeed, it is with divine
manifestations that those maladies also become manifest. Allah says in a verse
of the Quran:
“Or do those in whose hearts is a disease,
think that Allah will not bring to light all their rancour?”
(Muhammad 47: 30).
And Allah says that He shall never forgive them
and they shall die without faith. This is because they follow everything which
ignites the wrath of Allah and they hate to please Allah in any way. Thus,
Allah renders all their deeds vain/ valueless. As for the believers, when they
hear this verse: ‘Alay-sallaahu
bi-‘Ahkamil-haakimiin? - Is not Allah the Best of judges?
They
(i.e. the believers) reply: Bala! Wa ana ala
Zaaleka minash Shahideen - “Indeed, I am among those who testify O Allah
that You are truly the Best of Judges and that the religion which You have
bestowed upon us is the religion of truth which shall triumph over all other
religions.” Insha-Allah.
Therefore, O my disciples and all my Muslim
brothers and sisters, we have testified to the grandeur of Allah, and we also
bore witness that this (i.e., Islam) is indeed a religion of truth (true
religion) which has been bestowed upon us by Allah. Therefore, shall we let
this religion be reduced to dust? Shall we renounce to the engagement we made or
do we need to do everything in our power to please Allah and re-establish His
unicity by our (humble) efforts. Even a little effort counts a lot before the
eyes of Allah. Insha-Allah, may all Muslims realise this, and we purify
ourselves by our good intentions and actions and we give the best example for
humanity. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
---Friday Sermon of 21
July 2017(26 Shawwal 1438 AH) delivered by Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.
For Part I of the Commentary, click here.