Sura al-Tin
This article is an introduction to the Sura al-Tin; to read its text see text:Sura al-Tin.| al-Sharh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sura Number | 95 |
| Juz' | 30 |
| Revelation | |
| Revelation Number | 28 |
| Makki/Madani | Makki |
| Information | |
| Verse Count | 8 |
| Word Count | 34 |
| Letter Count | 162\ |
Sūra al-Tīn (سورة التین, the fig) or Wa l-tīn wa l-zaytūn (والتین والزیتون) is ninety fifth sura of the glorious Qur'an and among Makki suras. It is among short suras located in juz' thirty of the Qur'an.
The general theme of sura al-Tin is the hereafter and rewards there. God began this sura with four oaths and calls the creation of human being the best and most perfect. In commentaries of the Qur'an based on hadiths, some of the verses of this sura are attributed to some of the Infallible Ones (a); for example, it is said that by "Wa l-tin wa l-zaytun", Imam al-Hasan (a) and Imam al-Husayn (a) are meant.
About the merits of recitation of this sura, it is narrated that well-being and certainty in faith are among its worldly fruits and the reward equal with the reward for fasting is among its fruits in the hereafter.
Introduction
- Naming
This sura has been named al-Tin (the fig) because in its first verse, God has sworn upon it [fig]. Sura al-Tin is sometimes called "al-Zaytun" or "Wa l-tin wa l-zaytun".[1]
It is to note that according to exegetes, there are some possibilities about the meaning of "al-tin" and "al-zaytun":
- The two fruits of fig and olive are meant.
- They refer to the Mosque of Damascus.
- By al-zaytun, Al-Aqsa Mosque is meant.
- These two words refer to two mountains in Syria and Jerusalem al-Quds which are called Tina and Zaytuna in Syriac.[2]
- Place and Order of Revelation
Sura al-Tin is among Makki suras and the twenty-eighth sura revealed to the Prophet (s), after Qur'an 85 (Sura al-Buruj) and before Qur'an 106 (Sura Quraysh). In the current order of Compilation, It is ninety-fifth sura in the Qur'an,[3] located in juz' thirty.
- Number of Verses and Other Features
Sura al-Tin has eight verses, thirty-four words, and 162 letters. This sura is among mufassalat suras (having several short verses) and also among short suras of the Qur'an. This sura is among the suras which begin with oaths and God swears upon four things.[4]
Content
Sura al-Tin is about resurrection on the Day of Judgment, reckoning of deeds by God and rewards in the hereafter. This sura first mentions the creation of human being in the best way and then mentions that some people remain upon their primary God-given nature; but, some others abase themselves to lowest of levels. At the end, it mentions that God's wisdom requires to distinguish between the two groups in giving rewards.[5]
| Religion of God; the only way to happiness and perfection of human being | |||||||||||||||
| First topic: verses 1-6 Development of human's potentials in God's religion | Second topic: verses 7-8 Wrongness of opposition with God who is the Best of judges | ||||||||||||||
| First point: verses 1-4 God has given human being the potentials to reach the best of perfection | First point: verse 7 Criticism of denying and rejecting religion of God | ||||||||||||||
| Second point: verses 5-6 Practicing the religion of God is the only way to reach salvation | Second point: verse 8 God is the Best judge | ||||||||||||||
In Hadith
In Tafsir al-burhan, there are hadiths mentioned in the interpretation of this sura in some of which it is mentioned that by "Wa l-tin wa l-zaytun", Imam al-Hasan (a) and Imam al-Husayn (a) are meant. In some others, "din" in the seventh verse is meant as the wilaya of Imam Ali (a) or it is said that the phrase "those who have faith and do righteous deeds" in verse six, refers to Imam Ali (a) and his followers. It is also narrated that "al-Balad al-amin" refers to the Prophet (s).[7]
Creation of Human Being in the Best Way
In the interpretation of verse four, it is mentioned that God sworn upon four things to say that human being is created in a balanced and proper way in every aspects. From this verse and its following verse, it can be learned that human being has the potentials to reach the highest of levels.[8]
Merits and Benefites
In Majma' al-bayan, al-Tabrisi narrated from the Prophet (s), "anyone who recites this sura, for as long as he lives in this world, God will give him two things: well-being and certainty [in faith], and when passes away, God will give him the reward of fasting as many as the number of reciters of this sura."[9]
Other merits have been mentioned about recitation of this sura in Thawab al-a'mal wa 'iqab al-a'mal.[10] It is also mentioned that it is recommended to perform a two rak'a prayer in the eve of the thirteenth of the month of Sha'ban, and in each rak'a, it is recommended to recite Sura al-Tin after reciting Sura al-Fatiha (Qur'an 1).[11]
External Links
Notes
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1265.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1265.
- ↑ Maʿrifat, Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 166.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1265.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 318.
- ↑ Khamagar, Muhammad, Sakhtar-i suraha-yi Qur'an-i karim, Mu'assisa-yi Farhangi-yi Qur'an wa 'Itrat-i Nur al-Thaqalayn, Qom: Nashra, ed.1, 1392 Sh.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān, vol. 5, p. 692-694.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 319.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 774.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, Thawāb al-aʿmāl, p. 123.
- ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Iqbāl al-aʿmāl, vol. 3, p. 311.
References
- Baḥrānī, Sayyid Hāshim b. Sulaymān. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Bunyād-i Biʿthat, 1416 AH.
- Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. Iqbāl al-aʿmāl. Edited by Jawād Qayyūmī. Qom: Daftar-i Tablīghāt-i Islāmī, 1376 Sh.
- Khurramshāhī, Bahāʾ al-Dīn. Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān pazhūhī. Tehran: Dūstān-Nāhīd, 1377 Sh.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1374 Sh.
- Maʿrifat, Muḥammad Hādī. Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān. [n.p]: Markaz Chāp wa Nashr-i Sāzmān-i Tablīghāt, 1371 Sh.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Thawāb al-aʿmāl wa ʿiqāb al-aʿmāl. Second edition. Qom: Dār al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, 1406 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāyī, Mūhammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Second edition. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1974.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Hāshim Rasūlī & Yazdī Ṭabāṭabāyī. Third edition. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Nāṣir Khusru, 1372 Sh.