January 11, 2021

Year 3 | Lesson 21
Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Quranic Progression Year 03 ~ Lesson 21 ~ 24.02.2021

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................... 2

Tafsir Surah at-Tin .............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Combination of tafsir and contemplation ............................................................................................................. 4
Names of the Surah ....................................................................................................................................................... 5
Surah at-Tin ................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Surah Wa at-Tin wa az-Zaytun ................................................................................................................................ 6
Surah Wa at-Tin ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Makki vs. Madani............................................................................................................................................................ 6
Makki Surah (majority).............................................................................................................................................. 6
Madani Surah .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Discussion on reasons for conflicting reports about Makki vs. Madani........................................................... 7
Mention in Sunnah – Prophet recited in salah .......................................................................................................... 8
Verse 1.............................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Oath ............................................................................................................................................................................. 9
Is the oath by the fig and olive or is it metaphorical? .......................................................................................... 9
Summary – At-Tabari.............................................................................................................................................. 13
Other opinions mentioned in tafsir ...................................................................................................................... 15
Verse 2............................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Oath ........................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Statements of scholars concerning the meaning................................................................................................. 17
Summary – At-Tabari.............................................................................................................................................. 18
Chapter: Table of Contents

Research Question ....................................................................................................................................................... 20

Is it possible to have non-Arabic words in the Quran? ......................................................................................... 21
It is not possible for there to be a group of words that are non-Arabic ........................................................ 21
There are names that are non-Arabic ................................................................................................................... 21
Are there other words that can be non-Arabic (difference of opinion) ......................................................... 22
Verse 3............................................................................................................................................................................ 23
Oath ........................................................................................................................................................................... 23
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Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

City of Makkah - consensus ................................................................................................................................... 23

Q & A............................................................................................................................................................................. 24

Year 3 | Chapter 08 Lesson 1| Last updated: February 24, 2021

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Chapter: Table of Contents

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 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Quranic Progression Year 03 ~ Lesson 21 ~ 24.02.2021

‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬
‫الحمد لل رب العالمين‬
‫اللهم صلى وسلم و بارك على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين أ َّما بعد‬

Tafsir Surah at-Tin

 00:00:30 I want to welcome you all to ‫ٱّلل‬ ‫ إِ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬the first of our lessons on Surah at-Tin, which is what we are going to
‫ ِإ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬which is our next grouping of surahs ‫ٱّلل‬
begin with ‫ٱّلل‬ ‫ ِإ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬that we are going to go through.
And last week, we finished off our second of our two Specials that we did. We did the Special on the rulings of
sajdat at-tilawah, the prostration of recitation in the Quran. And then over the last couple of weeks we went
through the introduction of the science of al-waqf wa al-ibtida’, which is the science of starting and stopping,
pausing and starting in the Quran.
And from the miracle of the Quran is, the way that we stop and pause within the Quran and the way that we
restart, that is also all from the manner in which the Prophet  was taught the Quran. And the manner in
which he taught the Quran to the companions  and then from there on, subsequent generations have con-
‫ِإ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬
tinued to do that over time. And so that is something which we did over the last couple of weeks. So ‫ٱّلل‬
today we are going to begin with our next surah, which is Surah at-Tin, we are back to our tafsir.
But before we begin, just a quick announcement. Under the resources tab on the portal, the summaries and the
snapshots are now ‫ الحمد ّٰلل‬working again, and they are all back there and updated. So we just want to apologise
on behalf of the team for the delay in getting that done. As you know, it takes a lot of time this back-end stuff,
there is so much to do and so many little jobs that have to be done. The brothers and sisters who are behind
the scenes, work extraordinarily hard to do that, but obviously sometimes that takes longer than we would like.
‫ ِإ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬the snapshots and the summaries of the transcribing team
So apologies for the time that has taken but ‫ٱّلل‬
are doing, and they are doing an amazing job ‫ الحمد ّٰلل‬and ‫ّللا‬ َ ‫ َما شَا َء هللاه تَ َب‬that is all available there now.
َّ ‫ارك‬
And that as a resource along with fully transcribed notes, then you have the snapshots and you have the sum-
Legacy
maries, together that is something which ‫ٱّلل‬ ‫ إِ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬makes QP unique in terms of what we are trying to achieve
ٰ ‫ إِ ْن شَا َء‬we ask Allah  that He helps us to leave behind.
and the legacy that ‫ٱّلله‬

Introduction
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

So we are on the 95th surah of the Quran. So the 95th surah of the Quran is Surah at-Tin. And Surah at-Tin as
we know, means the fig. The surah of the fig. And this is the surah which we are going to go through now. We
are going to speak about it.

Combination of tafsir and contemplation

It is the surah where you will find one of those examples, of where some of the scholars have used what Allah
 says, in terms of the matters that He takes an oath by. And then they have associated to it, an extra meaning,
or some of the scholars of tafsir did that.
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Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

And that is a good example of using tafsir and contemplation. So you have the tafsir, which is the apparent
verses of the Quran, the Book of Allah  what they mean. And then you have tadabbur which is reflection,
contemplation, to ponder over the verses of Allah  and to draw out deeper meanings.

Tafsir • Meaning of the verses

• Reflection, contemplation,
Tadabbur
pondering
But in order for you to be able to do that, you need to have a good basis of understanding of tafsir. To simply
come and make tadabbur of the Quran, or trying to make contemplation without really understanding what
Allah  is saying, or what the scholars of tafsir said, concerning that verse, makes it a very difficult endeavour.
Not only that, but it's also more dangerous because the person is more likely to fall into mistake and do things
ٰ ‫ إِ ْن شَا َء‬shortly.
which are incorrect. But this is a good example of that, in this surah, as we will see ‫ٱّلله‬

Names of the Surah

‫ين‬ ِ ‫ورة ه َو‬

ِ ‫ٱلت‬ َ ‫س‬‫ه‬
ِ ِ‫ورة ه َوٱلت‬
‫ين‬ َ ‫س‬‫ه‬ ‫ورة ه التِي ِن‬
َ ‫س‬‫ه‬
ِ ‫ٱلز ْيت ه‬
‫ون‬ َّ ‫َو‬
So as we always do, we begin with the introduction of the surah, and in particular the names by which the surah
is known.

ِ ‫ورة ه الت‬
‫ِين‬ َ ‫س‬‫❖ ه‬
‫ون‬‫ه‬ َّ
ِ ‫ِين َوٱلز ْيت‬ ‫ه‬
ِ ‫ورة َوٱلت‬ َ ‫س‬‫❖ ه‬
‫ِين‬‫ت‬ ‫ٱل‬‫و‬
ِ َ َ ‫❖ ه‬ ‫ه‬ ‫ة‬ ‫ور‬ ‫س‬

Surah at-Tin
And the first of those names that this surah is known by is the famous name which is Surah at-Tin, which is
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

the common name that we give to this surah today. And that is actually mentioned by many of the scholars of
tafsir in their works and in the books of hadith.
So for example, Ibn Qutaybah  mentions this in his works. Al-Imam at-Tirmidhi, an-Nisa'i from the scholars
of hadith. In their collections of hadith, when they come to the tafsir of this surah, they speak about it and they
name it Surah at-Tin.
Ibn al-Hazm  the famous scholar of the Ẓahiri madhhab, also calls it Surah at-Tin. Ibn Hazm has a whole, a
number of works on the sciences of the Quran including an-Nasikh al- Mansukh so you will often find him being
referenced as a scholar in the sciences of the Quran.
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 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Ibn Abi Hatim  in his tafsir, called it Surah at-Tin. Al-Hakim  in his Mustadrak, another collection of hadith
also calls it Surah at-Tin.

 00:05:00 And then from the famous scholars of tafsir that we often reference in QP, al-Imam al-Baghawi, Ibn al-'Atiyyah,
Ibn al-Jawzi, Imam as-Suyuti and al Imam ash-Shawkani . So the vast majority of the scholars in their works
refer to this surah as Surah at-Tin. So that is the first name by which the surah is known.

Surah Wa at-Tin wa az-Zaytun

The second name by which the surah is known, is Surah Wa at-Tin wa az-Zaytun, which is the entirety of the
first verse. It's known by the first verse. Surah Wa at-Tin wa az-Zaytun.
And from the scholars who referenced it in this way is, Imam 'Abd al-Razzaq as-San'ani  from the famous
scholars of tafsir, but also hadith.
'Abd al-Razzaq has one of the collections of the athar, of narrations, that you get from the Prophet  and the
companions is his Mussanaf. Mussanaf Abd ar-Razzaq. It’s a very famous collection of narrations. He also has a
book in tafsir, as we have mentioned before, that’s ascribed to him. And in that tafsir, he calls this surah, Surah
Wa at-Tin wa az-Zaytun. And likewise, al-Imam Ibn Kathir  in his tafsir, also called this surah, Wa at-Tin wa
az-Zaytun.

Surah Wa at-Tin
The third name by which it is known by is Wa at-Tin, Surah Wa at-Tin. So the first name is ‫ِين‬ ِ ‫ الت‬without the‫واو‬
at the beginning. And the third name is ‫ِين‬ ِ ‫ َوٱلت‬with the‫ واو‬at the beginning - as you find in the actual verse.
And this is referenced, or it is called by this name, by al-Imam 'Abdullah ibn Mubarak  the famous scholar
of hadith and tafsir, and also by Imam at-Tabari  who we often call as the Shaykh al-Mufassirin, the scholar
of all of the scholars of tafsir. And Imam at-Tabari also references this surah as Surah wa at-Tin. So those are
the three names that you will find by and large for this particular surah.
❖ Surah at-Tin, which is the common name that we now know it by and call it by.
❖ Surah wa at-Tin wa az-Zaytun, which is taken after the whole verse, verse number 1 of the surah.
❖ Surah wa at-Tin, which is the first portion of the first verse of this surah.

Makki vs. Madani

Makki
Madani
(majority)
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

Makki Surah (majority)

In terms of its revelation then, the majority of the scholars, seem to be of the opinion that it is a Makki surah
revealed pre-revelation. And that is the opinion of the majority of the scholars of tafsir, to the extent that some
of them even said that is an issue of ijma', that it is an issue of consensus, that there is no difference of opinion.
And so some of the scholars who are finding their works didn’t even reference there being another opinion,
but they simply just said that it is a Makki surah.
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 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

And from amongst those scholars is az-Zajjaj and Ibn Hazm and al-Baghawi and Ibn Kathir . They just
mentioned that it’s a Makki surah by consensus, meaning that there is no difference of opinion.
Al-Imam ibn 'Atiyyah  also said the same thing. He said,

‫مكيَّة ال أعرف في ذلك خالفا ً بين المفسرين‬

ِ ‫وهي‬
He said that this is a Makki surah, and I don’t know of any difference of opinion concerning this amongst the
scholars of tafsir.

Madani Surah
However, there is actually a difference of opinion that you will find, if you reference and find, or look at other
works of tafsir. So for example, if you were to go back to al-Imam al-Qurtubi and his tafsir, and Ibn al-Jawzi,
or Imam ash-Shawkani and Tahir ibn 'Ashur, they will mention another opinion, and that is that some of the
scholars said that it is a Madani surah.
And that particular reference of it being a Madani surah, meaning revealed post-migration to Madinah, seems
to be by and large attributed to the companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas . And then from him it's also referenced
as being the position of some or a handful of the tabi'in including Qatadah .

Makki and Madani

And Ibn 'Abbas has both narrations. He has a narration saying that it is a Makki surah and a narration that says
that it is a Madani surah as well. So he has both that are mentioned concerning this. Ibn al-Jawzi  said con-
cerning revelation of this surah, he said,
‫وفيها قوالن‬
He said there are two opinions.
❖ The first is that it is a Makki surah and that is the opinion of the majority such as al-Hasan and 'Ata
and many others.
❖ And then he said the other opinion is that it is a Madani surah. And he ascribed this as being the
position of Ibn 'Abbas and Qatadah . And Imam al-Mawardi in his tafsir actually references the
statement of Ibn 'Abbas, that it is a Madani surah.
Al-Imam ash-Shawkani  he says, and it is,

‫مكية في قول الجمهور‬

The majority of the scholars said that this surah is Makki. However, al-Imam al-Qurtubi mentions the narration
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin
of Ibn 'Abbas in which he said that it is Madani. Imam ash-Shawkani goes on to say but this goes against the
other narration that we have of Ibn 'Abbas  that is collected by Ibn Mardaway and al-Bayhaqi and others that
he said,
‫أنزلت سورة التين بمكة‬
 00:10:00 That this surah was revealed in Makkah, meaning that it is a Makkan revelation.

Discussion on reasons for conflicting reports about Makki vs. Madani

Knowledge And so you find, as we have often seen in the statements of Ibn 'Abbas  and others, that sometimes you get
tip conflicting reports from some of these companions. And that may be a mistake, it may be that the chain of
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 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

narration to that companion, some of those narrations are weak in their chain so they are not all authentically
ascribed to that companion. It is possible that there could be a difference or a discrepancy for a number of
reasons.
Ibn 'Ashur  said concerning this surah, it is a Makki surah, the opinion of the majority of the scholars to the
extent that Ibn 'Atiyyah even said that he knows of no difference of opinion.
And al-Imam as-Suyuti  in his Itqan, as we know his book on the sciences of the Quran, Al-Itqan fi 'Ulum al-
Quran.
And by the way has this book been translated, al-Itqan? Does anyone know if al-Itqan by al-Imam as-Suyuti has
been translated into English? If someone can let me know if they have come across anything concerning that.
So al-Imam as-Suyuti  in his book, he has a whole section, a chapter that he dedicates to the Makki and the
Madani surahs. And he mentions where there is a difference of opinion.
And he doesn't mention this being from amongst them. So in his opinion as well, as we said before he is one
of those scholars that seems to just simply say that it is a Makki surah.
However, al-Imam al-Qurtubi as we said, mentions the other narration of Ibn 'Abbas  that it is a Madani
surah. But that seems to be, just that one narration, and there is obviously the conflicting report that goes with
the majority. And that is, that it is a Makki surah.

Mention in Sunnah – Prophet recited in salah

Implement This surah is mentioned in a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari 1 of al-Bara' ibn 'Azib  not in terms of its virtue, but
a Sunnah in terms of it being something which the Prophet  recited in his salah. Al-Bara' says in this hadith in Sahih
al-Bukhari that Prophet  was once travelling with us and he read in the first rak'ah of salah al-'Isha,

﴾‫۝‬
۱ ‫ن‬ َّ ‫﴿و َٱلتِّينِّ و‬
ِّ ‫َٱلز ي ْت ُو‬

By the fig and the olive

So that’s the introduction of this surah and it consists of eight verses.
So it is a Makki surah, it has three names that it is known by,
‫❖ سورة التين‬
‫الز ْيتهون‬
َّ ‫ين َو‬
ِ ‫❖ سورة َوال ِت‬
‫❖ سورة َوال ِتين‬
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

and it consists of eight verses.

Verse 1
So now we come on to verse number 1. Allah  says,
ّ‫ه‬ ّ ۡ ّ‫ُ ّه ّ ه‬
ِ ‫أعوذ بِٱَللِ مِن ٱلشيطَٰ ِن ٱلر‬
‫جي ِم‬

1 https://sunnah.com/bukhari/97/171
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 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

﴾‫۝‬
۱ ‫ن‬ َّ ‫﴿و َٱلتِّينِّ و‬
ِّ ‫َٱلز ي ْت ُو‬

By the fig and the olive

Oath
Allah  takes an oath, and He takes an oath by two things.

At-Tin - fig Az-Zaytun - olive

The first is at-tin ‫ ال ِتين‬which means the fig, which is a well-known fruit. And the second is az-zaytun ‫الز ْيتُون‬
َّ by
the olive, also a well-known thing that's eaten by people.
Allah  takes an oath by these two things and we have already established in a number of verses and surahs
that we've done before of this kind, that Allah , when He takes an oath by something is to show its important
and to show its benefits. It's to show and emphasize its position.

Is the oath by the fig and olive or is it metaphorical?

So when Allah  takes an oath here by wa at-tini wa az-zaytun ‫ون‬ ِ ‫الز ْيت ه‬
َّ ‫ين َو‬
ِ ‫ َوال ِت‬. When He says wa at-tini wa az-
zaytun, and Allah  takes an oath, the scholars of tafsir differed. Is it actually - the oath that Allah  is taking
- is it actually by the fig and the olive? Meaning the actual physical, edible foods that we call, and we know as
the fig and the olive. Or are they symbols? Is it metaphorical? Is it symbolic for something else? And you will
find these different opinions.
So, what we'll do is, I will mention to you some of the opinions amongst the early scholars of tafsir. And then
I will mention to you, I will summarize that for you in terms of how many different opinions that has been
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin
divided into, or how many different opinions consist on this issue. And so we are going to do this, in a slightly
different way. I will mention, first to you the narrations and those narrations will mention all of their opinions.
And so, you will find conflicting narrations, and you will find that I don’t mention them in any particular order.
So for example, one scholar may say one thing then another scholar may say a second thing, then a third one
ٰ ‫ إِ ْن شَا َء‬we will then summarize and will
may agree with the first; there is no particular order to it. But then ‫ٱّلله‬
bring some order to it, so it is easier for us to understand.
Because it's not just this verse. Verse number 1, but verses 2 and 3 also follow suit because all of them are
 00:15:00 things that Allah  is taking an oath by. So we have a number of things that Allah  is taking an oath by, in
this particular surah.
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 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Fig and olive Mosques of

Health Damascus
benefits and
Jerusalem
Fig is pure Mountain in
and olive is Damascus
blessed and al-Aqsa

The trees
and their
At-tin Fruits of fig
benefits
wa az- and olive

Masjid al-
Haram in
Makkah and
Bayt al-
zaytun Mosque of
Nuh upon
Judiyy
Maqdis

Mountain on Mountains
which al- of figs and
Aqsa is Mosque of olives
the people Mosque or
of the cave mountain of
and Damascus
Jerusalem

The fig and the olive Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

So the first of them is at-tin and az-zaytun the fig and the olive.

Mosques of Damascus and Iliya’ (Jerusalem) – Ibn Zayd

'Abdullah ibn Wahb al-Misri  the famous scholar from the former students of Imam Malik . He mentions
the statement of Ibn al-Zayd. Can anyone tell me who Ibn Zayd is? If you come across in the books of tafsir
and I think we've mentioned this before. The name Ibn Zayd. So if you are reading Tabari or if you're reading
Ibn Kathir, or you are reading Qurtubi, and one of them says that Ibn Zayd said this. Who is Ibn Zayd?
Knowledge And this is an important methodology in studying tafsir. Just as if you're studying for example hadith and you
tip come across in a chain of narrators, the name of, for example, al-A'raj or Abu az-Zinad or any of the number
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 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

of narrators of ahadith. To understand who they are, when they are mentioned by just that simple name or for
example if in the hadith, the narrator of the hadith, the companion is called 'Abdullah. Who is 'Abdullah in the
hadith? Which 'Abdullah? Is it 'Abdullah ibn Umar, 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr which person is
it that's been referred to?
That’s the methodology. That’s important whether you are studying tafsir, or whether you are studying Quran
or whether you're studying whatever is. It is important to understand how those scholars deal in that particular
topic. So, in the hadith for example, if it said 'Abdullah as a companion and, nothing else. Generally speaking,
nine times out of 10, it is 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud  that is being referred to. But the question here is in tafsir, if
the scholars of tafsir, and you will find this name common. He is a commonly referenced scholar of tafsir, from
the early scholars of tafsir. And he is called Ibn Zayd. Who is Ibn Zayd? Can anyone tell me? Anyone know
who Ibn Zayd is?
Student's response: Was he the son of Zayd ibn Harithah ?

Shaykh's comment: No. Not the free slave of the Prophet . No. That’s Usamah ibn Zayd, the famous com-
panion, the son of Zayd ibn Harithah.
Scholar info Who is Ibn Zayd? Ibn Zayd, amongst the scholars of tafsir, is 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam. So Ibn
Zayd, his name is 'Abd ar-Rahman. Ibn Zayd means the son of Zayd. His name is 'Abd ar-Rahman, his father's
name is Zayd and his grandfather's name is Aslam. And Aslam is the free slave of 'Umar . And so he comes
and is often therefore called al 'Adawi. Because he takes the ascription of the tribe of 'Umar because he is a
free slave from his tribe and 'Umar is 'Adawi, his tribe is 'Adawi. So this is not Usamah ibn Zayd.
And this is why it is an important methodology of tafsir. Because if you were to just say Ibn Zayd generally as
a companion, then yes maybe the one who would come to your mind is, as you're saying, Usamha ibn Zayd,
the companion of the Prophet , the son of Zayd ibn Harithah. But in each science; so when you're speaking
in for example fiqh, or you're speaking in tafsir, or you're speaking in hadith, these names when they are men-
tioned, they are mentioned in that context. So Usamah bin Zayd is not amongst the famous scholars of tafsir
amongst the companions, he doesn’t have many narrations of tafsir, and so therefore he's not the one that's
being referred to.
So who is the one being referred to if they say Ibn Zayd in the books of tafsir? He is this scholar. 'Abd ar-
Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam. And he has many narrations of tafsir. His father Zayd ibn Aslam was a famous
scholar of hadith, and tafsir, and so on, as well. But this is when they say Ibn Zayd, it is normally 'Abd ar-
Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam.
So Ibn Wahb says Ibn Zayd said that his father said concerning this, that at-tin is the mosque of Damascus.
And az-zaytun is the mosque of Iliya'. Iliya' is Jerusalem in Arabic. The mosque of Damascus and az-zaytun is
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

the mosque of Jerusalem.

Mountains in Damascus and Al-Aqsa - Qatadah

'Abd ar-Razzaq  in his tafsir he mentions a statement of Qatadah  that he said that at-tin is the mountain
that you find in Damascus, and az-zaytun is the one upon which Masjid al-Aqsa is built. Because we know
Masjid al-Aqsa is upon a rock. It's built on a type of a mountain or a hill. So that's the one that it is referring to.
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 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Fruits of fig and olive - al-Kalbi

And 'Abd ar-Razzaq also mentions in his tafsir the statement of al-Kalbi, and he says concerning at-tin and az-
zaytun, it is the two fruits that you eat, the two things that you eat that is what is being referred to. And this
was the narration that was also mentioned by al-Imam al-Bukhari  in his Sahih al-Bukhari, in his Book of
Tafsir, he mentions the statement2 of Mujahid  and he says,

‫والتين والزيتون اللذي يأكل الناس‬

It is the ‫ تين‬fig and the olive that people eat.
And Ibn Hajar  in his explanation of Sahih al-Bukhari, he says meaning that this is the common foods that
 00:20:00 people eat, and he says and this was the statement of Mujahid .

Mosque of Nuh upon Judiyy – Ibn ‘Abbas

And Imam Hakim mentions a number of narrations as being reports of Ibn 'Abbas.
So he says for example, that Ibn 'Abbas  in one narration said concerning tin, that it is the mosque of Nuh
 that he built upon Judiyy. Judiyy is the mountain upon which the ark stops, as Allah  mentions in Surah
Hud,

ُ ْ ‫َع‬
﴾‫ٱْلود ِهِى‬
ّّ ْ ّّ ْ ّ
‫﴿وٱستوت‬

and it [i.e., the ship] came to rest on the [mountain of] Jūdiyy 3
So he says that it is the mosque that Nuh  built upon Judiyy. That's one narration of Ibn 'Abbas.

Mountain of figs and mountain of olives – Ibn ‘Abbas

The second narration of Ibn 'Abbas is that at-tin is a mountain that consists of figs, and az-zaytun is a mountain
that has upon it, olives. Meaning one has fig trees and one has olive trees.

Mosque or mountain of Damascus – Ibn ‘Abbas

And in another narration, he said that at-tin is the mosque of Damascus or the mountain that you'll find in
Damascus.

Mosque of the people of the cave, and of Jerusalem – Ibn ‘Abbas

In another narration of his, he said that at-tin is the mosque of the people of the cave, and az-zaytun is the
mosque of the people of Jerusalem. Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

Mountain on which Al-Aqsa is – Ibn ‘Abbas

And in yet another narration, he said that az-zaytun is the mountain upon which you have al-Masjid al-Aqsa.
And all of these are mentioned as being narrations of Ibn 'Abbas . All of them al-Imam Hakim mentions,
and he mentions with his chains of narrations to each one of them, all of these different opinions.

2 https://www.alim.org/quran/tafsir/ibn-kathir/surah/95/1/
3 https://quran.com/11/44
12
Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

And that's why I said to you at the beginning that there is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars of tafsir,
whether this is something which is a literal thing that Allah  has taken an oath by, or whether it is symbolic
and metaphorical, that Allah is actually referring to something else. And the tin and the zaytun are not actually
the fig and the olive that Allah  is referring to, but it is something else. So let me give you now a summary.

Summary – At-Tabari
Those are the different statements that you will find and there are more as well, but I’ve just chosen a section
of them. But I have to give you a summary.

At-Tabari's Summary

Mosque of Nuh and Bayt

Fig and olive (strongest)
al-Maqdis

As al-Imam at-Tabari  will summarise it and he mentions it as two broad points. He mentions it as two broad
points or two main, two broad opinions.

Fig and olive

The first opinion he says,  is those who said that ‫ تِين‬a fig is the fig that you eat and ‫ زَ ْيتهون‬the olive is the olive
that you eat. And you draw from it its oil and so on and so forth. Meanings it’s the two foods that we very well
know. When we say fig and olive, what comes to your mind. That's what's being referred to, those two things
that you eat. And he said al-Imam at-Tabari that this was the opinion of a number of the scholars such as Hasan
al-Basri and ‘Ikrimah and Mujahid, and Ibrahim an-Nakha’i, and al-Kalbi and Qatadah .

Mosque of Nuh and Bayt al-Maqdis

And then the second opinion that he mentions, is that ‫ التِين‬is the mosque of Nuh . The mosque that Nuh 
built upon the mountain of Judiyy. And ‫ الزَ ْيتهون‬is the mosque of Bayt al-Maqdis. And that is the opinion of, and
he attributes this as being one of the narrations of Ibn ‘Abbas .
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

And actually, if you look at the narration that we mentioned, the majority of those narrations amongst the
scholars who chose the opinion that it is not literal, that the fig and the olive are not literally the fig and olive,
but they’re symbolic of something, only in this narration of Ibn ‘Abbas do you find the mention of the mosque
of Nuh .
In fact, what the majority would say, is that one is the land of Damascus, the trees, or the mountains, of the
land of Damascus. And the other one are the other trees that you find in Jerusalem, the land of Jerusalem.
And that general area of ash-Sham as we know is a place of blessing. It's a place that Allah  has blessed and
َ ‫ض ْال هم‬
Allah  calls it ‫بارك‬ ‫األر ه‬.
ْ He calls it a Blessed Land. Allah  says in Surah al-Isra’,
13
 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

َ ُ َ‫جدِّ ٱلْأَ قْصَا ٱلَّذ ِّى بَٰـرَكْنا‬

﴾‫حو ْلَهُۥ‬ ِّ ‫س‬
ْ َ ‫جدِّ ٱلْحَرَا ِّم ِإلَى ٱل ْم‬
ِّ ‫س‬ َ ِّ ‫ن ٱلَّذ ِّٓى أَ سْر َى بِّعَبْدِّه ِّۦ لَي ْلًۭا م‬
ْ َ ‫ن ٱل ْم‬ َ ‫سبْحَٰـ‬
ُ ﴿
ٰ
Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muḥammad˺ by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose sur-
roundings We have blessed,4
Glory be to the One who took His servant on a Night Journey from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa, the
surroundings of which We have made blessed.
And that's generally considered to be the whole area of al-Quds. And some of the scholars even extended
beyond that, and said ash-Sham;. Because ash-Sham is a place, as we know, where a number of the prophets of
Allah  were sent from. It is a place that the prophets  many of them came from, and hailed from, and they
spent time there or they had their people there, and their nations, that they call to Allah  with.
But then you have this other opinion also that is mentioned of Ibn ‘Abbas, that is referring to the masjid of
Nuh , al-Judiyy. And some of the scholars mentioned that no one really knows where al-Judiyy is. It's not a
place that people are familiar with. The name is mentioned in the Quran, but exactly where that place is. So
Damascus is known. Jerusalem is known. Bait al-Maqdis is known. If you were to say give those types of
landmarks and places and cities, they are known. But if you were say, mosque of al-Judiyy, the mountain of
Nuh  that is not a place that the people are familiar with, or that it is a place that it is known.
And so that's why other scholars in their books of tafsir, when they choose the different opinions as the main
 00:25:00 opinions, don’t necessarily mention this particular narration. But what they will say is that the ‫ تِين‬is the land of
Damascus and ‫ زَ ْيتهون‬is the land of Jerusalem.

Strongest opinion
Al-Imam at-Tabari  however, after mentioning this difference of opinion, he says, and the strongest of those
opinions is the one that is the first opinion. The one that says that the fig is a fig, and the olive is an olive. And
he says that is because that is what the Arabs understood, those two terms to mean.

Discussion – how the stronger opinion is determined

And this basically is what the issue comes down to now, when Allah  speaks about something in the Quran,
is it something which Allah  says in the sense that we understand, its everyday Arabic language. Or is the
metaphor, symbolism in the Quran, that you don't understand at first glance, but requires further delving into?
And what is without doubt, and Allah  knows best, the stronger of the two opinions is that it is always what
is apparent. The Arabic Quran is what is apparently read, what is understood to the minds, and to the hearts of
the Arabs, when you use the words of a ‫ التِين‬and ‫الزَ ْيتهون‬. And no Arab would say to you, that ‫ التِين‬and ‫الزَ ْيتهون‬
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

refers to Damascus, or refers to Jerusalem, or it refers to this land, or that land, or this mountain, or that
mountain. They would tell you, that it is two items of food that you consume. They are two things that you eat.
That's what it's going to refer to. Now then, at a different stage, to say, and those two Allah  chose for X, Y
and Z reason, that is possible.
And that is how these statements of Ibn ‘Abbas and others from amongst the tabi’in should be understood in
that light, that they already knew that the Arabs that they were speaking to the companions and the students of
the companions, the scholars amongst the tabi’in know the meaning of ‫ تِين‬and ‫زَ ْيتهون‬. They are not just going

4 https://quran.com/17/1
14
Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

to sit there and tell them what’s obvious. They’re telling them the deeper meaning. That now once you under-
stand this, what it’s referring to is look at the lands in which these particular types of food items and plants
grow, where you find these trees in abundance. And that is how it should be understood.
Not to say, for example, that Ibn ‘Abbas  doesn’t make tafsir of the Quran with what is apparent, but he has
his own symbolism or understanding. That's not befitting of one of the companions of the Prophet . But for
them to understand, because they're speaking to a group of scholars, their students are the likes of Mujahid and
'Ikrimah and 'Ata. These are not people who are just your average Muslims, people like me and you, that don't
have any background in tafsir. These are in and of themselves imams, scholars of Hadith and tafsir and Quran
and so on. And so when he is speaking and addressing them in his narrations, it is important to understand that
context, and that methodology is important to understand as well.
So al-Imam ibn Jarir at-Tabari  chooses the opinion that a ‫ تين‬is a ‫تين‬. The ‫ تين‬is the fig that Allah refers to
and the ‫ زيتون‬are olives that Allah  refers to. And it is because the Arabs don't know if it in any other way
except that.
And so, you can say then, as Imam at-Tabari goes on to say5,
‫ وإن لم يكن على صحة ذلك أنه كذلك داللة في ظاهر‬،‫ فيكون ذلك مذهبا‬،‫ ومنابت الزيتون‬،‫ القسم بمنابت التين‬:‫والمراد من الكالم‬
.‫ وبيت المقدس منابت الزيتون‬،‫ ألن دمشق بها منابت التين‬،‫ وال من قول من ال يجوز خالفه‬،‫التنـزيل‬
He said, then by extension, it is possible for you to say that now that we understand that the fig is a fig and the
olive is the olive, where do these two plants and trees generally grow in abundance amongst the Arabs? It is in
the land of Ash-Sham – in Damascus, in Jerusalem.
Then now, by extension, to understand what is the significance of those places? They are places of
prophethood, places that Allah  has blessed, places that Allah  refers to in the Quran. Now, by extension,
you can say that. But to just jump from A to Z without anything in between, that is what Imam at-Tabari  is
saying, is not something which should be done. And no doubt that is a better way of making tafsir, and is a
safer way of making tafsir, and an easier, more methodologically sound way of making tafsir of the Book of
Allah .

Other opinions mentioned in tafsir

Masjid al-Haram in Makkah and Masjid al-Aqsa - Al-Imam As-Suyuti

Al-Imam as-Suyuti  even mentions another statement of Ibn 'Abbas  and that is, that he says that ‫ التين‬and
‫ الزيتون‬are the two mosques – Masjid al-Haram in Makkah and Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. It is referring to
the Night Ascent – the Night Journey from Makkah to Jerusalem as Allah  mentions in Surah al-Isra'.
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

The trees and their benefits - Al-Imam as-Sa'di

Al-Imam as-Sa'di , he says that Allah  takes an oath by these two trees. Allah  takes an oath by these two
trees because of the many benefits that come from them and from their fruits. And because they are found in
abundance in the land of ash-Sham, and that is the place where the Prophet ‘Isa  was sent.

5 http://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/tabary/sura95-aya1.html
15
 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

And many of the prophets of Bani Isra’il are sent in ash-Sham – the most prominent amongst them perhaps
and the one that is the closest to our Prophet  in terms of chronology, and in terms of message and so on,
 00:30:00 or Shari'ah, is no doubt the Prophet ‘Isa .

Fig is a pure fruit and olive has benefits and blessing - Al-Imam al-Baghawi
Al-Imam al-Baghawi  said Allah chooses in the surah the mention of a fig and takes an oath by it because it
is a pure fruit, and a fruit that will be similar to the fruits of Jannah. And He chooses the olive because of its
many benefits and because it is a blessed tree as is mentioned in the Sunnah and the Quran in general. And that
its fruit – meaning the actual olive itself – and its oil is something which can be used in terms of cooking, in
terms of benefitting, in terms of using in many different ways.
And we already know the importance of olive oil, and how it is used in many different ways and the many
benefits that it has, in terms of health and how pure it is. And Allah  refers to it in the Quran as the oil of

﴾ًۭ ٍ ‫﴿شَ ج َر َ ٍۢة ٍ ُّمبَٰـرَك َ ٍۢة ٍ ز َي ْت ُونَة‬

˺ a blessed olive tree,6

When Allah  speaks in the verse of light in Surah an-Nur about the light that is lit, the oil for that light that
Allah  describes is described as being the oil from the olive plant, from the olive tree, showing again its
importance and its purity.

Health benefits - Al-Imam ash-Shawkani

And that's why, al-Imam ash-Shawkani  said that the doctors have said that there are many benefits of eating
figs and eating olives, and that there are many benefits in doing so and using for example using the oil from the
olive tree, in terms of its many benefits that can be used for general health purposes.
The point being that this is something which we understand. And the fig is something which Allah  refers to
also in the Quran and it is a sweet-tasting fruit. And it is something which Allah  has created and it is one of
those things that Allah  has taken an oath by in the Quran.

So that is verse number 1. Allah  takes an oath by those two things – ‫والتين والزيتون‬

Verse 2

Oath
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

And then in verse number 2, Allah  takes a third oath and He says,

﴾‫۝‬
٢ َ‫﴿وَطُورِّ سِّينِّين‬
And [by] Mount Sinai
By Mount Sinai.

6 https://quran.com/24/35
16
Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Statements of scholars concerning the meaning

And again, I will mention to you briefly the selection of the statements of the scholars of tafsir concerning the
meaning of this, and whether it is something again which is apparent by its wording – meaning we just take the
apparent wording – or it's just symbolic or metaphorical for something else. And I will again summarize that
for you in more detail.

Mosque
of at-Tur
Mountain
A blessed
of ash-
mountain
Sham

Tur
Sinin
Every Any
mountain mountain
that has that is
greenery green

Mountain A blessed
of Musa mountain Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

Mosque of at-Tur – ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam

So again, Ibn Zayd, as we said ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam. He says that,

﴾‫۝‬
٢ َ‫﴿وَطُورِّ سِّينِّين‬

And [by] Mount Sinai

17
 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

refers to the Mosque of at-Tur.

Mountain of ash-Sham - Qatadah

And ‘Abd ar-Razzaq mentions the statement of Qatadah . He says, Tur Sinin is a mountain in ash-Sham and
it is a blessed mountain.

Any mountain that is green - Kalbi

And ‘Abd ar-Razzaq, he mentions the statement of al-Kalbi  and he says that Tur Sinin is any mountain that
is green. Any mountain that has trees upon it, greenery upon it, in Arabic is called Tur Sinin.

A blessed mountain - Mujahid

Al-Imam Ibn Hajar  mentions in his tafsir, in his explanation of Sahih al-Bukhari, the statement of Mujahid.
And that is that he says that at-Tur Sinin, at-Tur means a mountain. And the word Sinin means ‫بارك‬ َ ‫ هم‬, it means
blessed. So it refers to a blessed mountain. So those are a selection of statements that you will find concerning
the tafsir of this verse.

Summary – At-Tabari
Al-Imam at-Tabari  he summarises it in his tafsir, and I like his summary of this particular verse, so I will
mention it to you.

Mountain of Musa – Ibn ‘Umar

And he says that the first opinion that you will find concerning the tafsir of Tur Sinin is that it is referring to
the mountain of Musa . What does that mean the mountain of Musa ? The mountain upon which Allah
 gave to Musa , revelation. It is called Tur Sinin. And so that’s what's being referred to.

And he says, and this is the opinion of Ibn 'Umar . There is a narration that he mentions of this being the
statement of Ibn 'Umar  and Qatadah. Qatadah said Tur Sinin is,

‫علَي ِه السَّالم‬
َ ‫سى‬
َ ‫سج هد همو‬
ِ ‫َم‬
And al-Hasan al-Basri  also said that it is the mountain of Musa, and there is a narration also of Ibn 'Abbas
 saying that Tur Sinin is the mountain of at-Tur, meaning the mountain of Musa . So that’s the first body
of opinion. That’s the first opinion concerning the meaning of Tur Sinin.

Every mountain that has greenery – ‘Ikrimah

The second opinion goes to a more linguistic root. And that is that it is basically every mountain upon which
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

there is greenery.
So as we know, there are mountains that don’t have anything. They're just full of rocks, or mountains that are
made of sand, or mountains that don’t have anything that grows from them. But then there are mountains that
are green. They have plants and leaves and so on.

 00:35:00 And so they said, this second opinion amongst the scholars of tafsir is that Tur Sinin refers to any mountain
that is green that has leaves and that has greenery and plants growing upon it. And that is referred to as the
statement of 'Ikrimah . He said Tur Sinin, it is a good tree. 'Ikrimah  continues, and he says, and it is a tree
18
Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

upon which you will find vegetation and greenery. And similar to it is the statement of Mujahid . So they said
that it is a tree7 that has greenery upon it.

A blessed mountain - Qatadah

The third opinion amongst the scholars of tafsir that Imam at-Tabari mentions, is that the word Tur refers to
a mountain. And Sinin refers to a blessed mountain. So the word Sinin here means ‫سن‬ َ ‫ هم َباركٌ َح‬. And this was
reported as being the position of Qatadah .

Conclusion

Tur Sinin (mountain of Musa) is blessed and has greenery

Al-Imam at-Tabari  in his conclusion to this, he says, that Tur Sinin is the well-known mountain. And it is a
mountain that also has greenery upon it. And so therefore, to say that it is the mountain that it is blessed. The
mountain that has greenery upon it. And the mountain that it is the well-known at-Tur, which is the Tur of
Musa , all of them are the same. Because all of them describe one and the same thing.
And so the scholars of tafsir, it seems like each one is mentioning a particular point concerning that particular
mountain.
Imam at-Tabari is basically reconciling, saying, that all of those opinions can work for this being that particular
mountain of Musa .

Land of ‘Isa
And so as we can see now, these scholars who take this position of
َّ ‫التِين و‬
‫الزيتون‬
being the fig and the olive as actual, those things that you eat, Tur Sinin being a mountain that is blessed, but
they still say that it is possible by extension then, to look at those places and their locations. So the first one
refers to the ‫ أَرض‬or the land of ash-Sham, of Jerusalem, and Damascus, and those are the lands of 'Isa .
Why is Damascus the land of ‘Isa?
Why is Damascus mentioned as being the land of 'Isa ? And that’s a question for you guys, why? So we know
Jerusalem is, because that’s where he lived, and that’s where he spent his time, and that’s where he was given
his prophethood, and that’s where he called his people to Allah  and that’s where he is raised into heaven.
But why Damascus, why are they saying Damascus as well?
Student's response: He will return there.
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

Shaykh's response: Yeah, very good, because that’s where he will descend and return. Towards end of time as
we know in the signs of Yawm al-Qiyamah from the major signs, is the descent of 'Isa  and his descent will
be as the Prophet said  by the white minaret of Damascus. And so that’s why the scholars have chosen those
two locations as referring to 'Isa .

7The transcribing team transcribes word for word. We think Shaykh may have intended to say mountain here, based on
context earlier in the paragraph.
19
 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

But in verse 2, what is it referring to? Verse 2 is referring to, as we said, the land of Musa . Jabal at-Tur or
the Turi Saina, is the mountain of Musa . So now it's referring to the land in which Musa resided.

And we know that Musa  didn’t enter into Jerusalem. Because his people, as we know, as Allah  mentions
in the Quran, because of their refusal to enter, and to fight, and to rid Jerusalem of the evil tyrannical people
that lived therein, they were stopped from entering and finding the place and they wandered the earth - the
wandering years, the years of bewilderment.

﴾‫ض‬
ِّ ‫﴿أَ رْبَع ِّينَ سَن َة ًۭ ۛ يَت ِّيه ُونَ فِّى ٱلْأَ ْر‬

for forty years [in which] they will wander throughout the land8
For 40 years they wandered. And it was during those years of wandering upon the earth that Musa  passes
away. And Musa  so therefore he doesn’t enter into Jerusalem.

There are narrations in the Sunnah9 that Musa asked Allah  before He takes his soul, that He should allow
him to see Jerusalem from a distance and a horizon. And so Musa  went up to a mountain, and he looked
and saw from a distance the city of Jerusalem, and that is where his soul was taken .
So this is the second position. But even so, we still say that the tafsir of,
َ‫ور سِينِين‬ ُ ‫و‬
َِ ‫ط‬
is that it’s referring to the actual mountain.
So first and foremost, the fig, it refers to the fig, the olive refers to the olive, Tur Sinin refers to Tur Sinin.

‫ ِإ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬in more detail,

But by extension, as was the position of a number of scholars, and we will go into this ‫ٱّلل‬
when we come to the end of verse 3. We will see the difference of opinion that you have amongst the scholars
of tafsir as to exactly how those verses should be understood; whether we still take it in terms of it being literal
or whether it’s possible to attach another, different meaning to these particular issues that Allah  is taking an
oath by.

Research Question
Research I have a research question for you, that refers also to this particular verse, verse 2. The difference of opinion
that we find here is because of the word Sinin.
And Sinin, as we said, some of the scholars said that the word refers to a mountain in which there is greenery,
 00:40:00 vegetation. Others said that it refers to a mountain that is good and blessed. And that’s because Sinin, the
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

scholars differ as to whether it is an actual Arabic word, or whether it's a word that comes from a different
language that has been Arabised.
And so it is something which is ‫ب‬ َ ‫ معر‬a foreign word that is then taken into Arabic language and used as being
part of Arabic. That brings us to the issue, which is a very interesting issue, that you will find in the books of
tafsir, in the books of usul at-tafsir – the principals of tafsir and also in the books of usul al-fiqh as well.

8 https://quran.com/5/26
9 https://sunnah.com/muslim/43/206
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Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Is it possible to have non-Arabic words in the Quran?

And that is the question, as to whether or not it is possible in the Quran to have words that are non-Arabic. Is
it possible in the Quran, to have words that are non-Arabic?
And this is a position or issue that you will find the scholars mention in the books of ‘ulum al-Quran and usul
al-tafsir and usul al-fiqh. They ask this question and that's why I want you to look into [it].
And to help you understand the issue that we’re looking at. What the scholars do is that they break into three
categories. They break down this issue into three distinct categories.
The first of them is, and this is an issue of consensus - so there's no difference of opinion on the first two
categories, the difference of opinion comes into the third category. The first two categories in which there is
no difference of opinion, there is ijma’, consensus amongst the scholars of Islam is that:

It is not possible for there to be a group of words that are non-Arabic

Number one, it is not possible in the Quran to have sentences, more than one word, a group of words that are
non-Arabic. Because Allah  says in the Quran,
ًٰ ‫َّ َ َ ن‬
﴾ۭ
َ‫ب‬ٓ‫نزْلَ ٰـهٓ ق نر َءن ٓا َع َر ِ ي‬ ‫﴿إِن ٓا أ‬

Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’ān10

Indeed, We have revealed to you a Quran that is in Arabic.

And Allah says in the Quran,

ٓ ‫ۭ ُّم ِب‬
﴾‫ي‬ َ‫ب‬ٓ‫﴿ل ِ َسانٓ َع َر ِ ى‬

Qur’ān] is [in] a clear Arabic language.11

It is in a clear, manifest, Arabic language.

So therefore, for there to be sentences or a group of words that come together one after the other that make
up part of a sentence, or part of a verse, to be non-Arabic goes against the Quran itself. And because it goes
against, and Allah  clearly says that it is an Arabic Quran, the scholars have agreed by consensus, that the
Quran doesn’t bring either a verse in its entirety or part of a verse meaning a number of words together in a
verse that are non-Arabic. That’s an issue of consensus. So you don’t need to worry about category number
one.
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

There are names that are non-Arabic

Category number two, which is also an issue of consensus, is that there are names in the Quran that are originally
non-Arabic. Non-Arabic names - because those prophets and those people that are mentioned didn’t come
from places that were Arab lands and so therefore their names were not Arabic names. Because the prophets
came from lands and they behaved like their people and they grew up in their customs and so their names were
the names of their people as well. So Ibrahim and Isma’il and Ishaq and Ya’qub and other names in the Quran.

10 https://quran.com/12/2
11 https://quran.com/16/103
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 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

These names of the prophets of Bani Isra'il, some of them, and others from amongst them, these are not Arabic
names. They were Arabised, they became popular names in Arabic, and they're embedded into the Arabic
language and so on, but they are not. Even the names of the angels Jibra'il and Mika’il, the scholars say that
they are non-Arabic names originally, that they are Aramaic or Hebrew in their origin. That's also not an issue
of difference of opinion that those names are mentioned in the Quran, and their origin is non-Arabic, their
origin is from other languages. but they are names that Allah  mentions in the Quran, because it refers to
those individuals. There is no difference of opinion on these two issues.
So number one, that the Quran can't consist of more than one word in succession, or a number of words
together being non-Arabic.
And number two, that there are names that are mention of places perhaps, or names of people, or names of
angels and so on, prophets, that are non-Arabic. There is no difference of opinion in those two issues amongst
the scholars.

Are there other words that can be non-Arabic (difference of opinion)

The third issue is where there is a difference of opinion, and that is whether there are other words that are not
names, don't reference places, or people, or angels, that are Arabic or non-Arabic. Can there be other words?
That is where the difference of opinion is.
And this is an example, َ‫ سِينِين‬Is َ‫ سِينِين‬an Arabic word? Or a non-Arabic word? And if it's a non-Arabic word,
does that mean the Quran contains non-Arabic words? This is the third issue where there's a difference of
opinion. And I hope that that's clear, that's what I want to you to look into to. So you don't have to worry
about the first two issues because if you come across that, that may have confused you, so I've eliminated them
from you. So those two issues, you don't have to worry about.
The third issue is whether this is a place where they can be in the Quran, non-Arabic in it. And you will find
that this is an issue of difference of opinion that goes back all the way to the likes of Imam ash-Shafi'i and
others. It's not a new issue or something which is recent. Imam at-Tabari, others, many of them mention this,
and reference this, and it's an important issue to understand because it is often used by people, orientalists, and
others, as a way of disparaging the Quran and the Book of Allah , that it's a contradiction. Allah says,

﴾١٩٥‫ي‬ ُّ ‫﴿بل ِّسان ّع ّر ه‬

ّٖ ِ ‫ب مب‬ّٖ ِ ٍ ِ
In a clear Arabic language.12
 00:45:00 It's an Arabic Quran. But then you come, and you say, actually no, that word means this, it's not an Arabic
word. And so that's an important issue to understand, because we have to understand these issues from the
Islamic point of view, and what the scholars said.
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

ٰ ‫ إِ ْن شَا َء‬for next

And so there is a difference of opinion on this issue. That is what I want you to research ‫ٱّلله‬
week.

And the way that the scholars speak about this, is that they referred to these words as ‫ انفاض النكرة‬al-fadhul
nakir, just general words. So we're not talking about names and places that are referenced, we're talking about
just general words. So, like the word, َ‫ سِينِين‬and the word َ‫ إِسْتبْرق‬and the word َ‫س ْندُس‬
ُ in the Quran – are these

12 https://quran.com/26/195
22
Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

words originally Arabic, or are they Persian, are they Hebrew, are they Roman, what are they? Where did they
come from? Are they Habashi? Abyssinian in origin? And so on, and so forth.

‫ إِ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬for next week, ‫باذن هللا تعالى‬

So that's something which I want you to look into ‫ٱّلل‬

Verse 3

Oath
Verse number 3, Allah then takes another oath, and Allah  says,
ّۡ ّ ۡ ّ ّ ّ
﴾٣‫ِي‬ ِ ّ‫﴿وهَٰذا ٱۡل‬
ِ ‫َل ٱۡل‬
‫م‬

And [by] this secure city [Makkah],

By this safe town. And I'm going through this particular verse now because there's actually not a difference of
opinion concerning the particular meaning of this verse.

City of Makkah - consensus

Because by ijma', by consensus, the scholars of tafsir say that when it's referring to the safe town, that safe town
is referring to the city of Makkah. That's what it's referring to. And that is the position that the scholars agreed
upon. So when it comes to,
َ‫ور سِينِين‬
ِ ‫ط‬‫ه‬

It can have possible, multiple meanings in the Quran and in the Arabic language. And likewise ‫ التين‬and ‫الزيتون‬
But when it comes to the safe city, there is only one safe city that Allah has mentioned in the Quran as being
‫ بلدًا آمِ ًنا‬or ‫ حر ًما آمَِ ًنا‬and that is the city of Makkah. And this was the statement as mentioned by Ibn 'Abbas
,and K'ab, and al-Hasan al-Basri, and Mujahid, and 'Ikrimah, and Qatadah, and 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd
ibn Aslam, and Imam at-Tabari said the same thing. That it's referring to al-balad al-amin. And balad al-
amina is the city of Makkah.
It's a place that gives sanctuary to the Arabs from its enemies, because as we said before in the tasfir of Surah
al-Fil and Surah Quraysh, it's the place that Allah defended, that those people didn't have to worry about
enemies from outside, because Allah made it a sacred and holy city and land. And therefore, the Arabs
respected its position as being such. And also, Allah saved the people within it from civil war, and strife, and
poverty and those types of things as well. That's why Ibn 'Atiyyah says, Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin
‫وبلد اآلمين مكة بال خالف‬
And the safe town that Allah is referencing in this verse, is the city of Makkah, and there is no difference of
opinion in this. The one issue [gap in audio] that these first three verses which Allah  took an oath, by the
fig, and by the olive, and by َ‫ور سِينِين‬
ِ ‫ط‬‫ ه‬and by the safe town of Makkah, is that whether it's literal, or whether
it's referring to something else.

‫ ِإ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬discussion, that we're going to leave for next week, because it will require from us some
So that's what ‫ٱّلل‬
time to go into. And it's not something which I want to go over very quickly, or rush in the short space of time
that we have remaining with us today. So ‫ٱّلله‬ ٰ ‫ إِ ْن شَا َء‬that's something which we will leave till next week.
23
 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

So please remember the research question. Just again to reiterate, and so that we understand, there are three
categories concerning the issue, are there non-Arabic words in the Quran? Two of them are issues of consensus.
You can't have a number of words in succession. You can't have for example a whole verse or even half a verse
that is non-Arabic, because that goes against what is clearly mentioned in the Quran, that the Quran is an Arabic
Quran. And at the same time, it's possible to have names that are originally non-Arabic names in the Quran.
Those two are issues of consensus, agreement amongst the scholars.
The third issue is, can you have other words, don't fall into those two categories? Just the odd word, like َ‫سِينِين‬
َ ‫س ْند‬
here, like the word ‫ مشكوة‬like the word ‫ُس‬ ُ like the word َ‫ إِسْتبْرق‬all of those, that's something which we can
look at ‫ٱّلل‬
‫َ ٰه‬‫ء‬ ‫َا‬
‫ش‬ ْ
‫ن‬ ‫إ‬
ِ .

Q&A
‫ ِإ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬we'll take them now, otherwise we'll conclude for today.
Okay. So any questions ‫ٱّلل‬
Q. I know we have had this lesson three weeks ago, but I'd really appreciate if you can answer this question
urgently. When in salah, if I want to finish on a sajdah ayah, and not read any further surahs, like for example
the last ayah of Surah al-'Alaq, can I combine my tilawah sajdah with my salah sajdah? i.e. I go to ruku', do
sajdah as normal with the intention of it also being tilawah sajdah?
A. No, they are two separate things. The sajdah at-tilawah is different to your sajdah that you normally do in
salah. The two are not combined. And the Prophet  never combined them. There's no narration of him, or
any of his companions, or anyone else, having combined them. And so therefore, it's not something which you
 00:50:00 can do.
The most that you will find that some of the scholars say, is whether it can be made up, is it something that
you can make qadha of? So for example, if you're reading in a silent prayer behind the imam, and the imam is
reading whatever he's reading, but you decide to read Surah al-'Alaq. Now for you, as we said, it's not good for
you to go into sajdah at the end of that surah, because you're going to break away from what the imam is doing,
and you're not following them.
But can you make sajdah at the end, by yourself, after the salam? After the prayer finishes, you make sajdah of
your own? That's an issue of difference of opinion, is there qadha for as-sajdah at-tilawah? And if so, then when
and how long can that gap remain? That's an issue that you will find.
And the reason why that issue is made is, because of this type of circumstance, that you generally don't delay
it. And so when you now delay your sajdah at-tilawah and combine it with your normal sajdah, that is also part
of that issue which therefore goes against the general principle, and that is, that you make the sajdah at-tilawah
at the time that it's done.
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

And that's why as we said, that the majority of the scholars recommend that if you're going to read something
like Surah al-'Alaq after your sajdah, you will come up and you wouldn't go into ruku', and you would read the
opening of another surah, or another short surah, and then you would go into ruku'. And Allah  knows best.

Thank you also for those of you that sent the links to al-Itqan. If anyone comes across this, actually looks into
it properly, rather than just a cover or something, if someone can look into it and give me feedback in terms
of; if it's actually the whole thing, or not the whole thing, or how well it's been done, that will be very helpful.
So it's a very good book, and it would actually be a good book to do reading of. Al-Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an would
24
 Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

‫ ِإ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬if it's actually the

be a very nice book to do a reading of. It's a much bigger book, but at some point ‫ٱّلل‬
full, translated version, anyway.

Q. In al-Imam at-Tabari's two broad opinions, why did he not include the opinion of at-Tin referring to Da-
mascus, given that this was more predominant to the opinion of it being al-Judiyy?
A. That's a good question. And the reason why that seems to be the case, even though Imam at-Tabari mentions
all of those narrations, so he mentions them, but then he chooses as the broad opinion of mentioning just al-
Judiyy, because he seems to say that Damascus and Jerusalem are one. It's referring to one thing, because both
of them are referring to 'Isa . Whereas if you add Judiyy, then now you add another prophet to that mix.

'Isa • Jerusalem, Damascus

Musa • Tur Sinin
Muhammad • Makkah
Nuh • Judiyy
So you have the Prophet 'Isa  in Jerusalem, in Damascus, the Prophet Musa, which is in at-Tur as-Sinin, and
our Prophet  from the city of Makkah. Now if you add Judiyy, you add the Prophet Nuh  as well. And
that seems to be the reason why he chose that particular position of adding Judiyy. And so we're speaking about
the most prominent prophets that Allah  sent to mankind, and so Nuh  would be from amongst them.
And Allah knows best.

Q. Going back to the Quls, is it allowed to combine reading into the hands, blowing and wiping with the Quls
we recite after Salah? Or is the reciting, blowing and wiping into the hands specifically for bedtime?
A. That's generally the Sunnah. So the Prophet  would blow upon himself before he would sleep, upon his
face, and his body, and what he could reach with his hands. But that's mentioned at the time of sleeping. As
for the Prophet  doing it after salah, I don't know of any narration, that the Prophet  in terms of his adhkar
Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin

and generally after salah, when he's reading these surahs, that he would blow on his hands and wipe over
himself.
If however, for example, this is the last thing you do before you go to bed, so this is the last thing you do as
you go into bed, it's the last thing, you go and read literally this and then you go straight to bed, then if someone
‫ ِإ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬I hope that, that it's okay. But generally speaking, you would separate the two. And
combines them, ‫ٱّلل‬
to follow the Sunnah as it is, so you do the Quls after salah and then you do them again at the time for bed.
 00:53:53 That seems to be better. And Allah  knows best.

‫ ِإ ْن شَا َء ٰ ه‬we'll conclude there.

So ‫ٱّلل‬
25
‫‪Quranic Progression | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif‬‬

‫جزاكم هللا خيرا بارك هللا فيكم‬

‫وصلى هللا على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين‬

‫‪Chapter: Tafsir Surah at-Tin‬‬

‫‪26‬‬