This Surah takes its name after the first Ayat, وَالتِّينِ وَالزَّيْتُونِ “By the fig and the olive” [95:1]. The word “fig” only appears in this Surah and nowhere else in the Qur’an. There are 8 Ayat in this Surah.click the button above to listen to the recitation of these Quranic verses againIts theme is the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter. For this purpose first swearing an oath by the habitats of some illustrious Prophets, it has been stated that God has created man in the most excellent of moulds. Although at other places in the Qur’an, this truth has been expressed in different ways, for example, at some places it has been said: “God appointed man His vicegerent on the earth and commanded the angels to bow down to him” (Surah 2: al-Baqarah (The Cow) 30,34, Surah 6: al-An’am (The Grazing Livestock) 165, Surah 7: al-A’raf (The Elevations) 11, Surah 15: al-Hijr (The Valley of Stone) 28,29, Surah 27: an-Naml (The Ants) 62) at others that: “Man has become bearer of the Divine trust, which the earth and the heavens and the mountains did not have the power to bear” (Surah 33: al-Ahzab (The Confederates) 72); and at still others that: “And We have certainly honoured the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.” (Surah 17: al-Isra’ (The Night Journey) 70), yet here the statement made an oath in particular by the habitats of the Prophets that man has been created in the finest of moulds, signifies that mankind has been blessed with such an excellent mould and nature that it gave birth to men capable of attaining to the highest position of Prophethood, a higher position than which has not been attained by any other creature of GodThen, it has been stated that there are two kinds of men; those who in spite of having been created in the finest of mould, become inclined to evil and their moral degeneration causes them to be reduced to the lowest of the low, and those who by adopting the way of faith and righteousness remain secure from the degeneration and consistent with the noble position, which is the necessary demand of their having been created in the best of molds. The existence among mankind of both these kinds of men is such a factual thing which no one can deny, for it is being observed and experienced in society everywhere at all times. In conclusion, this factual reality has been used as an argument to prove that when among the people there are these two separate and quite distinct kinds, how can one deny the judgment and retribution for deeds? If the morally degraded are not punished and the morally pure and exalted are not rewarded and both end in the dust alike, it would mean that there is no justice in the Kingdom of God; whereas human nature and common sense demand that a judge should do justice. How then can one conceive that God, Who is the most just of all judges, would not do justice?
