وَالتِّينِ وَالزَّيْتُونِ
CONSIDER the fig and the olive, (1)
وَطُورِ سِينِينَ
and Mount Sinai, (2)
وَهَٰذَا الْبَلَدِ الْأَمِينِ
and this land secure! (3)
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ
Verily, We create man in the best conformation, (4)
ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَاهُ أَسْفَلَ سَافِلِينَ
and thereafter We reduce him to the lowest of low ?– (5)
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ
excepting only such as attain to faith and do good works: and theirs shall be a reward unending! (6)
فَمَا يُكَذِّبُكَ بَعْدُ بِالدِّينِ
What, then, [O man,] could henceforth cause thee to give the lie to this moral law? (7)
أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ
Is not God the most just of judges? (8)
- and this land secure!1
- 1 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. Thus, verses 1-3 draw our attention to the fundamental ethical unity underlying the teachings - the genuine teachings - of all the three historic phases of monotheistic religion, metonymically personified by Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. The specific truth to be considered here is referred to in the next three verses.
- And this City6197 of security,-6198
- 6197 "This City of security" is undoubtedly Makkah. Even in Pagan times its sacred character was respected, and no fighting was allowed in its territory. But the same City, with all its sacred associations, persecuted the greatest of the Prophets and gave itself up for a time to idolatry and sin, thus presenting the contrast of the best and the worst.
- 6198 Having discussed the four symbols in detail, let us consider them together. It is clear that they refer to Allah's Light or Revelation, which offers man the highest destiny if he will follow the Way. Makkah stands for Islam, Sinai for Israel, and the Mount of Olives for Christ's original and pure Message. It has been suggested that the Fig stands for the Ficus Indica, the Bo-tree, under which Gautama Buddha obtained Nirvana. I hesitate to adopt the suggestion, but if accepted it would cover pristine Buddhism and the ancient Vedic religions from which it was an offshoot. In this way all the great religions of the world would be indicated. But even if we refer the Fig and the Olive to the symbolism in their fruit, and not to any particular religion, the contrast of Best and Worst in man's destiny remains, and that is the main thing.<br/>This raises a doctrinal question of considerable importance: how does Islam view the ancient vedic religions and Buddhism, or for that matter, any other religion? As Muslims we are not in a position to affirm whether Budha was a prophet or not. Although the Qur'an states that Allah sent Prophets to every people (35:24), it does not mention the names of all of them. In fact it mentions by name relatively few of the Prophets of the Semitic tradition, or only such as with whom its first audience, the Arabs were generally familiar. As to its present form, we find the doctrines of Buddhism clearly at variance with monotheism and cardinal Principles of the True Religion as explained in the Qur'an. This may have been the result of distortion or loss by the followers of its original teachings. As a general rule, we cannot describe anyone as a Prophet or Messenger of Allah unless explicitly mentioned in the Qur'an, or Hadith. The Message as brought by Prophet Muhammad preserves in itself all that was essential in the earlier revelations or scriptures: it abrogates all the previous messages sent through earlier Prophets (3:85). (R).
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And this City of security,-
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
And by this land made safe;
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
And this city made secure,
— M. Habib Shakir -
And by this city of security (Makkah),
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
By the yonder secure city,
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
and this safe country (Mecca)!
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
and by this Secured City,
— Ayub Khan -
And this Town of Security,
— Sher Ali -
and this land secure!
— Muhammad Asad -
and this land secure!
— Arthur Arberry -
and by this city (of Makkah), a haven of peace:
— Abu'l Ala Maududi