28. SURAH AT-TIN [THE FIG] – Presentation of Islam and Quran

INTRODUCTION TO SURAH AT-TIN

Surah At-Tin, revealed in Mecca as the 28th in chronological order, takes its name from the word “التّين (tin) [fig]” in verse 1. Although Qur’anic scholars like Qatadah and Ibn Abbas have argued that it was revealed in Medina, the majority of experts believe it to be Meccan. In addition to its style aligning with that of a Meccan surah, the phrase “And swear by this safe city” in verse 3 serves as sufficient proof that Surah At-Tin is Meccan. This is because, as will be explained below, the expression “safe city, secure town” for Mecca is used with the demonstrative adjective “هذا hâzâ [this]” (hâza’l-Beledi “l-Amin), indicating proximity to the word it modifies. This suggests that our Prophet was in Mecca. Had the Surah been revealed while our Prophet was in Medina, the demonstrative adjective “هذا ḥaza [this]” would not have been used for Mecca, implying proximity.

While the events of Pharaoh, Thamud, and Ashab al-Uhdud were presented as negative examples in the preceding Surah Buruj, this Surah draws attention to Palestine, Syria, and the Hejaz region, focusing on the revelations that descended there and their consequences.

28 / SURAH AT-TIN [THE FIG]

Meaning of verses

¹People of Mediterranean region, people of Middle East and Arabia; ³the people of the beautiful, blessed Southeastern Taurus Mountains, people all around the world⁶⁷ is the evidence that, ^4-6indeed, We formed human in the most appropriate period of the stages of the universe’s formation, then We turned him to the lowest of the low except for those who believe and do amendatory deeds – because there is an uninterrupted reward for them -.

⁷So, what makes you deny the religion/the day of Qiyamat [Resurrection] after this?

⁸Is not Allah the most just of the judges?

Analysis of Verses

Verses 1-6:

^1-People of Mediterranean region, people of Middle East and Arabia; ³the people of the beautiful, blessed Southeastern Taurus Mountains, people all around the world⁶⁷ is the evidence that, ^4-6indeed, We formed human in the most appropriate period of the stages of the universe’s formation, then We turned him to the lowest of the low except for those who believe and do amendatory deeds – because there is an uninterrupted reward for them -.

1-3. The literal meanings of the words in these verses are: ‘By the fig, the olive, the Fertile Mountain, the Southern Eastern Taurus Mountains, and this Safe Land.’ However, we have presented their figurative meanings. The regions mentioned in the Surah are familiar to the Arabs, who were the first audience at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation, but the intention is to refer to people all over the world.

In verses 1-3, which form the “oath section” of the six-verse oath sentence, four different things are sworn by [four things are cited as evidence], stating that all human beings were created in the “best of forms/perfect calendar”. It is further mentioned that those who believe and do righteous deeds will receive an unceasing reward, while those who do not believe and do righteous deeds will be returned to “اسفل سافلين asfel-i safilin” (the lowest of the low).

As in every oath sentence, the elements used as evidence for the judgment in verses 4-6 must be serious, concrete, and tangible—things that express the exact meaning and are familiar to the audience. Therefore, in order to fully grasp the message of the oath, it is essential to first understand the evidence presented in verses 1-3.”

Tin [fig] and Olive:

Fig and olive, two fruits known to everyone, are shown here as evidence that man was created in the most beautiful form and then turned into the lowest of the low. However, everyone is also unanimous that these fruits cannot be evidence for the judgment that is put forward simply as fruits. Therefore, we must first understand what is meant by the words “fig” and “olive” and then investigate how these words can be used as evidence for the judgment in verses 4 and 5.

A number of commentators have argued from the known literal meanings of the words “fig” and “olive” that they are fruits of paradise and therefore sacred. They attributed the phrase “like this tree that comes out of Mount Sinai and gives oil and flavor to those who eat it” in verse 20 of Surah al-Muminun to the sacredness of the olive tree and evaluated many stories about figs such as “figs are the fruit of paradise”, “figs cure hemorrhoids and rheumatism”, “the prevents bad breath, lengthen hair and prevent paralysis”.

There are those who argue that these fruits are sworn on because they are two important trade goods grown in the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East, and there are those who say that figs and olives are a reference to “that which created male and female” in Surah al-Lail, i.e. olives refer to the female egg and figs to the male semen.

Some of the narrators, who were not idle in this matter, said that “tin” referred to Damascus and “olive” to Jerusalem, while others said that “tin” referred to the mosque Noah built on Mount Judi and “olive” to Jerusalem.

Sufis, on the other hand, have tried to create some meanings that they claim these two fruits carry in the west [invisible inner dimension] based on their apparent properties. Below are some evaluations of the position of figs and olives in Sufi literature:

“Figs have many seeds, olives have one seed. The fig points to the realm of multiplicity. It contains hundreds of seeds in a single fruit. The olive, on the other hand, has a single seed. In this state, the olive evokes the Realm of Wahdat [Unity-Tawheed Dimension] in the first place.”

“The use and benefit of figs is narrow. Olives are utilized in many ways: It is food on the table. It becomes oil for food. It can even be used as soap to clean people and things. Figs have no multidimensional use other than as fruit and dessert. In the fraction, there is not much you can get from the truth. You remain in one dimension and look through a narrow window.”

“Adam and Eve fell into the world because they ate fig. Kesret is the lowest dimension. Kesret means moving away from the life of paradise. Kesret is the lowest of the low.”

“The olive is first green. Green is the color of consent, Prophethood is the color of perfection. Then it will turn red, the color of love, then black, the color of nothingness… The fig is the symbol of fraction… Fig evokes the first sin, the first fall.”

“The olive is the symbol of Wahdat… The symbol of a goal to be reached… The fig is a monotonous, dualistic life… The olive is the symbol of a gradual education, of gradual development…”

Our approach is first of all to consider the elements of the oath sentence as a whole, without fragmentation. “Figs” and “olives” should never be considered as elements outside the oath, nor should they be understood independently of the oath. On the contrary, the evaluation of “figs” and “olives” should be made according to the clues to be deduced from the theme of the paragraph by analyzing the structure of the sentence in which these words appear.

Accordingly, the first clue is derived from the way the words are used in the sentence: The words are used in the sentence as muarref [distinct]. In this case, it is not correct to consider “fig” and “olive” as “genus nouns” and understand them with their general meanings.

The second clue comes from the meaning of the paragraph consisting of verses 1-6. As we said above, the paragraph of verses 1-6 is a sentence of oath, and the things listed in verses 1-3 are the proofs of the judgment in verses 4-6. However, two of the proofs are places [locality, region] and the other two are “fig” and “olive”. Since there is no logic for “fig” and “olive” as fruits to be the proofs of the judgment in verses 4-6, and since the words cannot be considered as fruits anyway since they appear in the sentence as muarref, it should be considered that a place could be meant by the words “fig” and “olive” as well, considering that the other proofs indicate a place. This possibility is also the most compatible with Arab tradition. For just as the Arabs named a city after the most famous person [usually the founder] of that city, they also named regions after the plants that grew in those lands. Therefore, in our opinion, “fig” and “olive” refer to the regions where these fruits grow, which are Palestine and Syria. Ibn Taymiyah, Ibn Qayyim, Zamakhshari and Alusi are of the same opinion. The Encyclopedia Britannica also supports this view, citing the eastern Mediterranean and Syria as the homeland of the fruit and the region where it first spread:

“This plant [the olive], which some sources claim to have originated in the southern part of Anatolia and Syria, spread throughout ancient times to the regions around the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean…”^[1]

Tur-i Sînin

The ancient dictionaries state that the word طور tûr is Syriac and is the name of a mountain in Damascus (Syria). According to research, in Aramaic, “طور” means mountain. The southeastern Taurus Mountains are in the northern territories of the Assyrian Empire, whose language was Aramaic. This means that the word “طورtûr” comes from the word Taurus. (Taurus means bull) and came to the Arabs from the Assyrians.^[2]

When the first dictionaries were written, these lands belonged to the Syrians. At that time, the southeastern Taurus Mountains in Syria were called الطورat-Tûr.

According to the old dictionaries, “طورtûr” means “mountain with trees on it”. If there are no trees on it, it is not called “tûr”. Today, there are no trees or vegetation on Mount Sinâ, which is claimed to be “طور سيناTûr’i Sinâ”. However, the Taurus Mountains are covered with trees and vegetation.

In al-Mu’minun/20, it is reported that olives come out of Tûr-i Seynae/olive trees grow. The homeland of olives is known as the Turkey-Syria border and according to scientific data, this is the triangle of Kahramanmaraş, Hatay and Mardin. This region is the Southeastern Taurus Mountains. There are no olive trees, let alone any trees, on the alleged Mount Sinâ.

سيناء SEYNÂE- سنينSINIYNE

There is a confusion of pronunciation in these words in al-Mu’minun/20 and At-Tin/2.

In the Official Mushaf, the word “سيناء seynâe” in Mu’minun/20 is translated as “سِيناءSiynâe” by Nafi, Ibn Kathir, Abu ‘Amr, Abu Ja’far, Ibn Muhaysin, Yazidi and Hasan;

Mutawwa reads it as “سِناءsinâe”, and A’meş reads it as “سَيْناناSeynâ”.

In the Official Mushaf, in Tin/2, the word “سنيننsiniyna” was recited as “سينينseyniyna” by Ibn Abi Ishaq, Amr b. Meymun, Abu Rajah;

“سيناءsiynâe” by ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, Ibn Mas’ud, Talha and Hasan;

‘Umar b. al-Khattab, Zayd b. ‘Ali and ‘Abdullah b. Massoud recited it as “سَيناءseynâe” (Mu’jam al-Qur’aniyya).

It is clear from this that these words, though written differently in the two verses, are in fact the same word.

The ancient books give the following information about the meaning of these words:

These words are not inflected. They came into Arabic from another language.

There are different opinions about the meaning of the words.

Qatadah: “It means beautiful.”

Mujahid said: “It means blessed”.

Muqatil said: “Every mountain on which there is fruit is seyna, that is, beautiful.” (Razi, Qurtubi)

Consequently, what is meant by the words “طورtûr” and “سَيْناءseynâe” are mountains with plenty of trees, forested areas. Obviously, it is the SOUTHEAST TOROS MOUNTAINS. It is not the mountain that today is called “MOUNTAIN SINA”.

Safe Land

As we mentioned in the introduction to the Surah, there is a consensus that the “Safe Land” is the city of Mecca. This is because the Qur’anic verses clearly state that Mecca is a “Safe City” where bloodshed is forbidden:

¹²⁵And We made this Bayt [House]/the first school for the people a place to return and a place of security. –And get a place for Salah [a place where supporting financially and spiritually; enlightening the community will take place] from the place that Abraham served.- And We took covenant from Abraham and Ishmael, saying: “Keep my Bayt [House] pure for the travelers, those who worship, who submit, who acknowledge the oneness of Allah”.

(Al-Baqara/ 125)

⁵⁷And they said: “If we follow the guidance to the righteous path together with you, we will be driven out from our land”. Have We not established them in a secure place/Mecca, where fruits of all crops were harvested and brought to them as a provision from Us? But most of them do not know.

(Al-Qasas/ 57)

⁶⁷Or have they not seen that We made Mecca safe and untouchable while people are being taken away by force around it? Do they still believe in falsehood and are they ungrateful for the blessings of Allah?

(Ankebut/ 67)

It is also clear from verse 33 of Surah Al-Anfal that Mecca was a “safe city” during the time in which our Prophet lived.

Combination of the Four Articles of Oath

The assumption that “fig” and “olive” are symbols of place or region, such as “the mountain where olives grow: “the mountain where the olive grows” and “the safe city”, and that these regions are Palestine and Syria, where figs and olives grow, these four places should be the evidence for man’s being created in the most beautiful form and then returned to the lowest of the low. However, the logical relationship between the judgment of the oath and the evidence for that judgment is not apparent, and the judgment and the evidence seem distant from each other. Since the judgment is clear and unambiguous, the next step is to investigate whether the evidence means something else.

For this purpose, when considering what other meanings these words, which denote a place, might have, the first thing that comes to mind is to reach for their figurative meanings. Indeed, here we are dealing with an art that is widely used in all the world’s literatures, the “Mecaz-i Mürseli of Mahalliyet” (the metonymy of locality). According to this art, of which there are hundreds of examples in the Qur’an, “the locality is mentioned, but in fact the inhabitants of that locality are meant. For example, in verse 82 of Surah Yusuf, in the expression “واسئل القرية wa’eli’l-garyete [ask that city]”, “the city” is mentioned but “the people of the city” are meant.

Accordingly, in the verses in question, the name of the place is also mentioned, but what is meant is not the places, but the people living in those places, the Prophets sent to those places, and the revelations revealed there. In fact, many of the Prophets mentioned in the Qur’an [Prophet Abraham, his son Ishmael (as), Isaac (as), his grandson Jacob (as), Yusuf (as), Moses (as), Aaron (as), David (as), Solomon (as), Jesus (as) and Muhammad (as)] lived in those regions. In addition, these prophets were exposed to revelation in these regions, and the people around them who “reached a’la-yı iliyyin [high virtues, hence paradise] by believing and doing righteous deeds” and those who “turned away from revelation and tumbled down to asfel-i safil [the lowest, most despicable positions, hence hell]” also lived in these regions.

AHSEN-I TAKVIM

The word “التّقويم Takvim” is an infinitive/noun from the verb “qamma” in the sense of RISE, STANDING (kavwama, yükavvimü, takviym), and considering the fact that this form is transitive and adds the meaning of multiplicity to the word, it becomes clear that the meaning of this word is “to keep some things standing, to create many things; processes”. Already in contemporary Arabic, the word calendar (التّقْوِيمُ : والأيام حساب الزمن بالسنين والشهور. تقسيم الأزمنة وحساب الأوقات وما يتعلق بها) means “the calculation of time in years, months and days”. In Turkish, we also use the word in the sense of “the creation of years, months and days in time”.

According to the generally accepted understanding, the “Ahsen-i takvim” is as follows:

The phrase “Ahsen-i takvim” in Surah At-Tin is also considered in the classical understanding to mean “in the most beautiful form, in the most suitable consistency”. The creation of human beings on “ahsen-i takvim” is understood to mean that “human beings are created in the most beautiful and perfect form in terms of their physical structure and mental functions”. Indeed, human beings have been created in the most beautiful and perfect structure with their height, body size, location of body organs, physical abilities to protect themselves, and mental equipment such as intellect, idea, insight, perception, conscience, compassion, memory and attention to find the truth. This structure has no deficiencies or flaws. To date, no one has dared to suggest different functions and locations for the organs in our bodies. In short, with its physical and mental structure, the human being was created on “ahsen-i takvim [the most beautiful form, a form that is not more beautiful than itself; form].”

Unfortunately, this was our understanding of the matter for many years.

But since this is the answer to the oath in verses four and five,

The presence of the preposition “فٖٓي fi” in the text of the verse

And that the literal meaning of the word “takvim” should be taken into account is not a correct understanding,

Namely; Verses 4 and 5 are in response to the qasem. That is, with the references in verses 1-3, the argument in verses 4 and 5 is intended to be proved.

^1-People of Mediterranean region, people of Middle East and Arabia; ³the people of the beautiful, blessed Southeastern Taurus Mountains, people all around the world⁶⁷ is the evidence that,

^4-6indeed, We formed human in the most appropriate period of the stages of the universe’s formation, then We turned him to the lowest of the low except for those who believe and do amendatory deeds – because there is an uninterrupted reward for them -.

Here, the truth is explained to all mankind that man was created in the best of manners, in the best of processes, and then he was returned to the lowest of the low.

Since there is the preposition “فٖٓي fi” in the text of the verse, verse 4 should be translated as “We created man in the most beautiful form” without omitting the preposition “fi” and in the sense of “form” of the word “calendar”. However, this preposition is omitted and translated as “We have formed man in the most beautiful form”. This translation also does not make sense.

The word “takvim” translated as “form” does not actually mean “form”. Our Lord has already expressed creation with the verb “أَن تَقُومَ kâme”.

Ar-Rum/ 25

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَن تَقُومَ السَّمَاء وَالْأَرْضُ بِأَمْرِهِ ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ دَعْوَةً مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ إِذَا أَنتُمْ تَخْرُجُونَ

²³And again, among His evidences/signs is that you sleep by night and day and seek provision of His bounties. Indeed, there are many evidences/signs in this for a people who heed.

Our Lord has expressed giving form with the verb “َصَوَّرSAVVERE, يُصَوِّرُ tasvir”.

Mu’min/64

اللَّهُ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ قَرَارًا وَالسَّمَاء بِنَاء وَصَوَّرَكُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ وَرَزَقَكُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ رَبَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ

⁶⁴Allah is the One Who made the earth a place of settlement for you, and the sky a ceiling, and Who formed you – and how perfect form it is – and Who provides you from clean things. That is Allah, your Rabb. –How generous is Allah, Rabb of all universes!-

Ali-Imran/6

هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَوِّرُكُمْ فِي الأَرْحَامِ كَيْفَ يَشَاء لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

⁶He is the One Who forms you in the womb as He wills. There is no deity except Him. He is the One Who is the most exalted, the most powerful, the most honorable, the invincible/the subduer, the best law maker, the One Who precludes corruption best/makes incorruptible.

One of the names of Allah is al-Musawwir (Taghabun/ 3 and Hashr/ 24)

The word “form” is also found in Infitar 6-8.

يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنسَانُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيم الَّذِي خَلََقَكَ فَسَوَّاكَ فَعَدَلَكَ فِي أَيِّ صُورَةٍ مَّا شَاء رَكَّبَكَ

فِي أَيِّ صُورَةٍ مَّا شَاء رَكَّبَكَ

^6-8O man! What deceives you against your Lord, the Most Gracious, Who formed you, then fashioned you in an order, then balanced you, then arranged you in a form He willed?

In these verses, the miraculous balance in the anatomical and physiological structure of man is clearly shown.

WHAT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CALENDAR IN WHICH MAN WAS CREATED; THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF PROCESSES?

In our Qur’an and the Bible, it is reported that the universe was created in six days.

YUNUS/ 3:

إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللّهُ اللّهُ الَّذِي إَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يُدَبِّرُ الأَمْرَ مَا مِن شَفِيعٍ إِلاَّ مِن بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ ذَلِكُمُ اللّهُ رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ

³Surely, your Rabb is Allah, Who formed the heavens/universe and the earth in six steps and then established His dominion over the greatest throne, arranges the matter. Whoever helps, supports on the earth may only do after His permission/knowledge. This is Allah, your Rabb. So, worship Him! Do you not still think and take lesson?

The expression “six days” is also found in HUD/7, FURKAN/ 59, SECDE/ 4, FUSSİLAT/ 9- 12, QAF/ 38, AL-HADİD/ 4.

We cannot take the word “Yawm” in the verses to mean the day as we know it. Because at this stage, the sun, the earth and their movements that make up the day did not yet exist. The acceptance of the meaning of the word “yawm” in these verses as “cycle; phase” allows us to see another miracle of the Qur’an. As is well known, the cosmological findings of the present day show that the universe [hence the earth] has passed through a number of phases to reach its present state:

Almost all models of the expanding universe agree on the life history of the universe. … In the beginning, the universe was an infinitely dense medium made up of elementary particles such as protons, neutrons, electrons, positrons and neutrinos with temperatures as high as 10¹⁶ K. This environment was dominated by energy. … About 100 seconds after the big band, the temperature dropped to 109 K and the elementary particles began to combine to form heavier nuclei. … For the next 1,000,000 years, the universe remained hot and opaque, like the core of a star, where photons could not escape and propagate into space. During this time, the temperature gradually dropped to 3,000 K and the density to 1,000 atom/cm³. At this point, radiation began to escape into space. … The matter that spread out in space began to gather in clumps under the influence of gravity. The age of radiation came to an end and a new process called the stellar age began, with the formation of galaxies and stars. … Research to prove these models continues by studying the most distant regions of the universe, corresponding to its most distant past.^[3]

And new physicists are also trying to prove that the SIX PHASES

PHASE 1 EIGHT BILLION YEARS

PHASE 2 FOUR BILLION YEARS

PHASE 3 TWO BILLION YEARS

PHASE 4 ONE BILLION YEARS

PHASE 5 FIVE HUNDRED MILLION YEARS

PHASE 6 LASTS FOR TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION YEARS, AND THESE PHASES ARE INTENDED TO PREPARE THE ENVIRONMENT FOR LIFE.

Another remarkable point here is that they explain that the transitions from one stage to another are realized with an attempt made with a precision of 0.000000000000000000000001/second, otherwise the environment to prepare life would not be formed.

The phase in which man was created is the most beautiful of these six phases, the part that is PREPARED for LIFE. The creation of man is in the most beautiful of this most beautiful universe in itself.

⁹Say: “Will you really conceal/disbelieve in the One Who formed the earth in two phases? And you attribute to Him equals! He is Rabb of all universes”.

¹⁰And He placed firmly set mountains in the earth. He made blessings therein. And He arranged the provisions in four phases equally/without distinction for those who look and ask.

¹¹Then He established His dominion in the heavens/universe while it was smoke and said to it and the earth: “Come, willingly or unwillingly!”. And both of them said: “We have come willingly”.

¹²Then Allah made them in two phases as heavens and assigned the work of every heaven within it. We adorned the closest heaven with lanterns and the protection. This is the arrangement of the One Who is the most exalted, the most powerful, the most honorable, the invincible/the subduer, the One Who precludes corruption best/makes incorruptible, knows very well.

(Fussilat/9-12)

Man was also created in stages.

“¹⁴Yet, indeed He formed you in stages.

(Noah/ 14)

The most beautiful (ahseni takvim) of the stages mentioned in the verse is the stage when the earth is a kind of paradise.

⁷²Surely, We spread the trust [unity, perfection, flawlessness] over the heavens/universe, the earth and the mountains but they denied to bear it/conceal it, make it unknown, disgrace it and they feared that the unity, perfection and flawlessness would be taken away, would be made unknown. And mankind bore it/concealed it, made it unknown, disgraced it [betrayed it]. Indeed, man is the one who does wrong; acts against his own good and is very ignorant.

(Al-Ahzab/ 72)

³⁵And We said: “O Adam! You and your wife; dwell in green and well-watered place, enjoy its blessings in abundance from wherever you will but do not approach that tangled thing; do not fall for wealth/gold-silver or you will be among those who treat unjustly to their own selves”.

(Al-Baqara/35)

¹⁹And said: “O Adam/the one who was given knowledge, who received the revelation! You and your wife dwell in green, lush gardens/paradise, eat from wherever you will and do not get closer to that tangled thing which is the source of dispute; do not fall for property and wealth, or you will be of those who do wrong, act against their own good.”

(A’raf/ 19)

^117-119Then We said: “O Adam! Surely, Iblis is enemy to you and your wife. Do not let him lead you out of green, lush gardens/paradise, or you will be devastated. Indeed, that you will not be in distress by being in hunger nor will you be naked is in green, lush gardens/paradise. And you will not be without water and you will not stay under the heat of the sun there”.

(Ta Ha/ 117- 119)

Yes, the first human beings were created in an environment like paradise; green, wet, with all kinds of trees, plants and shade.

ESFEL-I SAFILIN

We have explained in detail that the phrase “We created man in the best of forms” mentioned in the verse above does not mean, in the classical interpretation, “man was created in the most beautiful appearance and in the most suitable state.” According to this explanation, the statement “then man was sent to the lowest of the low” does not mean, in the classical sense, “the debasement of old age” [decline in old age]. When a person deifies their desires, becomes greedy, selfish, falls into lust, suffers from the disease of accumulation, boasts, acts arrogantly, rebels, and denies, they become the lowest of the low. Such people, whose hearts are sealed, ears are blocked, and eyes are veiled, will be reduced to a state worse than animals. The actions of these beings, who appear human but have degenerated, are evident for those who wish to see: these bloodsuckers, in pursuit of their false gods, destroy nature and disregard the right to life of humans, animals, plants, and millions of other living creatures. By draining the blood of their fellow beings to the last drop, they annihilate their own species. They go so far as to inflict violence at the level of massacre on their fellow beings and other living species to satisfy their own greed and passions. They reach the pinnacle of oppression by doing things that even wild animals, which do not harm other creatures unless they need to feed, would not do.

The expression “esfeli safilin” here is understood as “paradise on earth having turned into a desert.”

When a person succumbs to the disease of accumulation, faith and conscience disappear from within them, and they turn the paradise world into hell.

^17-20Certainly not as you think! Indeed, you do not raise the orphan in an honorable way. You do not encourage one another to give opportunities for those unemployed, poor so they might earn their living. Yet, you consume heritage of the world, devouring it! And you love wealth with immense love, stockpiling it!

(Al-Fajr/ 17-20)

^1-5Those who run panting, then strike sparks of fire, then raid in the morning, then raise clouds of dust therein, then plunge into the most valuable resources and assets of a community is the evidence that ⁶indeed, man is very ungrateful to his Rabb.

(Al-Adiyat/ 1-6)

¹⁰⁵And surely, after the Reminder/Torah, We decreed, ‘Indeed, the earth will be inherited only by My righteous servants’ in the Psalms as well.

(Al-Anbiya/ 105)

⁴¹Corruption has emerged on the land and at the sea because of that which they have earned with their hands to make them taste some of which they have done so that perhaps the people will return; they will act in accordance with the principles of Allah.

(Ar-Rum/41)

(Al-Ahzab/ 72)

Further Commentary:

The corruption referred to here is the disruption of the natural balance. That is, the seasons being thrown off, rains decreasing or increasing, plants becoming less productive, water getting polluted, leading to the extinction of aquatic life, the atmosphere being damaged, the ozone layer depleting, and the increase of cancer and similar diseases caused by high levels of radiation… All these factors result in a life of hardship on earth.

It is a fact that humanity, due to a production and consumption perspective based on pleasure, is rapidly disrupting the balance of nature with uncontrolled technological advancement. As a result, access to clean water sources, clean air, and natural and healthy food is becoming increasingly difficult. Scientific studies confirm that the biological and psychological complications created by these difficulties pose a serious threat to human health. Although this dangerous process is recognized by all states today, international willpower to mitigate the negative consequences is still not strong enough.

The Kyoto Protocol, signed in 2005 under the umbrella of the United Nations, imposed limitations on the release of Chlorofluorocarbon gases into the atmosphere. With this and similar agreements, efforts should be intensified to restore the environment to a state that is once again suitable for the health of humans and other living creatures, and the ecological balance set by God should be reestablished. Otherwise, humanity will face even greater catastrophes, and these catastrophes will not be mere warnings.

A great deal of scientific research has been conducted recently on ecological balance and its preservation, and various measures are being taken. We recommend that readers study and follow this topic in detail through scientific data.

The verses clearly state that the human race has turned their homeland, which was a paradise, into a desert and has been forced to live there.

^37- Then, Adam received some words from his Rabb/was revealed; We said: “Descend! All of you.

(Al-Baqara/37)

²⁴Allah said: “Descend from there being enemy to each other, and for you on the earth is a settlement and enjoyment until a time”.

²⁵Allah said: “You will live there, die there and then will be brought forth from there”.

(A’raf/24, 25)

¹²³Allah said to both of them: “Descend from there, being enemies to each other…

Ta Ha/123)

Verse 5:

We turned him to the lowest of the low except for those who believe and do amendatory deeds – because there is an uninterrupted reward for them -.

Clearly, Surah At-Tin commands the protection of nature and calls for sensitivity to this issue.

1-Doing the righteous deeds

This concept, which was explained in the analysis of Surah Al-Asr, is worth repeating briefly due to its importance.

The expression “amilu’s-salihati”, which is used in 62 verses of the Qur’an in different contexts, is incorrectly translated as “those who do righteous deeds” in many translations and commentaries. The correct translation should be “those who engage in acts of rectification” or “those who work toward correction”.This is because the expression “those who do righteous deeds” implies that the concept of “doing righteous deeds” is considered within the scope of “good deeds”. This is where the mistake lies. Because “hasenat”, which refers to “virtuous deeds or good actions”, and “salihat”, which signifies “acts of rectification or correction”, are not the same thing; these two closely related but distinct concepts must be clearly distinguished from each other.As a matter of fact, the two words have different antonyms, and the antonyms of “hasenat” are “seyyiat” and the antonym of “salihat” are “fasidat”.

“الصّالحات Salihat” comes from the word “اصلاح ıslah” and means “to correct”. According to this meaning, “to do Salihat” means “to correct something that is broken, to correct, to work towards correction”. The Qur’an has also used the word in this sense by calling those who work to correct wrongs and disorders in society “muslih” (al-Baqara 11, 220, Al-A’raf 56, 85, 170, Hud 117, Al-Qasas 19).

On the other hand, the Qur’an mentions salihat and some other concepts in the same verse to draw attention to the fact that these concepts have different meanings: “Salihat” is mentioned in verse 277 of Surah al-Baqara together with “practicing salaat and giving zakat”, in verse 23 of Surah al-Hud with “submitting to Allah with decency and heartfelt submission”, and in verse 3 of Surah Al-Asr with “recommending truth and patience”. This shows that the concept of “salihat” is not one and the same with those concepts.

To clarify what exactly is meant by the concept of “doing righteousness”, one could say: “doing good deeds, such as practicing salah, fasting, giving zakat, etc., is not practicing salah, but making an effort to ensure that people willingly do these good deeds, is practicing of salah.” If the concept of “good deeds” is shifted from the individual dimension to the social dimension, it can be concluded that the efforts and methods to be applied to correct all kinds of judicial, administrative, political, economic and cultural corruptions that overshadow the peace and happiness of social life are also within the scope of “doing corrective deeds”.

“Salihat” and “hasanat” are also distinguished in the Qur’an in terms of the rewards to be given to those who engage in these good deeds. While our Lord gives ten rewards for each good deed, in all the verses where the expression “amilu’s-salihat” is mentioned, He promises paradise to those who do good deeds.

In conclusion, it can be said that the work of those who do righteous deeds is the activity of correcting “fasidat”, which means “deeds of corruption”, and eliminating all disorders and corruption. If it is remembered that in Surah al-Ma’un, the muqezzibs [deniers] think that they are above everything and push the orphan and the poor around, the functions of “salihat”, which means the correction of the corrupt systems that allow such behaviors that our Lord does not want, to live, will be better understood.

In verses 4 and 5 of Surah At-Tin, our Lord, who gives the message that everything is under His control and that it is not possible to be outside of this control, warns that He can make man, whom He created on the basis of Ahsen-i calendar, the lowest of the low, and in verse 6, He states that those who believe and do righteous deeds are excluded from this generalization. Thus, the meaning of our Lord’s earlier declaration in Surah Al-Asr that “those who do not believe and do not do righteous deeds are in loss” is better understood.

In verse 5, it should be emphasized that Allah Himself is the perpetrator of the phrase “radadnahu [we turned him away]”. This issue, which will be examined in more detail below under the title of “Allah’s sealing and stamping of hearts”, has been brought up in the science of Kalam with the question, “Does the servant create his actions [his behaviors such as good, bad, good, evil, faith, disbelief] himself or is it Allah who creates these actions?”. The essence of the issue discussed on the axis of this question is the reason for the losses suffered by people, whether they are the result of Allah’s will or the result of people’s own actions.

Anyone who starts reading the Mushaf in the classical order from the beginning, either from the original or from the translation, will come across verse 7:

⁷Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and ears; there are curtains upon their eyes. And a great punishment is for them.

(Al-Baqara/7)

An informed reader can understand from this verse that “some people become disbelievers by Allah’s will, so no matter what they do, they will not be able to get rid of their disbelief, warning them will be useless, and they will surely be punished” and question the logic of justice in punishing those people who have been made disbelievers by Allah by sealing their hearts and ears and veiling their eyes.

There are many other verses in the Qur’an that have this meaning, although most Muslims are not aware of it. The Qur’an also states that hearts are influenced in other ways besides being sealed:

1- The sealing of hearts:

⁷Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and ears; there are curtains upon their eyes. And a great punishment is for them.

(Al-Baqara/7)

⁴⁶Say: “Have you ever thought, if Allah takes your hearing and sight and seals your hearts; which deity other than Allah can bring them to you?” Look, how We explain the Ayat. Then they turn away and forbid!

(Al-An’am/ 46)

²³Have you ever thought/seen the one who has taken his own vain, transitory desire as his deity and whom Allah led astray upon a knowledge, sealed his ear and heart and set a curtain upon his eye? Who will guide him to the righteous path after Allah? Will you still not remember and reason?

(Al-Jathiya/ 23)

2- Stigmatization of hearts:

³This is because they believed and then disbelieved. So, their hearts were sealed over, and they can not comprehend.

(Munafikun/ 3)

^154-158And upon their covenant, We raised the highest/the dearest among them/Moses up to Mount Tur. And We said to them: “Enter that gate while you submit”. And We also said to them: “Do not transgress on the contemplation/servitude day”. Then We took their solemn covenant for their breaking of their own covenant, their disbelief in the Ayat of Allah, their killing of the prophets without right and their statement: “Our hearts are covered”, -rather, Allah sealed their hearts for their disbelief; their conscious denial of the divinity of Himself and the fact that He is Rabb. None of them but a few believe- and their disbelief in the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb and their great slanders against Mary; and their saying “We truly have killed Jesus the Messiah, Messenger of Allah and son of Mary”. But, they did not kill him and they did not treat him harshly. But another one was made to look similar to Jesus. Truly, those who differ over him have definitely insufficient knowledge. They do not have any knowledge concerning this other than following assumptions. They certainly did not kill him. Rather, Allah ascended him to Himself/raised him in degree. And Allah is the One Who is the most exalted, the most powerful, the most honorable, the invincible/the subduer, the best law maker, the One Who precludes corruption best/makes incorruptible.

(Nisa/ 154-158)

3- The compression of hearts:

¹²⁵And whomever Allah wants to guide to the righteous path, He opens up his heart for Islam. And whomever He wants to lead astray, He makes his chest extremely distressed as though he is ascending to the sky. Thus places/throws Allah the filth [things that inflict harm, punishment] upon those who do not believe.

(Al-An’am/ 125)

4- Sickness of the hearts:

¹⁰In their hearts is illness; ill is their mentality; so Allah has increased illness; going astray for them. A painful punishment is for them for they lie.

(Al-Baqara/10)

¹²⁵And as for those in whose hearts is disease; ill-minded; it has only increased them in evil. And they have died while they were infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb.

(At-Tawbah/ 125)

5- The death of hearts:

³⁶Only those who listen will respond. The dead ones; only Allah will resurrect them. Then they will be returned only to Him.

(Al-An’am/36)

¹²²Is the example of the one whom We gave life when he was dead and gave him a light so he might walk among the people like the example of the one who is in all darkness and not able to find a way out of it? Thus, the deeds of those infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb have been shown to them ‘adorned and alluring’.

(Al-An’am/ 122)

6- The rusting of hearts:

¹⁴Certainly not as they think! What they earned has been a stain upon their hearts.

(Mutaffifin/14)

7- Hardening of hearts:

⁷⁴Then your hearts became hardened; like stones, even harder. And surely, there are such stones from which rivers emerge, and there are such stones that split open and waters come out, and there are such stones that fall because of fearing Allah in awe with respect, love, knowledge. Allah is not unaware of nor apathetic to what you do.

(Al-Baqara/ 74)

²²So, is the one whose heart Allah opens to Islam not be upon a light? Then, woe to those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allah! They are in an explicit astray.

(Az-Zumar/ 22)

8- Hearts turning away from the Truth [insiraf]:

¹²⁷When an independent division is revealed, some of them look at some others: “Does anyone see you?”. Then they turn away and go. Allah has turned away their hearts for they are truly a people who do not understand and comprehend well.

(At-Tawbah/ 127)

9- Fanaticism of the hearts [hamiyat]:

²⁶And when the infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb ignited within their hearts the arrogance and haughtiness of lineage, conservatism left from the time of ignorance, Allah sent down upon the hearts of His Messenger and the believers the feelings of trust and tranquility/morale which pacify the heart and ensured that those believers were faithful to their word of “taqwa/entering under the guardianship of Allah”. And, they were worth and capable of this. Allah is the One Who knows all best.

(Fath/26)

10- Denial by the hearts:

²²And your God is the One God. And as for those who do not believe in Akhirat [Afterlife]; their hearts work for preventing it to be known and they are the ones who think highly of themselves.

(An-Nahl/22)

All of these verses give the impression that Allah interferes with people’s will and leaves them in error. However, this is not the case. For it is not possible for Allah Almighty, who states in verse 40 of Surah al-Nisa that He will not do injustice even to the weight of a mote, to do anything about justice that can be doubted by a normal human mind. Then there must be an explanation for this appearance.

The first thing to do before beginning the examination of the subject is to recall some of the attributes of our Lord and to keep them in mind throughout the subject. Namely:

Our Lord is not cruel. That is to say, He does not make impose disbelief or belief as a compulsory fate and make them fulfill it. On the contrary, He has left people free and declared that anyone can be a disbeliever or a believer, and even declared that He is very forgiving in return for repentance so that even disbelievers can become believers. Allah does not want His servants to be disbelievers and is not pleased with their disbelief:

⁷If you disbelieve; consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb/If you will be ungrateful, know that, Allah is indeed the One Who does not need you at all and He does not approve disbelief; conscious denial of His divinity and the fact that He is Rabb/ungratefulness for His servants. And if you repay for the blessings you are given, He approves it for you. No bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then your return is only to your Rabb. Thus He will inform you about what you did. Indeed, He is the One Who knows well what is hidden within the essence of the hearts.

(Az-Zumar/7)

If this were not the case, Allah would not have sent messengers and sent down books. Because it would have been inevitable that people whose fate He had predestined from the beginning would go to hell in accordance with this predestination, and thus there would have been no need for them to be warned.

The second thing to do in examining the issue is to refer to the Qur’an. However, this recourse should follow the principles Allah has laid out. In order to understand a subject well, our Lord has instructed that all the Qur’anic verses relavant to that subject be taken into consideration and that these verses be arranged from the most general to the most detailed, and He has even stated this request in the form of a precise instruction:

¹¹⁴Sublime is Allah Who is the truth, the sole sovereign! Before His revelation to you is completed, do not hasten to recite/teach and say: “My Rabb! Increase me in knowledge”.

(Ta-Ha/ 114)

^1-4Alif/1, Lam/30, Ra/200. This Qur’an is a book, which contains the laws, rules and principles/that is prevented from being corrupted in order to ensure that you worship none other but Allah; only worship Allah, and to prevent you from doing wrong; acting against your own good by associating others with Allah and to prevent chaos; which is explained in detail by the One Who is the best law maker, the One Who precludes corruption best/makes incorruptible, the One Who knows best inner/hidden sides of everything: “Indeed, I am a warner and the bringer of good tidings for you from Him. And ask your Rabb for forgiveness and repent to Him so He may let you enjoy until the end of a predetermined term. And so that He may give bounties to every person who has the virtue. And if you turn away, I fear the punishment of a great day which is against you. Your return is only to Allah. And He is the One Who is competent over everything”.

(Hud/1-4)

Therefore, what we are going to do here is to learn from the Qur’an the meanings of the verses that are relevant to the subject in the Qur’anic style.

However, in order to comprehend the subject, it is necessary to know the concepts such as “heart, seal, sealing, sealing of the heart” and then the meaning of the expression “Allah sealing the hearts”. The explanations about these expressions are based on the information in Ibn Manzur’s Lisan al-Arab and Ragib al-Isfahani’s al-Mufredat.

Heart

The word “kalp” means “the center, the essence of a person”. Therefore, the “heart” was also called the “kalp”. Since the Arabs knew the “heart” as the center of thought and contemplation, they started to call the “mind” the “heart” over time. Although the naming of “intellect” as “heart” was actually through the literary art of “locative metaphor mursal”, the words “intellect” and “heart” gradually came to be seen as synonyms, and thus, regardless of whether it was based on a correct basis or not, this usage found application in other languages where the words “heart” and “intellect” occur. For this reason, in the Qur’an, the word “kalp” is used not as the organ that pumps blood, but rather as the “brain”, the center of reason, thought and all mental functions.

Seal, Sealing, Sealing of the Heart

Seal/hatam means “a device made of metal, rubber or other material on which the name of a person or an organization is engraved and which serves as a signature, a stamp”.

الختم means “الطّبع tab’ [to stamp, stamp, stamp]” and this word means “to give shape in the nature and nature, that is, in the creation. The words “natural, naturalness, nature” are derived from the word “tab”, which means to stamp or stamp. Over time, people’s work of shaping things was also called “tab'” and the word “tab'” came to be used for work such as [sword making, money printing] in the sense of shaping metal. Later on, the printing of books, magazines and newspapers was also called “tab'”, which is the common meaning of the word today. The words “matbuat [press]” and “matbaa [printing house]” are also derived from the word “tab'”.

Although the word “الطّبع Tab’ [stamping, stamping]” has a broader meaning than “الختم hatm [sealing]”, both words are used synonymously in the Qur’an.

The figurative meaning of the word “seal” is “to cover something with a veil, to lock it so that nothing can enter it”. This meaning of the word also applies to the phrase “sealing the heart”, which indirectly means “blocking the paths of the mind, preventing good thinking and knowledge, making the mind useless”. Allah’s sealing of hearts should be interpreted in this figurative sense of the word.

God’s Sealing and Stamping of Hearts

As mentioned above, the subject will be studied with the help of the relevant Qur’anic verses and learned from the Qur’an. However, before we move on to the verses, we would like to remind you of two features that will enable a correct evaluation of these verses:

The first feature is the specificity of the people mentioned in the verses. “The infidels, who will never believe and for whom the warning will not benefit them, and for whom it is stated that their hearts and ears have been sealed, are all expressed with the noun “الّذين ellezine” and are “muarrafat [recognized, known, specific]”. Therefore, it is not correct for us to use the expressions about “sealing” in the verses for those who are known as infidels in our own environment. We cannot know that those whose hearts appear to us to be sealed because they do not believe will not believe in the future and will always remain infidels. Only Allah can know that. Indeed, those who were told that their hearts were sealed and that they would never believe were revealed to our Prophet as a blessing from Allah.

The second feature is the miracle feature of the verses. The verses we will present below, as in the case of Abulehab, foretold that they would not believe for the rest of their lives, so that our Prophet would not be distracted by them. They are therefore miracle verses. Indeed, these people did not come to their senses, lived with sealed hearts and died in hell.

The issue of Allah’s sealing of hearts is one of the main topics in theology under the title of “Creation of the deeds of the servants”. On this subject, which has been the subject of long debates, schools such as Mutazila, Qadariyya, Jabriyya, Jahmiyya, Ash’ariyya and Maturidiyya have emerged, and each sect has put forward its own rational and narrative sources. Those who are interested can read these discussions in detail in the books titled “Mawqif al-Bashar Tahte Sultani al-Qadar”, “Sharh al-Mawaqif”, “Sharh al-Maqasht”, “Sharh al-Aqa’id”, “Fiqh al-Akbar”, “Aliyy al-Kari Sharh” and “Kitab al-Tawhid”.

The first principle of this subject, on which there is no dispute or controversy, is that Allah, the only One, the only Creator worthy of worship, who has no partner and no likeness, is the Creator of all matter-energy, animate and inanimate beings, as well as the Creator of the works that these beings do. God is the Creator of all actions, whether they are acts done without volition, such as sleeping, thinking, growing, heartbeat, etc., or whether they are acts of human choice, with qualities such as good and bad, beautiful and ugly, good and evil.

^95,96Abraham said: “Do you worship that which you carve with your hands? Yet, it is Allah Who formed you and that which you do”.

(As-Saffat/ 95-96)

¹⁰²This is Allah, your Rabb! There is no deity except Him. He is the One Who formed all things. Therefore, worship Him. He is the One Who arranges upon everything pursuant to a schedule and implements this schedule by supporting, maintaining it.

(Al-An’am/ 102)

¹⁶Say: “Who is Rabb of the heavens/universe and the earth?”. Say: “Allah!”. Say: “Do you take those that are not able to benefit and harm themselves from among those that are inferior to Allah as familiars who are helpers, guides, protectors?”. Say: “Is the one who is blind like the one who sees? Or is the darkness like the light?”. Or have they found partners to Allah who form like Him and this formation seemed similar to them? Say: “Allah is the One Who forms all things. And He is the One and the Only, the most exalted and the prevailing”.

(Rad/ 16)

⁶²Allah is the One Who formed all things. He is the One Who “arranges everything pursuant to a schedule and implements this schedule by supporting, maintaining it” of all things.

(Az-Zumar/ 62)

⁶²This is Allah, your Rabb, the One Who formed all things. There is no deity except Him. So, how are you deluded?

(Mu’min/ 62)

As we have seen, Allah Almighty is the original creator of everything and everything, as a sine qua non of His divinity. Therefore, Allah is the creator of both misguidance and guidance. However, it is the human being who prefers either of these two creations, misguidance and guidance, and acts accordingly. This means that Allah is the creator of every action and man is the author and doer of every action. Allah has given His servants capabilities and opportunities and made their wills free. Since free will has no meaning if there is no environment in which to make a choice, He has given man the opportunity to express his will by creating an environment in which he can choose between misguidance and guidance. As we have seen above in verse 7 of Surah Az-Zumar, Allah does not want His servants to commit evil deeds. However, He does not prevent the choice of the servant whom He has left free. Allah, who has everything under His knowledge, control and disposal, is not pleased that His servants choose misguidance, even if they do so voluntarily, and He allows them to do so even though He is not pleased with it, considering the ability to choose that He has given them.

This is why Allah appears in the Qur’an as the perpetrator of many good and bad acts committed by His servants, i.e. because He is the creator of the acts committed by His servants. It is not because Allah is the author of the acts committed by His servants, i.e. because Allah is the creator of the acts committed by His servants.

When the following verses are examined with this understanding, it will be seen that the real perpetrator are human beings:

¹⁰⁰And it is not for anyone to believe without permission/knowledge of Allah. And Allah will place defilement/punishment upon those who do not use their reason.

(Yunus/ 100)

(Al-An’am/ 125)

⁵³This is indeed because that Allah would not change what He bestowed as a blessing upon a people until those people change that which is within themselves, that which they have and that surely Allah is the One Who hears best, knows best.

(Al-Anfal/ 53)

¹¹There are observers for each person, supervising and protecting him from between his two hands and from his behind –as an affair of Allah-. Indeed, until a people alter that which is in their very selves, Allah will not change anything. And when Allah intends misfortune for a people, then there is no repelling it. And there is no familiar who helps, protects, guides for them from among those that are inferior to Allah.

(Rad/11)

¹⁶And when We intend to manipulate/destroy a country, We command wealthy and powerful chiefs of it to be on the righteous path, to lead on the righteous path but, they rather go astray from the righteous path therein. And then the Word comes into effect upon there and We destroy there with complete destruction.

(Isra/16)

^94,95Whenever We sent a prophet to a city, We seized its people with poverty and deprivation so they might know their place and invoke. Then We replaced evil with good; then they reproduced and said:“Such poverty and deprivation touched our ancestors as well”. Then We seized them suddenly while they did not perceive.

⁹⁶And if the people of those cities had believed and entered under the guardianship of Allah, We would have certainly opened upon them all the blessings from the heavens/universe and the earth. However, they denied. So We seized them for what they had been doing.

^97-99So, did the people of those cities feel secure from Our punishment that would come to them while they were sleeping at night? Or did the people of those cities feel secure from Our punishment that would come to them in the morning while they were occupied with trivial things? So, did they feel secure from the intricate plan of Allah? No one feels secure from the intricate plan of Allah but a people who have lost.

¹⁰⁰And did it not guide; influence those who inherited the earth; last owners of it after its previous owners: “If We willed, We would recompense them for their sins. We seal their hearts so they do not hear”.

^101,102Those cities which We relate to you about some of their important news. Surely, their prophets came to them with explicit proofs. But they were not to believe in what they had previously denied. So, thus Allah seals the hearts of those infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb. We did not find that most of them were true to their covenants. The truth is that We found that most of them were the ones who went astray from the path.

(Al-A’raf/ 94-102)

⁷⁴Then after him, We sent messengers to their own peoples and they brought them explicit proofs. But they did not believe for they had denied it before. Thus We seal the hearts of the transgressors.

(Yunus/ 74)

²⁵And among them are those who heed you; but We made coverings layers upon layers upon their hearts and a heaviness in their ears so they would not understand it. They will not believe in it even though they see all evidences/signs. Even when those infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb come to you, they say arguing with you: “This is nothing but the invented legends of the ancients”.

(Al-An’am/25)

⁴²And surely, We sent messengers before you to those peoples with a leader and We seized them with unbearable hardship; poverty and adversities so they might humble themselves.

⁴³And when Our harsh punishment came to them, should not have they humbled themselves? But their hearts hardened and satan made that which they were doing attractive to them.

⁴⁴And when they abandoned what they were reminded, We opened the doors of everything upon them. Then We suddenly seized them when they ‘rejoiced and became spoiled’ in that which they had been given. Then they became the ones whose hopes were lost.

⁴⁵Thus eradicated were the people who did wrong; acted against their own good by associating others with Allah, by disbelieving. –And all praise is to Allah, Rabb of all universes; no one else may be praised.-

(Al-An’am/ 42- 46)

¹⁰⁴Surely, those who do not believe in the Ayat of Allah; Allah will not guide them and a severe punishment will be for them.

¹⁰⁵Only those who do not believe in the Ayat of Allah invent a lie. And they are the ones who are the liars.

¹⁰⁶Whoever disbelieves; denies the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb after his belief, -except for one who is forced by oppression while his heart is secured in faith- and opens his heart to disbelieve; not to believe, then Allah will be displeased with them. A great punishment will be for them as well.

¹⁰⁷This is because they prefer worldly life over Akhirat [Afterlife] and that Allah surely does not guide people of infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb to the righteous path.

¹⁰⁸They are the ones over whose hearts, ears and eyes Allah has sealed. They are the ones who are apathetic, careless and unaware.

¹⁰⁹Surely, there is no doubt that it is they who will be the losers in Akhirat [Afterlife].

(An-Nahl/ 104-109)

¹⁴Certainly not as they think! What they earned has been a stain upon their hearts.

(Muttaffifin/14)

⁸⁸And they said: “Our hearts are sheathed/nothing can penetrate”. Quite contrary; Allah cursed them/deprived them of His mercy for they consciously denied the truth. Only few of them believe because of this!

(Al-Baqara/ 88)

⁹³And when We took a sound covenant from you, saying, ‘Take the Book that We have given to you tightly and heed carefully” and then We raised your master/the chosen one Moses up to Mount Tur. They said: “We have listened and disobeyed/held tightly”. And their hearts were made to absorb the divinity of the gold because of their conscious denial of the truth. Say: “If you are believers, then how evil is that which your belief commands you!”.

(Al-Baqara/ 93)

¹⁵⁹Surely, there is none from the People of the Book who would not believe in what has been revealed to you/the Qur’an before he dies. And on the day of Qiyamat [Resurrection], what has been revealed to you/the Qur’an will be a good witness against them.

(Nisa/ 155-159)

¹When the hypocrites came to you, they said: “Indeed we testify that you surely are the messenger of Allah”. And Allah knows that you are definitely His messenger. And Allah testifies that the hypocrites are certainly the liars.

²They have taken their oaths as a shield and averted from the path of Allah. Surely, evil is what they have done.

³This is because they believed and then disbelieved. So, their hearts were sealed over, and they can not comprehend.

⁴When you see them, their massive form –as if they are pieces of wood propped up- please you. And you heed when they speak. They think that every shout is against themselves. They are enemy, therefore beware of them. –Allah has cursed them; how they are deluded!-

^5,6And when it was said to them: “Come, let the messenger of Allah ask forgiveness for you”, they turned their heads aside. And you see them turning away as the ones who act arrogantly. It is same for them whether you ask forgiveness for them or not. Allah will not forgive them. Indeed, Allah does not guide a people who have gone astray from the righteous path.

⁷They say: “Do not spend on those who are with the Messenger of Allah, do not support financially so they will disband”. But, treasures of the heavens/universe and the earth belong to Allah. But the hypocrites do not comprehend.

⁸They say “Indeed, if we return to Medina, those who have more power and honor will definitely expel those who are less in power and weak from there”. Yet, power, honor and exaltedness belong to Allah, His Messenger and the believers. However, the hypocrites do not know.

⁹O you who have believed! Do not let your wealth and children divert you from remembering Allah. Whoever does that; it is those who suffer, lose.

¹⁰And before death comes to one of you and he says: “My Rabb! Delay me until a close end of the term so I may give sadaqa/public revenue and be among the righteous”, spend from what We have provided for you for the cause of Allah.

¹¹Allah will never delay one who has come to the end of his term. And Allah is aware of what you do.

(Munafikun/1-11)

⁵And when Moses said to his people: “O my people! Why do you harm me although you know that I am a messenger sent by Allah for you?”. And when they twisted and deviated, Allah made their hearts deviate. And Allah does not guide a people who have gone astray from the righteous path.

(Saff/ 5)

^86-87And when an independent division was revealed: “Believe in Allah and strive with His Messenger”, those of wealth [property, wealth, children] among them asked you your permission and said: “Leave us to be with those who sit”. And they chose to be with those who stay behind. And their hearts were sealed. So, they do not reason, understand.

(At-Tawbah/ 86,87):

⁹³The cause is only against those who ask you permission although they are rich. They preferred to be with those who stay behind. And Allah sealed upon their hearts. So, they do not know.

(At-Tawbah/93)

The above verses tell us the following truth: People do not become disbelievers because their hearts and ears are sealed by Allah, but they seal themselves by closing their hearts and ears to knowledge and warnings because they are disbelievers. The disbelievers do not listen to Allah’s warnings and despise our Prophet because they rely too much on their own intellect, and in doing so they do not use their intellect properly. Allah Almighty allows people to fall into this situation of their own free will, thus sealing the hearts of those who have chosen the path of disbelief.

Such people, who are already immersed in superstition, who are self-indulgent, who indulge in pleasure and enjoyment, who take their desires as gods, block their hearts and ears and do not allow any other belief to enter their hearts. Because they have sealed their hearts and ears due to the characteristics we have mentioned, they are not impressed by the verses, even if they come side by side with our Prophet, even if they receive and read the Book. This is because their hearts have become hardened, even harder than stone:

¹¹¹And if We had sent down to them some powers, the dead had spoken to them and We had gathered all things in front of them, -except that Allah wills- they would not have believed. But most of them are ignorant.

(Al-An’am/ 111)

⁵And they said: “Our hearts are within a cover for that which you invite us, and in our ears is a heaviness and there is a curtain between you and us. Then you, do what you can, indeed we do”.

(Fussilat/5)

⁴⁵When you learn-teach the Qur’an, We put an invisible/concealed curtain between you and those who do not believe in Akhirat [Afterlife].

⁴⁶And We have placed coverings over their hearts that prevent them from understanding it, and a heaviness to their ears. And when your mention your Rabb in the Qur’an as “the One and the Only”, they turn away ‘fleeing in aversion’.

⁴⁷We know very well why they listen to you when they listen and that those who do wrong; act against their own good by associating others with Allah say in their secret conversations, “You are following none but a man affected by magic”. ⁴⁸Look what kind of examples they present for you! Thus they have fallen into astray! Now they are not able to find a way.

(Isra/ 45-47)

³¹And those infidels; who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb said: “We certainly, will not believe in this Qur’an, nor in that before it…”. If you could see those who do wrong; act against their own good by associating others with Allah, by disbelieving before their Rabb, being arrested and refuting the words of some of them to some other! Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant: “If not for you, we would have been believers”.

(Saba/ 31)

^27-29,31And the infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb say: “Why has not an evidence/a sign been sent down to him from his Rabb, if there was a Qur’an with which mountains would be moved, the earth would be broken apart or the deads would be made to speak…”. Say: “Surely, Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides to Himself those who cling sincerely; those who believe and whose hearts are assured by eliminating all question marks in their minds by remembering Allah”. Open your eyes! Hearts will only and only be assured by remembering Allah; eliminating all the questions in the minds. Those who have believed and have done amendatory deeds; only for them are all the good, good tidings and a beautiful return. In fact, all command belongs to Allah entirely. Have the believers still not understood that if Allah had willed, He would certainly have guided all people. As for those who deny, until the promise of Allah comes, a calamity will hit them or it will descend close to their lands for what they do, they will not be able to get away. Indeed, Allah does not break His promise.

(Rad/27- 31)

¹⁷⁹And certainly We produced and multiplied many of those that you know and you do not know; those who have heart/brain/reason but do not contemplate and understand, those who have eyes but do not see with them, those who have ears but do not hear with them for Jahannah [Hell]. They are like four-legged cattles. They are even in more astray. They are the ones who are apathetic.

(Al-A’raf/ 179)

¹⁰³Allah did not make Al-Bahira, As-Sahiba, Wasila and Ham. But the infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb invent lies about Allah. And most of them do not reason.

(Al-Ma’idah/ 103)

¹²Surely, Allah will admit those who believe and do righteous deeds to the gardens of Jannah [Heaven/Paradise] underneath of which rivers flow. And those who deny, enjoy and eat as livestock eat, the Fire will be an abode for them.

(Muhammad/12)

¹⁰And surely, We had sent messengers to the ancient peoples before you.

¹¹And when a messenger came to them, they ridiculed him.

¹³They do not believe in the book that is revealed/the messenger that is sent, yet Our law/implementation about the former ones has occurred, was informed to you.

^14,15And even if We opened a door upon them from the heavens/universe and they ascended up through there, they would indeed say: “Our eyes have been dazzled/blurred. Actually, we are a people affected by magic”.

(Hijr/10-15)

¹⁴⁶I will keep away from Our Ayat those who do not believe even when they see all Ayat, who do not follow the righteous path even if they see it, and follow the path of going astray when they see it, and act arrogantly without right on the earth”. –This is because they deny Our Ayat and they are apathetic and careless to them – ¹⁴⁷All in vain are the deeds of those who deny Our Ayat and

(Al-A’raf/ 146)

In contrast to this state of the infidels, the believers inform and improve themselves by listening to revelation, and they guide themselves to the truth through reasoning and contemplation. There are dozens of verses in the Qur’an that directly or indirectly point to this state of the believers.

Verse 7:

⁷So, what makes you deny the religion/the day of Qiyamat [Resurrection] after this?

The address “you” in this verse does not refer to our Prophet, but to “man” in verse 4. Thus, the third person [man] is changed to the second person [you] as art of compliment(‘iltifat’). By doing so, it is addressed to mankind in general and to unbelieving people in particular, saying, “Then what makes you deny religion after this?”

It is possible to understand the word “الدّين din” here both literally as “response” and literally as “Sharia [the principles and rules of life laid down by Allah]”. For in the messages that have been sent to humanity through the Prophets up to the present day, the belief in the Afterlife has been emphasized and the principles and rules of life in this world [shari’ah] have been explained. Therefore, the fact that human beings were created on the basis of perfection and that deviation from this characteristic will lead to “asfel al-safilin” [loss, frustration, loss, loss] is something that has also been taught by the ancient religions.

In fact, all of humanity is challenged by the question posed in this verse:

“Since We have made man, whom We have created in the most perfect form, the highest of the exalted because he believes and does righteous deeds, and We have made those who do not believe and do not do righteous deeds the lowest of the low [as witnessed by all the regions to which prophets have been sent], then what makes you deny the Day of Recompense and the order established by Allah? How is it that you can deny it?”

Verse 8:

⁸Is not Allah the most just of the judges?

The question sentence here is an answer to a predestined phenomenon and displays the literary art of al-‘istifham-ı denari. The question “Why is all this?” that arises in the minds in the course of the Surah is again answered with a question, but the preposition of question is used at the beginning of the negative sentence to turn the meaning into a positive one.

That is to say, “Is not Allah the best of those who establish the principles of justice and the best of those who apply them, who does not oppress anyone? Is He being unjust by making those who do not believe and do not do righteous deeds the lowest of the low? And those who believe and do righteous deeds? Does He do injustice to them by making them the highest of the high? Does Allah ever do injustice?”

Below are two of the many verses that support these statements:

³⁵Then, will we make Muslims like sinners?

(Qalam/ 35)

²⁸Or, do We make those who believe and do righteous deeds like those corrupters in the world? Or, do We make those who have entered under the guardianship of Allah like those who stuck in evil by disbelieving in the religion-faith?

(Sad/28)

Allah is the one who knows best

^[1] Encyclopedia Britannica…” (vol. 16, p. 340 and vol. 32, p. 377)

^[2] TOROS is the name of the mountain system stretching from the shores of the Aegean Sea in Anatolia – starting from Caria – to the south of Lake Van, and to the east coast of Asia in the world, and is named according to the directions it extends.

The ancient geologist Eratosten (274-194 BC) used the name Taurus as a mountain range for the first time in his work Geography. As it is known, the name Taurus, which means “BULL” since time immemorial, has a connection with the name Taurus given to a mountain range, let’s start by going to the origin of this name and examining it: German Geographer Heinrich Kiepert’s “Textbook of Ancient Geography” states that the origin of the name Taurus is from the ancient Aramaic language, a member of the Semitic language family, and that it is formed from the word “TÛR”, and what is remarkable is that TOROS is the name of the mountain system extending from the shores of the Aegean Sea in Anatolia – starting from Caria – to the south of Lake Van, and to the east coast of Asia in the world, and it takes names according to the directions it extends.

The ancient geologist Eratosten (274-194 BC) used the name Taurus as a mountain range for the first time in his work Geography. As it is known, the name Taurus, which means “BULL” since time immemorial, has a connection with the name Taurus given to a mountain range, let’s start by going to the origin of this name and examining it: The German geographer Heinrich Kiepert in his work “Textbook of Ancient Geography” states that the name Taurus originates from the ancient Aramaic language, a member of the Semitic language family, and is formed from the word “TÛR”, and what is remarkable is that the word TÛR means both Bull and Mountain. According to Kiepert, the word Tür passed through Anatolia into Ancient Greek and was adapted to this language and became Taurus. (THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME TOROS – CEM KÜNCÜ)

^[3] Ana Britannica; v. 12, p..