Transliteration:( Laqad khalaqnal insaana fee ahsani taqweem )
In this verse, Allah Almighty emphasizes the superior nature of human beings, countering the misconceptions of polytheists and monotheists. While polytheists worship inanimate objects like stones, seas, and celestial bodies, and some monotheists believed that jinns and angels were superior due to their strength and devotion, Allah affirms that humans are created in the best form. This superiority is a reminder that understanding one's own status leads to avoiding idolatry and sin, encouraging humans to act in ways that reflect their lofty nature.
The superiority of humans is stressed through six means:
When humans understand their true worth, they realize that they are meant for noble deeds, and this realization prevents them from indulging in wrong actions. The Prophets came to remind humanity of this profound understanding of their role as vicegerents (khalifah) on earth.
Taqweem refers to both physical appearance and the inner stature of humans. Allah created human beings with His own Hand of power, making humans distinct from other creatures. The term Bashar (human being) refers to being created directly by Allah, emphasizing human dignity.
When Hazrat Jibra'il (peace be upon him) appeared to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he appeared in human form, as it was impossible for humans to perform prayer in the form of Jibra'il. The human body was designed for worship, and its proportions and movements serve the purpose of devotion to Allah alone.
Humans are created with both good and evil within them, much like a home contains both a toilet and a bedroom, though their purposes differ. This duality exists in all humans, and just as the toilet is not the same as the bedroom, non-Prophets are not like Prophets. The limbs of both may appear similar, but their purpose, significance, and actions diverge drastically.
The tafsir of Surah Tin verse 4 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Tin ayat 1 which provides the complete commentary from verse 1 through 8.
(95:4) surely We created man in the best mould;[3]
3. This is the truth for which the oath has been sworn by the lands of the fig and the olive (i.e. Syria and Palestine) and Mt. Sinai and Makkah, the city of peace. Man’s having been created in the most excellent of molds means that he has been given the finest body which no other living being has been given, and he has been blessed with the noblest faculties of thought, knowledge and intellect which no other creature has been blessed with. Then, since the most sublime model these excellencies and unique merits of mankind’s are the Prophets and no creation can have a higher rank than them, so that Allah may choose it for appointment to the office of Prophethood, an oath has been sworn by the places associated with the Prophets of God to bear testimony to man’s having been created in the finest of molds. The land of Syria and Palestine is the land where a large number of Prophets, from the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) to the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him), were raised. Mt. Toor is the place where the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) was blessed with Prophethood. As for Makkah, it was founded by the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael (peace be upon them) themselves. It was on account of their association with it that it became the holiest central place of Arabia. It was the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) who had prayed: O my Lord, make this city a city of peace and security. (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 126); and it was because of this prayer that in the midst of chaos and confusion prevailing everywhere in Arabia only this city continued to remain an island of peace for some 2500 years or more. Thus, the verse means to say: We created mankind in such an excellent mold that it produced men who attained to the most sublime rank of Prophethood.
[1948]- i.e., upright, symmetrical, and balanced in form and nature.
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