Question:
Assalamualaikum. I have a question when I was praying with an imam at a mosque, the imam recites surah al-Tin and after finishing the recitation of the surah, the imam recites something that I could not quite catch. My question is, what did the imam recite after he completed the recitation of surah al-Tin?
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wrt, wbt.,
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
In the manners of reciting the Quran, it is sunnah to contemplate and appreciate its meaning as well as listening attentively with khusyuk and understanding of the verses of the Quran. This is instructed by Allah SWT in His statement:
أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا
“Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?”
Surah Muhammad (24)
Imam al-Nawawi said with contemplation and khusyuk while reciting the Quran it would calm and brighten one’s heart. The same is stated by Ibrahim al-Khawwas RA, where he said there are five cures of the heart and one of them is the recitation of the Quran and contemplation on it. (See al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamilah al-Quran, 1/82-84)
Coming back to the above question, it is actually an answer to the verse of the Quran and it is sunnah to recite it after the recitation of the last verse of surah al-Tin, Allah SWT states:
أَلَيْسَ اللَّـهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ
“Is not Allah the most just of judges?”
Surah al-Tin (8)
Imam al-Nawawi said it is sunnah after reciting (أَلَيْسَ اللَّـهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ) to recite:
بلى! وأنا على ذلك من الشاهدين
“True! And indeed, I bear witness on this matter (Allah SWT is the most just of judges).”
(See al-Azkar li al-Nawawi, 1/119)
Furthermore, in a hadith narrated by Ismail bin Umayyah RA, he said, I heard from a Bedouin who said Abu Hurairah RA said:
مَنْ قَرَأَ سُورَةَ: وَالتِّينِ وَالزَّيْتُونِ فَقَرَأَ: {أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الحَاكِمِينَ} [التين: 8] فَلْيَقُلْ: بَلَى وَأَنَا عَلَى ذَلِكَ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ
“Whoever recited Surat ‘By At-Tim and Az-Zamzam’ Then he recited: ‘Is not Allah the best of judges?’ then let him say: ‘Of course, and I am a witness to that.’”
Sunan al-Tirmizi (3347)
Imam Khatib al-Syirbini said it is sunnah for those who recite the Quran in prayer or outside of prayer when he reaches the verse about the rahmah (blessing) of Allah SWT to ask for blessings from Allah SWT and if he recites a verse about the punishments, then ask for protection from Him or when he reaches a verse of tasbih to recite tasbih by praising Him and when there is mention of analogies or comparisons, then he should contemplate about it. (See Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/390)
Conclusion
Coming back to the question and discussion of scholars, we can conclude that it is sunnah after reciting the last verse of surah al-Tin (أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الحَاكِمِينَ) to recite (بَلَى وَأَنَا عَلَى ذَلِكَ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ) which means “True, I am a witness to that.”
The same applies to other verses stated by Imam Khatib al-Syirbini as the following:
- When a person recites (أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ) then afterwards he should recite (بَلَى وَأَنَا عَلَى ذَلِكَ مِنْ الشَّاهِدِينَ)
- When a person reaches the verse (فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ) then he should recite (آمَنْتُ بِاَللَّهِ)
- The same when a person recites (فَمَنْ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِمَاءٍ مَعِينٍ) then he should recite (اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ)
(See Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/391)
May Allah SWT give us sahih understanding in His religion as well as guide us to practise His commandments the best we could.