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Chapter 76

Manal-Insān ( الانسان )

31 verses • revealed at Medinan

»The surah that opens with a question posed to arrogant Man about his utter nothingness before God brought him into existence. It takes its name from the word “man” (al-insān) mentioned in verse 1. The surah speaks of how man is tested (verse 2 ff.) and what the results will be for the evildoers (verse 4) and for the righteous (verse 5 ff.). The Prophet is urged to persevere in his devotion and to bear with patience (verse 23 ff.).«

The surah is also known as Every (Man)

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

Ali Unal: IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE ALL-COMPASSIONATE

1
هَل أَتىٰ عَلَى الإِنسانِ حينٌ مِنَ الدَّهرِ لَم يَكُن شَيئًا مَذكورًا

Ali Unal

This sūrah of 31 verses was revealed in Makkah and takes its name from the word al-insān (human) in the first verse. It is about human perfectibility, the virtues of good believers and the reward they will get in the Hereafter. It also contains advice for the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, and hence for the believers dedicated to his cause.
Did there pass (– and surely there did pass –) over human a stretch of time when he was a thing not mentioned and remembered (as human)?1
  • This does not mean that humans did not exist at all during that stretch of time. Rather, as implied in sūrah 2: 28 and explained in the note 27, each member of humankind has some sort of existence in the world of atoms or particles. In other words, since it has already been evident in God’s Knowledge and determined by Destiny which particles among the innumerable particles of the world will constitute the body of which person, those particles, however widely distributed in air, water, and earth, had long been appointed to constitute the body of the particular individual, even though that individual was not known or mentioned as (a) human being.
    Humankind is the fruit of the Tree of Creation and, therefore, contained its seed. So the Tree of Creation has grown out of the seed of humankind. In other words, as a tree is the mature or developed form of its seed, each human being carries in his body and self the entire nature and original elements of other forms of existence. Thus, what meaning a seed bears with respect to a tree, humankind has it with respect to the universe. Science should concentrate on this point while investigating how life began on earth and how humankind originated.