Sūrat al-Insān

Classification: Medinan. It contains 31 verses (revealed after al-Raḥmān).

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

"Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned?"

• "Has there [not] come" (هل أتى): The hamza (interrogative particle) here is used for affirmation (taqrīr). It means: "It has indeed come upon man."
• "Man" (الإنسان): This refers to the human species (Adam and his progeny).
• "A period of time" (حين من الدهر): A long duration of time.
• "When he was not a thing [even] mentioned" (لم يكن شيئا مذكورا): He was not a thing that possessed a name or a mention, because he was non-existent. It is said that he remained in the state of being dust and clay for forty years before the soul was breathed into him.

"Hal" (Has) here carries the meaning of "Qad" (Indeed), specifically within the context of an interrogative. The original form is A-hal, as evidenced by the poet’s saying: “Has [A-hal] he seen us at the dark expanse of the lowlands, possessing mounds?”

The meaning is: "Has it indeed come to pass?" It serves both to affirm and to bring the event closer in time. That is: Has there come upon man—a short time ago—a period of time when he was not a thing mentioned?

"A period of time" means he was a forgotten thing, not mentioned, while still a drop of fluid in the loins.

"Man" refers to the genus of the Children of Adam, as evidenced by His saying: "Indeed, We created man from a drop of mixed fluids" (Al-Insān: 2).

"Not a thing mentioned": I say, its grammatical position is in the accusative (naṣb) as a state (ḥāl) of "man." It is as if it were said: "Has there come upon him a period of time while he was not mentioned?" Or, it is in the nominative (rafʿ) as an adjective for "period," similar to His saying: "A day when no father shall avail his child" (Luqmān: 33).

It is narrated that someone recited this verse in the presence of a man, who then said: "Would that it had been completed!" He meant: Would that that state had been completed—the state of being a thing not mentioned, not yet created, and not yet burdened with obligations.