In the Name of Almighty Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
31 آية
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Surah Al-Insan, also known as Ad-Dahr, is the 76th chapter of the Quran, containing 31 verses. It opens by reflecting that man was once a thing unremembered, before being created from a mingled drop of fluid as a trial, and given the choice of gratitude or ingratitude. The surah describes the reward of the righteous (Al-Abrar) who fulfil their vows and feed the needy, the orphan and the captive for the love of Allah alone, and paints a vivid picture of the silk garments, silver vessels and the spring called Salsabil awaiting them in Paradise, closing with the reminder that none wills except as Allah, Lord of the worlds, wills. Below you can read the full Surah Al-Insan in Arabic with a clear English translation and a verse-by-verse tafsir (explanation of the meaning) from Aysar al-Tafaseer, with the option to jump to any specific verse.
1. Allah Almighty informs man that He created him from nothing. Does he not know, He asks him, that a period of time had elapsed before He breathed into him His soul, when he was something too unknown to even mention his name?
2. We created man from a sperm made up of different elements mixed together, to try him, when he grows up and reaches maturity, by assigning duties to him, in order to see whether he will thank his Lord for the blessings given to him, such as his creation, his sustenance and his good health, or will he disbelieve? We gave him hearing in order that he may hear the verses (of the Quran ) and sight so that he may see the proofs and think about them and contemplate them.
3. We gave him reason, hearing and sight so that he could understand and reflect. We showed him the path of guidance and the path of perversity so that he could choose by his own volition between good and evil, and between guidance and disobedience. He who believes in his Lord will be thankful and he who disbelieves will repudiate the blessings.
4. We have prepared for those who reject our blessings and disobey Us chains by which to be led to Hellfire, shackles with which to tie their arms to their neck, and a fire to be punished in.
6. This mixture is from a spring from which Allah’s obedient believers drink while in the Gardens. They shall dispose of it as they wish, and draw it wherever they desire: into their dwellings or their councils.
7. Those righteous perform the vows which they committed themselves to, because he who fulfills the vows he has obligated himself to is more faithful in performing what Allah has obliged him to do. They abandon the unlawful deeds which their Lord forbade them to do, fearing evil judgement on Doomsday, the day whose evil is rampant and general for mankind except for those to whom Allah grants His mercy.
8. In spite of their desire for it, they give the food to the indigent poor who cannot provide for themselves and to the orphan whose father has died before he has reached the age of maturity and to the captive who owns not his own food.
9. They feed the indigent poor, the orphans and captives hoping to gain Allah’s reward and His satisfaction. They do not seek a reward from anyone other than Allah for their expenditures or gratitude from the ones they spend their money on.
10. We only do this in order that our Lord may have mercy on us on Judgement Day, a long critical day on which faces are pale and gloomy due to its terrors.
11. So Allah protected them from the evil they feared and gave them security, which gave freshness to their faces and happiness to their hearts. Because a happy heart will lighten up the face.
12. Allah rewarded them for favouring others over themselves, while patiently enduring the consequent hunger and necessity, with Paradise where they will have an agreeable dwelling, a luxurious life and clothing of silk.
13. In Paradise, they will sit on beds and couches in the reclining position of he who is blessed with comfort. They do neither suffer unbearable heat nor extreme cold.
14. The trees in Paradise will lean over to shade those happy righteous people and will place their fruit under their disposition so that they can pick what they desire.
15. The servants of heaven will pass around them with food in dishes of pure silver, and with goblets to drink from, also of silver. The goblets unite the shine of silver and the clearness and transparency of crystal.
16. The servants will bring these flasks to them and determine what they measure into them according to the need and satisfaction of the drinkers, neither more nor less.
17. The righteous in Paradise will drink from the wine of Paradise mixed with ginger. (Their drinks are mixed for them one time with camphor and another with ginger, one being cold while the other hot respectively.)
19. Youths with fresh faces will go around serving the people of Heaven. With their fine complexion and fresh faces and in their circulation among the people of Heaven to fulfill their needs, they are like scattered pearls. They do not age or become grey-haired nor does their state change.
21. The people of Paradise will wear fine silks next to their skins such as shirts or the like and will wear outer clothes which are shiny and glamorous. They will wear silver bracelets as ornaments. Their Lord will give them a pure drink which purifies the inner self of its drinker of envy, rancour, ill will and bad temper.
22. They will be told to honour them: “This dignity which you are given is a reward for your virtuous deeds on earth. Allah has thanked you for your strife and has therefore rewarded you generously in the Hereafter.”
23. We have revealed to you, O Mohammad, the Quran based on incidents and events so that it could be more easily understood by the believers and more sound as proof to them.
24. So endure Allah’s fate and divine decree and know that He will manage things for you with His good direction. Do not obey the unbelievers or the hypocrites if they want to prevent you from conveying what has been revealed to you. Communicate your Lord’s message and rely on Allah, for He will protect you against men.
27. Those polytheists favour the fleeting life. They like its ornaments, charms and pleasures and neglect deeds for the last Day, a heavy day for the unbelievers.
28. How can those polytheists neglect their Lord when it was He who created them and perfected their creation? He pulled them together with ligaments, muscles, and nerves. If Allah desired, He would destroy them all and exchange them for other creatures.
29. This chapter, which is well-structured and contains a promise, a threat, an incitement and an intimidation, is an admonition for those who contemplate and an enlightenment for those with insight. So he who desires good for himself should approach his Lord by obeying Him and following the guidance which the Quran has brought.
30. But you cannot follow the path of good and salvation except if Allah chooses to help you. Allah knows who deserves to be guided and makes his path easy and leads him to the means (of guidance). He knows who deserves to be mislead and turns him away from guidance. Allah is All-Wise.
31. Allah guides whom He wills and misleads whom He wills. He whom Allah guides and admits to His mercy, none can mislead. As for those who wronged themselves and died as polytheists, Allah has prepared for them a severe, painful punishment in the Hereafter.
Tafsir by Dr. Assaad Homad (1917–2011), Syrian scholar and jurist, author of Aysar al-Tafaseer, an accessible interpretation of the Quran reviewed by Sheikh Muhammad Mutwally Al-Shaarawi and certified by the Ministries of Awqaf in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. English translation by the Homad family. Read more about the author and this tafsir →
Source: This series of Tafsir books has been made available online by the family of Dr. Assaad Homad (may Allah have mercy on him). These volumes were entirely digitized to provide an accessible and easy format for todays digital age. Please keep Dr. Assaad and his family in your sincere prayers.
تم إتاحة هذه السلسلة من كتب التفسير عبر الإنترنت من قبل عائلة الدكتور أسعد حومد (رحمه الله). لقد قمنا برقمنة هذه المجلدات بالكامل لتوفير تنسيق يسهل الوصول إليه واستخدامه في عصرنا الرقمي الحالي. نرجو منكم ألا تنسوا الدكتور أسعد وعائلته من صالح دعائكم.