76- Surat Alinsan/Tafseer
31 Verses Medinan (revealed in Medina)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi Ellahi Alrhmani Alraheem
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Hal ata ala al-insani hinun mena aldahri lam yakun shay-an mazkura (1).
Has there come upon man a period of time when he was nothing worth mentioning?.
Inna khalaqna al-insana men nutfatin amshajin nabtalehi faja'lnahu samee-an basira (2).
Indeed, We have created man from a sperm-drop mixture, that We test him and We made him hearing and seeing.
Inna hadaynahu alsabeela imma shakiran wa-imma kafura (3).
Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful.
Inna a'tadna lel-kafireena slasila wa aghlalan wa sa-ira (4).
Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a Blaze.
Inna al-abrara yashrabuna men ka'sin kana mezajuha kafura (5).
Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup whose mixture is of camphor.
Aynan yashrabu biha ibadu Allahi youfajjirunaha tafjira (6).
A spring from which the servants of Allah will drink, they will make it flow abundantly.
Youfuna bel-nazri wa yakhafuna yawman kana sharruhu mustateera (7).
They fulfill the vows, and fear a day whose evil will be widespread.
Wa youtimuna alta-ama ala hubbehi miskeenan wa yateeman wa aseera (8).
And they feed the food, despite the love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive.
Inamma nutemukum le-wajhi illahi la nuridu menkum jaza-an wa-la shukura (9).
We feed you only for the countenance of Allah, we do not wish for any reward or thanks from you.
Inna nakhafu men Rabbina yawman abusan qamtareera (10).
Indeed, we fear from Our Lord a day that will be frowning and distressful.
Fa waqahumu Allahu sharra zalika al-yawmi wa laqqahum nadratan wa surura (11).
So Allah will save them from the evil of that day, and will grant them radiance and happiness.
Wa jazahum bema sabaru jannatan wa hareera (12).
And will reward them for what they patiently endured, a garden and silk.
Muttaki-eena feeha ala al-araeki la yarawna feeha shamsan wa la zamhareera (13).
Reclining therein on the couches, they will not see therein the heat of sun or intense cold.
Wa daniyatan alayhim zelaluha wa zullelat qutufuha tazleela (14).
And near above them are its shades, and its fruits that will be picked will be lowered in compliance.
Wa youtafu alayhim be-aniyatin men fiddatin wa akwabin kanat qawareera (15).
And there will be circulated among them vessels of silver and cups that will be of clear glass.
Qawareera men fiddatin qaddaruha taqdeera (16).
Clear glass of silver of which they have determined the measure.
Wa yousqawna feeha ka'san kana mizajuha zanjabeela (17).
And they will be given to drink therein a cup whose mixture is of ginger.
Aynan feeha tusamma Salsabeela (18).
A spring therein called Salsabeel.
Wa yatufu alayhim weldanun mukhalladuna iza ra-aytahum hasibtahum lu'lu-an manthura (19).
And there will circulate among them young boys made eternal, when you see them, you would think them scattered pearls.
Wa iza ra-ayta thamma ra-ayta na-eeman wa mulkan kabeera (20).
And when you look there you will see bliss and great dominion.
Aliyahum thiyabun sundusin khudrun wa-istabraqun wa hullu asawera men fiddatin wa saqahum Rabbuhum sharaban tahura (21).
Upon them will be green garments of fine silk and brocade, and they will be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord will give them to drink a purifying drink.
Inna haza kana lakum jaza-an wa kana sa'yukum mashkoura (22).
Indeed, this is a reward for you, and your effort has been appreciated.
Inna nahnu nazzalna alayka al-qurana tanzeela (23).
Indeed, it is We who have sent down to You the Quran, progressively.
Fa-sbir le-hukmi Rabbika wa la tute' menhum athiman aww kafura (24).
So Be patient for the judgment of your Lord, and Do not obey from among them a sinner or ungrateful.
Wa-zkuri esma Rabbika bukratan wa asila (25).
And Mention the Name of Your Lord morning and evening.
Wa mena al-laili fa-sjud lahu wa sabbihhu lailan taweela (26).
And during the night Prostrate to Him, and Glorify Him a long part of the night.
Inna haulai youhibbuna al-ajilata wa yazaruna wara-ahum yawman thaqeela (27).
Indeed, these love the immediate and leave behind them a heavy day.
Nahnu khalaqnahum wa shadadna asrahum wa iza shi'na baddalna amthalahum tabdila (28).
We have created them, and strengthened their forms, and whenever We will, We would replace them with their likenesses, a total replacement.
Inna hazihi tazkiratun fa-man sha-a ettakhaza ila Rabbihi sabeela (29).
Indeed, this is a reminder, so he who wills may take a way to his Lord.
Wa-ma tasha-ouna ella an yashaa Allahu inna Allaha kana aliman hakeema (30).
And you do not will except that Allah wills, indeed, Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise.
Youdkhilu man yashau fee rahmatihi wa al-zalimeena a-adda lahum azaban aleema (31).
He admits whom He wills into His mercy, but the wrongdoers, He has prepared for them a painful punishment.
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Alinsan begins with a question that aims to acknowledge the fact that Allah began the creation of man, and He perfected his creation in order to put him in a test, so Allah shows him the path of guidance and the path of misguidance. And it revolves largely around those who follow the path of guidance and the bliss they will find in Paradise as a reward for what they used to do, and Allah confirms that the disbelievers will be recompensed with a painful torment for they preferred the worldly life and followed the path of misguidance, then Allah addresses His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) emphasizing that the Holy Quran is from Allah, and commands Him not to obey the disbelievers, and to strive hard in worshipping Him. And as narrated by Abu Hurayrah, Allah's Messenger (PBUH) used to recite Surat Alsajdah in the first Rak'ah of the dawn prayer (Fajr) on Friday, and Surat Alinsan in the second Rak'ah (Sahih Muslim 880 b).
Allah Almighty says in the first three verses (1-3) "Has there come upon man a period of time when he was nothing worth mentioning?, indeed, We have created man from a sperm-drop mixture, that We test him and We made him hearing and seeing, indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful", that is, Allah affirms that humans were dead in the loins of their fathers and they were nothing until Allah created them in the wombs of their mothers, then He revived them in the worldly life, then Allah cites the creation of man, where He began the creation of Adam as mentioned in Surat Albaqarah Ayat (30-34) after the creation of the Angels and the Jinn, and He created Adam from clay then He made his progeny from a sperm drop whose mixture coming out from between the backbone of a man and a ribs of a woman as mentioned in Surat Altariq, thereupon, a human being consists of one cell, half of this cell comes from the female gamete, which consists of 23 chromosomes, and the other half comes from the male gamete, which also consists of 23 chromosomes. Then Allah assures that He has put man in a test, and He made for him hearing and sight, and He guided him to the way, whether be he grateful or ungrateful to his Lord, and this is similar to Ayat (8-11) of Surat Albalad, as Allah stated His favors upon man along with His guidance of man to the way, saying "Did not We make for him two eyes?, and a tongue, and two lips, and showed him the two ways". So whoever will be grateful to Allah will obey Allah in His commands and prohibitions and hasten to please Him; For gratitude does not occur through tongue, but rather through actions and obedience, while praising Allah occurs through the tongue, therefore, Allah says in Aya (13) of Surat Saba' "O family of David! Work in gratitude". And whoever will be ungrateful to Allah will turn away from His way, will rebel His commands and prohibitions, and will act in disobedience to Him.
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (4) "Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a Blaze", that is, Allah threatens the disbelievers saying that He has prepared for them chains, shackles, and a Blaze (Saeer), and Saeer is one of the names of Hellfire, and Allah says in Ayat (71,72) of Surat Ghafir {When the shackles are around their necks and the chains, they will be dragged, In boiling water, then in the Fire, they will be burned}.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (5,6) "Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup whose mixture is of camphor, a spring from which the servants of Allah will drink, they will make it flow abundantly", that is, Allah assures that He has prepared a great bliss for the righteous in Paradise, as they will drink from a cup whose mixture is of camphor, and this reflects the cooling and the good smell of the drink which increases its deliciousness, and that drink comes out of a spring from which the righteous will drink, and they will direct it wherever they want.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (7,8) "They fulfill the vows, and fear a day whose evil will be widespread, and they feed the food, despite the love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive", that is, Allah enumerated what the righteous used to do, as they used to fulfill the vows, and not fulfilling the vows is a great sin as the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) described a people who would come after Him as "Who will make vows but will not fulfill them". Although Allah's Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) said that the vow neither hastens nor delays anything, but He said in narration of Aisha "Whoever vows that he will be obedient to Allah, should remain obedient to Him, and whoever made a vow that He will disobey Allah, should not disobey Him" (Sahih Albukhari 6696). And the vow is a person's obligation to do something that the Shari'ah does not obligate him to do, such as saying I vow a sacrifice or I will give in charity if Allah does such-and-such for me, so it is in the form of a condition on Allah, but it does not change anything of Allah's decree, as Abu Hurayrah narrated that Allah's Messenger said: "The vow does not bring about for the son of Adam anything that was not destined for him, but the vow leads him to a destiny that was destined for him, so Allah extracts charity from the stingy through the vow, so He forces him to do what He did not force him to do before" (Sahih Albukhari 6694).
And whoever vowed a vow, but he is unable to fulfill it, he must expiate it as the same as the expiation of the oath, as Uqbah bin Amir narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "The expiation of a vow is the same as the expiation of an oath" (Sahih Muslim 1645), and Allah has stipulated the expiation of oath in Aya (89) of Surat Alma'idah "So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy ones from the average of that which you feed your families or clothing them or the freeing of a neck, but whoever does not find, then fasting for three days", and vow is not permissible for what a person does not own, such as if he vowed to give a property of someone else in charity or something similar, as Thabit bin Aldahhak narrated that Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said: "A person is not bound to fulfill a vow about a thing which he does not possess" (Sahih Albukhari 6047).
And if a person died before fulfilling his vow, his children, males or females, should fulfill his vow if possible, on the condition that it is obedience to Allah, as Ibn Abbas reported: "Sa'd bin Ubadah consulted Allah's Messenger saying my mother died and she has unfulfilled vow, He said Fulfill it on her behalf" (Sahih Albukhari 2761), and as narrated by Ibn Abbas also: "A woman from the tribe of Juhaina came to the Prophet (PBUH) and said my mother had vowed to perform Hajj but she died before performing it, May I perform Hajj on her behalf?, He said Perform Hajj on her behalf, Had there been a debt on your mother, Would you have paid it or not?, so Pay Allah's debt as He has more right of fulfillment" (Sahih Albukhari 1852). Then Allah says that the righteous fear a day whose evil is widespread across the heavens and the earth, and they feed the food despite the love of it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, that is, they feed the food despite their need and its scarcity to the needy who do not find enough food, clothing, or a shelter, so they are given what will meet their needs, and Allah's Messenger said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "The needy is not the one who asks a morsel or two from the others, but the needy is the one who has nothing and is shamed to beg from people" (Sahih Albukhari 1476), they feed the food to the orphans, who have no means of earning a living and whose fathers have died while they are weak and young, before reaching puberty and being able to earn a living, as Abi Talib reported: "I memorized from Allah's Messenger (PBUH) that there is no orphanhood after puberty, and there is no silence for the whole day till the night" (Sunan Abi Dawood 2873) and feed the food to the captive, and Allah urged to feed the food to the orphan and the needy in Surat Alfajr, Surat Albalad, and Surat Alma'un.
Allah Almighty says in the next three verses (9-11) "We feed you only for the countenance of Allah, we do not wish for any reward or thanks from you, indeed, we fear from Our Lord a day that will be frowning and distressful, so Allah will save them from the evil of that day, and will grant them radiance and happiness", that is, the righteous feed the food to the needy, the orphan, and the captive for the Countenance of Allah, and they do not want from the any reward or thanks, because they are waiting the reward from their Lord in the Hereafter, and they are afraid from the horrors of the day of resurrection, which is a day when faces will be sullen and frowned, and it will be a distressful day. So Allah will save the righteous from the evil of that day, and will grant them radiance and happiness.
Allah Almighty says in the next eleven verses (12-22) "And will reward them for what they patiently endured, a garden and silk, reclining therein on the couches, they will not see therein the heat of sun or intense cold, and near above them are its shades, and its fruits that will be picked will be lowered in compliance, and there will be circulated among them vessels of silver and cups that will be of clear glass, clear glass of silver of which they have determined the measure, and they will be given to drink therein a cup whose mixture is of ginger, a spring therein called Salsabeel, and there will circulate among them young boys made eternal, when you see them, you would think them scattered pearls, and when you look there you will see bliss and great dominion, upon them will be green garments of fine silk and brocade, and they will be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord will give them to drink a purifying drink, indeed, this is a reward for you, and your effort has been appreciated", that is, Allah enumerated the bliss that the righteous will find with Him as a reward for their patience in obeying Him, and for the calamities they have been patient with in the worldly life, as they will find a garden, and they will wear silk clothes, and the Prophet Muhammad said in narration of Bin Malik "Whoever wears silk in this world shall not wear it in the hereafter", and they will recline therein on the couches, and they will not see therein an annoying heat and no painful cold, and the shades of fruit will be near above them, and whenever they want, the fruits come in compliance close to them, and this is similar to Aya (23) of Surat Alhaqqah "Its clusters of fruit, hanging near".
Also there will be circulated among them vessels of silver and cups that are of a clear crystal, they have determined the measure as much as they drink, neither more nor less than it. And they will have another drink than what was mentioned above in Aya (5), as they will be watered therein from a cup whose mixture is of ginger, and that drink comes out of a spring therein called Salsabeel. And they will be served by young boys who are immortalized on one stage as their ages do not exceed that stage and they do not change, and when you see them, you would think of their beauty and abundance as if they were scattered pearls. And when you look, then you will see bliss and a great kingdom that Allah has prepared for His righteous servants. They will wear garments of fine green silk (Sundus), and of thick silk (Istabraq), and they will be adorned by bracelets of silver, and their Lord shall give them to drink a purifying drink to purify their interior from envy, hatred, malice, harm, and all other bad manners, and all that bliss is a reward for them, and their effort has been appreciated, where Allah accepts their deeds, and reward them according to the best of what they used to do as mentioned in Aya (97) of Surat Alnahl.
Allah Almighty says in the next four verses (23-26) "Indeed, it is We who have sent down to You the Quran, progressively, so Be patient for the judgment of your Lord, and Do not obey from among them a sinner or ungrateful, and Mention the Name of Your Lord morning and evening, and during the night Prostrate to Him, and Glorify Him a long part of the night", that is, Allah addresses His messenger Muhammad (PBUH) saying that He is the One who has sent down the Holy Quran, and that it came down at intervals, and Allah commanded Him to be patient for His Judgment, and for the task of conveying the message, and commanded Him not to obey the disbelievers, and to strive hard in the worship of Allah by mentioning the name of Allah morning and evening, and by performing the night prayer, and to glorify Allah a long time at night.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (27,28) "Indeed, these love the immediate and leave behind them a heavy day, We have created them, and strengthened their forms, and whenever We will, We would replace them with their likenesses, a total replacement", that is, Allah describes the infidels saying that they preferred and loved the immediate which is the worldly life, and left behind them a heavy day which the day of resurrection by abandoning the worship of Allah and disobeying Him even though He has created them, and strengthened their forms, and whenever He wills, We would replace them, all of them with others like them, and this is similar to Aya (19) of Surat Ibrahim {If He wills, He can do away with you, and bring a new creation}.
Allah Almighty says in the last three verses (29-31) "Indeed, this is a reminder, so he who wills may take a way to his Lord, and you do not will except that Allah wills, indeed, Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise, He admits whom He wills into His mercy, but the wrongdoers, He has prepared for them a painful punishment", that is, Allah assures that this Surah is a reminder, so whoever wills may take a way to his Lord by doing what He commanded and avoiding what He forbade, And you do not will except that Allah should will, indeed, Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise, where the guidance is related to the will of Allah and this is similar to the last verse of Surat Altakwir, therefore Allah admits whom He wills into His mercy and then admits him into Paradise, and He prepared for the wrongdoers a painful punishment in the Hellfire.