Summary of Surah Al-Insan
Surah Al-Insan is Medinan, containing 31 verses and 2 sections. Despite being Medinan, its themes are similar to those of the Meccan surahs, detailing Paradise and its bounties, Hell and its torments. It is proven by a tradition in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) used to recite this surah during the Fajr prayer on Fridays. The surah begins with a discourse on the greatness of Allah’s power, how He created humans across different eras, endowing them with hearing, sight, and the faculties of understanding and intellect, so that they could fulfill the responsibilities of obedience and worship they have been tasked with and populate the earth with His worship. However, humans became divided into two groups: the grateful and the ungrateful. For the disbelievers, Allah has prepared chains, collars, and a blazing fire in the Hereafter, whereas for the grateful, there are cups mixed with camphor. Three signs of the grateful are mentioned:
1. They fulfill their vows.
2.They fear the Day of Judgment.
For the sake of Allah’s pleasure, they feed the needy, the orphan, and the prisoner, whose good deeds and patience will be rewarded with Paradise, where there is neither heat nor cold, nor any distress or sorrow. At the end of the surah, Allah mentions His supreme blessing, which has no parallel or example, saying: “O Muhammad (ﷺ), indeed We have revealed the Qur’an to you gradually. So, remain steadfast in your Lord’s command and do not obey any sinner or ingrate among them, and remember your Lord’s name in the morning and the evening, and prostrate before Him at night and glorify Him long into the night.” The purpose of these verses is to emphasize that remembrance, worship, and patience are obligatory for the caller to faith, to provide him with inner strength against the enemies of Allah, especially as the night prayer is a means for strengthening faith and spiritual growth. The final verses of the surah sternly warn the polytheists that if He wills, He can destroy them and replace them with others.
