Sūrah Al-Insān The Human: Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī The Source Commentary

Surah Overview

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahالإنسانMadanī (some say Makkī) 31 versesHuman origin, generosity occasion, Paradise description

Key DisagreementIs this surah Makkan or Medinan?Classification debateAl-Ṭabarī: Medinan through chains from Ibn ʿAbbās and Mujāhid; the occasion of revelation (ʿAlī and Fāṭimah) confirms Medinan context

Competing OpinionsWho are the "righteous" who feed others (76:8–9)?Occasion of revelationAl-Ṭabarī: traces chains from Ibn ʿAbbās identifying ʿAlī, Fāṭimah, and their household who gave food to a poor person, an orphan, and a captive on three consecutive days despite their own hunger

MethodologyChain verification of the occasion of revelation for the generosity versesAsbāb al-nuzūl methodAl-Ṭabarī presents the chain for the ʿAlī-Fāṭimah occasion and evaluates its chain quality before using it as evidence

Key Themes from Al-Ṭabarī

The ʿAlī-Fāṭimah occasion (76:8–9) is analyzed by al-Ṭabarī through chains from Ibn ʿAbbās: ʿAlī, Fāṭimah, and their servant Fiddah vowed to fast three days and prepared their food to break the fast. On the first night a poor person came; on the second an orphan; on the third a captive and each time they gave their food and broke their fast with water only. The verses "and they give food, out of love for Him, to the poor, the orphan, and the captive" were revealed about this occasion. Al-Ṭabarī presents the chain and its assessment.

The Paradise description (76:12–22) is analyzed through chains from Ibn ʿAbbās and prophetic narrations: the believers reclining on raised couches (76:13), no sun and no bitter cold (76:13), close shades, clustered fruit (76:14), silver vessels (76:15–16), and the Salsabīl spring (76:18). Al-Ṭabarī treats all descriptions as physical realities and uses chains to explain the specific details e.g., "Salsabīl" is analyzed as an Arabic proper name meaning a specific Paradise spring.

وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا Wa-yuṭʿimūna l-ṭaʿāma ʿalā ḥubbihi miskīnan wa-yatīman wa-asīrā "And they give food, in spite of love for it, to the needy, the orphan, and the captive." (76:8) Al-Ṭabarī presents the chain from Ibn ʿAbbās on the ʿAlī-Fāṭimah occasion their three-day fast and three-night gift of food to different categories of the needy, breaking their own fast with water.

هَلْ أَتَىٰ عَلَى الْإِنسَانِ حِينٌ مِّنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُن شَيْئًا مَّذْكُورًا Hal atā ʿalā l-insāni ḥīnun mina l-dahri lam yakun shayʾan madhkūrā "Has there not been upon man a period of time when he was not a thing even mentioned?" (76:1) Al-Ṭabarī traces chains from Ibn ʿAbbās on the pre-existence period before human creation the state before Ādam was fashioned from clay, when humans literally did not exist.

ʿAlī-Fāṭimah chain: Al-Ṭabarī presents this chain while evaluating its strength one of the most famous chains for the occasion of a specific Quranic passage.
Medinan classification: His preference for Medinan classification is based on the occasion chain and contextual analysis a chain-based classification decision.
Human pre-existence: 76:1's question about the period before human existence is analyzed through chains as referring to the time before Ādam's creation not a reincarnation concept.
Paradise physicality: The detailed Paradise descriptions (couches, shade, fruit, vessels, springs) are treated as physical realities through chains consistent with his approach.
Salsabīl name: Al-Ṭabarī analyzes the spring name through chains a proper name, not a description and notes its linguistic root suggesting ease and flowing.

Surah Overview

Key Themes from Al-Ṭabarī

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