Al-Insan, "Humanity," is the seventy-sixth surah — 31 verses.1 It is classed as Medinan in the standard Mushaf, though many commentators hold it to be Meccan, and it is also known as ad-Dahr, "Time." The Prophet ﷺ used to recite it, together with As-Sajdah, in the dawn prayer on Fridays.6
What it is about
The surah begins with human origins: "Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned? Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing. Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful."2
It then describes those who chose gratitude. "They [are those who] fulfill [their] vows and fear a Day whose evil will be widespread. And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, [saying], 'We feed you only for the face [i.e., approval] of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude.'"3 Their reward is described in some of the Quran's most detailed imagery of Paradise: shaded couches with no burning sun or freezing cold, vessels of silver, a spring named Salsabil, garments of green silk — "Indeed, this is for you a reward, and your effort has been appreciated."4
The surah closes with instructions to the Prophet ﷺ — patience, remembrance of God morning and evening, and long prostration at night — and a reminder of the balance between human choice and God's will: "this is a reminder, so he who wills may take to his Lord a way. And you do not will except that Allah wills."5
Why it matters
Al-Insan's portrait of people who feed the hungry, the orphan and the prisoner while wanting nothing in return — not even thanks — is one of the Quran's purest expressions of selfless giving. Its opening reflection on the time before humanity existed, and its closing verses on human will within God's will, frame the whole of life as a test freely taken. To read Al-Insan in Arabic with translations and recitation, open it on Quran.com.