A reflection on Surah Al-Insan 76:1 - remembering that none of us existed before Allah (SWT) brought us into being.
Every so often at Darus Saulieghien Quraan Academy, it helps to pause and remind our students, and ourselves, of a fact so basic it is easy to forget: there was a time none of us existed at all. Surah Al-Insan opens with exactly this reminder.
A Period No Name Could Describe
Allah (SWT) asks a question that is not really a question at all:
هَلْ أَتَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْإِنسَـٰنِ حِينٌ مِّنَ ٱلدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُن شَيْـًٔا مَّذْكُورًا
"Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned?" (Surah Al-Insan 76:1)
No name, no achievement, nothing anyone could recognise. This includes every human being who has ever lived. Our existence is not something we brought about ourselves; it began entirely by Allah's will.
Humility That Leads to Gratitude
This reminder is not meant to diminish our worth, it is meant to show where that worth comes from. Every ability we now have, hearing, sight, guidance, began with Allah's favour, not our own effort. The Prophet (SAW) said: "None of you will enter Paradise because of his deeds alone... Not even me, unless Allah envelops me in His mercy." (Sahih al-Bukhari 5673)
A Different Kind of Confidence
We want our students to find their value not in recognition from others, but in the One who brought them into being with purpose. A person who remembers they once did not exist is far less likely to grow arrogant about what they have since achieved.
May Allah (SWT) keep our students humble in remembering their beginning, and grateful for every day of existence He has granted them. Ameen.