Qur'anic Verse

Insan has been understood to refer to all human beings, or only Adam, but it does not change the meaning significantly. It seems most appropriate to understand it as referring to all human beings.

This ayah is understood to be a rhetorical question, along the lines of, "Was there ever any time when man was such an insignificant thing that he was not worthy of being mentioned?"

Here are 3 ways it has been understood:

(a) This could be after the process of creation of the human being had begun but before human beings had populated the earth.

This idea is supported by a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (A) that it refers to 'when he was created, but unworthy of mention'.

It is also narrated from Imam al-Baqir (A) that this verse means that 'the human being was mentioned in Allah's knowledge, but not in His creation'. That is, the human being had been decreed to exist, but did not exist yet on earth.

(b) Some exegetes also say this could be before the human was created at all. (The human only existed in the divine decree and knowledge, so the human was "mentioned" by God but not by anyone else.)

(c) It has also been understood to mean, "Was there ever any time when God was ignorant of the human being?" The answer to that is no, since God had knowledge of what He would create.

All of the meanings can work together too since the point is to emphasize the smallness of the human being compared to the divine, which is a theme that continues in the next ayah.

"The sun runs to a resting place/stopping point/stopping time (mustaqirr) of its own. That is the decree of the Mighty, the Knowing." (36:38)

Clasically, the sun's "resting place" has been taken to mean: (a) the sun disappearing after sunset (just as a human being goes to their dwelling place at night before rising in the morning), (b) the final destiny of the sun on the Day of Judgment, or (c) the solstice, in a reference to the sun following its winter and summer orbits until the solstice.

Today, some Muslims interpret it as referring to (d) the astronomical end of the sun/the solar system.

Personally, I tend to see this as a poetic or celebratory expression of the natural world, than a statement intended to inform people of a scientific fact (even if the Qur'an is consistent with facts of reality).

In any case, options (a), (c), and (d) match scientific understanding (obviously, from the perspective of earth, the sun rises and sets).

Option (b) is outside the domain of science since it pertains to the end times and hereafter which no longer operate according to the natural laws presently.

(Some people seem to be of the view that it is unscientific to say that, from the perspective of an earth observer, the sun rises and sets. Perhaps people do not go out and watch sunrises as often as they used to; however, I would challenge them to explain why it is unscientific to discuss sunrise and sunset, when this has such a gigantic impact on things such as the weather and ecology, not to mention basics such as timekeeping. So it is scientifically fine to discuss the sun from the perspective of an earth observer, or from the perspective of right outside the solar system, or from an intergalactic perspective; they are all just viewpoints.)

As for "running", this matches the idea that the sun has a motion in the galaxy/universe and is not fixed in one spot, although it also matches the idea that the sun moves along the sky from the perspective of an earth-based observer. So either perspective is correct with respect to reality.

So the verse is open to several interpretations but they do not conflict with what is known about how the universe and natural world works. Probably the main point is to inspire reflection on the natural order.

There is a similarity and difference between the prophets/messengers. The similarity is that they are all equal in being appointed as divine messengers and authorities. The difference is with respect to the nature of their position with Allah, and their own circumstances. 

So, these two verses reflect those two things.

2:136 is a statement of belief for us to profess. That is, WE must accept all the prophets/messengers as being equal in their validity. We must accept them all as having correct messages from Allah that are consistent with the messages of the other prophets. We are not allowed to accept some and reject others. This verse is in the context of criticizing the Jews and Christians for accepting some and rejecting others.

However, this does not mean that all the prophets and messengers were identical, as indicated in 2:253 and elsewhere. The prophets and messengers each had their unique circumstances and positions with Allah. For instance, Jesus was born in a unique way, Solomon had a unique kingdom, and the Prophet Muhammad (S) is considered to be the highest of the messengers.

The assumption that the physical world must be lifeless and non-sentient arises is somewhat modern and became prominent along with the rise of a European secular worldview. Peoples throughout history have held (and continue to hold) a variety of views of whether or not there is some inherent intelligence or sentience in nature.

Anyway, a literal reading of the verse suggests that the mountains do indeed have some level of awareness or comprehension, such that they were able to understand what it would mean to be offered the "trust" (amanah), and reply.

Other interpretations of this verse include:

* The verse is metaphorical. That is, it means to say, if the mountains were able to speak and understand, this is what they would say - to emphasize the enormity of the amanah.
* The verse is referring to the inhabitants of the earth and mountains, such as people, earth, jinn, and angels. This view exists but is somewhat odd since humans took on the amanah. 

Personally I favour the literal understanding. It is in line with the Qur'anic verse that says that everything glorifies Allah but we do not understand it. So just we cannot understand the mountains does not mean they have no ability to communicate with Allah. However others may prefer other views. 

Even if one does not accept this literal meaning, it should be noted that on the Day of Resurrection, it is said that the earth will be able to speak and bear witness to what happened upon it, so the natural world will have awareness and the ability to speak then.