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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Fatima Zahra’ in the Noble Qur’an Suratul Insan (al-Dahr), Mankind or The Time This chapter was revealed in Medina and contains 31 verses In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful Contents of Suratul Insan Although this chapter is short, its contents are deep, multi-faceted and comprehensive, and can be divided into five sections: • The creation of the human being and his origin as a drop of sperm (with the egg), followed by the guidance which one has been given and the freedom of choice to do as one pleases.

●The reward given to the righteous doers - the history of revelation of this section is directly related to the Ahlul Bayt - which we will discuss in depth. • The reasons why these righteous doers (the Ahlul Bayt ) deserve the reward which they were given, which is explained through the use of very short, yet powerful verses. • The importance of the Qur’an and how to implement its legislations, along with the various difficulties on the path of self-reformation.

●The overall rule of the will of Allah (while at the same time attesting to the freedom of choice that mankind has). Various names have been mentioned for this chapter, the most famous being: ‘al-Insan’ - ‘Humanity’; ‘ad-Dahr’ - ‘The Time’; and ‘Hal Ata’ - ‘Has there come’ and each of these have been extracted from the words contained in the first few verses of this chapter.

However as we will soon see in regards to the merits of recitation of this chapter, in the traditions, it has only been referred to as ‘Hal Ata’. Was this chapter revealed in Medina? The place of revelation for this chapter – whether it was in Medina or Mecca - is a discussion among the exegetes of the Qur’an.

The consensus of the scholars and exegetes from the Shia tradition is that the entire chapter or at least the beginning section in which the status of these righteous individuals (the Ahlul Bayt) and the actions of these noble personalities has been mentioned was revealed in Medina.

These verses form the basis of a historical event in regards to an oath made by Imam Ali , his wife Fatima Zahra , their children - Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn , and [their house-keeper] Fidhdhah, which we will mention. In addition, it is well-known among the scholars of the Ahlus Sunnah that the revelation of these verses was in Medina, just as al-Qurtubi has mentioned: وَ قَالَ الْجَمْهُورُ مَدِينَةَ.

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