Yasin Surah 1

[alimallah]

1. O THOU human being! (1)

1 - Whereas some of the classical commentators incline to the view that the letters y-s (pronounced ya sin) with which this surah opens belong to the category of the mysterious letter-symbols (al-muqatta at) introducing a number of Quranic chapters (see Appendix II), Abd Allah ibn Abbas states that they actually represent two distinct words, namely the exclamatory particle ya (�O� and sin, which in the dialect of the tribe of Tayy is synonymous with insan (�human being� or �man�: hence, similar to the two syllables ta ha in surah 20, ya sin denotes �O thou human being!� This interpretation has been accepted by Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan al-Basri, Said ibn Jubayr, and other early Quran-commentators (see Tabari, Baghawi, Zamakhshari, Baydawi, Ibn Kathir. etc.). According to Zamakhshari, it would seem that the syllable sin is an abbreviation of unaysin, the diminutive form of insan used by the Tayy in exclamations. (It is to be borne in mind that in classical Arabic a diminutive is often expressive of no more than endearment: e.g., ya bunayya, which does not necessarily signify �O my little son� but, rather, �my dear son� irrespective of the son�s age.) On the whole, we may safely assume that the words ya sin apostrophize the Prophet Muhammad, who is explicitly addressed in the sequence, and are meant to stress - as the Quran so often does - the fact of his and all other apostles� humanness.]