Insân

Insân (Arabic: إنسان) is a noun meaning a human being or person. In Classical and Modern Standard Arabic it denotes a member of the human species, often contrasted with animals or divine beings. The term appears frequently in religious, philosophical, and literary texts; in Qur’anic usage it is used to discuss human creation, moral responsibility, and the nature of humanity (for example, creation of man in the best of stature).

Linguistically, insân is built from the root n-s-n and has cognates in related languages that have borrowed the term, such as Turkish insan and Persian ensān. In Turkish, Persian, Urdu and other languages, insan carries the same general sense of "human being" and is used in everyday speech, law, and literature. Compounds include insan hakları in Turkish (human rights); in Persian and Urdu, ensān/insān appears in poetry and philosophy, often with an emphasis on human dignity and moral agency.

Religious and philosophical significance: In Islamic thought, insân is viewed as a unique creation endowed with reason, speech, and moral responsibility; discussions of the insān al-kāmil (the perfect man) and the human as a microcosm of the cosmos are found in Sufi and philosophical writings. The term also appears in other traditions with related notions of personhood and humanity.

In contemporary usage, insân serves as a generic term for people and as a category in fields such as anthropology, sociology, and ethics. It remains a common reference to humanity across languages that adopt the word.