“And among the people is one who…”
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن
wa-mina l-nāsi man — And among the people is one who…
A fixed frame that singles out an unnamed individual or type from “the people” and attaches a characterizing verb to him. In the verses given it introduces figures who argue, dispute, serve, speak, acquire, take, or trade — with only one occurrence (2:207) presenting the figure in an unambiguously positive light.
The frame consists of the preposition min (“among”) governing the genitive plural al-nās (“the people”), followed by the relative pronoun man (“one who”), after which a verb in the third masculine singular characterizes the person singled out. In the eleven verses given that contain the frame, the fillers are: yaʿbudu “serves” (22:11), yujādilu “argues/disputes” (22:3; 22:8; 31:20), yaqūlu “says” (29:10; 2:200; 2:8), yattakhidhu “takes” (2:165), yusʿjibuka “whose speech impresses you” (2:204), yashtarī “acquires” (31:6), and yashrī “trades away” (2:207). The frame does two things at once: it locates the figure within “the people” while isolating him as a type defined solely by the filler verb. No name, group label, or circumstance is supplied beyond the verb and its object. The fillers cluster around speech and religious posture: three occurrences of disputation concerning Allah without knowledge (22:3; 22:8; 31:20), three of a quoted utterance that the verse then undercuts or qualifies (29:10; 2:200; 2:8), and others of worship “upon an edge” (22:11), taking counterparts apart from Allah (2:165), acquiring diverting talk (31:6), and impressive but disputatious speech (2:204). Against this pattern, 2:207 fills the same frame with yashrī nafsahu “trades away his self, seeking the approval of Allah,” the one occurrence in the set whose filler is presented without any negative qualification. Read together, the verses show the frame functioning as a typifying device: it presents a cross-section of human postures, one verb at a time.
Where it occurs
- 2:8 Introduces one who says “We have trusted in God and in the Last Day,” which the verse then negates.
- 2:165 Introduces some who take counterparts apart from Allah and love them as with the love of Allah.
- 2:200 Introduces one whose stated request is confined to the nearest life, leaving him no share in the later life.
- 2:204 Introduces one whose speech impresses the addressee while he is the most stubborn in dispute.
- 2:207 Introduces one who trades away his self seeking Allah's approval, the unqualified positive filler in the set.
- 22:3 Introduces one who argues concerning Allah without knowledge and follows every defiant satan.
- 22:8 Introduces one who disputes concerning Allah without knowledge, guidance, or an illuminating Book.
- 22:11 Introduces one who serves Allah upon an edge, reassured by good but turning back under trial.
- 29:10 Introduces one who claims belief but equates the people's testing with Allah's chastisement.
- 31:6 Introduces one who acquires diverting talk to lead others astray from Allah's path without knowledge.
- 31:20 Introduces one who disputes concerning Allah despite the favors Allah has completed upon the addressees.
All Qur'anic expressions