نَاسٌ

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نَاسٌ is applied to Men, and to jinn, or genii; but its predominant application is to the former: it is said by some to be applied to both in the former of the last two verses of the Kur, ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ النَّاسِ مِنَ الجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ [who suggesteth what is vain in the breasts of people of the jinn and mankind]; unless by it be meant النَّاسِى [the forgetting]; or من الجنّة والناس is added in explanation of a preceding word, الوَسْوَاس, or of الذى, or it is in dependence upon يوسوس; [but what corroborates the first explanation is the fact that] men and jinn are both termed رِجَال in the Kur, lxxii. 6; and the Arabs used to say, رَأَيْتُ نَاسًا مِنَ الجِنِّ [I saw people of the jinn]: it is a pl. of إِنْسٌ, originally أُنَاسٌ, a pl. which is rare [as to form]; or أُنَاسٌ is pl. of إِنْسَانٌ; (M, art. أنس;) and ناس has the article ال prefixed to it, but not as a substitute for the suppressed ء, because, were it so, it would not be found prefixed to the original, أُنَاسٌ, whereas it is found prefixed to this latter: this derivation, however, from أُنَاسٌ, contradicts its belonging to art. نوس: [but some hold that it does belong to this art.; and the form of its dim., to be mentioned below, favours their opinion: Fei says,] it is a noun applied to denote a pl., like قَوْمٌ and رَهْطٌ; and its sing. is إِنْسَانٌ, from a different root: it is derived from نَاسَ, Present.T يَنُوسُ, signifying “ it hung down and was in a state of commotion: ” and [agreeably with this derivation it is said that] its dim. is نُوَيْسٌ: some, again, said that النَّاسُ is originally النَّاسِى. (L, TA, voce إِنْسٌ.) See also إِنْسٌ, throughout.

def.2 See also نُوَاسٌ.

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