“Inna al-insāna la-fī khusr”
“Indeed, humanity is in loss.” (al-ʿAṣr 103:2)
“Al-insān” is grammatically singular, but it denotes the class of human beings. The next verse excepts those who believe and do good deeds, confirming that the statement concerns a general human condition rather than one named person.
An explanatory plural such as “human individuals” clarifies the intended scope. It is not an instruction to rewrite the singular noun in the Qur’an. This is a standard use of a generic singular in Arabic.
Recognizing generic scope prevents the interpreter from restricting an unrestricted moral statement to a single individual.