What is meant by "ad-dahr" (time/an age) in the verse: "Has there not come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing worth mentioning?" (Qur’an 76:1), and does the "man" mentioned therein include the prophets, such as Adam, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them?

Surat Al-Insan (The Human) begins with a rhetorical question that awakens the heart to the reality of its non-existence before existence, and how it was brought into being as something mentioned. So, His Almighty's saying: (Has there not come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing worth mentioning?) Al-Insan/1, encompasses all humans, for all people are created; they came into existence after they were in non-existence, as in His Almighty's saying concerning Zachariah (peace be upon him): (He said, "Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, and indeed I did create you before, when you were nothing.'") Maryam/9.

So, the verse mentions the initial state of man, that a long period of time passed over him before his existence when he was non-existent and unmentioned. This interpretation - which is narrated from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Jurayj - is closer than specifying "man" to Adam (peace be upon him), because the context is general, and its generality is indicated by the following verse: (Indeed, We created man from a mixed sperm-drop to test him; and We made him hearing and seeing), which confirms that "man" here refers to all people.

This negation of man's existence relates to creation and reality, and it includes all creation, even messengers and prophets; all of them were in non-existence then Allah created them. As for Allah's remembrance and knowledge, all humans are mentioned in eternal knowledge and in the Preserved Tablet.