Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 8

(Ayah 8) ➊ { وَ اِذَا مَسَّ الْاِنْسَانَ ضُرٌّ:} After mentioning many proofs of His oneness and perfect power, and after describing the outcome of those who are grateful and those who disbelieve, Allah Almighty mentioned the nature of man in times of prosperity and adversity, and also clarified that in both states, the believer and the disbeliever, and the knowledgeable and the ignorant, are not equal. In the verse, {’’ الْاِنْسَانَ ‘‘} refers to the disbeliever and polytheist, because it is mentioned ahead: « وَ جَعَلَ لِلّٰهِ اَنْدَادًا» that when he receives a blessing, he assigns many partners to Allah. The polytheist humans mentioned here, at least in times of hardship, used to call upon Allah alone, but in our times, many who claim Islam continue to call upon others besides Allah even in hardship and during storms at sea. [ إِنَّا لِلّٰہِ وَ إِنَّا إِلَیْہِ رَاجِعُوْنَ ]
➋ { دَعَا رَبَّهٗ مُنِيْبًا اِلَيْهِ :} That is, in times of pain and hardship, he calls upon his Lord with complete sincerity; at that time, he does not remember any other deity, he becomes hopeless from everyone and turns only to Allah Almighty. This is proof that deep in his heart, he knows that no other fulfiller of needs, remover of difficulties, giver, or helper can remove his hardship; the only one who can remove it is Allah alone. The meaning of {’’ مُنِيْبًا ‘‘} is that previously he used to call upon others, but in times of hardship, he leaves everyone and returns to Allah.
➌ { ثُمَّ اِذَا خَوَّلَهٗ نِعْمَةً مِّنْهُ :} Granting a blessing means removing that hardship. Any other blessing can also be meant.
➍ In {نَسِيَ مَا كَانَ يَدْعُوْۤا اِلَيْهِ مِنْ قَبْلُ: ’’ اِلَيْهِ ‘‘}, the pronoun {’’هٗ‘‘} refers to {’’ ضُرٌّ ‘‘}. The proof is this verse: «وَ اِذَا مَسَّ الْاِنْسَانَ الضُّرُّ دَعَانَا لِجَنْۢبِهٖۤ اَوْ قَاعِدًا اَوْ قَآىِٕمًا فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُ ضُرَّهٗ مَرَّ كَاَنْ لَّمْ يَدْعُنَاۤ اِلٰى ضُرٍّ مَّسَّهٗ » [ یونس : ۱۲ ] "And when harm touches man, he calls Us while lying on his side or sitting or standing, but when We remove from him his harm, he goes on as if he had never called Us to remove a harm that touched him."
➎ { وَ جَعَلَ لِلّٰهِ اَنْدَادًا لِّيُضِلَّ عَنْ سَبِيْلِهٖ:} That is, not only does he go astray from the path of Allah (Islam and monotheism), but he also tries to mislead others, going around telling people that he received healing from such-and-such shrine, that he was delivered from hardship by the favor of such-and-such saint, and that his boat reached the shore due to the attention of such-and-such spiritual leader. In this way, this ignorant person fabricates false stories, presenting powerless and helpless creation as partners of Allah, and continues to mislead people.
➏ {قُلْ تَمَتَّعْ بِكُفْرِكَ قَلِيْلًا … :} It is said, tell this polytheist person to enjoy the small benefits you gain by misleading people through your disbelief and polytheism, but this is only for a short time; very soon all this will end, and you will be among the people of the Fire, dwelling forever in Hell. For further explanation of the verse, see Surah Yunus (12).

8. 1. Or he forgets that hardship for the removal of which he used to leave others and supplicate to Allah, or he forgets that Lord whom he used to call upon, and then falls into shirk.

When man is afflicted with hardship, he calls upon his Lord, turning to Him in repentance. But when He bestows a favor upon him from Himself, he forgets what he had previously called upon his Lord for, and sets up rivals to Allah, to mislead others from His path [17]. Say, "Enjoy your disbelief for a little while; surely, you are among the companions of the Fire."

[17]
Those Who Visit Shrines on Thursdays:

In this verse, Allah Almighty has described the nature of a worldly and ignorant type of person who considers attending shrines on Thursdays to be his greatest virtue. Beyond this, he neither feels the need to understand religion nor makes any effort for it. And he thinks that this world exists only by the support of these beloved ones of Allah, who are alive in these graves and shrines and are helping people. The polytheists of Makkah also held similar beliefs regarding their idols. When such people are faced with a calamity so severe that death appears before their eyes, they call upon only Allah and forget the beloved ones of Allah. The reason for this is that all polytheists have never agreed upon who, after Allah, is actually the one who can remove afflictions. For some, it is one saint; for others, it is another. However, all agree upon Allah’s being and begin to call upon Him. Then, when Allah delivers them from that calamity and grants them comfort and ease, they forget Allah and all their devotions remain only for the beloved ones of Allah.

[18] Then he does not stop at this, but begins to say to others that it was from such-and-such shrine that we received healing, and it was due to the special favor of such-and-such saint that we were saved from that calamity, and from the court of such-and-such saint our such-and-such need was fulfilled and our fortunes changed. In this way, many other people also become devotees of these personalities, and every ignorant person, by narrating such experiences, continues to spread misguidance among the masses.