Surah Fussilat (41) — Ayah 49

(Ayah 49) ➊ { لَا يَسْـَٔمُ الْاِنْسَانُ …:} From here, a very bad effect of disbelief, polytheism, and denial of the Resurrection on human nature has been mentioned. By {’’ الْاِنْسَانُ ‘‘} is meant the common human being who is devoid of the wealth of faith and conviction; this weakness has been placed in him by nature. After faith in monotheism, prophethood, and the Hereafter, the cure for this weakness is found, and the stronger the faith, the more purified he becomes from this weakness, as it is said: «اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ خُلِقَ هَلُوْعًا (19) اِذَا مَسَّهُ الشَّرُّ جَزُوْعًا (20) وَّ اِذَا مَسَّهُ الْخَيْرُ مَنُوْعًا (21) اِلَّا الْمُصَلِّيْنَ (22) الَّذِيْنَ هُمْ عَلٰى صَلَاتِهِمْ دَآىِٕمُوْنَ ...... اُولٰٓىِٕكَ فِيْ جَنّٰتٍ مُّكْرَمُوْنَ » [ المعارج : ۱۹ تا ۳۵ ] "Indeed, man has been created anxious. When evil touches him, he is greatly distressed. And when good touches him, he is withholding. Except for those who pray. Those who are constant in their prayer... These are the ones who will be honored in gardens." See also the commentary of Surah Hud (9 to 11).

➋ By { مِنْ دُعَآءِ الْخَيْرِ: ’’ الْخَيْرِ ‘‘} is meant worldly good, which includes wealth, children, honor, health, and strength—all of it. By {’’ دُعَآءِ ‘‘} is meant the seeking of good, that is, man neither tires nor wearies of seeking worldly good, whether he needs it or not. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: [ لَوْ كَانَ لاِبْنِ آدَمَ وَادِيَانِ مِنْ مَّالٍ لاَبْتَغٰی ثَالِثًا، وَ لاَ يَمْلَأُ جَوْفَ ابْنِ آدَمَ إِلاَّ التُّرَابُ، وَ يَتُوْبُ اللّٰهُ عَلٰی مَنْ تَابَ ] [بخاري، الرقاق، باب ما یتقی من فتنۃ المال : ۶۴۳۶ ] "If the son of Adam had two valleys of wealth, he would seek a third, and nothing fills the belly of the son of Adam except dust, and Allah turns with mercy to him who repents."

➌ {وَ اِنْ مَّسَّهُ الشَّرُّ فَيَـُٔوْسٌ قَنُوْطٌ: ’’مَسَّ يَمَسُّ‘‘} (s) to touch. {’’ فَيَـُٔوْسٌ ‘‘ ’’يَئِسَ يَيْئَسُ يَأْسًا ‘‘} (s, h) is an intensive form, meaning very hopeless. {’’ قَنُوْطٌ ‘‘ ’’قَنِطَ يَقْنَطُ قَنُوْطًا‘‘} (s, n) is an intensive form, meaning very hopeless. Some commentators have said that {’’ فَيَـُٔوْسٌ ‘‘} and {’’ قَنُوْطٌ ‘‘} both have the same meaning; for emphasis, {’’ فَيَـُٔوْسٌ ‘‘} is brought after {’’ قَنُوْطٌ ‘‘}, and some have said there is a difference in meaning between the two. Abu Hayyan said: {’’يَأْسٌ‘‘} is the state of the heart, that a person's heart becomes empty of hope for good, and {’’قَنُوْطٌ‘‘} is when the signs of hopelessness also appear on his face and body. Obviously, this difference is when both words come together; otherwise, both "yās" and "qunūt" mean hopelessness of both heart and body, just as is the case with faith and Islam. From the word {’’مَسٌّ‘‘} (to touch), it is understood that the disbeliever is so faint-hearted that merely being touched by evil, he loses hope to the utmost extent. The believer is not like this; this is only the state of the disbeliever, as it is said: « اِنَّهٗ لَا يَايْـَٔسُ مِنْ رَّوْحِ اللّٰهِ اِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكٰفِرُوْنَ » [یوسف : ۸۷ ] "Indeed, none despairs of the mercy of Allah except the disbelieving people."

49. 1. That is, man does not tire of asking for worldly wealth and means, health and strength, honor and status, and other worldly blessings; rather, he keeps on asking. By "man" is meant the overwhelming majority of humans.

49. 2. That is, upon being afflicted with hardship, he immediately falls into despair, whereas the condition of Allah's sincere servants is different from this: firstly, they are not seekers of the world, the Hereafter is always before them; secondly, even when afflicted with hardship, they do not despair of Allah's mercy and His grace, rather, they consider trials as atonement for sins and a means of raising ranks, as if despair does not even come near them.

Man never tires of praying for good for himself [64], but if harm touches him, he becomes hopeless [65] and despondent.

[64]
The Extremity of Human Greed:

That is, the nature of an ordinary, worldly person is such that he is never satisfied with wealth and riches. He desires that all kinds of goodness be exclusively for him: that he receives abundant and ample sustenance, enjoys prosperity and luxury, has good health, and possesses good offspring. In short, whatever type of goodness there may be, he wants everything to be provided for him, and even if all these things are made available, he then wishes that they continue to increase at every moment, and his greed never comes to an end. Accordingly, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair ؓ narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "If a man were given a valley full of gold, he would desire a second valley (and would not be content), and if he were given a second, he would desire a third. The fact is that nothing fills the belly of man except dust." [بخاری۔ کتاب الرقاق۔ باب ما یتقی من فتنۃ المال]

[65]
Despairing and Complaining in Hardship:

And the second aspect of his nature is that when he faces any hardship, hunger, illness, or any other kind of suffering, and he does not see any apparent means for the removal of that difficulty, he despairs of Allah's mercy and begins to utter words of ingratitude. He does not realize that besides these apparent means, there are countless hidden means as well, which he cannot see and which are under the control of Allah Almighty. If he learns to trust in Allah, then surely he would not be in such a state.