Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 49

(Ayah 49) ➊ { فَاِذَا مَسَّ الْاِنْسَانَ ضُرٌّ … : ’’خَوَّلَ يُخَوِّلُ‘‘} Giving a gift without any compensation. In this verse, another vile trait of the polytheist human is described: when he is afflicted with a great hardship, such as poverty, illness, flood, or storm, etc., he abandons his false deities and calls upon Allah alone. ({’’ ثُمَّ ‘‘} is for delay, which indicates that the blessing from Allah comes after some time) Then, after remaining in that hardship for a period and repeatedly pleading and calling upon Him in every state—lying, sitting, and standing—when He grants him relief from that hardship, or any blessing, purely out of His special grace, he completely forgets Allah and says, “This was given to me only because of some knowledge I possess.” For example, if he receives wealth after poverty, he says, “This is due to my skill in earning wealth.” If he recovers after illness, he says, “This is due to my or so-and-so’s expertise in medicine.”
➋ { اِنَّمَاۤ اُوْتِيْتُهٗ عَلٰى عِلْمٍ :} “This (blessing) was given to me on the basis of some knowledge”—that is, he becomes so estranged after forgetting all the favors of his Lord that he does not even care to mention the name of the Giver of blessings, but rather says, “This blessing was given to me.” This is the height of ingratitude and disloyalty. Someone should ask him, “Did your father give you this blessing?”
➌ Here is a question: earlier in this surah, in verse (8), the same words appeared with a “waw”: « فَاِذَا مَسَّ الْاِنْسَانَ ضُرٌّ » Here, what is the wisdom in bringing {’’ فَاِذَا مَسَّ الْاِنْسَانَ ضُرٌّ ‘‘} with a “fa”? The answer is (and Allah knows best) that through “fa,” this sentence is connected to {’’ وَ اِذَا ذُكِرَ اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ اشْمَاَزَّتْ ‘‘}, and the intervening sentences are parenthetical. That is, observe the contradiction of these ignorant people: sometimes, when Allah alone is mentioned, their hearts are filled with aversion and become greatly distressed, and when others besides Him are mentioned, their hearts blossom and they become very happy. (And at another time, their state is such that) when a great hardship befalls them {’’ فَاِذَا مَسَّ الْاِنْسَانَ ضُرٌّ دَعَانَا ‘‘}, they call upon that very Allah at whose mention their hearts used to become distressed, and they do not even mention those others at whose mention they used to rejoice.
➍ { بَلْ هِيَ فِتْنَةٌ:} That is, the blessing was not given to him because of his knowledge, but as a test—to see whether he gives thanks to the Giver or persists in ingratitude, disbelief, and polytheism regarding His blessing.
➎ { وَ لٰكِنَّ اَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُوْنَ :} That is, most people do not know that wealth and status, health and strength, in fact every blessing, is granted purely by Allah’s grace; no one’s intellect or knowledge has any role in it, because many people with intellect and knowledge are destitute, sick, and weak, unable to find refuge anywhere, while many who lack intellect and knowledge are blessed with wealth, health, strength, and countless blessings. “Most people” is mentioned because only a few know this reality; then, among them, some accept faith and remain patient and grateful to their Lord in every situation, while others, despite knowing, persist in ingratitude and disbelief out of stubbornness and hostility. This too is included in {’’ لَا يَعْلَمُوْنَ ‘‘}, because knowledge that is not adorned with action is ignorance itself. {’’ لَا يَعْلَمُوْنَ ‘‘} also includes that most people do not know that this abundance of blessings, if it does not lead to gratitude and faith, is not a sign of Allah’s pleasure or their being deserving of blessings, but rather it is a form of gradual entrapment, and through these blessings, the proof is being completed against them.