The Crowds (Al-Zumar)
Verses 49-52 GROUP_1218 39.49-52
49
فَإِذَا مَسَّ الْإِنسَانَ ضُرٌّ دَعَانَا ثُمَّ إِذَا خَوَّلْنَاهُ نِعْمَةً مِّنَّا قَالَ إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ بَلْ هِيَ فِتْنَةٌ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
When affliction befalls man, he appeals to Us; but when We bestow a favour upon him he says, ‘All this has been given to me because of my own knowledge.’ By no means! It is a trial: yet most of them do not realize it.
50
قَدْ قَالَهَا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَمَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ
Those who preceded them said the same thing but they gained nothing from what they did;
51
فَأَصَابَهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا وَالَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْ هَؤُلَاء سَيُصِيبُهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا وَمَا هُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ
the very evil of their deeds recoiled upon them; today’s wrongdoers shall also have the evil of their deeds recoil upon them: they will never be able to frustrate [Our plan].
52
أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَيَقْدِرُ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Do they not know that God grants abundant sustenance to anyone He wishes and gives sparingly to anyone He pleases? Surely there are signs in this for those who believe.
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Commentary
(a) In the world, when man achieves anything, he is very happy to think that it is the result of his own talents. The fact is that the things of the world are meant as a trial for him and not as a reward for his talents. To know this fact is to have real knowledge. If a man considers that the things of this world are within his grasp because of his talents, he develops the mentality of pride and vanity. On the contrary, if a man considers them as items of trial, feelings of gratitude and humility will be engendered in him. The increase or decrease in the provision of man in this world is a matter which is beyond human powers. It appears that there is a power beyond the human sphere which decides who should receive more and who should receive less. This shows that decisions regarding provision is not made on the basis of personal talents. It is decided on some other basis, and that basis is that this world is a testing ground and not a place for the handing out of rewards. So, whatever a man receives in this world is for his trial. The Examiner, at his discretion, gives one type of examination paper to one person and another type of paper to another. He tries one person under one set of conditions, while He tries others under a different set of conditions.