Al-Ma'arij: (19-20) "Indeed, mankind was created..."

"Indeed, mankind was created halu'an (impatient/anxious)."

Al-hal'u is extreme anxiety when touched by evil, and extreme stinginess when touched by good. It is derived from the expression, "a halu' she-camel," meaning one that is quick in its pace.

'Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn Jarir, and others recorded from Ikrimah that Ibn Abbas was asked about al-halu', and he replied: "It is as Allah the Exalted says: 'When evil touches him...' etc." Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from al-Hasan that he was asked about the same, and he recited the verse. A similar account is narrated from Tha'lab, who said: "Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Tahir asked me, 'What is al-hala'?' I replied, 'Allah the Exalted has already explained it, and there can be no explanation clearer than His, may He be glorified,' meaning the verse: 'When evil touches him...'" Similar to this is the verse:

Except for my intimate who thinks of you, As if he has already seen and heard.

The emphatic sentence serves as a justification for what precedes it. By "mankind," it may refer to the human species in general, or to the disbeliever specifically. There are two opinions on this; the second is supported by what al-Tusti narrated from Ibn Abbas, that the verse refers to Abu Jahl ibn Hisham. However, this does not preclude the intended meaning being the species as a whole. "Evil" refers to poverty, illness, and the like, and the definitive article (al) denotes the species, meaning: whenever any type of evil touches him.

"Anxious (jazu'an)," meaning he is excessive in his anxiety and does it frequently. Regarding al-jaza' (anxiety/dismay), al-Raghib states that it is more intense than sadness; for sadness is general, whereas jaza' is a sadness that diverts a person from his concerns and cuts him off from them. Its root is the cutting of a rope in two; it is said "he cut it (jaza'ahu), so it was severed (injaza'a)." Because of the concept of "severing" within it, the lower part of a valley is called jaza' because it is where the valley ends. It is also used for the change in color; thus, multicolored beads are called jaza', and from this is the metaphorical usage "streaked meat" (lahmun mujazza') when it has two colors. A date is also called mujazza'ah when the ripening has reached half of it.