Yunus: (12) And when adversity touches man...

Issues Discussed:

There are two perspectives on the coherence of this verse:

1. First View: Since the preceding verse established that if punishment were sent down upon the servant in this world, he would perish and be finished off, this current verse clarifies the utmost weakness and extreme inability of man. This serves to reinforce the previous statement that if punishment were to descend, he would die.
2. Second View: God recounts that they hasten the punishment (in their demands). This verse then shows that their request and haste are false, because if even the slightest thing they dislike or that causes them harm touches them, they supplicate God intensely to remove it and avert it. This indicates they are not sincere in their demand for punishment.

The purpose of this verse is to demonstrate that man is:

• Lacking in patience when affliction befalls him.
• Lacking in gratitude when blessings and favors are bestowed upon him.

When adversity touches him, he turns to supplication and prayer—whether lying down, standing, or sitting—striving in that supplication, asking God to remove the hardship and replace it with favor and grace. However, once God removes it through well-being, he turns away from gratitude, forgets that hardship, and fails to recognize the value of the favor. He becomes like one who never asked God to remove his distress.

This reveals the weakness of human nature and the strong hold of heedlessness and desire over him. God mentioned this to warn that this manner of conduct is blameworthy. Rather, the intelligent person must be patient during affliction and grateful when attaining blessings. Furthermore, he should be one who frequently supplicates and beseeches during times of ease and comfort, so that his prayer is answered during times of tribulation.

It is reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that he said: "Whoever desires that his supplication be answered during distress and hardship should supplicate frequently during times of ease."

Regarding a believer afflicted by hardship: He must observe several matters:

1. First: He must be content with God's decree, not objecting to it in heart or speech. This is obligatory because God is the absolute Owner by right, and He can do whatever He wills in His property as He wills. Also, God is absolutely Wise and pure from doing falsehood or futility; thus, everything He does is wisdom and correctness. If this is the case, then whether God keeps the affliction upon him (which is justice) or removes it (which is grace), patience, silence, and the abandonment of anxiety and agitation are incumbent upon him.
2. Second: At that time, if he occupies himself with the remembrance of God and praising Him instead of asking (supplication), it is better, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him), relating from the Lord of Might: "Whoever is occupied by My remembrance from asking Me, I will give him better than what I give to those who ask." Furthermore, preoccupation with remembrance is preoccupation with the Truth, while preoccupation with supplication is preoccupation with seeking one's own portion (of worldly benefit). Clearly, the former is superior. If he chooses to supplicate, it must be conditioned that its removal is beneficial for his religion. In summary, religion must be weighed more heavily by him than the world.
3. Third: If God removes the affliction, he must be extremely grateful and never cease that gratitude in ease and hardship, in times of distress and comfort. This is the correct path upon affliction.

A Higher Station: The people of realization say that whoever, in times of receiving blessings, is preoccupied with the blessing itself and not the Bestower, will, when afflicted, be preoccupied with the affliction and not the Afflictor. Such a person is perpetually in affliction. While he is certainly in affliction during the time of tribulation, during the time of receiving blessings, his fear of their removal is the most severe form of affliction. For the more perfect, sweet, strong, and superior the blessing, the more intense the harm and agitation caused by the fear of its removal. Thus, it is established that whoever is preoccupied with the blessing is perpetually immersed in the depths of tribulation.

However, whoever, in times of blessing, is preoccupied with the Bestower, must necessarily be preoccupied with the Afflictor during times of affliction. Since the Bestower and the Afflictor are one, his gaze is perpetually fixed upon a single desired object, and his desire is exalted above change and sanctified from alteration. Whoever is like this is, in times of affliction and in times of blessing, drowned in the sea of felicity, reaching the utmost perfection. This level of explanation is a shoreless sea; whoever wishes to reach it should be among those who have reached the Source (the reality) rather than merely hearing the reports.

They differed concerning the meaning of al-Insan (the man/human) in the verse: "And when adversity touches man..."

Some said it refers to the disbeliever. Some went to extremes, saying that every instance where al-Insan is mentioned in the Quran refers only to the disbeliever. This is false, because verses like those in Al-Inshiqaq (82:6-7): "That Day, you will be presented [for judgment], not one secret among you hidden. Then as for he who is given his record in his right hand..." clearly include the believer. Likewise, verses like "Has there not come upon man a period of time..." (Ad-Dahr: 1), "And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay" (Al-Mu'minun: 12), and "And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him" (Qaf: 16) include believers.

What they said is far-fetched. Rather, the truth is that a singular noun definite with alif and lam (like al-Insan) refers back to a previously established context if one exists. If no context exists, it must be taken in the sense of generalization (to include all) to preserve it from being vague or rendered inoperative. The term al-Insan here is fitting for the disbeliever because the action described (forgetting God after relief) is utterly unsuitable for the Muslim.

There are two views:

1. First View: It refers to mentioning the states of supplication. Thus, {lying on his side} is in the accusative case (hal or circumstantial adverb) due to the conjunction of the other two states. The meaning is: He called upon Us while lying down, or sitting, or standing.
   • If they ask: What is the benefit of mentioning these states?
   • We reply: It means the afflicted person remains supplicating continuously, never ceasing until the harm is removed, whether he is lying down, sitting, or standing.
2. Second View: These three states enumerate the states of affliction. The meaning is: "And when adversity touches man, whether he is lying on his side, or sitting, or standing, he calls upon Us." This is the view of Al-Zajjaj.

The First View is sounder because mentioning supplication is closer to these states than mentioning affliction. Moreover, the view that these states describe supplication implies the person's intense effort in prayer, making it more astonishing when he completely abandons prayer and turns away from it.

There are two interpretations:

1. The first meaning is that he returned to his previous way of life before the adversity touched him, forgetting the state of distress.
2. He departed from the station of humble supplication and does not return to it, as if he has no memory of it.

The meaning is: "as if he had not called upon Us," and the pronoun was omitted for brevity, similar to His saying: {as if they had not remained} (Yunus: 45). Al-Hasan said: He forgot what he prayed to God for, and what God did for him in removing that affliction.

The author of Al-Nathm noted that His saying {And when adversity touches man} uses idha (when), which is for the future. Then He said: {So when We removed} (فلما كشفنا), which is in the past tense. This structure indicates that the meaning of the verse is that this is what happened in the past, and this is what will happen in the future. The future verb form in the verse indicates a future meaning, and the past verb form indicates a past meaning.

I say that rational proof supports this meaning because man is inherently created weak, incapable, and impatient. He is also created prone to delusion, arrogance, forgetfulness, rebellion, and defiance. When adversity descends, his weakness and inability compel him to frequent supplication, display humility, and show submission. When the adversity is removed and he finds ease, forgetfulness overcomes him, and he forgets God's favor upon him, leading him to transgression, tyranny, denial, and ingratitude. These states are consequences of his nature and necessities of his creation. In summary, these poor people are excused, yet they have no excuse.

There are several inquiries:

First Inquiry: Who is the one who makes things seem fair (muzayyin)? It is either God, the self (Nafs), or Satan. This depends on the established issue of compulsion and free will.

Second Inquiry: Explaining the reason why God, the Glorified, named the disbeliever a musrif (one who transgresses/exceeds the limit). There are several views:

1. First View (Abu Bakr Al-Asamm): The disbeliever is wasteful in himself and his wealth, wasting both. As for his self, he made it a slave to idols. As for his wealth, they used to waste their money on the Bahirah, the Sa'ibah, the Wasilah, and the Ham (types of dedicated animals).
2. Second View (The Judge): Whoever has a habit of being intensely supplicating when adversity strikes, but turns away from remembering God and neglects thanking Him when blessings arrive, is wasteful in the matter of his religion, exceeding the limit in heedlessness. Just as a person can be wasteful in spending money, he can be wasteful in abandoning an obligation or committing an ugly act, if he exceeds the limit in it.
3. Third View (The one that occurred to me at this time): The musrif is one who spends much wealth for a base purpose. It is known that the pleasures and delights of this world are extremely base compared to the felicities of the Hereafter. God gave him senses, intellect, understanding, and power to acquire those great felicities. Whoever expends these noble instruments merely to attain these base, bodily felicities has spent many great things to attain meager, base things; therefore, he must be among the musrifin.

Third Inquiry: The Kaf (K) in His saying {Thus} (Kadhālika) is for comparison. The meaning is: Just as this ugly, reprehensible deed was made fair to this disbeliever, so too were made fair to the musrifin what they used to do of turning away from remembrance and following desires.