| Az-Zumar (The Troops): (49) If a human being is touched...

Verse 49

Know, O listener, that this verse recounts another one of their corrupt methods. When they are afflicted with harm—poverty or illness—they turn to God Almighty, believing that only He can remove it. However, when God grants them a blessing—either abundance in wealth or well-being in health—they claim that this was obtained solely through their own effort and exertion. If it is wealth, they say, "I obtained it by my earning." If it is health, they say, "This came about because of such-and-such treatment."

This is a great contradiction. In the state of helplessness and need, they attribute everything to God, but in the state of safety and health, they cut themselves off from God and attribute it to their own earning. This is an ugly contradiction.

Therefore, God Almighty clarified the ugliness of their path in both hardship and ease with concise and eloquent words, saying: {Nay, but it is a trial (فتنة)}. Meaning, the blessing that this disbeliever is granted is a trial (fitnah), because upon receiving it, gratitude is required, and upon its loss, patience is required. A person in this state is described as a trial in the sense that one tests the state of the one granted the blessing, just as one says, "I tested the gold with fire" (fattanat adh-dhahab bi-n-nar) when exposing it to fire to ascertain its purity.

Then the Almighty said: {but most of them do not know}. This means what we previously mentioned: that this granting was only for the purpose of testing.

There remain in the verse several points of discussion, which we will address in the format of questions and answers.

Answer: Before this verse, God recounted that they recoil from hearing the call to monotheism and rejoice upon hearing the mention of partners (polytheism). Then, He mentioned with the particle of immediate sequence (Fa' of ta'qib) that when they are afflicted by harm and tribulation, they resort to God alone. Thus, the first action contradicts the second action. The particle Fa' is mentioned to indicate that they fall into this explicit contradiction immediately, and there is no interval between the first state and the second, even though each state contradicts the other. This is the benefit of mentioning the Fa' here. As for the first verse, the intention was not to clarify their falling into contradiction in the immediate moment, so God appropriately mentioned it with the particle Waw and not Fa'.

Answer: Takhwīl means bestowing a favor (tafaddul). Meaning, We bestow favor upon him, yet he thinks he obtained it due to his own merit.

Answer: It is possible that it means: "I was given it because of God's knowledge that I deserved it." It is also possible that it means: "I was given it because of my own knowledge that I deserved it." Another possibility is: "I was given it because of knowledge, and due to that knowledge, I was able to acquire it." For example, if he were sick and treated himself, he might say, "I only regained health because of my knowledge of the method of treatment," or "I only obtained wealth because of my knowledge of the method of earning."

Answer: The implied structure is: "Until We grant him something of the blessing (Ni'mah)." The word Ni'mah is feminine, but its meaning is masculine (referring to the specific thing granted, which can be masculine or feminine). Therefore, both usages are permissible.

Then the Almighty said: {Indeed, those before them said the same}. The pronoun in {قالها} (they said it) most likely refers back to the statement: {I was only given it because of knowledge}, because it is a word or a sentence spoken. "Those before them" refers to Qarun (Korah) and his people, who said: {Indeed, I have been given it only by knowledge}. It is as if they (and his people who agreed) said it. It is also possible that there were speakers like this in past nations.

Then the Almighty said: {But did not their earning avail them at all?} Meaning, that false belief and corrupt statement did not avail them against God's punishment at all; rather, the evil consequences of what they earned afflicted them. After clarifying that the preceding people were afflicted by the evil consequences of their false beliefs and corrupt statements, He said: {Nor were they able to frustrate (Him)} (i.e., they could not make God incapable, neither in this world nor the Hereafter).

Then the Almighty said: {Or have they not known that Allah expands the provision for whom He wills and restricts it?} Meaning: Have they not known that Allah Almighty is the One who expands provision for whomever He wills at one time, and restricts it at another? His saying: {and restricts it} (wa yaqdir) means He straitens and limits it. The evidence for this is that we see people differing in the breadth and narrowness of their provision, and this must have a cause. That cause is not a person's intelligence or ignorance, because we see the intelligent and capable person in the direst straits, while we see the ignorant, sick, and weak person in the greatest abundance. Nor is it due to the natures, stars, or planets, because in the very hour a great king or conquering sultan is born, a world of humans and a world of non-human animals are also born, and a world of plants is also born. Since we witness the emergence of all these diverse things at that single hour, despite their differences in fortune and misery, we know that the influence on fortune and misery is not the ascendant star. Since these divisions are invalidated, we know that the influencer is God, the Glorified. Thus, this conclusive rational proof confirms the truth of His saying: {Or have they not known that Allah expands the provision for whom He wills and restricts it?}

The poet said:

Verses 53–59

Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes to you suddenly, while you do not perceive.

And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord before the punishment comes to you suddenly while you are unaware.

Lest a soul say, 'Oh, my regret for what I neglected concerning Allah, and indeed, I have been among the scoffers.'

Or say, 'If only Allah had guided me, I would have been among the righteous.'

Or say, when it sees the punishment, 'If only I had another chance [to return to the world] so that I could be among the doers of good.'

[But it will be told], 'Yes, My signs had come to you, but you denied them and were arrogant, and you were among the disbelievers.'