Topic: Adversity
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ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِى ٱلسَّرَّآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَٱلْكَٰظِمِينَ ٱلْغَيْظَ وَٱلْعَافِينَ عَنِ ٱلنَّاسِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
A man is said to exercise the quality of ‘Afw when he obliterates from his mind, or totally forgets, the sins or offences committed against him by others. When used with reference to God, it signifies not only obliteration of sins but also of all traces thereof.
The verse mentions three stages of ‘Afw. In the first stage a believer, when offended against, restrains or suppresses his anger. In the second stage, he goes a step further and grants forgiveness and free pardon to the offender. In the third stage, he not only grants the offender complete pardon, but also does an additional act of kindness to him and bestows some favour upon him. These three stages—suppression of anger, pardoning, and doing of good—are well illustrated by an incident in the life of Hasan, son of ‘Ali and a grandson of the Holy Prophet. A slave of his once committed an offence and Hasan became very angry and was about to punish him when the slave recited the first part of the verse, i.e. those who suppress anger. Hearing these words, Hasan withheld his hand. Then the slave recited the words, and pardon men, upon which Hasan promptly pardoned him. The slave then recited, and Allah loves those who do good. In obedience to this Divine command Hasan was so m
Important Words:
العافین (those who pardon) is derived from عفو which means, to obliterate or remove traces of a thing (Aqrab). See also 2:188. A man is said to exercise the quality of عفو when he obliterates from his mind, or totally forgets, the sins or mistakes committed against him by others. When used with reference to God, the word signifies not only obliteration of sins but also obliteration of all traces thereof.
Commentary:
The verse describes three stages of dealing with other people. In the first stage, a spiritual wayfarer, when offended against, restrains or suppresses his anger. In the second stage, he goes a step further and grants forgiveness and free pardon to the offender. In the third stage, he not only grants the offender complete pardon, but also does a suitable act of kindness to him and bestows some favour upon him. These three stages are well illustrated by an incident in the life of Hasan, son of ‘Ali and grandson of the Holy Prophet. A slave of his once committed an offence, and Hasan became very angry and decided to punish him. Thereupon, the slave recited the first part of the verse, i.e. those who suppress anger. Hearing these words, Hasan withheld his hand and stood still where he was. Then the slave recited the second part, i.e. and pardon men. Hearing this, Hasan promptly complied with the divine behest by saying, "Go, I pardon thee". Then the slave recited the last part of the verse, i.e. and Allah loves those who do good. In obedience to this command of God, Hasan at once set the slave free, saying, "You are a freeman and may go where you like" (Bayan, i. 366).
418
Important Words:
العافین (those who pardon) is derived from عفو which means, to obliterate or remove traces of a thing (Aqrab). See also 2:188. A man is said to exercise the quality of عفو when he obliterates from his mind, or totally forgets, the sins or mistakes committed against him by others. When used with reference to God, the word signifies not only obliteration of sins but also obliteration of all traces thereof.
Commentary:
The verse describes three stages of dealing with other people. In the first stage, a spiritual wayfarer, when offended against, restrains or suppresses his anger. In the second stage, he goes a step further and grants forgiveness and free pardon to the offender. In the third stage, he not only grants the offender complete pardon, but also does a suitable act of kindness to him and bestows some favour upon him. These three stages are well illustrated by an incident in the life of Hasan, son of ‘Ali and grandson of the Holy Prophet. A slave of his once committed an offence, and Hasan became very angry and decided to punish him. Thereupon, the slave recited the first part of the verse, i.e. those who suppress anger. Hearing these words, Hasan withheld his hand and stood still where he was. Then the slave recited the second part, i.e. and pardon men. Hearing this, Hasan promptly complied with the divine behest by saying, "Go, I pardon thee". Then the slave recited the last part of the verse, i.e. and Allah loves those who do good. In obedience to this command of God, Hasan at once set the slave free, saying, "You are a freeman and may go where you like" (Bayan, i. 366).
480
A man is said to exercise the quality of ‘Afw when he obliterates from his mind, or totally forgets, the sins or offences committed against him by others. When used with reference to God, it signifies not only obliteration of sins but also of all traces thereof.
481
The verse mentions three stages of ‘Afw. In the first stage a believer, when offended against, restrains or suppresses his anger. In the second stage, he goes a step further and grants forgiveness and free pardon to the offender. In the third stage, he not only grants the offender complete pardon, but also does an additional act of kindness to him and bestows some favour upon him. These three stages—suppression of anger, pardoning, and doing of good—are well illustrated by an incident in the life of Hasan, son of ‘Ali and a grandson of the Holy Prophet. A slave of his once committed an offence and Hasan became very angry and was about to punish him when the slave recited the first part of the verse, i.e. those who suppress anger. Hearing these words, Hasan withheld his hand. Then the slave recited the words, and pardon men, upon which Hasan promptly pardoned him. The slave then recited, and Allah loves those who do good. In obedience to this Divine command Hasan was so m
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا فِى قَرْيَةٍ مِّن نَّبِىٍّ إِلَّآ أَخَذْنَآ أَهْلَهَا بِٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَضَّرَّعُونَ
6:43.
6:43.
This is a general law of God which invariably comes into operation whenever a Prophet of God makes his appearance. The advent of every Prophet is attended in an extraordinary degree with calamities and miseries of diverse kinds which are intended to serve as an eye-opener for the people.
6:43.
Commentary:
This verse refers to a general law of God which invariably comes into operation whenever a Prophet of God makes his appearance. The advent of every Prophet is attended in an extraordinary manner with calamities and miseries of diverse kinds that afflict mankind in order to serve as an eye-opener for the people.
If the Messenger of God is raised for a particular people, then only that people are made to suffer, but if he is raised for the whole world, then the whole world is visited by afflictions and disasters. These afflictions are meant as warnings and are intended to awaken the people. Two things may be inferred from this verse: (1) that general disasters do not overtake a people unless a Prophet of God has first been raised; (2) that it never happens that the advent of a Prophet of God is not accompanied by calamities of a general nature.
c
6:43.
a
6:43.
991
Commentary:
This verse refers to a general law of God which invariably comes into operation whenever a Prophet of God makes his appearance. The advent of every Prophet is attended in an extraordinary manner with calamities and miseries of diverse kinds that afflict mankind in order to serve as an eye-opener for the people.
If the Messenger of God is raised for a particular people, then only that people are made to suffer, but if he is raised for the whole world, then the whole world is visited by afflictions and disasters. These afflictions are meant as warnings and are intended to awaken the people. Two things may be inferred from this verse: (1) that general disasters do not overtake a people unless a Prophet of God has first been raised; (2) that it never happens that the advent of a Prophet of God is not accompanied by calamities of a general nature.
b
6:43.
1015
This is a general law of God which invariably comes into operation whenever a Prophet of God makes his appearance. The advent of every Prophet is attended in an extraordinary degree with calamities and miseries of diverse kinds which are intended to serve as an eye-opener for the people.
وَإِذَآ أَذَقْنَا ٱلنَّاسَ رَحْمَةً مِّنۢ بَعْدِ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتْهُمْ إِذَا لَهُم مَّكْرٌ فِىٓ ءَايَاتِنَا ۚ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ أَسْرَعُ مَكْرًا ۚ إِنَّ رُسُلَنَا يَكْتُبُونَ مَا تَمْكُرُونَ
30:37; 41:51, 52; 42:49.
8:31; 35:44.
Mercy comes from God, but adversity is the result of man’s own evil deeds.
30:37; 41:51, 52; 42:49.
8:31; 35:44.
Important Words:
مکر (plan) is the infinitive noun from the verb مکر (makara) which means, he practised deceit, guile or circumvention secretly; he practised an evasion, an artifice, a trick, an expedient or device; he planned or plotted. مکربه means, he did him harm or mischief clandestinely. مکرہ الله means, God requited him for his practising deceit, etc. مکر is praise-worthy or otherwise according to its object (Lane).
Commentary:
In v. 20 it was said that as God had created men that He might show them mercy, so He was merciful to them. In v. 21 it was said that people demanded punishment, but God deferred and delayed the sending down of punishment that they might have time to repent. The present verse says that not only does God always delay His punishment, but when at last He sends it, He does so intermittently and piecemeal in order that the disbelievers may realize that the punishment was due to their opposing His Prophet and may desist from their evil course and thus save themselves. But the wicked take no warning and do not benefit by it. They only show some fear when they are being actually visited with punishment but, as soon as there is an abatement or remission, they revert to their evil course. The verse points out that God’s decree can come into operation at once, even before the evil machinations of the disbelievers take effect but out of His boundless mercy He purposely delays His punishment because, being All-Powerful, He knows He can punish them whenever He likes and, being All-Knowing, there is no likelihood of His forgetting the evil deeds of disbelievers.
It may be asked why it is that sometimes when the punishment of God occurs, some righteous people also suffer along with the wicked. The answer to this question is that man is a social animal and he influences and is in turn influenced by his environment. As such, he is bound to partake of the joys and sorrows of those among whom he lives. This is the reason why the righteous sometimes suffer along with the wicked, and also why Divine punishment is often deferred so that the few good of heart may benefit from that postponement.
It will be noted that whereas in the verse God ascribes the bestowal of "mercy" to Himself, no such mention is made with regard to "adversity." This is to point out that whereas mercy comes from God, adversity is the result of man’s own evil actions.
b
30:37; 41:51, 52; 42:49.
c
8:31; 35:44.
a
30:37; 41:51, 52; 42:49.
b
8:31; 35:44.
1297
Important Words:
مکر (plan) is the infinitive noun from the verb مکر (makara) which means, he practised deceit, guile or circumvention secretly; he practised an evasion, an artifice, a trick, an expedient or device; he planned or plotted. مکربه means, he did him harm or mischief clandestinely. مکرہ الله means, God requited him for his practising deceit, etc. مکر is praise-worthy or otherwise according to its object (Lane).
Commentary:
In v. 20 it was said that as God had created men that He might show them mercy, so He was merciful to them. In v. 21 it was said that people demanded punishment, but God deferred and delayed the sending down of punishment that they might have time to repent. The present verse says that not only does God always delay His punishment, but when at last He sends it, He does so intermittently and piecemeal in order that the disbelievers may realize that the punishment was due to their opposing His Prophet and may desist from their evil course and thus save themselves. But the wicked take no warning and do not benefit by it. They only show some fear when they are being actually visited with punishment but, as soon as there is an abatement or remission, they revert to their evil course. The verse points out that God’s decree can come into operation at once, even before the evil machinations of the disbelievers take effect but out of His boundless mercy He purposely delays His punishment because, being All-Powerful, He knows He can punish them whenever He likes and, being All-Knowing, there is no likelihood of His forgetting the evil deeds of disbelievers.
It may be asked why it is that sometimes when the punishment of God occurs, some righteous people also suffer along with the wicked. The answer to this question is that man is a social animal and he influences and is in turn influenced by his environment. As such, he is bound to partake of the joys and sorrows of those among whom he lives. This is the reason why the righteous sometimes suffer along with the wicked, and also why Divine punishment is often deferred so that the few good of heart may benefit from that postponement.
It will be noted that whereas in the verse God ascribes the bestowal of "mercy" to Himself, no such mention is made with regard to "adversity." This is to point out that whereas mercy comes from God, adversity is the result of man’s own evil actions.
c
30:37; 41:51, 52; 42:49.
d
8:31; 35:44.
1250
Mercy comes from God, but adversity is the result of man’s own evil deeds.
وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَٰهُ نَعْمَآءَ بَعْدَ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتُ عَنِّىٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ
41:51.
41:51.
Commentary:
Both attitudes of foolish elation and of abject despair described in this and the previous verses are assumed by those who give themselves up to disbelief and turn their backs on Divine revelation. They are carried away by the smallest change in their fortunes, whether for good or ill. If some distress happens to afflict them, they give way to despair, while they become foolishly elated with pride if some success or happiness comes their way. This is due to their lack of proper understanding of the law of God, which is to the effect that this life is subject to change and that sorrows and periods of good fortune come upon man to try his mettle and make him improve his moral and spiritual condition. But a disbeliever who fails to understand the purpose of God, instead of benefiting by his state of prosperity or affliction, often lets it overwhelm him.
b
41:51.
c
41:9; 84:26; 95:7.
b
41:51.
1392
Commentary:
Both attitudes of foolish elation and of abject despair described in this and the previous verses are assumed by those who give themselves up to disbelief and turn their backs on Divine revelation. They are carried away by the smallest change in their fortunes, whether for good or ill. If some distress happens to afflict them, they give way to despair, while they become foolishly elated with pride if some success or happiness comes their way. This is due to their lack of proper understanding of the law of God, which is to the effect that this life is subject to change and that sorrows and periods of good fortune come upon man to try his mettle and make him improve his moral and spiritual condition. But a disbeliever who fails to understand the purpose of God, instead of benefiting by his state of prosperity or affliction, often lets it overwhelm him.
c
41:51.