Surah Az Zumar Tafseer

How Man changes when He is blessed after suffering Harm

Allah tells,

فَإِذَا مَسَّ الاْإِنسَانَ ضُرٌّ دَعَانَا ثُمَّ إِذَا خَوَّلْنَاهُ نِعْمَةً مِّنَّا قَالَ

When harm touches man, he calls to Us (for help); then when We have changed it into a favor from Us, he says:

Allah tells us how man, when he is suffering from harm, prays to Allah, turning to Him in repentance and calling upon Him, but when He makes things easy for him, he transgresses and commits sins.

إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ

Only because of knowledge I obtained it.

means, `because Allah knows that I deserve it; if it were not for the fact that Allah regards me as special, He would not have given me this.'

Qatadah said,

"Because I know that I deserve it."

Allah says:

بَلْ هِيَ فِتْنَةٌ

Nay, it is only a trial,

meaning, `the matter is not as he claims; on the contrary, We have blessed him with this as a test to see whether he will be obedient or disobedient -- although We have prior knowledge of that.'

In fact, it is a trial.

وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

but most of them know not!

So they say what they say and claim what they claim