How can one reconcile the statement of Allah the Exalted: "Man does not tire of asking for good, but when evil touches him, he becomes despondent and hopeless," with His statement: "And when We bestow favor upon man, he turns away and distances himself, but when evil touches him, he becomes one of the great supplicants"?

The questioner : How can one reconcile the statement of Allah the Exalted: with His statement: ?

The Shaykh : Yes. "Man does not tire of asking for good, but when evil touches him, he becomes despondent and hopeless" means that man, in his nature as a human being, does not tire of asking for good; that is, he does not grow weary, but rather he constantly asks for good, either through the language of his circumstances or through the language of his words.
And when evil touches him, he becomes despondent and hopeless regarding the mercy of Allah. This person who becomes despondent and hopeless may become so after making a broad supplication that is not answered, leading to his despair. Or he may become despondent without a broad supplication. That is, some people, when struck by misfortune, begin to supplicate to Allah with a long, extensive supplication, and if it is not answered, they become hopeless regarding the mercy of Allah. Thus, the statement: is in a stage after another stage, which is? After the stage of supplication. That is, after he supplicates and it is not answered, he becomes despondent and hopeless. And some people do not supplicate at all; as soon as misfortune or evil strikes them, they become despondent and hopeless. This is absolutely not permissible. It is obligatory for a person to be patient with misfortune and evil, to await the relief of Allah the Exalted, and to increase in supplication, for perhaps it will be answered. Indeed, Allah the Exalted answers the supplication of the distressed, even if he is a disbeliever. The distressed person’s supplication is answered by Allah even if he is a disbeliever. The evidence for this is the statement of Allah the Exalted: This is general. The evidence is also the statement of Allah the Exalted: When these people were struck by waves and feared drowning and destruction, they supplicated to Allah, sincere to Him in religion, so Allah the Exalted saved them because it was the supplication of the distressed. And the supplication of the distressed, as you know, is a supplication made with the presence of the heart and the expectation of relief. When a person supplicates with the presence of his heart and awaits relief, Allah is likely to answer his supplication.