The benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And when man is touched by harm, he calls upon his Lord, turning back to Him. Then, when He bestows upon him a favor from Him, he forgets what he used to call upon Him for before.”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
One of the benefits of this verse is that the disbeliever does not know his Lord except in times of dire necessity, as He said: “When harm touches him” [Az-Zumar 39:8] and so on.
And among its benefits is that worship out of dire necessity is generally of no benefit. That is, if a person only knows his Lord in times of dire necessity, the general rule is that he does not benefit from this worship, because it is not worship out of desire, but rather worship to save the person from destruction. However, sometimes he may benefit, and perhaps this becomes a cause for Allah to open the door to him. For example, there are people today who are struck by a severe illness and fear death, so they turn to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and call upon Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and then Allah bestows upon them... But the general rule is that worship out of dire necessity is not beneficial.
And among the benefits of this verse is that the disbeliever believes in Allah, and that his belief in Allah does not take him out of disbelief. As He said: So belief in Allah and in His lordship is not sufficient and does not take the person out of disbelief. The evidence for this is that the polytheists among whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent used to acknowledge Allah [Az-Zukhruf 43:87] [Az-Zukhruf 43:9] meaning they acknowledged that the Creator is Allah and described Him with perfect attributes, and yet they were disbelievers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted the taking of their blood, women, wealth, and offspring. And by this we know that whoever says that the Christians are believers is ignorant. Rather, if he is knowledgeable about what the Shari'ah indicates regarding their disbelief, then he is an apostate, because whoever rules that a person is a believer whom Allah has declared a disbeliever is an apostate who lies to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Likewise, whoever says that the Jews are believers in Allah, this statement comes either from ignorance or from apostasy, may Allah protect us from that. If he says: They believe in Allah, saying that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the One who removes harm and manages affairs. We say: This does not benefit them. And for this reason, you find among the common people, when this matter becomes confused for some of them, that when it is said to them: The one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. They say: How can he be a disbeliever when he testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah? Where is the disbelief? It is said: Not everyone who testifies to this is a believer. The hypocrites would come to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and say: We testify that you are the Messenger of Allah, and they would emphasize this. So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) emphasized their lie by saying: [Al-Munafiqun 63:1] And even if they testify with their tongues, they are liars in their hearts. In any case, this verse indicates that mere acknowledgment by a person of the Lord does not take him out of disbelief.
And among the benefits of this verse is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) answers the call of the one in dire necessity, even if he is a disbeliever, as He said:[Az-Zumar 39:8]. So if someone asks: How does Allah answer his call when he is a disbeliever? We say: This is from the effects of His mercy preceding His anger, for His mercy precedes His anger. So disbelief is a cause for anger, and dire necessity is a cause for mercy, so the mercy precedes the anger and Allah (Mighty and Majestic) answers him. This is like answering the call of the oppressed, even if he is a disbeliever. The call of the oppressed is answered even if he is a disbeliever, to establish justice and vindicate the truth. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Mu'adh ibn Jabal: Sahih Muslim 19a So these are two persons whose calls are answered despite their disbelief: the oppressed and the one who falls into dire necessity when he calls upon Allah. Why must we explain how this is an exception to the rule that the disbeliever is one upon whom Allah is angry? We say: As for answering the call of the oppressed, it is for the sake of justice and vindicating the truth. And as for answering the call of the one in dire necessity, it is because two causes converge in his case: a cause that brings mercy, which is dire necessity, and a cause that brings anger and retribution, which is disbelief. And the mercy of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has preceded His anger.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is that the favor is pure grace from Allah, as He said:[Az-Zumar 39:8] So the favor is pure grace from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), because it cannot be a reward for a deed. If a person were reckoned for his deeds with a precise reckoning, his deeds would not equal one out of millions of the favors of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). From where? From the favors of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and he would come out defeated. Rather, some of the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) say: The righteous deed is from the favor of Allah. The deed itself is a favor. So if he is grateful for the deed, the gratitude becomes a favor. And if he is grateful for the gratitude, it becomes another favor. And on this basis is the saying of the poet:
If my gratitude is a favor of Allah, a favor upon me, then for such a favor, gratitude is obligatory.
So how can the attainment of gratitude be achieved except by His grace, even if the days lengthen and life continues?
Is this correct? Yes, it is correct.
If my gratitude is a favor of Allah, a favor upon me, then for such a favor, gratitude is obligatory.
So how can the attainment of gratitude be achieved except by His grace, even if the days lengthen and life continues?
Because if Allah bestows a favor upon you and you are grateful for it, your gratitude is a favor. Then if you are grateful for the gratitude, it is another favor, and so on.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is that the disbeliever—or if you wish, say: the human being—forgots the favor. If Allah bestows a favor upon him after a dire necessity, he forgets it, and then he returns to his error. And this is very dangerous for the human being. This is the reality of the human being. The reality of the human being is that when Allah bestows a favor upon him by saving him from a dire necessity, he forgets that, and then he returns to his error. And this happens. We find that events now pass through people. Perhaps when these events occur, they may have a return to some extent. But when the dire necessity is removed, they return to what they were before. Rather, perhaps arrogance and transgression will lead them to increase in their error. And this has its danger. For Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) mentioned in the Qur'an that if the human being returns to his error after being saved from destruction, then Allah will strike him with a punishment more severe than the first.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is that the disbeliever returns to his disbelief and does not remember what he called upon Allah for before, which was his salvation from the dire necessity, as Allah the Exalted said:[Az-Zumar 39:8]
he calls upon his Lord, turning to Him [alone]; then when He bestows on him a favor from Himself, he forgets
دَعَا رَبَّهُ مُنِيبًا إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ إِذَا خَوَّلَهُ نِعْمَةً مِنْهُ نَسِيَ مَا كَانَAnd among its benefits is that worship out of dire necessity is generally of no benefit. That is, if a person only knows his Lord in times of dire necessity, the general rule is that he does not benefit from this worship, because it is not worship out of desire, but rather worship to save the person from destruction. However, sometimes he may benefit, and perhaps this becomes a cause for Allah to open the door to him. For example, there are people today who are struck by a severe illness and fear death, so they turn to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and call upon Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and then Allah bestows upon them... But the general rule is that worship out of dire necessity is not beneficial.
And among the benefits of this verse is that the disbeliever believes in Allah, and that his belief in Allah does not take him out of disbelief. As He said:
He called upon his Lord
دعَا ربَّهAnd if you asked them who created them, they would surely say, "Allah."
وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُAnd if you should ask them, "Who has created the heavens and the earth?" they would surely say, "They were created by the Exalted in Might, the Knowing."
وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ خَلَقَهُنَّ الْعَزِيزُ الْعَلِيمُAnd Allah knows that you are His Messenger, and Allah testifies that the hypocrites are liars.
والله يعلم إنك لرسوله والله يشهد إن المنافقين لكاذبونAnd among the benefits of this verse is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) answers the call of the one in dire necessity, even if he is a disbeliever, as He said:
then when He
ثم إذا خوَّلَهBeware of the supplication of the oppressed for there is no barrier between him and Allah.
اتَّقِ دعوةَ المظلوم فإنه ليس بينها وبين الله حجابAnd among the benefits of this noble verse is that the favor is pure grace from Allah, as He said:
then when He bestows on him a favor
ثم إذا خوله نعمةHe grants him a blessing
خوَّلَه نعمةIf my gratitude is a favor of Allah, a favor upon me, then for such a favor, gratitude is obligatory.
So how can the attainment of gratitude be achieved except by His grace, even if the days lengthen and life continues?
Is this correct? Yes, it is correct.
If my gratitude is a favor of Allah, a favor upon me, then for such a favor, gratitude is obligatory.
So how can the attainment of gratitude be achieved except by His grace, even if the days lengthen and life continues?
Because if Allah bestows a favor upon you and you are grateful for it, your gratitude is a favor. Then if you are grateful for the gratitude, it is another favor, and so on.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is that the disbeliever—or if you wish, say: the human being—forgots the favor. If Allah bestows a favor upon him after a dire necessity, he forgets it, and then he returns to his error. And this is very dangerous for the human being. This is the reality of the human being. The reality of the human being is that when Allah bestows a favor upon him by saving him from a dire necessity, he forgets that, and then he returns to his error. And this happens. We find that events now pass through people. Perhaps when these events occur, they may have a return to some extent. But when the dire necessity is removed, they return to what they were before. Rather, perhaps arrogance and transgression will lead them to increase in their error. And this has its danger. For Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) mentioned in the Qur'an that if the human being returns to his error after being saved from destruction, then Allah will strike him with a punishment more severe than the first.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is that the disbeliever returns to his disbelief and does not remember what he called upon Allah for before, which was his salvation from the dire necessity, as Allah the Exalted said: