Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:8
And when adversity touches man, he calls upon his Lord, turning to Him [alone]; then when He bestows on him a favor from Himself, he forgets Him whom he called upon before, and he attributes to Allah equals to mislead [people] from His way. Say, "Enjoy your disbelief for a little; indeed, you are of the companions of the Fire."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: And when affliction touches man, he calls upon his Lord, turning to Him in repentance; then when He bestows upon him a favor from Himself, he forgets that for which he had called upon Him before, and he assigns to Allah associates in order to lead [people] astray from His way. Say: Enjoy your disbelief for a little while; truly, you are among the inhabitants of the Fire (39:8).
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: When man is touched by a trial in his body — through sickness, an infirmity, or through hardship in his livelihood, want, and distress — he calls upon his Lord. He means: he seeks help from his Lord, who created him, on account of the gravity of that, and he implores Him to remove the affliction that has touched him. And His words turning to Him in repentance mean: returning to Him in repentance from the disbelief he previously harbored against Him, and from the assigning of associates — gods and idols — to Him in his worship, returning to His obedience.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words And when affliction touches man, he said: the pain, the trial, and the hardship; he calls upon his Lord, turning to Him in repentance, he said: seeking help from Him.
And His words then when He bestows upon him a favor from Himself — the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: when his Lord then grants him a favor from Himself, that is, well-being, so that He removes his affliction from him and replaces the sickness with health and the hardship with ease. The Arabs say of anyone who gives another something — wealth or otherwise —: "khawwala-hu" (he bestowed it upon him). To this belongs the verse of Abū al-Najm al-ʿIjlī:
"He gave and was not miserly, and was not accused of miserliness, [he bestowed] the high-humped camels from the gift of the giver (al-mukhawwil)."
It has been related to me on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda Maʿmar ibn al-Muthannā that he said: I heard Abū ʿAmr say concerning the verse of Zuhayr:
"There, if they are asked for wealth as a loan (yustakhwalū), they lend it out (yukhwilū), and if they are asked, they give, and if they gamble, they choose the costly animals."
Maʿmar said: Yūnus said: We only heard it thus:
"There, if they are asked for wealth as a loan (yustakhbilū), they lend it out (yukhbilū)."
He said: and it has the same meaning.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: then when He bestows upon him a favor from Himself: when well-being or good befalls him.
And His words he forgets that for which he had called upon Him before mean: he leaves off the supplication with which he called upon Allah before He removed the affliction that touched him. And he assigns to Allah associates, that is: partners. And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: he forgets, he says: he leaves off; this applies specifically to the disbeliever.
The word "mā" (that which) in His words he forgets that which he used to has two possible meanings. The first: that it has the meaning of "alladhī" (that which), in which case the meaning of the statement is: he leaves off that which he used to call upon in the state of affliction that touched him — by which is meant He, the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted; then "mā" here stands in the place of "man" (whom), as it is said: And you do not worship what (mā) I worship, by which Allah is meant, and as it is said: Then marry what (mā) pleases you of women. The second possibility: that it has the meaning of a verbal noun (maṣdar), as I have mentioned. And when it has the meaning of a verbal noun, then the pronoun "hi" in His words to Him (ilayhi) has two possibilities: the first, that it refers back to "mā", and the other, that it refers back to the Lord.
And His words and he assigns to Allah associates mean: and he sets up for Allah equals and likenesses.
Then the exegetes differed concerning the sense in which they assigned those as associates to Him. Some said: they made them associates of His in that they obeyed them in disobedience to Allah.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: and he assigns to Allah associates, he said: the associates are men whom they obey in disobedience to Allah.
And others said: by this is meant that he worshiped the idols and thus made them associates of Allah in their worship of them.
The correct of the two views concerning this is the view of the one who says: by this is meant that he obeyed the devil in worshiping the idols, so that the idols became associates for him; for that is in the context of Allah's rebuke of them for the worship of them.
And His words in order to lead [people] astray from His way mean: in order to turn away anyone who wished to affirm Allah as One and to believe in Him, from His oneness, from the profession of it, and from entering into Islam. And His words Say: Enjoy your disbelief for a little while — the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Say, O Muḥammad, to whoever does that: enjoy your disbelief in Allah for a little while, until you have completed your appointed term and your death reaches you; truly, you are among the inhabitants of the Fire, that is: truly, you are among the inhabitants of the Fire who abide therein. And His words Enjoy your disbelief are a threat and a warning from Allah.
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Footnotes:
(2) The verse is by Abū al-Najm al-ʿIjlī, the famous rajaz poet (see Lisān: kh-w-l). He praises someone who gave fat, high-humped camels to whoever asked him; "al-dharā" is the plural of "dhirwa", the top of something. They are animals that Allah had bestowed and granted him, and his gift was abundant; he was not miserly with it and no one accused him of miserliness. The verse is among the evidentiary verses of Abū ʿUbayda in Majāz al-Qurʾān (folio 216), at the words of the Exalted: "then when He bestows upon him a favor from Himself": every possession that comes to you and everything that is given to you, that He has bestowed upon you (khawwala-hu); Abū al-Najm said: "He gave and was not miserly... the verse".
(3) The verse is by Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā al-Muzanī (Mukhtār al-shiʿr al-jāhilī, with commentary by Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā, p. 239); the transmission therein reads "yustakhlibū" instead of "yustakhwilū". In the Lisān it states: al-istikhwāl is likewise equal to al-istikhbāl, from "akhbaltu-hu al-māl" (I lent him the property): when you lend someone a she-camel so that he may benefit from her milk and her wool, or a horse with which he goes to battle. To this belongs the verse of Zuhayr: "There, if they are asked for wealth as a loan... the verse". The meaning of "yaysirū" is: they gamble, and "yughlū": they choose the fat camels at a high price and gamble for that reason. The verse is among the evidentiary verses of Abū ʿUbayda in Majāz al-Qurʾān (216 b); he said: I heard Abū ʿAmr say concerning the verse of Zuhayr "There... etc."; Yūnus said: We only heard it thus: "There, if they are asked for wealth as a loan (yustakhlibū)", that is: yukhbilū; and it has the same meaning.
(4) The discussion of the transmission of this half-verse of Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā has already been dealt with in the preceding evidentiary verse.
