Surah 10

Surah 10:12

"When hardship touches a person, he calls on Us, (whether lying) on his side or sitting or standing. But when We have removed his hardship from him, he continues on, as if he had not called on Us about the hardship (that) had touched him. In this way what the wanton do is made to appear enticing to them."
Man remembers Allah at Times of Adversity and forgets Him at Times of Prosperity Verses 10:12
Show Full Scripture Context (10:12) — 1 Verse
Verse 12

وَإِذَا مَسَّ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ ٱلضُّرُّ دَعَانَا لِجَنۢبِهِۦٓ أَوۡ قَاعِدًا أَوۡ قَآئِمٗا فَلَمَّا كَشَفۡنَا عَنۡهُ ضُرَّهُۥ مَرَّ كَأَن لَّمۡ يَدۡعُنَآ إِلَىٰ ضُرّٖ مَّسَّهُۥۚ كَذَٰلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلۡمُسۡرِفِينَ مَا كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ

When hardship touches a person, he calls on Us, (whether lying) on his side or sitting or standing. But when We have removed his hardship from him, he continues on, as if he had not called on Us about the hardship (that) had touched him. In this way what the wanton do is made to appear enticing to them.

Allah tells us about man and how he becomes annoyed and worried when he is touched with distress. {but when evil touches him, then he has recourse to long supplications.} [41:51]. "Long supplications" also means many supplications. When man suffers adversity he becomes worried and anxious. So he supplicates more. He prays to Allah to lift and remove the adversity. He prays while standing, sitting or laying down. When Allah removes his adversity and lifts his distress, he turns away and becomes arrogant. He goes on as if nothing were wrong with him before. {He passes on as if he had never invoked Us for a harm that touched him!} Allah then criticized and condemned those who have these qualities or act this way, so He said: {Thus it is made fair seeming to the wasteful that which they used to do.} But those on whom Allah has bestowed good guidance and support are an exception. {Except those who have patience believe and do righteous good deeds.} [11:11]. The Prophet said: "How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this is not the case with anyone except a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah, and that is good for him. And if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is also good for him." [1] Muslim 4:2295.

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.