إِنَّ الإِنسانَ لِرَبِّهِ لَكَنودٌ

Indeed man is ungrateful to his Lord.

EXEGESIS

Kanūd (most ungrateful) is an intensive indefinite noun. It is best understood as a lack of attention given towards something, as if treating it without importance and denying it its rights.^{‎[1]Tahqiq, 10/130.} One of its explicit references is in relation to the earth as a barren land, void of goodness and fruits.^{‎[2]Raghib, p. 727; Bahrayn, 3/138.} In this verse, however, it refers to those who are ungrateful and consciously reject the bounties of God, and is synonymous to kafūr.^{‎[3]Ayn, 5/331; Dukhayyil, p. 823.}

The trait of ingratitude (kanūd) is preceded in the verse by the emphasis particle inna (indeed) and the lām of emphasis is attached to kanūd, adding a double emphasis when speaking about man’s ingratitude. Additionally, the word kanūd itself is in the intensive form, indicating increased emphasis or force.

Given the meaning of kanūd, commentators have attached different interpretations and various hues of meaning to it in the context of this verse. Some have numbered approximately fifteen separate meanings, each allowing the reader to grasp a fine understanding of the narrative,^{‎[4]Amthal, 20/395.} some of which are as follows:

1. According to Hasan al-Baṣrī, kanūd is one who counts his calamities and forgets the blessings of God, as reiterated in, But when He tests him and tightens for him his provision, he says: ‘My Lord has humiliated me’ (89:16).^{‎[5]Razi, 32/261; Ibn Kathir, 8/446.}
2. According to Ibn Abbas, Mujāhid, and Qatādah, kanūd is the one who is ungrateful towards divine blessings.^{‎[6]Razi, 32/261.}
3. Kanūd is someone who refuses to help others in their times of hardships.
4. Abū ʿUbaydah explains that it is one who has little goodness.
5. Kalbī has said the word kanūd refers to sinners and initially stems from the tribe of Kinda This historically refers to a man who was ungrateful towards his father and later disowned him. He was famously titled Kindah from the root kind, meaning ungrateful.^{‎[7]Razi, 32/261.}
6. According to Ibn Sīrīn, it is one who blames God for his calamities.
7. Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ explains its relation is to one who forgets all blessings when encountering a calamity.^{‎[8]Andulusi, 5/515.}
8. Al-Tirmidhī has said it is regarding one who recognises blessing but does not acknowledge its source.
9. Abū Bakr Rawwāq has inferred its meaning to one who believes that blessings are of his own accord and not from God.
10. Al-Wāsiṭī explains its reference is to one who uses his blessings for sin and evil.

However, when confining it to one definition, it could carry the meaning of someone who is ungrateful and unappreciative of God’s blessings.

EXPOSITION

Throughout the Quran, a man without faith is identified with blameworthy traits, such as injustice and foolishness (33:72), greed (70:19), anxiety (70:20), despondency (11:9), weakness (4:28), and rebelliousness (96:6). In this surah an extra trait is mentioned, and that is of ingratitude (kufrān). It is easy for such traits to be found in the hearts, just as seeds are found in the soil, waiting for the right conditions to sprout. Without probing deep into the hearts, and without struggling to perfect oneself and cleansing oneself from all impurities, the seeds of vices will grow and will beget evil deeds. 

In the previous verses, God presents a narrative, swearing and taking multiple oaths upon warhorses, the ignition of sparks, approaching the enemy, upon the raiders at the time of dawn, and finally the trail of dust, all to shed light upon the ungrateful nature of man. The ungratefulness of the human being is the subject of the oaths. The connection between the oaths and its subject is very subtle, and it can be said that the connection between the fighters’ horses and the ingratitude of man is to highlight the striking contrast between the two. On the one hand the fighters offer the most valuable thing in their possession – their lives – in the service of religion, but those whom God has entrusted with wealth are ungrateful towards Him. It is as if God considers the ungrateful beneath the horses in merit.^{‎[9]Ḥabīb Kāẓimī, al-Sirāj al-Munīr, p. 334.} Furthermore, the ordinance of jihad is given to rebuke and belittle the ungrateful on account of their own misguidance.^{‎[10]Ḥabīb Kāẓimī, al-Sirāj al-Munīr, p. 334.}

Human beings exist and are gifted with physical strength and the ability to observe, ponder, and reflect upon the wonders and beauties of life. However, individuals far from any moral precepts, whose hearts are void of divine light and who are defeated by worldly whims and desires, are identified as ungrateful.^{‎[11]Amthal, 20/396.}

A faithless person remembers times of calamities and will often complain loudly, and in contrast he overlooks and ignores divine blessings; Indeed man has been created covetous, anxious when an ill befalls him, and grudging when good comes his way (70:19-21).^{‎[12]ʿAbd al-Husayn Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, 14/204.} The downfall of the human being results from the obliviousness of divine bounties which is the source of creation and sustenance.

God’s oath reflected in this verse gives special awareness that a man without faith is naturally ungrateful and impure in religious affairs.^{‎[13]Maybudi, 10/588.} He is oblivious, heedless, drowning in his own greed and miserliness, neglects to remember divine bounties, and constantly remembers – as if never forgetting – the adversities and misfortunes in life.^{‎[14]ʿAbd al-Husayn Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, 14/204.}  

Such dispositions – if left untreated – will not allow the individual to ponder beyond what is present in the physical world. This drives the human being away from God’s remembrance, and further obfuscates the recognition of divine blessings. This aids in disbelief and refusal of His divine law. Ultimately, all potential spiritual growth is ignored.

There are many who are thankful, altruistic, and selfless in the way of God, and with the belief embedded within them they can free themselves from their low desires and develop a praiseworthy character.^{‎[15]Amthal, 20/396.} The method in which man is described in this verse refers to those who consistently give in to their desires, branded as rejecters and deniers of God’s infinite bounties.^{‎[16]Nawawi, 2/658.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. It is narrated by Abū Umāmah, from the Messenger of God: ‘Kanūd is the one who does not aid others, eats alone, and punishes [starves] his servants.’^{‎[17]Tabrisi, 10/804.}

Note: Ibn Abbas opines that kanūd is about Qurṭ ibn ʿAbd-Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn Nawfal al-Qurashī, who was known to eat and fill his belly alone, beat his servants, and would not give anything to his people.^{‎[18]Nawawi, 2/658.} If the above narration and the account of Ibn Abbas are correct, they refer to a practical instance of kanūd.

2. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), explaining Indeed man is ungrateful to his Lord, said: ‘Kanūd is the one who rejects the authority (wilāyah) of Imam Ali (a).’^{‎[19]Burhan, 5/737.}

Note: This is an application of the verse about those who had knowledge about the wilāyah of Imam Ali (a) but rejected it, which led to their rejection of the command of God.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

A question arises among the exegetes: does man refer to the whole of mankind, or does it speak of a specific group? Rāzī, among others, explains the invalidity of the first meaning, concluding that this verse is in specific relation to the disbelievers. Alternatively, adjusting the interpretation, the verse can apply to the whole of mankind except those who are purified by God through his special grace and blessings.

There is a consensus among the exegetes with the first opinion, the evidence of which stems from Ibn Abbas, who says it is regarding Qurṭ ibn ʿAbd-Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn Nawfal al-Qurashī.^{‎[20]Razi, 36/262.}

[1] Tahqiq, 10/130.
[2] Raghib, p. 727; Bahrayn, 3/138.
[3] Ayn, 5/331; Dukhayyil, p. 823.
[4] Amthal, 20/395.
[5] Razi, 32/261; Ibn Kathir, 8/446.
[6] Razi, 32/261.
[7] Razi, 32/261.
[8] Andulusi, 5/515.
[9] Ḥabīb Kāẓimī, al-Sirāj al-Munīr, p. 334.
[10] Ḥabīb Kāẓimī, al-Sirāj al-Munīr, p. 334.
[11] Amthal, 20/396.
[12] ʿAbd al-Husayn Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, 14/204.
[13] Maybudi, 10/588.
[14] ʿAbd al-Husayn Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, 14/204.
[15] Amthal, 20/396.
[16] Nawawi, 2/658.
[17] Tabrisi, 10/804.
[18] Nawawi, 2/658.
[19] Burhan, 5/737.
[20] Razi, 36/262.