قُتِلَ الإِنسانُ ما أَكفَرَهُ

Perish man! How ungrateful is he!

EXEGESIS

Mā akfarahu (how ungrateful is he): kufr originally means to cover or hide something. A person who is faithless and denies the truth of religion is called a kāfir because he has attempted to conceal the truth.^{‎[1]Maqayis, 5/191, k-f-r.}
An aspect of kufr is what is called kufr al-niʿmah, which is to be disregardful and ungrateful of God’s bounties and blessings, as if concealing the favours given to them by God.

Grammatically, mā akfarahu can be interpreted in two ways. The first is that mā is interrogative (istifhāmī), and is used here as a rhetorical question, in which case the phrase would mean: what has made him succumb to kufr? Another possibility is that mā is exclamatory (taʿajjub), in which case mā akfarahu can then be understood as a superlative, meaning: there is no one more preponderant in kufr than him.^{‎[2]See Tibyan, 10/272; Tabrisi, 10/665; Tabari, 30/35. The latter meaning is of course more emphatic (Mizan, 20/206).}

EXPOSITION

After the description of the sacredness of divine revelation and how it is carried to mankind by the most honoured of God’s servants, the surah now presents a rhetorical question, inquiring how it is possible that despite such hallowed and clear communications there are still people who choose to turn proudly away from the divine message and disregard it. So the verse begins with a curse directed at those people who dare turn away from God’s divine gift, Perish man!

This is a curse with the most severe of condemnations, expressing astonishment at man’s extreme ingratitude. Despite its brevity, the phrase conveys immense wrath and profound censure.^{‎[3]Baydawi, 5/287.}
It is a metaphor, indicating that they have reached such a level of ugliness that they no longer deserve life. The root of this repulsiveness lies in their forgetfulness of the blessings they live amidst, and their heedlessness toward the One who bestows them, to the point that when reminded of the truth, they turn away from the reminder.^{‎[4]Kashif, 7/519.}

How ungrateful is he!: this may be a condemnation of man in general because in the majority of cases his nature drives him to indulge in following his desires, forget his Lord’s sovereignty, and to arrogantly refuse to obey His commands.^{‎[5]Mizan, 20/205.}
Alternatively, it may be condemnation of the unfaithful because of their astonishing disregard of the blessings of their Lord. It expresses astonishment at the extremity of their disbelief and their covering of the clear truth. God has given man great potential, indeed the best of potentials. Because of this, the one who wastes this divine gift and instead chooses to embrace vanity, pride, rebellion, lust, and other vices has squandered so much that he becomes the lowliest of creatures.

The intended meaning of kufr (disbelief) here is the covering of the truth in general, and it applies to both the denial of divine lordship and the abandonment of worship. This is supported by what follows in the verse, which alludes to aspects of divine management that correspond to kufr in the sense of concealing the truth and neglecting God’s favours and refusing to worship Him.

We mentioned how the verse can be understood in two ways, and this sort of ambivalence is prevalent throughout the Quran and adds to its richness, as the reader ponders on the truth of both possible meanings. Is man truly the most prone to kufr? Indeed man is very ungrateful (kafūr) (22:66). If that is so, it brings a person to the second possible meaning of the verse: why is he like that? In this surah, the theme has been dealing with pride. Wealth, power, intelligence, physical prowess, beauty: these are often the causes of pride; O man! What has deceived you about your generous Lord (82:6). Pondering this brings man to a bleak realisation of his own nature; the more God gives him, the more he tends to turn away from Him. Indeed man becomes rebellious when he considers himself without need (96:6-7). God’s gifts and bounties make a person rebel against the very one who generously bestowed them upon him. If this is not ungratefulness, then what is?

It is only by this that man understands his own predicament; God wishes to give him all that he wants, but the problem is that if He were to do that, it would act as fuel for his self-destruction. The examples of nations and individuals in the past and present are plenty. So it is that God must wisely dispense of His bounty in a measured manner, Were Allah to expand the provision for His servants, they would surely create havoc on the earth. But He sends down in a [precise] measure whatever He wishes. Indeed, He is all-aware, all-seeing about His servants (42:27).

For more discussion on the majority of people not having faith, see verse 12:40.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

It is reported from ʿIkramah that this verse was revealed about ʿUtbah ibn Abī Lahab.^{‎[6]Alusi, 15/245.}
He was angered by his father, so he converted to Islam [to oppose him]. Later, his father reconciled with him and gave him money and prepared him for a journey to Syria. Before leaving, ʿUtbah sent a message to the Prophet, saying: ‘I disbelieve in the Lord of the star when it sets,’ referring to Sūrat al-Najm. The Prophet then supplicated that God should send ‘His dog, the lion of al-Ghāḍirah’ to devour ʿUtbah. ʿUtbah one day went with a caravan to trade in the Levant, in al-Ghāḍirah, when he remembered this supplication of the Prophet. Terrified, he offered his companions a thousand dinars if he survived until morning. They placed him in the middle of the caravan, surrounding him with luggage for protection. But a lion came, leaped over everything, and tore him to pieces. His father later mourned him, weeping and saying: ‘Whatever Muhammad says, always comes true.’

Thaʿlabī and Baghawī report from Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, ‘that he heard it was revealed about ʿUtbah’,^{‎[7]Thalabi, 10/132; Baghawi, 5/211.}
without providing any more detail. Qurṭubī reports the claim from Ibn Abbas.^{‎[8]Qurtubi, 19/217-218; Muhit, 10/408. Suyūṭī offers a briefer report from ʿIkramah, transmitted by Ibn al-Mundhir (Suyuti, 6/315).}
However, if we accept these reports about what happened with ʿUtbah, it is highly doubtful that this verse was revealed about him. It may be merely an example of the application of the verse to a specific case.

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. ‘For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.’^{‎[9]Romans 1:21.}
   

Note: Here Paul identifies ingratitude as the initial moral failing that leads to spiritual downfall.

2. ‘Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”’^{‎[10]Isaiah 1:2-3.}
   

Note: This passage frames rebellion against God not merely as disobedience, but as a display of ingratitude despite all man has been given.

[1] Maqayis, 5/191, k-f-r.
[2] See Tibyan, 10/272; Tabrisi, 10/665; Tabari, 30/35. The latter meaning is of course more emphatic (Mizan, 20/206).
[3] Baydawi, 5/287.
[4] Kashif, 7/519.
[5] Mizan, 20/205.
[6] Alusi, 15/245.
[7] Thalabi, 10/132; Baghawi, 5/211.
[8] Qurtubi, 19/217-218; Muhit, 10/408. Suyūṭī offers a briefer report from ʿIkramah, transmitted by Ibn al-Mundhir (Suyuti, 6/315).
[9] Romans 1:21.
[10] Isaiah 1:2-3.