فَأَمَّا الإِنسانُ إِذا مَا ابتَلاهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقولُ رَبّي أَكرَمَنِ

وَأَمّا إِذا مَا ابتَلاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيهِ رِزقَهُ فَيَقولُ رَبّي أَهانَنِ

As for man, whenever his Lord tests him and grants him honour and blesses him, he says: ‘My Lord has honoured me.’

But when He tests him and tightens for him his provisions, he says: ‘My Lord has humiliated me.’

EXEGESIS

In verse 15, the third person, singular, perfect tense verb naʿʿama means to grant good living, a life of ease and comfort.^{‎[1]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 950.}

In verse 16, the third person, singular, perfect tense verb qadara has polyvalent meanings ascribed to it. Here it is used to mean: to straiten, to give in meagre quantity.^{‎[2]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 740.} Imam al-Riḍā (a) explained this word by employing two synonyms, saying: ‘It means to straiten and stint.’^{‎[3]Burhan, 5/655.} The third person, singular, perfect tense verb ahāna means to disgrace, humiliate, and demean.^{‎[4]Burhan, 5/995.}

EXPOSITION

These two verses broach the subject of the phenomenon of tests and trials in the life of mankind. They describe that the nature of man seems to be such that only when it is granted a comfortable and easy life, full of abundance and lacking nothing, is when it feels and judges that it has been honoured and blessed by God, while if the contrary occurs then it feels and judges that it has been disgraced and humiliated by God.

However, both the states of abundance and deprivation could be and are sources of tests and trials for mankind, which is the ultimate purpose of human life. In 76:3 God says that man is created in order to be tested, while 11:7 says that God created the heavens and the earth in order to try and test human beings. In 29:1-3 God asks rhetorically if those who bring faith in God will not be tested. Then He immediately replies emphatically in the affirmative, insisting that they will be tried as were tried those before them. The prophets of God were also tested, while the various Quranic verses and the life of Prophet Muhammad (s) attest to the many trials that came his way. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘The Messenger of God (s) was asked: “Who is the most afflicted of mankind with trials in the world?” He replied: “The prophets, then those most similar to them, and so on in descending order.”’^{‎[5]Kafi, 2/252, h. 2.} Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) also said: ‘When you are afflicted with an ordeal then recollect the ordeals of the Messenger of God (s), for mankind has never been afflicted with ordeals such as his and nor will they ever be afflicted with ordeals such as his.’^{‎[6]Amali.T, p. 681, h. 1448.}

However, God tests by various means, which are not limited to ordeals and tribulations; rather, God tests by means of abundance and prosperity as well as deprivation, contrary to popular conceptions of divine tests which tend to limit these to deprivations and ordeals and all things perceived as negative. God tests by means of fear, hunger, and loss of wealth, lives, and fruits (2:155-157). He tests by means of the blessings of this earth (18:7) and the finery of this life (20:131). He tests by means of wealth and children (64:15, 8:28), and by means of variances in grades and stations (6:165). Thus, it is apparent that God tests by means of both good and evil (7:168, 21:35) just as is mentioned in verses 15 and 16 of this surah. Consequently, Ṭabrisī concludes that both instances – abundance and tightening of provisions – are a test as both instances fall within the purview of man’s free will and choice. In instances of abundance man could either be grateful or ungrateful, and in instances of scarcity and deprivation he could either be patient or irritable. So the wisdom in both instances is the same and this is similar to 21:35.^{‎[7]Tabrisi.J, 6/488.}

But why does God test? The Quran is replete with answers to this question. God tests in order to distinguish between the truthful in faith and those lying in hypocrisy (29:1-3, 3:151-153, 16:92, 5:94, 3:140-141), to distinguish between the obedient and the disobedient (2:249), and between the grateful and the ungrateful (27:40). He tests in order to give the transgressing people an opportunity to pay heed and repent (7:163), He tests in order to give them an opportunity to return to the right path (7:168), He tests in order to distinguish between those who strive and are patient and those who do not strive and are impatient (10:31, 2:155-157, 3:186, 47:31), He tests in order to prove who is best in good deeds and conduct (18:7, 67:2, 11:7), and who guards against evil and who does not (3:186).

Thus Ṭūsī writes that the third person, singular, perfect tense verb ibtalā (to test), which occurs in both verses 15 and 16, means the eliciting and manifesting of that which is in a person, of good or evil, by means of poverty or abundance, ease or distress. Hence, if a person reacted by reason of his intelligence then good would manifest from him, while if he reacted on the basis of his temper then evil would manifest from him.^{‎[8]Tibyan, 10/345.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘There is no withholding [of blessings] or extension [of the same] save that it is a favour and a test from God.’^{‎[9]Tawhid, p. 354, h. 1.}
2. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘There is no withholding or extension in the commands or prohibitions of God save that it consists of a test and a judgement from God.’^{‎[10]Tawhid, p. 354, h. 3.}
3. Imam al-Kāẓim (a) said: ‘God, the glorified and exalted, said: “I did not enrich the wealthy because I considered them honourable, nor did I impoverish the destitute because I considered them abject and worthy of humiliation. Rather, this is how I test the rich by the poor. If there were no poor people, the rich people would not merit paradise.”’^{‎[11]Mishkat, pp. 288-289.}
4. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘A slave of God is not granted something from the world save as a means for learning lessons and taking warnings. Nor is anything taken away from him save as a trial.’^{‎[12]Mishkat, p. 126.}
5. Imam al-Bāqir (a) narrates from the Messenger of God that God the exalted said: ‘Some of My believing servants are such that their religious affairs will improve if they are healthy and wealthy. Therefore, I test them by making them healthy and wealthy. But some other believing servants are such that their religious affairs will not improve unless they are poor and physically ill, so I test them by using illness and poverty. I am more aware of what improves the religious affairs of My believing servants.’^{‎[13]Mishkat, p. 127.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

The man mentioned in verse 15 is suggested in some commentaries to refer to either a certain Ubayy ibn Khalaf or Umayyah ibn Khalaf.^{‎[14]Ibn Abbas, p. 754.} However, Tabatabai wrote that it refers to the entire species of man,^{‎[15]Mizan, 20/282.} i.e. the generic ‘man’ in English, and therefore as applying to both men and women.^{‎[16]The Qur’an: A New Translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, p. 420 (footnote g).}

[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 950.
[2] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 740.
[3] Burhan, 5/655.
[4] Burhan, 5/995.
[5] Kafi, 2/252, h. 2.
[6] Amali.T, p. 681, h. 1448.
[7] Tabrisi.J, 6/488.
[8] Tibyan, 10/345.
[9] Tawhid, p. 354, h. 1.
[10] Tawhid, p. 354, h. 3.
[11] Mishkat, pp. 288-289.
[12] Mishkat, p. 126.
[13] Mishkat, p. 127.
[14] Ibn Abbas, p. 754.
[15] Mizan, 20/282.
[16] The Qur’an: A New Translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, p. 420 (footnote g).