وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ ٱلضُّرُّ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ ۖ فَلَمَّا نَجَّىٰكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْبَرِّ أَعْرَضْتُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ كَفُورًا 67
Translations
And when adversity touches you at sea, lost are [all] those you invoke except for Him. But when He delivers you to the land, you turn away [from Him]. And ever is man ungrateful.
Transliteration
Wa-itha massa-kumu al-durru fi al-bahr dalla man tad'un illa iyyah, fa-lamma najja-kum ila al-barr a'rada-tum, wa-kana al-insanu kafura.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the human tendency toward ingratitude and polytheism: when people face hardship at sea, they abandon their false deities and call upon Allah alone in desperation, yet when He saves them and brings them to safety on land, they return to associating partners with Him and forget their covenant. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize this as a profound example of mankind's inherent forgetfulness (nisyan) and ingratitude (kufran), demonstrating the weakness of human nature without divine guidance.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Al-Isra, a Meccan surah that addresses the spiritual condition of the disbelievers. The passage is contextually situated within a broader theme of the surah concerning Allah's signs and mankind's rejection of them. While no specific asbab al-nuzul (occasion of revelation) is historically documented for this particular verse, it reflects the universal pattern of human behavior that the Quran repeatedly condemns.
Related Hadiths
The theme of forgetting Allah's blessings is reinforced in numerous hadiths. One relevant tradition from Sunan Ibn Majah relates to the Prophet's (ﷺ) warning about ingratitude: 'The worst of people are those who, when given blessings, become heedless of their Lord.' Additionally, Sahih Bukhari contains hadiths emphasizing that true servitude requires constant remembrance of Allah and gratitude in all circumstances.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that true faith requires consistent devotion to Allah in both times of ease and hardship, not merely opportunistic calls in moments of crisis. It serves as a humbling reminder to examine our own hearts for signs of ingratitude and forgetfulness, and to cultivate sincere, continuous gratitude for Allah's blessings.
Related Ayahs
وَقَضَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا
And We conveyed to the Children of Israel in the Scripture that, "You will surely cause corruption on the earth twice, and you will surely reach [a degree of] great haughtiness."
أَفَأَمِنتُمْ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمْ جَانِبَ ٱلْبَرِّ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا۟ لَكُمْ وَكِيلًا
Then do you feel secure that [instead] He will not cause a part of the land to swallow you or send against you a storm of stones? Then you would not find for yourselves an advocate.
۞ وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلْنَـٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَـٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَـٰهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا
And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.
وَرَبُّكَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَلَقَدْ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَا دَاوُۥدَ زَبُورًا
And your Lord is most knowing of whoever is in the heavens and the earth. And We have made some of the prophets exceed others [in various ways], and to David We gave the book [of Psalms].