Transliteration:( Laqad khalaqnal insaana fee kabad )
4. In that man has been surrounded with such creational and religious problems like water is in the container i.e. He had created man without knowledge, inflicted thousands of diseases on him, earning his sustenance his responsibility, made him needy of food, clothes and home. This burden has not been placed on the angels, jinns and animals. In addition, millions of responsibilities of the world and the Hereafter have been placed on man. Also, pangs of death, fear of the grave, fear of accountability on the Day of Judgement too are placed on him. May Allah Almighty let all these pass successfully. It should be remembered that in these numerous hardships and difficulties there are countless Divine wisdoms. Our baser self is like a wild horse. If the reign of these hardships is not placed in its mouth to keep it in check, it will most certainly destroy us.
Despite these hardships, it is man who has claimed divinity. It is man who became false prophets. Oppression, brutality and blood is shed by man. The souls of the beloved servants of Allah Almighty are not base or evil. For them these hardships are a means of obtaining higher status. In short, we are that impure iron which melts in the furnace and with the beating of the hammer is made pure. But the pious servants are pure gold, which is melted in the furnace to gain the nearness of the Beloved like owners of the jewellery. It should be remembered that for all these hardships the best remedy is the remembrance of Allah Almighty. The administration of anesthetic does not let the patient feel the pain of the operation. Through the injection of the remembrance of Allah Almighty no pain of these hardships is felt. When the ladies of Egypt became deeply absorbed in the beauty of Hazrat Yusuf (On whom be peace) they did not feel the pain of their fingers being cut.
The tafsir of Surah Balad verse 4 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Balad ayat 1 which provides the complete commentary from verse 1 through 10.
(90:4) Verily We have created man into toil and hardship.[5]
5. This is that for which the oaths as mentioned above have been sworn. Man’s being created in toil means that man in this world has not been created to enjoy himself and live a life of ease and comfort, but the world for him is a place of enduring and undergoing toil, labor and hardship, and no man can be immune from this. The city of Makkah is a witness that a servant of Allah toiled and struggled hard, then only did it become a city and the centre of Arabia. In this city of Makkah the condition of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a witness that he is enduring every kind of hardship for the sake of a mission; so much so that there is full peace here for the wild animals but no peace for him. Then, every man’s survival, from the time he is conceived in the mother’s womb till the last breath of life, is a witness that he has to pass through trouble, toil, labor, dangers and hardships at every step. The most fortunate of us is also exposed to grave dangers of death before birth or of elimination by abortion while in the mother’s womb. At birth he is only a hair-breadth away from death. After birth he is so helpless that had there not been somebody to look after him, he would perish uncared for and unnoticed. When he became able to walk he stumbled at every step. From childhood to youth and old age he had to pass through such physical changes that if any change had taken a wrong turn, his very life would have been at stake. Even if he is a king or a dictator, at no time he enjoys internal peace from the fear that a rebellion might arise against him somewhere. Even if he is a conqueror he is never at peace from the danger that one of his generals might rise in revolt against him. Even if he is a Korah of his time, he is ever anxious to increase his wealth and to safeguard it. Thus, there is no one who may be enjoying perfect peace freely and without hesitation, for man indeed has been created into a life of toil and trouble.
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