۞ وَإِذَا مَسَّ الْإِنسَانَ ضُرٌّ دَعَا رَبَّهُ مُنِيبًا إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ إِذَا خَوَّلَهُ نِعْمَةً مِّنْهُ نَسِيَ مَا كَانَ يَدْعُو إِلَيْهِ مِن قَبْلُ وَجَعَلَ لِلَّهِ أَندَادًا لِّيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ۚ قُلْ تَمَتَّعْ بِكُفْرِكَ قَلِيلًا ۖ إِنَّكَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ (8)
(39:8) When any affliction befalls man, *23 he cries out to his Lord, penitently turning to Him. *24 But when his Lord bestows His favour upon him, he forgets the affliction regarding which he had cried out *25 and sets up compeers to Allah *26 that they may lead others astray from His Path. *27 Say, (O Prophet): 'Enjoy your unbelief for a while. Surely you will be among the inmates of the Fire.'
*23) "The man": the disbeliever who adopted the way of ingratitude.
*24) That is, "At that time he dces not remember those other deities whom he used to invoke in good times; but he despairs of them all and turns only to Allah, Lord of the worlds." This is a clear proof of the fact that in the depths of his heart he has the feeling that all other deities are helpless, and the realization that Allah alone is the Possessor of all powers and authority, lies buried and hidden deep in his mind. "
*25) That is, "He again forgets the bad times when abandoning all other deities he was invoking only Allah, the One."
*26) That is, "He again starts serving others: he obeys them, prays to them and makes offerings before them."
*27) That is, "He is not content with his own self having gone astray, but also leads others astray, telling them that the affliction which had befallen him, had been averted by the help of such and such a pious man or saint, or god and goddess." Thus, many other people also put their faith in these deities besides Allah, and are further misled as the ignorant and foolish people describe their experiences before them.