33 Preface وَإِذا مَسَّ النّاسَ ضُرٌّ دَعَوا رَبَّهُم مُنيبينَ إِلَيهِ ثُمَّ إِذا أَذاقَهُم مِنهُ رَحمَةً إِذا فَريقٌ مِنهُم بِرَبِّهِم يُشرِكونَYusuf AliWhen trouble touches men, they cry to their Lord,1 turning back to Him in repentance: but when He gives them a taste of Mercy as from Himself, behold, some of them pay part-worship to other god?s besides their Lord,-Cf. 10:12- It is trouble, distress, or adversity that makes men realise their helplessness and turns their attention back to the true Source of all goodness and happiness. But when they are shown special Mercy-often more than they deservethey forget themselves and attribute it to their own cleverness, or to the stars, or to some false ideas to which they pay court and worship, either to the exclusion of God or in addition to the lip-worship which they pay to God. Their action in any case amounts to gross ingratitude; but in the circumstances it looks as if they had gone out of their way to show ingratitude.