36 Preface وَإِذا أَذَقنَا النّاسَ رَحمَةً فَرِحوا بِها ۖ وَإِن تُصِبهُم سَيِّئَةٌ بِما قَدَّمَت أَيديهِم إِذا هُم يَقنَطونَYusuf AliWhen We give men a taste of Mercy,1 they exult thereat: and when some evil afflicts them because of what their (own) hands have sent forth, behold, they are in despair!Cf. 30:33. In that passage the unreasonable behaviour of men in sorrow and in affluence is considered with reference to their attitude to God: in distress they turn to Him, but in prosperity they turn to other things. Here the contrast in the two situations is considered with reference to men’s inner psychology: in affluence they are puffed up and unduly elated, and in adversity they lose all heart. Both attitudes are wrong. In prosperity men should realise that it is not their merits that deserve all the Bounty of God, but that it is given out of God’s abundant generosity; in adversity they should remember that their suffering is brought on by their own folly and sin, and humbly pray for God’s grace and mercy, in order that they may be set on their feet again. For, as the next verse points out, God gives opportunities, gifts, and the good things of life to every one, but in greater or lesser measure, and at some time or other, according to His All-Wise Plan, which is the expression of His Holy and benevolent Will (see also 42:48).