51 Preface وَإِذا أَنعَمنا عَلَى الإِنسانِ أَعرَضَ وَنَأىٰ بِجانِبِهِ وَإِذا مَسَّهُ الشَّرُّ فَذو دُعاءٍ عَريضٍYusuf AliWhen We bestow favours1 on man, he turns away, and gets himself remote on his side (instead of2 coming to Us); and when evil seizes him, (he comes) full of prolonged prayer!The last verse and note dealt with men’s distortion of the values of life. Here we come to men’s ingratitude and hypocrisy. If they receive good, they go farther away from God, instead of coming nearer to him. If they suffer ill, they call on God and offer prolonged prayers, but it is not sincere devotion and therefore worthless.Cf. 17:83.