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wa-yadʿu l-ʾinsānu bi-sh-sharri duʿāʾahū bi-l-khayri wa-kāna l-ʾinsānu ʿajūlan
Man prays for ill as [avidly as] he prays for good, and man is overhasty.
— Ali Quli Qarai
17Al-Isrā’الإسراءVerse 11 of 111
The Night Journey17. Al-Isrā’الإسراء
Al Isrā’
The Night Journey
MeccanVerse 11 of 111
Surah Isra’ – Verse 11
11. “And man prays for evil as he prays for the good; and man is ever hasty.”
There are frequent references made to the haste by man and his aspiration for the evil in the Qur’an. The Prophet (S) is addressed in a verse:
“And they ask you to hasten on the evil (the Chastisement) before the good…” 1
The verse signifies that: They expect quick punishment to be administered from him. In another verse, quoting the unbelievers, it says:
“…then rain down upon us stones from the sky, or bring us a painful punishment.” 2
This kind of ‘haste’ has its origin in ignorance, hostility, and fanaticism. At any rate, we find in this noble verse and in line with the previous discussions that one of the main causes of disbelief is lack of adequate study into the matters, and it is so because man is instinctively hasty. Alluding to the matter, it declares:
“And man prays for evil as he prays for the good; and man is ever hasty.”
In fact, the man’s haste has its origin in his aspiration for acquiring greater amounts of benefits, and his haste for the acquisition of the ‘good’ and the ‘benefits’ causes him not to take into consideration the entire perspective and dimensions of the issues. It so happens that such haste does not lead him to the point where he would be able to differentiate what is truly ‘good’ and ‘beneficial’ for him. On the other hand, his passions and low desires will turn and expose differently the true face of reality in his eyes, therefore, he paves the way to aspire and follow what is evil.
It is in this case that man aspires for the evil much in the same way that he aspires for the good, and it is owing to his misconception about what is good and what is evil. It also applies in the same manner that one struggles to obtain what is evil and to follow what is evil as if he struggles to attain what is good. It is a foregone conclusion that such a great calamity exists for humankind and it is an amazing obstacle which obstructs the path of happiness which in turn results in regret and in damages.
In an Islamic tradition quoted from the Messenger of Allah (S), he says:
“Haste brings forth the people’s destruction; if the people did their jobs with deliberation, no one would annihilate.”
Certainly, in Islamic quotations, we have a chapter on the issue of ‘speed’ and ‘agility’ with respect to the good deeds, among which one can cite a tradition by the blissful Prophet (S) saying:
“Allah admires that good act which is hastened to be performed.”
At any rate, ‘haste’ is a demising attribute when one might engage in his study and verification of the dimension of a certain thing. Nevertheless, speedy action is required in case the necessary process of decision-making has been achieved, and any sort of delays in that case is detrimental. Therefore, it is for this reason that we read in Islamic quotations:
“Speed up in doing decent jobs.”
That is, once it is certain and proven that a task is good to be performed, there is no room left for any delays. Generally speaking, haste is inherent in human nature, but one must first recognize where to use it properly.
Footnotes