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wa-la-qad ṣarrafnā fī hādhā l-qurʾāni li-n-nāsi min kulli mathalin wa-kāna l-ʾinsānu ʾakthara shayʾin jadalan
We have certainly interspersed this Quran with every kind of parable for the people. But man is the most disputatious of creatures.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Kahf – Verses 54 - 55
54. “And indeed We have explained in this Qur’an every kind of similitude for mankind, but man, of most things, is contentious.”
55. “And naught prevented men from believing when the guidance came unto them, and seeking their Lord’s forgiveness, except that the wont of the ancients should come upon them, or that the chastisement should come face to face with them.”
The Qur’anic term /sarrafna/, in this verse, means that ‘We have spoken to them in different statements and through any style and logic which may affect on them’. The Arabic word /jidal/ means ‘dispute’ in a form of conflict and demand of preference. Beside the positive qualities the man has, like having a divine spirit, being superior to the angels with their prostration unto him, having the ability of penetration and subjecting the existence to himself, and the like of them, he has also many negative epithets, such as disputation, which have been referred to in the verses of the Qur’an.
Then, in this holy verse: the Qur’an deduces a kind of conclusion from the last discussions, and it also hints to the coming discussions. At first, it says:
These explanations include the shaking history of the old nations and the painful events of their lives, and that what happened before. They were described for the people whether they were sweet or bitter. The affairs were so much detailed that those hearts which were receptive and eager to receive the truth, might grasp the truth, and there remained no room for obscurity. Yet, some rebellious arrogant people never believed, because man, more than anything else, tends to dispute.
The verse says:
Then, in the next verse, it implies that with these many different examples and through some shaking statements and various logical reasoning, which must absorb any receptive person, again a great group of people did not believe. Of course, nothing restrained them that when the Divine guidance came to them they would believe and seek forgiveness from their Lord, save that they acted obstinately as if they wanted the fate of the ancient to come for them, too, or the divine punishment should come in front of them and they see it by their own eyes.
The verse says:
In fact, the abovementioned verse points to this fact that this arrogant and obstinate group will never believe with their willing and decision. They may believe only in two circumstances. The first is at the time when the painful punishments, which seized the ancient nations, surround them. The second circumstance is that they do see the divine punishment with their own eyes. This constrained faith, of course, will be worthless.