Al Mu’minūn

وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبّـِهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ

76. “And indeed We inflicted chastisement on them, but they were not submissive unto their Lord, nor do they humble themselves, ”

An Islamic tradition says that the Arabic word /’istikanat/ means ‘to humble oneself’, and the word /tadarru‘/ means ‘to raise the hands in supplication’. The previous verse was about the obstinate unbelievers, indicating that if Allah had mercy on them they would obstinate and do not improve themselves. It indicates Allah grasped them with punishment, but they did not humble themselves unto their Lord, because: there is often no use in preaching to a black hearted one.

The verse also implies that sometimes they were taught a lesson through calamities to be on their guard but they had no effect upon them. The verse says:

“And indeed We inflicted chastisement on them, but they were not submissive unto their Lord, nor do they humble themselves, ”

The Qur’anic word /tadarru‘/ is derived from the Arabic word /dara‘a/, which means to grasp an udder, and the word /tadarru‘/ means the one who milks. This word has been extended to mean the yielding associated with humility. Thus the verse implies that these catastrophic events did not remove them from the state of conceit and transgression and they did not submit the truth. If some narrations say that the word /tadarru‘/ means raising the hands at the time of prayer and supplication, this is actually expressing one of the extensions of this vast meaning.