Surah Al-Mu'minun, Ayah 79

وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَـهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ

(And indeed We seized them with punishment,) means, `We tried and tested them with difficulties and calamities.' His saying:

فَمَا اسْتَكَانُواْ لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ

(but they humbled not themselves to their Lord, nor did they invoke with submission to Him.) means, that did not deter them from their disbelief and resistance, rather they persisted in their sin and misguidance,

فَمَا اسْتَكَانُواْ

(but they humbled not themselves)

وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ

(nor did they invoke (Allah) with submission to Him. ) they did not call on Him. This is like the Ayah:

فَلَوْلا إِذْ جَآءَهُمْ بَأْسُنَا تَضَرَّعُواْ وَلَـكِن قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ

وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَ‌بِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّ‌عُونَ

And We have already seized them with punishment, but they did not turn humble to their Lord, nor do they supplicate in humility. (23:76)

In the preceding verse it has been stated that when the unbelievers are subjected to chastisement for their sins, they plead to Allah and the Holy Prophet ﷺ for mercy and when Allah who is Merciful relieves their suffering, they return to their evil practices and wicked deeds. This verse relates a similar instance when the unbelievers were punished for their misdeeds. However when they were delivered from their sufferings as a result of the intercession by the Holy Prophet ﷺ on their behalf, they did not humble themselves before Allah but persisted in idolatry and unbelief.

In the Makkan period of Islam when the Quraysh rejected the Prophet Muhammad, God imposed famine conditions on the people of Makkah for several years. In accordance with God’s scheme of things, when a community adopts an arrogant attitude and does not accept good advice, He administers a warning punishment to that community in order to soften their hearts and make them pay attention to the Truth. But, events show that man does not learn lessons either from good or adverse conditions. The purpose of both ease and adversity is that man should turn towards God. But, man thinks that the coming of good times is the result of his own talents, while he attributes hard times to the turn of events. In this way he fails to learn a lesson from either set of conditions. Man remains heedless in this way until it is time for God’s final verdict. At that time, he is wonderstruck that what he had considered unimportant and ignored, was the greatest and most important reality of this world.