Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Isra Verse 11

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Man prays for evil like his prayer for good, and man is so hasty.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

And humans ˹swiftly˺ pray for evil[[ Some people are quick to pray against themselves or others in times of anger and frustration. ]] as they pray for good. For humankind is ever hasty.

Ruwwad Translation Center

Man prays for evil as he prays for good, for man is ever hasty.

A. J. Arberry

Man prays for evil, as he prays for good; man is ever hasty.

Abdul Haleem

Yet man prays for harm, just as he prays for good: man is ever hasty.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And man prayeth for evil the prayer he should make for good, and man is ever hasty.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The prayer that man should make for good, he maketh for evil; for man is given to hasty (deeds).

Abul Ala Maududi

Man prays for evil in the manner he ought to pray for good. Man is ever hasty.

Ahmed Ali

Man prays for evil as he prays for good, for man is hasty.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And man prays for evil like the way he seeks goodness; and man is very hasty.

Ali Quli Qarai

Man prays for ill as [avidly as] he prays for good, and man is overhasty.

Ali Ünal

Yet human (through his actions as well as his words) prays and calls for evil just as he prays and calls for good. Human is prone to be hasty.

Amatul Rahman Omar

As it is (many a time) a human being prays and calls for evil to himself as he ought to pray and call for good. Human being is ever extremely hasty.

English Literal

And the human/mankind calls/prays with the bad/evil/harm (as) his call/prayer with the better/wealth , and the human/mankind was hurrying/hastening .

Faridul Haque

And man prays for evil like the way he seeks goodness; and man is very hasty.

Hamid S. Aziz

Man prays for evil as (or when) he prays for good (or he makes his prayer evil or prays for evil when it should be for good); for man was ever hasty (or impatient or superficial).

Hilali & Khan

And man invokes (Allah) for evil as he invokes (Allah) for good and man is ever hasty [i.e., if he is angry with somebody, he invokes (saying): "O Allah! Curse him, etc." and that one should not do, but one should be patient].

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And that those who believe not in the Hereafter, We have prepared for them a painful chastisement.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And man prays for evil as he ought to pray for good, and man is ever hasty.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Man prayeth for evil as he prayeth for good; for man was ever hasty.

Muhammad Sarwar

People pray as earnestly to gain evil as one should to gain virtue. But people are hasty.

Qaribullah & Darwish

Yet the human prays for evil as he prays for good mankind is always hasty.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And man invokes (Allah) for evil as he invokes (Allah) for good and man is ever hasty.

Wahiduddin Khan

Yet man asks for evil as eagerly as he should ask for good. Truly, man is indeed hasty.

Talal Itani

The human being prays for evil as he prays for good. The human being is very hasty.

Tafsir jalalayn

And man prays for ill, against himself and his family when he is frustrated, as [avidly as] he prays for good. And mankind is ever hasty, to pray against himself, without contemplating the consequence thereof.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Man's Haste and Prayers against Himself

Allah tells;

وَيَدْعُ الاِنسَانُ بِالشَّرِّ دُعَاءهُ بِالْخَيْرِ

And man invokes (Allah) for evil as he invokes (Allah) for good and man is ever hasty.

Allah tells us about man's haste and how he sometimes prays against himself or his children or his wealth, praying for something bad to happen for them, or for them to die or be destroyed, invoking curses, etc. If Allah were to answer his prayer, he would be destroyed because of it, as Allah says;

وَلَوْ يُعَجِّلُ اللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ الشَّرَّ

And were Allah to hasten for mankind the evil... (10;11)

This is how it was interpreted by Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah.

We have already discussed the Hadith;

لَاا تَدْعُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ وَلَاا عَلَى أَمْوَالِكُمْ أَنْ تُوَافِقُوا مِنَ اللهِ سَاعَةَ إِجَابَةٍ يَسْتَجِيبُ فِيهَا

Do not pray against yourselves or your wealth, for that might coincide with a time when Allah answers prayers.

What makes the son of Adam do that is his anxiety and haste.

Allah says;

وَكَانَ الاِنسَانُ عَجُولاً



And man is ever hasty.

Salman Al-Farisi and Ibn Abbas mentioned the story of Adam, when he wanted to get up before his soul reached his feet.

When his soul was breathed into him, it entered his body from his head downwards. When it reached his brain he sneezed, and said,

"Al-Hamdu Lillah" (praise be to Allah),

and Allah said, "May your Lord have mercy on you, O Adam."

When it reached his eyes, he opened them, and when it reached his body and limbs he started to stare at them in wonder.

He wanted to get up before it reached his feet, but he could not.

He said, "O Lord, make it happen before night comes.