Quran Universe
9:126

أَوَلَا يَرَوۡنَ أَنَّهُمۡ يُفۡتَنُونَ فِي كُلِّ عَامٖ مَّرَّةً أَوۡ مَرَّتَيۡنِ ثُمَّ لَا يَتُوبُونَ وَلَا هُمۡ يَذَّكَّرُونَ

Awala yarawna annahum yuftanoona fee kulli AAamin marratan aw marratayni thumma la yatooboona wala hum yaththakkaroona

Do they not see that they are tried every year once or twice but then they do not repent nor do they remember?

Word by word
  1. أَوَلَاDo not
  2. يَرَوۡنَthey see
  3. أَنَّهُمۡthat they
  4. يُفۡتَنُونَare tried
  5. فِي[in]
  6. كُلِّevery
  7. عَامٖyear
  8. مَّرَّةًonce
  9. أَوۡor
  10. مَرَّتَيۡنِtwice
  11. ثُمَّYet
  12. لَاnot
  13. يَتُوبُونَthey turn (in repentance)
  14. وَلَاand not
  15. هُمۡthey
  16. يَذَّكَّرُونَpay heed
At-Tawbah · 9:126Madinah

Tested once or twice a year, and still no turning.

Missing the lesson in hardship

The repeated pattern
a trialonce or twice a year
but
no repentancefor what came before
no lessonfor what comes next
What a trial is for
bad luckjust get through it
a wake-upto repent and remember

Mujahid said they were tested with drought and hunger. Ibn Kathir explains that they neither repented from their past sins nor learned a lesson for the future. The trials came again and again, and nothing changed.

Every winter the same scare: a lump, a layoff rumor, a car crash that almost happened. You promise to change, then the fear fades and the promise fades with it. The verse asks you to let the next trial actually change something.

Hard times are just something to survive and forget.

Each trial is a chance to repent and remember before the next one.

Try this

Recall your last real scare. Do one thing today you promised to do back then.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

See they not that they are put in trial once or twice every year? Yet, they turn not in repentance, nor do they learn a lesson (from it)(126)And whenever there comes down a Surah, they look at one another (saying): "Does any one see you?" Then they turn away. Allah has turned their hearts because they are a people that understand not (127)

Hypocrites suffer Afflictions

Allah says, do not these hypocrites see,

أَنَّهُمْ يُفْتَنُونَ

(that they are put in trial), being tested,

فِي كُلِّ عَامٍ مَّرَّةً أَوْ مَرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ لَا يَتُوبُونَ وَلَا هُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ

(once or twice every year? Yet, they turn not in repentance, nor do they learn a lesson.)

They neither repent from their previous sins nor learn a lesson for the future. Mujahid said that hypocrites are tested with drought and hunger.

Allah said;

وَإِذَا مَا أُنزِلَتْ سُورَةٌ نَّظَرَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ هَلْ يَرَاكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ ثُمَّ انصَرَفُوا ۚ صَرَفَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُم بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ

(And whenever there comes down a Surah, they look at one another (saying): "Does any one see you?" Then they turn away. Allah has turned their hearts because they are a people that understand not.)

This describes the hypocrites that when a Surah is revealed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,

نَّظَرَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ

(they look at one another), they turn their heads, right and left, saying,

هَلْ يَرَاكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ ثُمَّ انصَرَفُوا

("Does any one see you?" Then they turn away...) turning away from, and shunning the truth. This is the description of hypocrites in this life, for they do not remain where the truth is being declared, neither accepting nor understanding it, just as Allah said in other Ayat,

فَمَا لَهُمْ عَنِ التَّذْكِرَةِ مُعْرِضِينَ - كَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُّسْتَنفِرَةٌ - فَرَّتْ مِن قَسْوَرَةٍ

(Then what is wrong with them that they turn away from admonition? As if they were wild donkeys. Fleeing from a lion.)[74:49-51], and,

فَمَالِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا قِبَلَكَ مُهْطِعِينَ - عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ عِزِينَ

(So what is the matter with those who disbelieve that they hasten to hear from you. (Sitting) in groups on the right and on the left.)[70:36-37].

This Ayah also means, what is the matter with these people who turn away from you to the right and to the left, to escape from truth and revert to falsehood Allah's statement,

ثُمَّ انصَرَفُوا ۚ صَرَفَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُم

(Then they turn away. Allah has turned their hearts (from Truth)) is similar to,

فَلَمَّا زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ

(So when they turned away, Allah turned their hearts away.)[61:5].

Allah said next,

بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ

(because they are a people that understand not.)

They neither understand Allah's Word nor attempt to comprehend it nor want it. Rather, they are too busy, turning away from it. This is why they ended up in this condition.