What do the phrases “transgress” “wandering in distraction” “abandon praying” mentioned in verses 11 and 12 of the chapter of Yunus mean?

- Does abandoning prayer (dua) mean abandoning Allah and plunging in heedlessness?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The translation of the verses in question is as follows:

“If Allah were to hasten for men the ill (they have earned) as they would fain hasten on the good,- then would their respite be settled at once. But We leave those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us, in their trespasses, wandering in distraction to and fro."

"When trouble toucheth a man, He crieth unto Us (in all postures)- lying down on his side, or sitting, or standing. But when We have solved his trouble, he passeth on his way as if he had never cried to Us for a trouble that touched him! thus do the deeds of transgressors seem fair in their eyes.” (Yunus, 10/11-12).

The word translated as trespassing/transgression is “tughyan” in Arabic. Tughyan means trespassing, excessiveness, transgression, going beyond what is normal. In the verse, Allah  Almighty gives the following message:

“The real place where man will receive the rewards and penalties of his deeds as a result of his test is the hereafter. However, I sometimes give rewards and penalties in this world too.” The prophets who were on the right path and the believers who followed them throughout history were protected and helped by Allah; the deniers and oppressors opposing them were destroyed in the world, which are examples of this issue.

However, if Allah had punished those who wanted penalty with their words and deeds with something bad in this world as He rewarded people when they wanted goodness from Allah with their words and deeds with something good as a sample from the hereafter, they would have been finished. “However, we leave those who do not want to meet us alone in their trespassing, wandering in distraction. That is, we allow them to act waywardly and continue transgressing a bit more. We will finish them in the hereafter after all. Our giving them respite does not mean that we neglect their punishment...”

The expression of the verse related to prayer (dua) can be explained as follows:

The ingratitude of people is mentioned here and they are criticized because of their stolid and indifferent attitudes. This issue enables us to see the truth by comparing the attitude of some people who beg Allah when they are in trouble and when they notice that they need Allah to their indifferent attitude when they do not feel this need. “When trouble toucheth a man, He crieth unto Us (in all postures)- lying down on his side, or sitting, or standing...” The statement above in the verse reflects the weak attitude of man’s servitude in general. The following statement of the verse, on the other hand, describe the indifferent attitudes of the people who are in heedlessness and who act ungratefully: “But when We have solved his trouble, he passeth on his way as if he had never cried to Us for a trouble that touched him.”

It is possible to explain that attitude with the following example: You were in the sea and about to be drowned when you saw a man and begged him sincerely to save you. One day after he saved you, you saw him and acted indifferently as if you had not been in danger of drowning and as if he had not saved you. You pretended not to know him and did not even greet him. Everybody knows that this ungrateful attitude is a result of an ugly and evil psychological mood. The description in the verse expresses an ugliness a million times worse than the one in the example. For, this attitude of man shows ingratitude to Allah, who has given him endless boons.

Another expression of this attitude is included in the following verse:

“When We bestow favors on man, he turns away, and gets himself remote on his side (instead of coming to Us); and when evil seizes him, (he comes) full of prolonged prayer.” (Fussilat, 41/51)

This ungrateful attitude belongs to some aberrant and heedless people.

The attitude of the conscious believers who are away from heedlessness is completely different. The following hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) describes it as follows:

“Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair of his and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God), thus there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows resignation (and endures it patiently), there is a good for him in it. This is valid only for believers.” (Muslim, Zuhd, 64)

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