وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَى أُمَمٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّعُونَ ﴿۴۲﴾ فَلَوْلَا إِذْ جَاءَهُمْ بَأْسُنَا تَضَرَّعُوا وَلَكِنْ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۴۳﴾ فَلَمَّا نَسُوا مَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَتَّى إِذَا فَرِحُوا بِمَا أُوتُوا أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بَغْتَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ مُبْلِسُونَ ﴿۴۴﴾

﴾42﴿ Wa laqad arsalnaaa ilaaa umamim min qablika fa akhaznaahum bil ba'saaa'i waddarraaa'i la'allahum yata darra'oon
﴾43﴿ Falaw laaa iz jaaa'ahum ba'sunaa tadarra'oo wa laakin qasat quloobuhum wa zaiyana lahumush Shaitaanu maa kaanoo ya'maloon
﴾44﴿ Falammaa nasoo maa zukkiroo bihee fatahnaa 'alaihim abwaaba kulli shai'in hattaaa izaa farihoo bimaaa ootooo akhaznaahum baghtatan fa izaa hum mublisoon

﴾42﴿ And we certainly sent many messengers to the nations before you, so We took them with hardship (wealth) and diseases so that they would humble themselves before Allah, the Exalted
﴾43﴿ So why wasn't it when our punishment came to them that they were humble (to Allah the Exalted) But their hearts became hard, And in their eyes, Satan made those (polytheistic) actions they were doing look good
﴾44﴿ So when they forgot that word (monotheism) that was spoken for them, So We opened the doors of everything to them until they became arrogant with what was given to them We caught them suddenly So they were disappointed in everything at this time

[42] This is a warning of worldly punishment and a mention of trials through blessings and hardships. The connection to the previous verse is that someone who calls upon Allah only during hardship and then returns to shirk is equal in sin and punishment to the one who never calls upon Allah at all.
(Arsalnā) – here, the word rusulan (messengers) is omitted but understood.
(Min qablika) – “before you,” followed by an implied fakadhdhabū (then they denied them).
(Bi’l-ba’sā’ wa’d-darrā’) – ba’sā’ refers to financial hardship: poverty, famine, hunger, etc., while darrā’ refers to physical suffering: illness and bodily harm. Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably (as noted by Al-Qurṭubī).
(Yataḍarra‘ūn) – means they supplicate with humility and desperation, often accompanied by repentance from shirk and sins.
[43] In this verse, their miserable state is mentioned, showing that hardships had no effect on them, and two obstacles to their repentance are pointed out.
(Fa-lawlā) – is for warning and implies a negation of what should have happened (taḍarra‘ū – humbling themselves). The word lawlā also indicates that they had no valid excuse except stubbornness (as noted by Al-Nayshābūrī).
(Qasat qulūbuhum) – hardness of heart means that the reminders of the Qur’an and rational proofs have no impact on them.
(Wa zayyana) – means that shirk appears to them like tawḥīd, and innovations (bid‘ah) appear like the sunnah. Their misguidance has been made attractive to them.
[44] This verse is proof that with shirk, innovation (bid‘ah), and sin (fisq), worldly pleasures and material gains may increase. However, this is not an honor (karāmah), but rather istidrāj (gradual leading to punishment) and a form of divine respite.
(Nasū) – means they intentionally abandoned what they were reminded of, to the point that it became like something forgotten.
(Mā dhukkirū) – refers to Tawḥīd and faith (īmān).
(Fataḥnā ʿalayhim) – the word fataḥ (We opened) implies that previously, during their suffering (ba’sāʾ wa ḍarrāʾ), the gates were closed to them. Now they are opened, but these openings contain no blessing or security.
For the believers, however, when gates are opened due to faith and piety, they are full of blessings—as mentioned in Surah A‘rāf, verse (96).
(Iḏā fariḥū) – the farḥ here refers to baṭar (arrogant joy), meaning pride and rejection of the truth, just as Qārūn did in Surah Al-Qaṣaṣ (28:76). This is known as ibtilāʾ bi’n-niʿam—a trial through blessings.
(Mublisūn) – Iblās has three meanings: regret, sorrow, and despair (as stated by Imam Rāghib).
In this context, it implies either (1) they become utterly hopeless, or (2) they are filled with grief and remorse.