وَإِذَا مَسَّ الْإِنْسَانَ الضُّرُّ دَعَانَا لِجَنْبِهِ أَوْ قَاعِدًا أَوْ قَائِمًا فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُ ضُرَّهُ مَرَّ كَأَنْ لَمْ يَدْعُنَا إِلَى ضُرٍّ مَسَّهُ كَذَلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۱۲﴾ وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا الْقُرُونَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَمَّا ظَلَمُوا وَجَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَمَا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْقَوْمَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ ﴿۱۳﴾

﴾12﴿ Wa izaa massal insaanad durru da'aanaa li jambiheee aw qaa'idan aw qaaa'iman falammaa kashafnaa 'anhu durrahoo marra ka an lam yad'unaaa ilaa durrin massah; kazaalika zuyyina lilmusrifeena maa kaanoo ya'maloon
﴾13﴿ Wa laqad ahlaknal quroona min qablikum lammaa zalamoo wa jaaa'at hum Rusuluhum bil baiyinaati wa maa kaanoo liyu'minoo; kazaalika najzil qawmal mujrimeen

﴾12﴿ And when harm touches man, he calls upon Us while lying on his side, sitting, or standing. But when We remove his harm, he continues as if he had never called upon Us to relieve him from the harm that touched him. Thus, what the polytheists do is made attractive to them
﴾13﴿ And indeed, We destroyed many generations before you when they committed injustice, and their messengers came to them with clear proofs, but they would not believe. Thus do We recompense the criminal people

[12] In the previous verse, their request for punishment was mentioned. In this verse, it is established that they are liars in that request, because in times of hardship they ask for good from Allah.
This is a warning to the deniers. The point is that some people, in times of difficulty, only seek help from Allah, but when Allah removes their hardship, they return to shirk.
This is similar to verse 33 of Surah Ar-Rūm and verse 51 of Surah As-Sajdah.
Likewise, some believers also remember Allah and repent during hardship, but when the difficulty is lifted, they return to sin.
Note: In this verse, it begins with li-janbihi because the affliction in that state is severe, and so the supplication is also intense.
Then, the next state is when the person is sitting, followed by when the person is standing.
Li-janbihi is connected to da‘ānā, and according to Az-Zajjāj, it can also be connected to aḍ-ḍurr.
Three states are mentioned, and a person is never free from these three.
Marra here means to persist in shirk.
Lil-musrifīn refers to the polytheists. They are called musrifīn because they destroy their souls by worshipping other than Allah, and their wealth through vows and prohibitions for other than Allah—referring to their acts of shirk.
[13] In this verse, it refers to the worldly fear for the deniers.
Its connection to the previous verse is that sometimes Allah grants them respite and answers their prayers, but after that period of respite, He seizes them with destruction and punishment due to their shirk and denial of the messengers.
Then, their prayers are never answered again.
"Wa jā’at-hum rusuluhum" is a circumstantial phrase, and after it, the phrase fa kadhdhabūhum (they denied them) is implied.
"Wa mā kānū li-yu’minū" is coordinated with ẓalamū—meaning, there was no hope left for their belief.
"Al-mujrimīn"—in this verse, oppression (ẓulm) and denial of faith are mentioned, which is a great crime.
In the previous verse, only shirk was mentioned, which is referred to as isrāf (excess).