Sura-70 [Al Maarij mecca 79]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:

إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ خُلِقَ هَلُوعًا ﴿١٩﴾

70:19.  Truly man was created very impatient --

C5688. Man, according to the Plan of Allah, was to be in the best of moulds (95:4). But in order to fulfil his high destiny he was given free-will to a limited extent. The wrong use of this free-will makes his nature weak (4:28), or hasty (17:11), or impatient, as here.

That becomes his nature by his own act, but he is spoken of as so created because of the capacities given to him in his creation.

Asad’s Version:

70:19 VERILY, man is born with a restless disposition. 7 (20) [As a rule,] whenever misfortune touches him, he is filled with self-pity; 8 (21) and whenever good fortune comes to him, he selfishly withholds it [from others].

[[ Asad’s notes –

7 Lit., "man has been created restless (halu'an)" - that is, endowed with an inner restlessness which may equally well drive him to fruitful achievement or to chronic discontent and frustration. In other words, it is the manner in which man utilizes this God - will endowment that determines whether it shall have a positive or a negative character. The subsequent two verses (20 and 21) allude to the latter, while verses 22-25 show that only true spiritual and moral consciousness can mould that inborn restlessness into a positive force, and thus bring about inner stability and abiding contentment.

8 The participle jazu - derived from the verb jazi'a - combines the concepts of "lacking patience" and "lamenting over one's misfortune", and is therefore the contrary of sabr (Jawhari).]]