وَيَدْعُ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ بِٱلشَّرِّ دُعَآءَهُۥ بِٱلْخَيْرِ ۖ وَكَانَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ عَجُولًا
Wa yad'ul insaanu bishsharri du'aaa 'ahoo bilkhayr; wa kaanal insaanu 'ajoola
Człowiek wzywa zło, podobnie jak wzywa dobro; człowiek jest zawsze popędliwy.
The human being prays for harm the way he prays for good — the human being is ever hasty.
ʿAjūl is an intensive form, so the haste named here is a standing feature of the creature rather than an occasional lapse. Placement sharpens the point: the very next verse sets night and day out as measured signs, given so that people may count years and keep a reckoning, and this one shows the same creature asking for things at the wrong moment. The reading that has stayed with the tradition is that the unanswered prayer is the mercy.