وَيَدْعُ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ بِٱلشَّرِّ دُعَآءَهُۥ بِٱلْخَيْرِ ۖ وَكَانَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ عَجُولًا
Wa yad'ul insaanu bishsharri du'aaa 'ahoo bilkhayr; wa kaanal insaanu 'ajoola
اور انسان جس طرح (جلدی سے) بھلائی مانگتا ہے اسی طرح برائی مانگتا ہے۔ اور انسان جلد باز (پیدا ہوا) ہے
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.