Surah 'Abasa (80): he frowned

The text: Surah 'Abasa (80), verses 1 to 42 بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ ﴿١﴾ أَنْ جَاءَهُ الْأَعْمَىٰ ﴿٢﴾ وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّهُ يَزَّكَّىٰ ﴿٣﴾ أَوْ يَذَّكَّرُ فَتَنْفَعَهُ الذِّكْرَىٰ ﴿٤﴾ أَمَّا مَنِ اسْتَغْنَىٰ ﴿٥﴾ فَأَنْتَ لَهُ تَصَدَّىٰ ﴿٦﴾ وَمَا عَلَيْكَ أَلَّا يَزَّكَّىٰ ﴿٧﴾ وَأَمَّا مَنْ جَاءَكَ يَسْعَىٰ ﴿٨﴾ وَهُوَ يَخْشَىٰ ﴿٩﴾ فَأَنْتَ عَنْهُ تَلَهَّىٰ ﴿١٠﴾ كَلَّا إِنَّهَا تَذْكِرَةٌ ﴿١١﴾ فَمَنْ شَاءَ ذَكَرَهُ ﴿١٢﴾ فِي صُحُفٍ مُكَرَّمَةٍ ﴿١٣﴾ مَرْفُوعَةٍ مُطَهَّرَةٍ ﴿١٤﴾ بِأَيْدِي سَفَرَةٍ ﴿١٥﴾ كِرَامٍ بَرَرَةٍ ﴿١٦﴾ قُتِلَ الْإِنْسَانُ مَا أَكْفَرَهُ ﴿١٧﴾ مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ ﴿١٨﴾ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ ﴿١٩﴾ ثُمَّ السَّبِيلَ يَسَّرَهُ ﴿٢٠﴾ ثُمَّ أَمَاتَهُ فَأَقْبَرَهُ ﴿٢١﴾ ثُمَّ إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْشَرَهُ ﴿٢٢﴾ كَلَّا لَمَّا يَقْضِ مَا أَمَرَهُ ﴿٢٣﴾ فَلْيَنْظُرِ الْإِنْسَانُ إِلَىٰ طَعَامِهِ ﴿٢٤﴾ أَنَّا صَبَبْنَا الْمَاءَ صَبًّا ﴿٢٥﴾ ثُمَّ شَقَقْنَا الْأَرْضَ شَقًّا ﴿٢٦﴾ فَأَنْبَتْنَا فِيهَا حَبًّا ﴿٢٧﴾ وَعِنَبًا وَقَضْبًا ﴿٢٨﴾ وَزَيْتُونًا وَنَخْلًا ﴿٢٩﴾ وَحَدَائِقَ غُلْبًا ﴿٣٠﴾ وَفَاكِهَةً وَأَبًّا ﴿٣١﴾ مَتَاعًا لَكُمْ وَلِأَنْعَامِكُمْ ﴿٣٢﴾ فَإِذَا جَاءَتِ الصَّاخَّةُ ﴿٣٣﴾ يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ ﴿٣٤﴾ وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ ﴿٣٥﴾ وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَبَنِيهِ ﴿٣٦﴾ لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ ﴿٣٧﴾ وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُسْفِرَةٌ ﴿٣٨﴾ ضَاحِكَةٌ مُسْتَبْشِرَةٌ ﴿٣٩﴾ وَوُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَلَيْهَا غَبَرَةٌ ﴿٤٠﴾ تَرْهَقُهَا قَتَرَةٌ ﴿٤١﴾ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَفَرَةُ الْفَجَرَةُ ﴿٤٢﴾

Listen to the recitation while following the text with your eyes, then read the meaning in the next block.

Arabic text: Tanzil Quran Text (Simple, version 1.0.2), © 2008-2010 Tanzil.net, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence, reproduced without any change (http://tanzil.net). Each verse is on its own line, followed by its number; the basmala, which the Tanzil file places at the start of the first verse, is written on its own line.

The name and the context 'Abasa means "he frowned". The commentators (Ibn Kathir, As-Sa'di, Al-Mukhtasar) report the following context: the Prophet ﷺ was speaking with leading men of Quraysh, hoping they would accept Islam and that many others would follow them. 'Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum, a blind companion, then came to ask him to teach him what Allah had taught him. The Prophet ﷺ, busy, frowned and turned away from him. Allah then revealed this surah. The account is reported notably by At-Tirmidhi [À VÉRIFIER : numéro]. The Prophet ﷺ afterwards honoured Ibn Umm Maktum. He was one of his two muezzins in Madinah, with Bilaal: "Bilaal calls to prayer during the night; eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum makes the call" (Bukhari 617, Muslim 1092). According to the historians, the Prophet ﷺ left him in charge of Madinah several times during his absences [À VÉRIFIER].

The meaning, passage by passage • Verses 1 to 10: the reproach, given gently: the surah does not name the Prophet ﷺ and speaks of him in the third person, then addresses him. What would make you know? Perhaps this blind man would purify himself, or benefit from the reminder. As for the one who thinks himself in no need, you attend to him; yet you are not to blame if he does not purify himself. And the one who comes to you hurrying, full of fear, you neglect him. • Verses 11 to 16: "No! It is a reminder." The Qur'an is written on honoured pages, exalted, purified, in the hands of noble and obedient scribes: the angels. • Verses 17 to 23: the ingratitude of the human being. From what did Allah create him? From a drop. Then He made the way easy for him, then caused him to die and be placed in a grave, then will raise him when He wills. And yet the human being has not done what Allah commanded him. • Verses 24 to 32: "Let man then look at his food!" The rain poured down, the earth split open, grain, grapes, vegetables, the olive, the palm, dense gardens, fruit and pasture: enjoyment for you and for your cattle. • Verses 33 to 42: the Deafening Blast (aṣ-ṣaakhkha). On that day a man will flee from his brother, his mother, his father, his wife and his children: each will be occupied with his own affair. Some faces will be bright, laughing and joyful; others covered with dust and darkness: those are the disbelievers, the wicked.

A word to notice Verses 15 and 16 describe the angels as "noble and obedient scribes". The Prophet ﷺ used the same words for the one who recites the Qur'an fluently: he will be "with the noble scribe angels" (Bukhari 4937, Muslim 798).

Exercise: think of a person you tend to neglect because they seem "unimportant" to you (an elderly neighbour, a child, a quiet colleague). This week, give them a moment of real attention.

Understanding the lesson

Explanation This surah shows the honesty of the Qur'an: Allah corrects His Prophet ﷺ, and this reproach is recited until the end of time. Had the Prophet ﷺ invented the Qur'an, he would not have put in it a passage that corrects him. The scholars also stress that his intention was good: he wanted to guide the leaders of Quraysh so that many people would follow. But Allah teaches a rule: a person's worth is measured by their wish to purify themselves, not by their social rank. As-Sa'di draws from it a principle of teaching: one does not leave a person who certainly wants to learn for a person who uncertainly might, and does not want to. The good done to the one who sincerely seeks is surer. The surah then turns to the ingratitude of the human being, and invites him to look at a simple thing: his plate. Every meal is the result of a long chain of blessings: the rain, the earth, the plant, the fruit. Finally, it describes the Day when the strongest ties (brother, mother, father, spouse, children) will no longer be able to help. The Prophet ﷺ said that people will be gathered barefoot, naked and uncircumcised; 'Aa'isha asked whether men and women would look at one another: he replied that the matter would be too grave for that (Bukhari 6527, Muslim 2859).

Lessons to draw from it • Welcome everyone with the same respect, whatever their rank. • Give priority to the one who comes sincerely to learn. • Thank Allah for every meal, thinking of everything that made it possible. • Prepare for the Day when each person will be alone with his deeds.

Key points to remember • 'Abasa (80), 42 verses, Makkan; context: Ibn Umm Maktum. • Verses 15 and 16: "noble and obedient scribes". • Verse 24: "Let man then look at his food!" • Verses 34 to 37: on that day a man will flee from his relatives.

The main message Before Allah, what counts is neither wealth nor rank, but the heart that seeks to purify itself: honour it in others, and cultivate it in yourself.