80- Surat Abasa/Tafseer
42 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi Ellahi Alrhmani Alraheem
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Abasa wa tawalla (1).
Frowned and turned away.
Ann ja-ahu al-a'ma (2).
Because the blind man came to Him.
Wa ma youdreeka la-allahu yazzakka (3).
But What would make You perceive that perhaps he might be purified.
Aww yazzakkaru fa tanfa-ahu alzekra (4).
Or be reminded, and then the reminder would benefit him.
Amma mani estaghna (5).
As for he who thinks himself without need.
Fa-anta lahu tasadda (6).
To him You pay attention.
Wa ma alayka alla yazzakka (7).
And it is not upon You that he will not be purified.
Wa amma man ja-aka yas'a (8).
But as for he who came to You striving.
Wa huwa yakhsha (9).
While he fears.
Fa-anta anhu talahha (10).
For him you are distracted.
Kalla innaha tazkirah (11).
Nay! Indeed, it is a reminder.
Fa-man shaa zakarah (12).
So whoever wills may remember it.
Fee suhufin mukarramah (13).
In honorable scripts.
Marfu-atin mutahharah (14).
Exalted, purified.
Be-aydi safarah (15).
In the hands of scribes.
Kiramin bararah (16).
Noble, righteous.
Qutela al-insanu ma akfarah (17).
Cursed is man,! How ungrateful is he.
Men ayyi shay-in khalaqah (18).
From which stuff did He create him?.
Men nutfatin khalaqahu fa-qaddarah (19).
From a sperm-drop He created him, then destined for him.
Thumma al-sabila yassarah (20).
Then He made the way easy for him.
Thumma amatahu fa-aqbarah (21).
Then He made him die, and provides a grave for him.
Thumma iza shaa ansharah (22).
Then when He wills, He will resurrect him.
Kalla lamma yaqdi ma amarah (23).
Nay! He has not yet accomplished what He commanded him.
Fal-yanzuri al-insanu ela ta-ameh (24).
So Let man look at his food.
Anna sababna almaa sabba (25).
How We poured the water in abundance.
Thumma shaqaqna alarda shaqqa (26).
Then We split the earth, splitting.
Fa-anbatna feeha habba (27).
And We caused to grow within it grain.
Wa inaban wa qadba (28).
And grapes, and greens.
Wa zaytunan wa nakhla (29).
And olive, and palm trees.
Wa hadaeqa ghulba (30).
And gardens, full of thick trees.
Wa fakehatan wa abba (31).
And fruits, and fodder.
Mata-an lakum wa lee-an'amikum (32).
A provision for you, and your cattle.
Fa iza ja-ati Al-sakhkhah (33).
But when there will come the Deafening Blast.
Yawma yaferru almaru men akheeh (34).
On the day, a man will flee from his brother.
Wa aummehi wa abeeh (35).
And his mother and his father.
Wa sahebatihi wa baneeh (36).
And his wife, and his children.
Li-qulli emry-in minhum yawma-izin sha'nun youghneeh (37).
For every man among them, that day, will be a matter adequate for him.
Wujuhun yawma-izin musferah (38).
Faces, that day, will be bright.
Dahekatun mustabsherah (39).
Laughing, rejoicing at good news.
Wa wujuhun yawma-izin alayha ghabarah (40).
And faces, that day, will have upon them dust.
Tarhaquha qatarah (41).
Blackness will cover them.
Aulaeka humu alkafaratu alfajarah (42).
Those are the disbelievers, the wicked ones.
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Abasa comes as a blame from the Lord of the worlds to His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) in a specific situation, and it is an order from Allah to His Messenger that people should be treated equally in conveying the message. Then Allah confirms the fact that man is ungrateful to his Creator despite the weakness of his creation and even his inability to create his own food, and then Allah describes one of the scenes of the day of resurrection where man will flee from all of his family, preoccupied with his own affair, and on that day, the companions of Paradise and the companions of Hellfire will be distinguished.
Allah Almighty says in the first ten verses (1-10) "He Frowned and turned away, because the blind man came to Him, but What would make You perceive that perhaps he might be purified, or be reminded, and then the reminder would benefit him, as for he who thinks himself without need, to him You pay attention, and it is not upon You that he will not be purified, but as for he who came to You striving, while he fears, for him you are distracted", that is, these verses were revealed concerning Amr bin Umm Maktum, when he came to the Prophet (PBUH) and asked Him to guide him to the truth and what is right, and there was a man from among the great polytheists whom the Prophet (PBUH) was inviting to Islam and to believe in the Oneness of Allah, and Allah's Messenger was paying a close attention to the polytheist, giving him a great deal of conversation, while He (PBUH) did not pay attention to Ibn Umm Maktun, and as narrated by Ayisha: "He frowned and turned away, was revealed about Ibn Umm Maktum, the blind man. He came to the Messenger of Allah saying O Messenger of Allah! Guide me, at that time, there was a revered man from the idolaters with the Messenger of Allah, so the Messenger of Allah turned away from him and faced the other man, saying Do you think that there is something wrong with that I am saying?, He said no, so it was about that, it was revealed" (Jami' Altirmidhi 3331).
Therefore, Allah blames His Messenger for leaving the blind man, saying that he might come to purify himself, or be reminded, so the reminder would benefit him, and he came to Him striving, and fearing Allah, but Allah's Messenger frowned and turned away, and was distracted from him, and in contrast He payed attention to the idolater although he did not care, thereupon, Allah assures His Messenger (PBUH) that He is not responsible if the idolater does not purify himself.
Allah Almighty says in the next six verses (11-16) "Nay! Indeed, it is a reminder, so whoever wills may remember it, in honorable scripts, exalted, purified, in the hands of scribes, Noble, righteous", that is, Allah assures His Messenger (PBUH) that the revelation is a reminder from Allah to the people: the poor and the rich. So whoever wills will remember the revelation and take heed from it,then Allah assures that the Holy Quran is in honorable sheets, exalted, purified, and in the hands of those who scribe from among the Angels, who are honorable and righteous. And Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in narration of Aisha "Such a person as recites the Quran and masters it by heart, will be with the Noble righteous scribes, and such a person exerts himself to learn the Quran by heart, and recites it with great difficulty, will have a double reward" (Sahih Albukhari 4937).
Allah Almighty says in the next seven verses (17-23) "Cursed is man,! How ungrateful is he, from which stuff did He create him?, from a sperm-drop He created him, then destined for him, then He made the way easy for him, then He made him die, and provides a grave for him, then when He wills, He will resurrect him, nay! He has not yet accomplished what He commanded him", that is, Allah marvels at the idolaters saying Cursed is man! How ungrateful is he, how can he be ungrateful to his Creator despite the weakness of his creation, as Allah created man from an extract of disdained water as mentioned in Surat Alsajdah Aya (8), then He made man in the best form, and destined for him his provision and his age, and then He eased for him the way in the worldly life as Allah has stated in Aya (3) of Surat Alinsan {Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful}, so Allah destined the fate of man, then guided man to the endeavor that corresponds to his destiny, and this issue has been explained at length in Surat Al-lail, then Allah made him die and be buried in the grave, and He will resurrect him from his grave on the day of resurrection whenever He wills. Although Allah has made the path easy for man in the worldly life, but he denies the grace of Allah's favor upon him, denies the reckoning and resurrection, and does not fulfill what Allah commanded him to do.
Allah Almighty says in the next nine verses (24-32) "So Let man look at his food, How We poured the water in abundance, then We split the earth, splitting, and We caused to grow within it grain, and grapes, and greens, and olive, and palm trees, and gardens, full of thick trees, and fruits, and fodder, a provision for you, and your cattle", that is, food is one of the great blessings that Allah has bestowed upon mankind, as Allah sends down water from the sky so the earth cracks and all fruits, grain, olive, palm trees, thick trees, and green fodder come out for man and animals at the same time
Allah commanded man to look at his food, because he is not even able to create it, and it is also an example of Allah's ability to resurrect the dead from their graves, as Allah sends down the water from the sky to revive the earth after its death as He has stated in many verses of the Holy Quran (e.g. Surat Alnahl Aya 65, Surat Fussilat Aya 39, Surat Fatir Aya 9), and this evidence appeared clearly in Surat Yaseen Ayat (32-35) when Allah mentioned after the return of man before him the sign of the dead earth which He gave life, and brought forth grain, gardens, date palms, and grapes from it. And Allah has mentioned the example of food after saying in verse (17) "How ungrateful is he" because food is also evidence of a person's gratitude or ingratitude to His Lord, as Allah commanded the believers in Aya (172) of Surat Albaqarah Aya (172) to eat of the good things which Allah has provided for them, and to be grateful to him, if they worship Him alone.
Allah Almighty says in the next five verses (33-37) "But when there will come the Deafening Blast, on the day, a man will flee from his brother, and his mother and his father, and his wife, and his children, for every man among them, that day, will be a matter adequate for him", that is, Allah describes the state of man on the day of resurrection saying that when the Deafening Blast (Al-Sakhkhah) comes, and Al-Sakhkhah is one of the names of the day of resurrection, man will flee from his brother, his mother, his father, his wife, and his children, so he will flee from all of his family; Because every man among them that day will have a matter occupying him, and as Allah has stated in Aya (19) of Surat Alinfitar {The day when a soul will not possess anything for another soul, and the command, that day, will be entirely with Allah}
Allah Almighty says in the last five verses (38-42) "Faces, that day, will be bright, laughing, rejoicing at good news, and faces, that day, will have upon them dust, blackness will cover them, those are the disbelievers, the wicked ones", that is, on the day of resurrection, there will be the companions of Paradise, and their faces will reflect the bliss they have found with their Lord, so their faces will be bright, laughing, and upbeat, and on the other hand, there will be the companions of Hellfire, who are the disbelievers, the wicked, and their faces that day will reflect the punishment they have found with their Lord, as the dust will be upon their faces, and they will be covered by darkness.