In the Name of Almighty Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
42 آية
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Surah Abasa is the 80th chapter of the Quran, containing 42 verses. Revealed in Makkah, it takes its name from its opening incident, in which the Prophet frowned and turned away from the blind companion Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum, who came seeking to learn while the Prophet was occupied with the leaders of Quraish. Allah gently corrects him, then reflects on man’s origin and ingratitude, describes the abundant provision spread across the earth for his sustenance, and closes with a vivid description of the Day when every person will flee even from their closest kin, each preoccupied with their own affair. Below you can read the full Surah Abasa in Arabic with a clear English translation and a verse-by-verse tafsir (explanation of the meaning) from Aysar al-Tafaseer, with the option to jump to any specific verse.
1. One day, while the Prophet (peace be upon him) was speaking to one of the notables of Quraish, inviting him to embrace Islam, Ibn Um Maktum, a blind man who had converted to Islam long before and had emigrated to Medina, came upon them. He had come to ask the Prophet a question and persisted in his inquiry until the Prophet wished that Ibn um Maktum would go away so he could continue his talk with the other man, hoping to guide him. He turned away from Ibn um Maktum and frowned, and moved back to the other man. Allah Almighty then revealed this chapter reprimanding His noble Messenger. After that day, the Prophet always held Ibn Um Maktum in high honour and addressed him as “the man concerning whom Allah Almighty reproached me”. The meaning of this verse is: The Messenger frowned in distaste and turned away.
2. The blind man had interrupted your conversation hoping to learn more about his religion, and because of his blindness, you should have been more gentle and sympathetic to him. How could you treat him harshly and turn away from him?
7. It does not harm you if he should not be guided and purified from the filth of polytheism and ignorance. You are a messenger from Allah and you have carried out your mission well.
11. What you did is not right, O Messenger! You should not frown in the face of a blind man who came to you eagerly seeking knowledge, fearful of His Lord, yet you preferred he who dipensed with religion. In the holy Books there are reminders, admonitions and examples for whoever has neglected the signs of his noble Lord. (The meaning could also be: the purpose of the message is to caution and remind.)
16. The faithful angels are honoured by Almighty Allah. They are pure and obedient, and do not commit sins or errors.They perform what they are commanded.
17. Allah Almighty criticizes the man who rejects the Resurrection. He says: “Allah has disgraced the unbelieving man and cursed him for rejecting the blessings endowed upon him. He is extremely negligent of their bestower.
18. Allah Almighty gives in detail in the following verses what was mentioned briefly in the previous verse and indicates the blessings He bestowed upon man in all the stages of his life. He says: “Allah Almighty created man from something very lowly; therefore, he should neither be haughty nor boast. Does not man know what his Lord created him from?”
19. Allah created man from lowly water (a drop of spilled sperm as mentioned in chapter 75- Al Qiyamat (The Resurrection), verse 37). Then He determined all the stages and states of his life and completed his formation according to what suits his needs. He gave him strength to enable him to use all the organs of his body and his senses for what they were created. He granted him all this in a limited measure.
20. He then made man capable of selecting the right or wrong path to follow. For Allah Almighty granted him the ability to work and gave him a mind with which to distinguish good from evil. He showed him the consequence of each deed, sent to him messengers bringing glad tidings and warnings, and sent with them books comprising exhortations and laws.
21. Then He caused him to die but did not leave him out in the open to be torn to pieces by beasts. Instead He gave man the instinct to bury his dead in graves as an honour to them.
23. Indeed, man is astonishing. He has seen the signs of Allah in himself, which were sufficient to direct him to truth and honesty, guidance and reason, contemplation and reflection. But he did not carry out what Allah Almighty commanded him to do, notably, to contemplate on the evidence of his Lord’s Might and to meditate on the proofs which point to His Oneness, which in turn lead him to turn to his Lord in worship and obedience.
24. Let man look at himself and think about the question of his food, how it is provided and prepared so that it could become suitable for his body to benefit from. It is this food which supplies him with the necessary nourishment which gives him strength to enable him to carry out his duty in life.
26. When the water reaches the seeds of the plants beneath the soil, they come to life and begin to move. Then they split the soil and the stalks push out to the surface and begin to grow and breathe.
34. — and it is a day when man will be preoccupied with the terror he experiences and suffers; therefore he will flee from everyone he was attached to in life and whom he thought would help him: thus, he flees from his brother,
37. On that day, no one will enquire after another, nor think of him, for each will have his own worries and troubles and will be incapable of taking on the worries of others. Each person will have enough worries that he will avoid thinking about the worries of others.
42. Those whose faces are dust-stained with shame and covered with the darkness of sadness are the unbelievers who did not believe in Allah, or in what the messengers brought to them. They exceeded the limits of the law and committed sins and wrongdoings.
Tafsir by Dr. Assaad Homad (1917–2011), Syrian scholar and jurist, author of Aysar al-Tafaseer, an accessible interpretation of the Quran reviewed by Sheikh Muhammad Mutwally Al-Shaarawi and certified by the Ministries of Awqaf in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. English translation by the Homad family. Read more about the author and this tafsir →
Source: This series of Tafsir books has been made available online by the family of Dr. Assaad Homad (may Allah have mercy on him). These volumes were entirely digitized to provide an accessible and easy format for todays digital age. Please keep Dr. Assaad and his family in your sincere prayers.
تم إتاحة هذه السلسلة من كتب التفسير عبر الإنترنت من قبل عائلة الدكتور أسعد حومد (رحمه الله). لقد قمنا برقمنة هذه المجلدات بالكامل لتوفير تنسيق يسهل الوصول إليه واستخدامه في عصرنا الرقمي الحالي. نرجو منكم ألا تنسوا الدكتور أسعد وعائلته من صالح دعائكم.