S80. SURAH “ABASA” (HE FROWNED)

NAME: The Surah begins with the word ‘Abasa’ (He frowned), which refers to a Particular incident, and provides the name to the Surah.
TIME OF REVELATION: It is a Makkan Surah, and from its contents it is seen that it was revealed at the time when the Call of the Faith already placed before the people of Makkah, and the leaders of the Quraish had spurned it.
CENTRAL THEME : To warn man of the Day of Judgment so that he may adopt the right attitude in faith and conduct. Its relation to the previous Surah is apparent. In its last part it was stated that the Prophet could warn (effectively) of the Doomsday only those who were prepared to listen to the warning. In this Surah it has been made clear that those who are bent on rejecting the belief in Doomsday and who are careless of their own fate need to be left alone and in his devotion to the Mission, the Prophet should not waste his time on them.
ORDER OF THE VERSES: In Verses Nos. 1 to 10 a particular incident is referred to and the Prophet is directed to turn his attention to the seekers of truth and those who want to reform themselves instead of attending to those who are conceited and obstinate. Verses 11 to 16 relate the greatness and was grandeur of the holy Quran, so that the people may know what an exalted thing has been offered them by the Prophet; therefore, those who will not appreciate it will deprive themselves alone of the great good and virtue. Such a great work (holy Verses) needs to be presented in a befittingly honourable manner. In Verses 17 to 32, warning is given to the rejecters of the belief in Doomsday and the fact of man’s being revived on the Day of Judgment has been argued on the ground of Allah’s over lordship. Verses Nos. 33 to 42, draw a devastating picture of the Doomsday and relate the separate fates that await the virtuous people and the evil- doers.

SURAH ABASA(Translation)

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. He (Prophet)frowned 1 and turned his face away.

2. Because a blind man came to him. 2

3. (O Prophet!) What could you know, perhaps he might attain purification?

4. Or might heed admonition and that might profit him?

5. As for him who behaves indifferently,

6. You pay attention to him;

7. When there is no responsibility on you if he does not attain purification.

8. And as for him who comes to you running earnestly,

9. And fears Allah;

10. You are unmindful of him. 3

11. By no means4.It is indeed a reminders.5

12. So let whosoever wants pay heed to it.

1. This frowning was done, as would be clear from the lines that would follow, by the Prophet, Muhammad (P.b.u.h.) Here the statement is not a direct one but it is made in an indirect way. This is a wise way of warning.

2. Refers to Abdullah Ibn Umm - e - Maktum, who was blind. He was a cousin of Hazrat Khadija, wife of the Prophet and was, therefore, his brotherin- law.
The prophet had not frowned on him on account of his poverty or lowliness, because the Prophet is known to be the dearest friend and helper of the poor and low people. But his intrusion was disliked by the Prophet for the reason that at that time in the meeting big sardars or leaders of the Quraish were present, and he was presenting Islam to these leaders with all the earnestness at his command. To turn to Abdullah Ibn Umm-e- Maktum would have amounted to paying less attention to the leaders of the Quraish, and therefore he continued his talk with the Quraish sardar, and ignored the blind man. This inattention of the Prophet had no wrong basis but was due to his mission. Since however, this was not a desirable act, Allah warned the Prophet instantly.

3. The incident which has been alluded to in these verses is shortly this: The prophet was in a meeting with Abu Jahl, Umayya bin Khalaf, Utbah and other sardars of Quraish. He was presenting his faith to them and was inviting them to accept it. In the meanwhile Ibn Umm-e-Maktum. who was blind, came for hearing the preaching of the Prophet and for self reform. Instead of attending to him, the Prophet continued to address the leaders of the Quraish, who were not willing to listen to him. This situation was not tolerable for the status of the prophethood and honour of the Mission, and accordingly the verses of the warning were revealed. Though apparently the warning is directed towards the Prophet, in reality they are meant for the rejecters of the call of Islam. The purpose of the warning is to make it clear that those who have been explained the Call of the True faith should be left alone to their own fate if they do not respond to the call and that attention should be paid to those who are seekers of Guidance and appreciate the holy Quran, and who desire that their lives may be purified. On the other hand, the infidels are being warned that if inspite of the dedication and unflagging efforts of the Prophet, they are not prepared to listen to the call of the Quran, then the greatness and honour of that holy Book is not going to be diminished, and that only they will be dishonored. This Book is highly exalted and honourable. Its non-acceptors only will suffer from deprivation.

4. That is: It is by no means necessary to attend to those who do not appreciate the call of the Quran.

5. Means Quran.

13. It is in the leaves that are greatly honoured, 6

14. Exalted and Purified,7

15.(Written) by the hands of scribes,8

16. (Who are) Honourable and faithful?9

17. Woe to man!10 How Ungrateful!

18. From what thing has He created him?

19. From a sperm-drop 11 He has created him, and planned his life.12

20. Then made the way easy for him.13

21. Then He caused him to die,14 and to be buried in the grave.15

22. Then, when He will please, He will raise him up.16

23. By no means has he done what Allah had commanded him to do.17

24. Let man look at his food,18

25. That We poured water in abundance,19

26. Then split the earth in clefts,20

27. Then caused the grain to grow therein,

6. Here the greatness of the holy Quran is mentioned. The purpose is to make it clear that those, who do not accept or appreciate these verses, only undermine their own respect. Had they known in what esteem it is held in the heavens, then they would not have dared deprecate it.

7. The Holy Quran is absolutely free from any intrusive insertion of the Satan. It is impossible to mix any falsehood in this Book, because the devils cannot reach it. They have been kept very much away from it, and therefore, Quran, from beginning to end, contains purely the words of Allah and is absolutely and totally free from any impurities.

8. Meaning angels who write the verses of the Quran.

9. These are the attributes of those angels who were writing the holy Book in the heavens, and were communicating it safely to the Prophet, Muhammad (P.b.u.h.). It is to show that the Quran is being communicated to the Prophet by such angels as are so exalted and pious that it is not possible for them to indulge in any kind of dishonesty in their duty. Nor would they allow any chance to Satan to interfere in their work. Therefore, there is not an iota of doubt that they are conveying the Divine Message to the Prophet as it is received by them, without any kind of change or modification.

10. From here the direction of the discussion turns towards the infidels.

11. Man should think about his own reality -that his life started with the lowly spermdrop, then how dare he consider himself of some importance before God and forget His great favours that He made him his best creature. Here is an argument on the revival of man on the Day of Judgment. The Being who can create such a splendid creature as a human being from so lowly a drop can easily revive all mankind on the Day of Judgment.

12. That is: Every man has been created under a plan, e.g. a man’s features, his size, his mental ability, strength, his capacity for work, his place of birth and time of death, etc, all these have been planned by Allah and a man spends his life in accordance with this plan. It is not possible for him to be free of this plan. It is the proof that a man’s creation is with some purpose.

13. Means the way of leading life in this world. A man easily traverses the high and low places in life. The things which are necessary to keep him alive and to grow up have been supplied, for example a child instinctively feeds from the breast of his mother and thus the supply of sustaining food is assured for him. Similarly the respiratory function is a very difficult operation, but man, till he breathes his last goes on inhaling and exhaling air without feeling tired.

14. Death is the final destiny of every man. No one can escape it. When a man is so helpless that he cannot delay his death for a moment, then on what strength does he reject the existence of the Creator of the universe.

15. This shows that to bury the dead in the grave is the natural way of disposal as against the practice of cremating the dead, which is neither divinely inspired nor according to the Shariah. Since Islam is the religion to be followed from the cradle to the grave, here in these verses the right manner of leading a life is shown, as also the manner of dying and disposing of the dead body.

16. Raising up man or reviving him after death on a particular day depends on the will of Allah. This act is neither difficult for Him nor can anyone prevent Him f rom accomplishing it whenever He wills it.

17. By the command here is meant all the commands which Allah has instilled in a man’s nature, e.g. worshipping of one God, to speak the truth, to be just, not to indulge in aggression, etc. and also those commands which He has conveyed to the people through his Messenger and His Books.

18. That is: There are many arguments in favour of the life after death. Let a man consider his food, which he eats daily but thinks it is of no importance. How was the food produced? If Allah had not produced it, from where would he have got it? This Provision for his growing up and the systematic arrangements, made by the Almighty demand that man may be made to answer as to whether he was at all grateful to Allah and In what way did he show his gratefulness.

19. There is no separate devta or god for causing rains. It is Allah alone who causes the rains to fall from the skies, for providing man with drinking water, and for irrigating his fields. If Allah had not arranged for the rains to fall. man’s life on this planet would not have been possible.

20. It is only Allah’s wonderful might that causes the rains to fall and split the earth to produce grains. Considering all this, how dare anyone question Allah’s ability to revive the dead on the Day of Resurrection

28. And grapes and vegetables,

29. And olives and dates,

30. And dense gardens,

31. And fruits and grass,

32. for your benefit and that of your animals.21

33. Then, when there comes the deafening noise,22

34. That day a man will flee from his own brother,

35. And from his own mother and father,

36. And from his wife and his children,

37. Every man on that Day will have enough concern of his own,23

38. Some faces that Day will be bright,24

39. Laughing, rejoicing,25

40. And many faces that Day will be dust stained,

41. Covered with blackness,26

42. These will be the infidels and the evildoers.

21. With all these favours and blessings which benefit it you day and night, are you not reminded of your responsibility towards the Creator? The Almighty, God, who has showered so many favours on you, will He not make you answerable for showing gratitude to Him or otherwise?

22. Means the terrifying and the dreadful noise of the Doomsday. On that Day when the last bugle would be sounded, it would revive all the dead people.

23. Points to the fact that in this world man refuses to accept the Truth for the sake of his near relatives, but on the Doomsday the conditions would be so difficult that neither he would be of help to them nor would they be of any help to him. Each one will be concerned with his own salvation and would be indifferent to others.

24. These will be the faces of the sincere believers, which would be bright and shining with the light of faith.

25. Rejoicing for having come out with flying colours in the test in this world and as their efforts have been rewarded. The brightness of their faces would be the result of their virtuous conduct, and they would be happy and laughing on receiving the permission to enter Paradise.

26. These would be the faces of the infidels, which would be covered with blackness and, their wicked and vicious conduct in this world would be staining their faces with dirt and dust.