Surah 80
He Frowned
ʿAbasa 👁️
Opening with a gentle but direct correction of the Prophet for turning away from a poor, blind seeker to focus on wealthy elites, this surah stresses that the message is open to everyone regardless of status. Its title is drawn from the very first word, which records that He frowned and turned away.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
1He frowned and turned away
2When the blind man came to him —
3For all you know, he might have grown in spirit,
4Or taken note of something useful to him.
5For the self-satisfied one
6You go out of your way —
7Though you are not to be blamed for his lack of spiritual growth —
8But from the one who has come to you full of eagerness
9And awe
10You allow yourself to be distracted.
11No indeed! This [Qur’an] is a lesson
12From which those who wish to be taught should learn,
13[written] on honoured,
14Exalted, pure pages,
15By the hands of
16Noble and virtuous scribes.
17Woe to man! How ungrateful he is!
18From what thing does God create him?
19He creates him from a droplet, He proportions him,
20He makes the way easy for him,
21Then He causes him to die and be buried.
22When He wills, He will raise him up again.
23Yet man does not fulfil God’s commands.
24Let man consider the food he eats!
25We pour down abundant water
26And cause the soil to split open.
27We make grain grow,
28And vines, fresh vegetation,
29Olive trees, date palms,
30Luscious gardens,
31Fruits, and fodder:
32All for you and your livestock to enjoy.
33When the Deafening Blast comes —
34The Day man will flee from his own brother,
35His mother, his father,
36His wife, his children:
37Each of them will be absorbed in concerns of their own on that Day —
38On that Day some faces will be beaming,
39Laughing, and rejoicing,
40But some faces will be dust-stained
41And covered in darkness
42Those are the disbelievers, the licentious.