'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah Abasa

It is a Makki surah by consensus of the mufassirun.

The stories of this surah, which cannot be understood except by it, indicate that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was very eager for the Islam of Quraysh and their nobles. He was persistent in inviting them to Allah, the Exalted. One day, while he was with a man from their dignitaries, it was said to be Al-Walid ibn Al-Mughira Al-Makhzumi, and it was said: 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, and it was said: Shaybah, and it was said: Al-Abbas, and it was said: Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and it was said: Ubayy ibn Khalaf. Ibn Abbas said: 'He was in a gathering of them, among them were 'Utbah, Al-Abbas, and Abu Jahl, when Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum Al-Qurashi Al-Fihri from Banu Amir ibn Lu'ay approached. He was a blind man, being led by another man. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, gestured to his guide to bring him back, so he did. Abdullah approached and said: 'Draw near to me, O Muhammad. Teach me what Allah has taught you.' In all of this, there was a disruption of the conversation of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, with the mentioned man from Quraysh. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, had recited the Quran to him and said to him: 'Do you see any harm in what I say?' That man would say: 'No, by my father - meaning the idols - and it is narrated: 'No, by my father - meaning the sacrifices for the idols -.' When the matter of Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum interrupted him, he frowned and turned away from him, and that man left. It is narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, returned to his house, turned his head, and fixed his gaze, and this surah was revealed to him. Sufyan Al-Thawri said: 'After that, whenever he saw Ibn Umm Maktum, he would say: 'Welcome to the one whom my Lord admonished me regarding.' And he spread his cloak for him. Anas ibn Malik said: 'I saw him on the day of Al-Qadisiyyah wearing a breastplate and carrying a black banner. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, appointed him as a deputy over Medina twice.'

His saying, the Exalted:

﴿He frowned and turned away﴾ ﴿because the blind man came to him﴾ ﴿And what would make you know, perhaps he would purify himself﴾ ﴿or remember and the reminder would benefit him﴾ ﴿As for he who thinks himself self-sufficient﴾ ﴿to him you give attention﴾ ﴿And not upon you is any blame if he does not purify himself﴾ ﴿But as for he who came to you striving﴾ ﴿while he fears﴾ ﴿from him you are distracted﴾ ﴿No! Indeed, it is a reminder﴾ ﴿So whoever wills may remember it﴾ ﴿on honored sheets﴾ ﴿exalted and purified﴾ ﴿by the hands of scribes﴾ ﴿noble and pious﴾ ﴿Cursed is man! How ungrateful he is!﴾

'Al-'ubus' means the frowning of the face and its wrinkling when disliking something. In addressing him ﷺ with the mention of the absent, it is an exaggeration in reproach, for in that there is some aversion. Many scholars, including Ibn Zayd, 'Aisha, and others from the Companions, said: If the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were to conceal anything from the revelation, he would have concealed these verses and the verses of the story of Zayd and Zaynab bint Jahsh. And 'at-tawalli' here means aversion, and 'an' is an object for that. Al-Hasan read: 'A'an ja'ahu' with a prolonged sound for clarification and pause, and the pause - according to this reading - is on 'tawalla', which is the reading of 'Isa. Allah, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned Ibn Umm Maktum with the description of blindness, which is something that humans tend to despise. He contrasted this with the mention of the wealth of that disbeliever. In that, there is evidence that mentioning these disabilities, as long as it serves a benefit or because their notoriety identifies the listener with their owner without ambiguity, is permissible. This includes the saying of the narrators, such as Sulaiman al-A'mash, 'Abdur-Rahman al-A'raj, and Salim al-Aftas, and similar cases. Whenever these matters are mentioned in a manner of belittlement, that is disparagement. 'And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, mention a woman, and she said: Indeed, she is short. He, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'You have said a word that if it were mixed with the sea, it would have mixed it.' Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, reproached His Prophet ﷺ by saying: 'And what could make you know? Perhaps he might purify himself' or 'he might remember and the reminder would benefit him.' That is: What informs you about his matter and the outcome of his state? Then He began the saying: 'Perhaps he might purify himself', meaning: His blessing might grow and he might purify himself for Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and his faith might benefit him. The root of 'yazakki' is 'yatazakkā', so he assimilated the 'ta' into the 'za', and likewise 'yadhakkar'. Al-A'raj read: 'yadhkuru' with the 'dh' being silent and the 'kaf' being pronounced. I narrated from 'Asim, and the majority of the seven reciters read: 'fa-tanfa'uhu' with the 'ain' pronounced in conjunction, while 'Asim alone and al-A'raj read: 'fa-tanfa'uhu' with the 'n' in the accusative as a response to the wish; for His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'or he might remember' is in the ruling of His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'Perhaps he might purify himself.' Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, emphasized the reproach of His Prophet ﷺ by saying: 'As for he who is self-sufficient', meaning: with his wealth. 'And 'tasadda' means: you expose yourself. Ibn Kathir and Nafi' read: 'tasadda' with a strong 'sad', assimilating the 'ta'. The others, al-A'raj, al-Hasan, Abu Raje, Qatadah, 'Isa, and al-A'mash read: 'tasadda' with a light 'sad' by omitting the 'ta'. Abu Ja'far ibn al-Qaqa' read: 'tusadda' with the 'ta' pronounced and the 'sad' lightened, in the form of the verb for the unknown, meaning: your eagerness to have those disbelievers convert to Islam, you say: 'The man exposed himself' as you say: 'He earned and I earned him.' Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, said to belittle the status of the disbelievers: 'And what is upon you that he might not purify himself?' meaning: What harm is it to you that he does not succeed? This is an encouragement to turn away from their matter and to not be concerned with them.

Then Allah, the Most High, said, emphasizing the admonition: ﴿And as for he who comes to you striving﴾, meaning walking. It was said: the meaning is that he strives in his affairs and in his religion and seeks closeness to you, while he fears Allah, the Most High. ﴿But you are distracted by him﴾, meaning: you are preoccupied. You say: I was distracted from something when I became busy with it. And it is not from the type of distraction that is from the essence of the letter waw. However, the meaning overlaps. The majority of the reciters read: "تَلَهّى" with a fatḥah on the tā, indicating the omission of the single tā. Ibn Kathir, as reported from him, read: "تَلَهّى" with idghām. Talhah ibn Muṣarif read: "تَتَلَهّى" with two tā's. It was also reported from him: "تَلْهى" with a fatḥah on the tā and a sukoon on the lām and a lightening of the open hā. Abu Ja'far ibn al-Qa'qa' read: "تُلْهى" with a ḍammah on the tā, meaning your eagerness for those disbelievers distracts you. In the hadith of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "And whatever Allah has kept to Himself, then turn away from it." And His saying, the Most High, (p-538) in these two: (As for he who), (And as for he who) is due to what was mentioned of the disbelievers of Quraysh and Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum. Then it encompasses their polytheism in these attributes. Therefore, the bearers of the law and knowledge are addressed in bringing the weak closer to the people of goodness and prioritizing him over the noble who is devoid of goodness, similar to how the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, was addressed in this surah.

Then he said: "No" O Muhammad, meaning: the matter regarding him is not as you did. Indeed, this surah and the recitation you were in with that disbeliever is a reminder for all scholars. No one is affected in it more than another. It was said: the meaning is that this admonition is a reminder for you, O Muhammad. In this interpretation, there is a veneration for Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and a comforting for him. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿In scrolls﴾ relates to His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿Indeed, it is a reminder﴾. This supports that the reminder refers to the entire Qur'an. Some of the interpreters said: the scrolls here refer to the preserved tablet. It was said: the scrolls of the prophets, peace be upon them, that were revealed. And it was said: the mushafs of the Muslims.

People differed regarding "the scribes." Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: they are the angels because they are writers. It is said: I have written, meaning I have recorded, and from it is the term 'sifr'. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, also said: the angels are scribes because they convey between Allah, the Most High, and His prophets. Qatadah said: they are the reciters. And the singular of the scribes is scribe. Wahb ibn Munabbih said: they are the companions, because some of them convey to one another in news, teaching, and learning. The first statement is more plausible. And from the wording is the saying of the poet:

And I do not abandon the scribes among my people, nor do I walk with deceit if I walk.

'And the 'suhuf' - according to this - are scrolls with the angels or the tablet. According to another saying, they are the mushafs. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿Cursed is man﴾ is a supplication against the name of the genus, and it is a generality intended for specificity. The meaning is: the killing of the disbelieving man, and the meaning of 'Cursed is': he is deserving to be called upon with this. Mujahid said: 'Cursed is' means: cursed. And this is an assumption. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿How ungrateful he is﴾ can imply a meaning of astonishment, and it can imply a meaning of questioning for pause, meaning: what has made him ungrateful? What has made him a disbeliever? And it was said: 'This verse was revealed concerning Utbah ibn Abi Lahab, because he angered his father and came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Then his father reconciled with him and gave him money and prepared him for Syria. Utbah then sent to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, saying: I disbelieve in the Lord of the star when it sets. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'O Allah, send upon him Your dog until it devours him.' It is narrated that he said: 'What does he fear that Allah will not send upon him His dog?' Then Utbah went out on a journey and a lion came and devoured him among the companions.