عَمَُّْ ْ 1491 عَبَسَ
عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّى ﴿۱﴾ أَنْ جَاءَهُ الْأَعْمَى ﴿۲﴾ وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّهُ يَزَّكَّى ﴿۳﴾ أَوْ يَذَّكَّرُ فَتَنْفَعَهُ الذِّكْرَى ﴿۴﴾
﴾1﴿ Abasa wa tawallaa.
﴾2﴿ An jaa-ahul 'a-maa
﴾3﴿ Wa maa yudreeka la'allahu yaz zakkaa.
﴾4﴿ Aw yazzakkaru fatanfa 'ahuz zikraa.
﴾1﴿ He frowned and turned away
﴾2﴿ Because there came to him a blind man
﴾3﴿ And how do you know? Perhaps he would purify himself
﴾4﴿ Or take heed, and the reminder would benefit him
This Surah is also referred to as Surah As-Safar, Surah Al-A‘ma, and Surah Ad-Dahka.
Relevancy:
This Surah has several connections with the previous Surah:
The first aspect is that in the previous Surah, there was a worldly warning for the deniers, whereas in this Surah, there is severe reproach directed at them.
The second aspect is that the previous Surah mentioned both groups (believers and disbelievers), whereas this Surah distinguishes between them based on their response to the Quran—whether they benefit from it or oppose it.
Claim of this surah:
The distinction between the two groups in the Hereafter will become evident through their faces, as a consequence of their differing stances toward the Quran in this world. Similarly, their separation from one another in the Hereafter is mentioned due to their neglect of each other's rights in this world.
In this Surah, the Beautiful Names of Allah (Asma’ al-Husna) are not mentioned, but eleven active attributes of Allah, the Exalted, are described.
Summary of the surah:
The first attribute mentioned about the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) regarding the call to the Quran is the prevention of any hindrance to its conveyance. Then, the etiquette of invitation is mentioned, which involves distinguishing between those who turn to guidance and those who oppose it (up to verse 10). Next, there is a general encouragement toward the Quran, which is unparalleled, supported by five arguments (up to verse 16). Following this, there is a severe warning to those who deny resurrection after death, through the mention of ten states of the Day of Judgment (up to verse 23). Then, there is a warning through the depiction of the awe-inspiring aspects of the Day of Judgment in five ways, and finally, the distinction between the faces of the two groups is described.
[1,2] These verses up to (10) refer to the incident of Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him). The Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) was engaged in inviting the leaders of the polytheists, hoping that if they accepted faith, others would follow. At that moment, Ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him), who was blind from birth, arrived and began discussing religious matters with the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), which interrupted the Prophet’s invitation to the polytheists. This caused the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) to feel distressed, and the polytheists also became annoyed, questioning why this blind and poor man had disrupted their discussion. It was regarding this incident that the verses (He frowned and turned away) were revealed.
Benefit: This admonition should not be viewed as a rebuke but rather as a lesson in the etiquette of invitation, and within it lies praise for the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace). The praise is that he was so eager in his invitation that he became distressed when his efforts were interrupted, even by his own companion, because his goal was for others to embrace faith. Therefore, scholars have stated that Ibn Umm Maktum acted in an inappropriate manner, but he was excused, and thus he was not deserving of reprimand.
The lesson in the etiquette of invitation here is that when a conflict arises—where one side involves inviting wealthy and obstinate polytheists, and the other involves guiding a sincere but poor and excused individual—priority should be given to the sincere one. The distress of the obstinate ones should not be given any consideration.
[3,4] These verses highlight the contrast between the attributes of the sincere seeker (munib) and the obstinate rejecter (anadi) to emphasize that the munib should be given consideration. (He may be purified or he may take heed). The distinction here is that purification (tazkiyah) refers to cleansing the soul from prohibitions, while remembrance (tadhakkur) refers to acting upon the commands of Allah the Almighty. Similarly, tazkiyah can mean embracing faith without the need for extensive admonitions and proofs, whereas tadhkir refers to attentively listening to admonitions and proofs and then acting upon them.