Surah 80 · Meccan · 42 Verses
عبس
SURAH 'ABASA
He Frowned
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّىٰٓ
He [i.e., the Prophet (ﷺ) ] frowned and turned away
أَوْ يَذَّكَّرُ فَتَنفَعَهُ ٱلذِّكْرَىٰٓ
Or be reminded and the remembrance would benefit him?
فَأَنتَ لَهُۥ تَصَدَّىٰ
To him you give attention.
وَأَمَّا مَن جَآءَكَ يَسْعَىٰ
But as for he who came to you striving [for knowledge]
وَهُوَ يَخْشَىٰ
While he fears [Allāh],
فَأَنتَ عَنْهُ تَلَهَّىٰ
From him you are distracted.
كَلَّآ إِنَّهَا تَذْكِرَةٌۭ
No! Indeed, they [i.e., these verses] are a reminder;
فِى صُحُفٍۢ مُّكَرَّمَةٍۢ
[It is recorded] in honored sheets,
مَّرْفُوعَةٍۢ مُّطَهَّرَةٍۭ
Exalted and purified,
بِأَيْدِى سَفَرَةٍۢ
[Carried] by the hands of messenger-angels,
كِرَامٍۭ بَرَرَةٍۢ
Noble and dutiful.
مِنْ أَىِّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقَهُۥ
From what thing [i.e., substance] did He create him?
ثُمَّ إِذَا شَآءَ أَنشَرَهُۥ
Then when He wills, He will resurrect him.
كَلَّا لَمَّا يَقْضِ مَآ أَمَرَهُۥ
No! He [i.e., man] has not yet accomplished what He commanded him.
فَلْيَنظُرِ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ إِلَىٰ طَعَامِهِۦٓ
Then let mankind look at his food -
أَنَّا صَبَبْنَا ٱلْمَآءَ صَبًّۭا
How We poured down water in torrents,
ثُمَّ شَقَقْنَا ٱلْأَرْضَ شَقًّۭا
Then We broke open the earth, splitting [it with sprouts],
فَأَنۢبَتْنَا فِيهَا حَبًّۭا
And caused to grow within it grain
وَعِنَبًۭا وَقَضْبًۭا
And grapes and herbage
وَزَيْتُونًۭا وَنَخْلًۭا
And olive and palm trees
وَحَدَآئِقَ غُلْبًۭا
And gardens of dense shrubbery
وَفَٰكِهَةًۭ وَأَبًّۭا
And fruit and grass -
مَّتَٰعًۭا لَّكُمْ وَلِأَنْعَٰمِكُمْ
[As] enjoyment [i.e., provision] for you and your grazing livestock.
يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ ٱلْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ
On the Day a man will flee from his brother
وَأُمِّهِۦ وَأَبِيهِ
And his mother and his father
وَصَٰحِبَتِهِۦ وَبَنِيهِ
And his wife and his children,
وُجُوهٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ مُّسْفِرَةٌۭ
[Some] faces, that Day, will be bright -
ضَاحِكَةٌۭ مُّسْتَبْشِرَةٌۭ
Laughing, rejoicing at good news.
وَوُجُوهٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَلَيْهَا غَبَرَةٌۭ
And [other] faces, that Day, will have upon them dust.
تَرْهَقُهَا قَتَرَةٌ
Blackness will cover them.
أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْكَفَرَةُ ٱلْفَجَرَةُ
Those are the disbelievers, the wicked ones.
About This Surah
Surah Abasa corrects a moment when attention favored influential listeners over a blind seeker who came earnestly for instruction. It establishes the dignity and agency of disabled people, presents revelation as reminder, points to food and human dependence, and describes final accountability. The chapter must not be used for ableist pity, inspiration exploitation, or claims that disability reflects punishment or deficient faith.
Abasa opens with a correction: a blind man approaches seeking purification and reminder while attention is directed toward socially influential people. The Quran centers the sincere seeker and exposes prestige-based priorities. The passage establishes access, dignity, and agency rather than presenting disability as tragedy or spiritual deficiency.
The man is not reduced to an object of pity. Contemporary application should include accessible design, respectful communication, and listening to disabled people themselves. It also means refusing “inspiration” framing that uses disability for the emotional benefit of non-disabled audiences.
The revelation is described as a reminder in honored, purified pages carried by noble scribes. Human beings are then confronted with ingratitude and reminded of creation, measured development, death, burial, and resurrection. These are theological signs, not a complete medical account.
Food becomes another chain of dependence: rain, split earth, grain, grapes, vegetables, olives, palms, dense gardens, fruit, and pasture. Provision serves people and animals and invites gratitude rather than exploitative miracle marketing.
The final blast separates even close family relationships as each person faces sufficient concern. Bright and dusty faces represent outcomes. No reader may infer a disabled person’s status, suffering, or final fate from bodily condition.
Core Themes
- Correction of prestige-based attention
- Disabled dignity and agency
- Accessible reception of revelation
- Human creation, death, and return
- Food systems as signs of dependence
- Individual accountability beyond social status
Structure
Verses 1-10: The blind seeker and corrected priorities — 1-10
Verses 1-10 focus on the blind seeker and corrected priorities.
Verses 11-16: The honored reminder and noble scribes — 11-16
Verses 11-16 focus on the honored reminder and noble scribes.
Verses 17-32: Human origin, resurrection, and food provision — 17-32
Verses 17-32 focus on human origin, resurrection, and food provision.
Verses 33-42: The blast, family separation, and final faces — 33-42
Verses 33-42 focus on the blast, family separation, and final faces.
Key Passages
The blind seeker and corrected priorities — 1-10
Verses 1-10 address the blind seeker and corrected priorities.
The honored reminder and noble scribes — 11-16
Verses 11-16 address the honored reminder and noble scribes.
Human origin, resurrection, and food provision — 17-32
Verses 17-32 address human origin, resurrection, and food provision.
The blast, family separation, and final faces — 33-42
Verses 33-42 address the blast, family separation, and final faces.
Recitation Note
No exclusive time, fixed repetition count, or guaranteed worldly outcome is asserted here for reciting Surah Abasa. Reading it is worship and study; any claim about protection, healing, provision, family outcomes, or a prescribed number requires separate exact evidence and narrow wording.
Interpretation Limits
- Disability must not be described as punishment, deficient faith, tragedy, or a prop for inspiration.
- Disabled people’s agency and accessibility needs must remain central.
- Human-development verses are not a complete medical account.
- Final outcomes cannot be inferred from bodily ability, illness, poverty, or social status.