Surah `Abasa (80:11)

The Surah begins with the incident of a blind man (Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum) who came to the Prophet to seek knowledge, while the chiefs of Makkah were denying the message. It talks about the greatness of Allah's message.  Those who will accept this message they will benefit from it.  But those who deny this message they are bringing harm to their own selves.

The Surah takes its name from the first Ayat, عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ "He frowned and turned away." [80:1]

There are 42 Ayat in this Surah.

The Surah begins with the incident of a blind man (Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum) who came to the Prophet to seek knowledge, while the chiefs of Makkah were denying the message. It talks about the greatness of Allah's message.  Those who will accept this message they will benefit from it.  But those who deny this message they are bringing harm to their own selves.

The Surah takes its name from the first Ayat, عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ "He frowned and turned away." [80:1]

There are 42 Ayat in this Surah.

In view of the apparent style with which the discourse opens, one feels that in this Surah, God has expressed His displeasure against the Prophet for his treatment of the blind man with indifference and attending to the big chiefs exclusively. But when the whole Surah is considered objectively, one finds that the displeasure, in fact, has been expressed against the disbelieving Quraysh, who because of their arrogant attitude and indifference to the truth, were rejecting with contempt the message of truth being conveyed by the Prophet. Then, besides teaching him the correct method of preaching, the error of the method that he was adopting at the start of his mission has also been pointed out. His treatment of the blind man with neglect and disregard and devoting all his attention to the Quraysh chiefs was not for the reason that he regarded the rich as noble and a poor blind man as contemptible, and God forbid, there was some rudeness in his manner for which God reproved him. But, as a matter of fact, when a caller to Truth embarks on his mission of conveying his message to the people, he naturally wants the most influential people of society to accept his message so that his task becomes easy, for even if his invitation spreads among the poor and weak people, it cannot make much difference. Almost the same attitude had the Prophet also adopted in the beginning, his motive being only sincerity and a desire to promote his mission and not any idea of respect for the big people and hatred for the small people. But God made him realise that that was not the correct method of extending invitation to Islam, but from his mission’s point of view, every man, who was a seeker for the truth was important, even if he was weak, or poor, and every man, who was heedless to the truth, was unimportant, even if he occupied a high position in society. Therefore, he should openly proclaim and convey the teachings of Islam to all and sundry, but the people who were really worthy of his attention, were those who were inclined to accept the Truth and his sublime and noble message was too high to be presented before those arrogant people who in their arrogance and vanity thought that they did not stand in need of him but rather he stood in need of them.

This is the theme of v. 1-16. From verse 17 onward the rebuke directly turns to the disbelievers, who were repudiating the invitation of the Messenger of God. In this, first they have been reproved for their attitude which they had adopted against their Creator, Provider and Sustainer. In the end, they have been warned of the dreadful fate that they would meet in consequence of their conduct on the Day of Resurrection.

In view of the apparent style with which the discourse opens, one feels that in this Surah, God has expressed His displeasure against the Prophet for his treatment of the blind man with indifference and attending to the big chiefs exclusively. But when the whole Surah is considered objectively, one finds that the displeasure, in fact, has been expressed against the disbelieving Quraysh, who because of their arrogant attitude and indifference to the truth, were rejecting with contempt the message of truth being conveyed by the Prophet. Then, besides teaching him the correct method of preaching, the error of the method that he was adopting at the start of his mission has also been pointed out. His treatment of the blind man with neglect and disregard and devoting all his attention to the Quraysh chiefs was not for the reason that he regarded the rich as noble and a poor blind man as contemptible, and God forbid, there was some rudeness in his manner for which God reproved him. But, as a matter of fact, when a caller to Truth embarks on his mission of conveying his message to the people, he naturally wants the most influential people of society to accept his message so that his task becomes easy, for even if his invitation spreads among the poor and weak people, it cannot make much difference. Almost the same attitude had the Prophet also adopted in the beginning, his motive being only sincerity and a desire to promote his mission and not any idea of respect for the big people and hatred for the small people. But God made him realise that that was not the correct method of extending invitation to Islam, but from his mission’s point of view, every man, who was a seeker for the truth was important, even if he was weak, or poor, and every man, who was heedless to the truth, was unimportant, even if he occupied a high position in society. Therefore, he should openly proclaim and convey the teachings of Islam to all and sundry, but the people who were really worthy of his attention, were those who were inclined to accept the Truth and his sublime and noble message was too high to be presented before those arrogant people who in their arrogance and vanity thought that they did not stand in need of him but rather he stood in need of them.

This is the theme of v. 1-16. From verse 17 onward the rebuke directly turns to the disbelievers, who were repudiating the invitation of the Messenger of God. In this, first they have been reproved for their attitude which they had adopted against their Creator, Provider and Sustainer. In the end, they have been warned of the dreadful fate that they would meet in consequence of their conduct on the Day of Resurrection.

The commentators and traditionists are unanimous about the occasion of the revelation of this Surah. According to them, once some big chiefs of Makkah were sitting in the Prophet’s assembly and he was earnestly engaged in trying to persuade them to accept Islam. At that very point, a blind man, named Ibn Umm Maktum, approached him to seek explanation of some point concerning Islam. The Prophet disliked his interruption and ignored him. Thereupon God sent down this Surah. From this historical incident the period of the revelation of this Surah can be precisely determined.

In the first place, it is confirmed that Ibn Umm Maktum was one of the earliest reverts to Islam. Ibn Hajar and Ibn Kathir have stated that he was one of those who had accepted Islam at a very early stage at Makkah.

Secondly, some of the hadith which relate this incident show that he had already accepted Islam and some others show that be was inclined to accept it and had approached the Prophet in search of the truth. The Prophets wife (A’isha) states that, coming to the Prophet he had said: “O Messenger of God, guide me to the straight path.” (Tirmidhi, Hakim, Ibn Hibban, Ibn Jarir, Abu Ya’la. According to Abdullah bin Abbas, he had asked the meaning of a verse of the Qur’an and said to the Prophet: “O Messenger of God, teach me the knowledge that God has taught you.” Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abu Hatim). These statements show that he had acknowledged the Prophet as a Messenger of God and the Qur’an as a Book of God.

Thirdly, the names of the people who were sitting in the Prophet’s assembly at that time, have been given in different hadith. In this list we find the names of `Utbah, Shaibah, Abu Jahl, Umayyah bin Khalaf, Ubayy bin Khalaf, who were the bitterest enemies of Islam. This shows that the incident took place in the period when these chiefs were still on meeting terms with the Prophet and their antagonism to Islam had not yet grown so strong as to have stopped their paying visits to him and having dialogues with him off and on. All these arguments indicate that this is one of the very earliest Surahs to be revealed at Makkah.

The commentators and traditionists are unanimous about the occasion of the revelation of this Surah. According to them, once some big chiefs of Makkah were sitting in the Prophet’s assembly and he was earnestly engaged in trying to persuade them to accept Islam. At that very point, a blind man, named Ibn Umm Maktum, approached him to seek explanation of some point concerning Islam. The Prophet disliked his interruption and ignored him. Thereupon God sent down this Surah. From this historical incident the period of the revelation of this Surah can be precisely determined.

In the first place, it is confirmed that Ibn Umm Maktum was one of the earliest reverts to Islam. Ibn Hajar and Ibn Kathir have stated that he was one of those who had accepted Islam at a very early stage at Makkah.

Secondly, some of the hadith which relate this incident show that he had already accepted Islam and some others show that be was inclined to accept it and had approached the Prophet in search of the truth. The Prophets wife (A’isha) states that, coming to the Prophet he had said: “O Messenger of God, guide me to the straight path.” (Tirmidhi, Hakim, Ibn Hibban, Ibn Jarir, Abu Ya’la. According to Abdullah bin Abbas, he had asked the meaning of a verse of the Qur’an and said to the Prophet: “O Messenger of God, teach me the knowledge that God has taught you.” Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abu Hatim). These statements show that he had acknowledged the Prophet as a Messenger of God and the Qur’an as a Book of God.

Thirdly, the names of the people who were sitting in the Prophet’s assembly at that time, have been given in different hadith. In this list we find the names of `Utbah, Shaibah, Abu Jahl, Umayyah bin Khalaf, Ubayy bin Khalaf, who were the bitterest enemies of Islam. This shows that the incident took place in the period when these chiefs were still on meeting terms with the Prophet and their antagonism to Islam had not yet grown so strong as to have stopped their paying visits to him and having dialogues with him off and on. All these arguments indicate that this is one of the very earliest Surahs to be revealed at Makkah.

• The commandment that the seekers of guidance should be given preference in conveying Allah's message.
• Man is reminded to recognize his Creator.
• On the Day of Judgement man will be so concerned about himself that he will not even care about his own mother, father, brother or children.

• The commandment that the seekers of guidance should be given preference in conveying Allah's message.
• Man is reminded to recognize his Creator.
• On the Day of Judgement man will be so concerned about himself that he will not even care about his own mother, father, brother or children.

Scientific References

The Role of Genes

مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ "From what substance did He create him? From a sperm-drop [nutfah] He created him and destined [qadr] for him." (80:18-19)

 In a single male Nutfah [sperm cell], which measures 60 microns [1 micron = 1/1000 mm], there are 23 chromosomes – long spiral double strand helices. They contain the genes which determine every type of characteristic the body has, like hair colour, skin type, etc.

Hence, it is within this Nutfah that God has determined and destined all the physical characteristics that an individual has. It is amazing that the description of these realities are so accurately stated by God in the Qur’ān.

The Prophet said, ‘God has ordained an angel that accompanies the different stages of development of the Nutfah. The ‘Alaqah, the Mudgha and in every stage he asks God, ‘O God, what to do next?’ If God determines its full development, the angel asks, ‘Is it a boy or a girl? Happy or unhappy, his livelihood and his life span. All is written [determined] while he is in the mother’s womb.’ [Bukhari]

Scientific References

The Role of Genes

مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ "From what substance did He create him? From a sperm-drop [nutfah] He created him and destined [qadr] for him." (80:18-19)

 In a single male Nutfah [sperm cell], which measures 60 microns [1 micron = 1/1000 mm], there are 23 chromosomes – long spiral double strand helices. They contain the genes which determine every type of characteristic the body has, like hair colour, skin type, etc.

Hence, it is within this Nutfah that God has determined and destined all the physical characteristics that an individual has. It is amazing that the description of these realities are so accurately stated by God in the Qur’ān.

The Prophet said, ‘God has ordained an angel that accompanies the different stages of development of the Nutfah. The ‘Alaqah, the Mudgha and in every stage he asks God, ‘O God, what to do next?’ If God determines its full development, the angel asks, ‘Is it a boy or a girl? Happy or unhappy, his livelihood and his life span. All is written [determined] while he is in the mother’s womb.’ [Bukhari]

• Surah 80. Abasa - Saad al Ghamidi  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ3ae5B1m08&list=PLhM2xiAUdw2cAqW_o3zZkbhJNw0bnaBZN&index=80
• Surah 80. Abasa Mahmoud Khalil Al Hussary  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TOvBU9s3dw&index=80&list=PLxpAkjlGauHfMFWX22VZWOKpzjr-vH_BM​
• Surah 80. Abasa Muhammad Al Luhaydan  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQEYcnWm48E&index=80&list=PLxpAkjlGauHfKAYuQLRNAZomoezhfhRZe​
• Surah 80. Abasa Idris Akbar  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cky0EChSNd0​
• Surah 80. Abasa  Muhammad Minshawi  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XcgaAO4RhQ&index=80&list=PLxpAkjlGauHdUcO_uc-8F8J2NUQRDZjPG​