'Abasa عبس
He Frowned
'Abasa opens with a rebuke aimed, uniquely in the Quran, at the Prophet ﷺ himself: he frowned and turned away because a blind man, Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum, interrupted him while he was engaged with a group of prominent Meccans he hoped to persuade toward Islam. The surah corrects the instinct directly — what could tell you that the blind man might purify himself, or be reminded and benefit from the reminder, while you turn your attention toward the one who feels self-sufficient and shows no interest? The episode became a foundational lesson on treating sincere seekers as more valuable than status, regardless of social standing. The surah then widens its lens dramatically: to the origin of man from a drop, to God's provision through rain and grain, olive and grape, to the Day when a man will flee even his own brother, mother, father, spouse, and children, each too consumed by their own reckoning to help another.
عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّىٰٓ
He frowned and turned away
أَن جَآءَهُ ٱلْأَعْمَىٰ
when the blind man came to him––
وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّهُۥ يَزَّكَّىٰٓ
for all you know, he might have grown in spirit,
أَوْ يَذَّكَّرُ فَتَنفَعَهُ ٱلذِّكْرَىٰٓ
or taken note of something useful to him.
أَمَّا مَنِ ٱسْتَغْنَىٰ
For the self-satisfied one
فَأَنتَ لَهُۥ تَصَدَّىٰ
you go out of your way––
وَمَا عَلَيْكَ أَلَّا يَزَّكَّىٰ
though you are not to be blamed for his lack of spiritual growth––
وَأَمَّا مَن جَآءَكَ يَسْعَىٰ
but from the one who has come to you full of eagerness
وَهُوَ يَخْشَىٰ
and awe
فَأَنتَ عَنْهُ تَلَهَّىٰ
you allow yourself to be distracted.
كَلَّآ إِنَّهَا تَذْكِرَةٌ
No indeed! This [Quran] is a lesson
فَمَن شَآءَ ذَكَرَهُۥ
from which those who wish to be taught should learn,
فِى صُحُفٍ مُّكَرَّمَةٍ
[written] on honoured,
مَّرْفُوعَةٍ مُّطَهَّرَةٍۭ
exalted, pure pages,
بِأَيْدِى سَفَرَةٍ
by the hands of
كِرَامٍۭ بَرَرَةٍ
noble and virtuous scribes.
قُتِلَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ مَآ أَكْفَرَهُۥ
Woe to man! How ungrateful he is!
مِنْ أَىِّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقَهُۥ
From what thing does God create him?
مِن نُّطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُۥ فَقَدَّرَهُۥ
He creates him from a droplet, He proportions him,
ثُمَّ ٱلسَّبِيلَ يَسَّرَهُۥ
He makes the way easy for him,
ثُمَّ أَمَاتَهُۥ فَأَقْبَرَهُۥ
then He causes him to die and be buried.
ثُمَّ إِذَا شَآءَ أَنشَرَهُۥ
When He wills, He will raise him up again.
كَلَّا لَمَّا يَقْضِ مَآ أَمَرَهُۥ
Yet man does not fulfil God’s commands.
فَلْيَنظُرِ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ إِلَىٰ طَعَامِهِۦٓ
Let man consider the food he eats!
أَنَّا صَبَبْنَا ٱلْمَآءَ صَبًّا
We pour down abundant water
ثُمَّ شَقَقْنَا ٱلْأَرْضَ شَقًّا
and cause the soil to split open.
فَأَنۢبَتْنَا فِيهَا حَبًّا
We make grain grow,
وَعِنَبًا وَقَضْبًا
and vines, fresh vegetation,
وَزَيْتُونًا وَنَخْلًا
olive trees, date palms,
وَحَدَآئِقَ غُلْبًا
luscious gardens,
وَفَـٰكِهَةً وَأَبًّا
fruits, and fodder:
مَّتَـٰعًا لَّكُمْ وَلِأَنْعَـٰمِكُمْ
all for you and your livestock to enjoy.
فَإِذَا جَآءَتِ ٱلصَّآخَّةُ
When the Deafening Blast comes––
يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ ٱلْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ
the Day man will flee from his own brother,
وَأُمِّهِۦ وَأَبِيهِ
his mother, his father,
وَصَـٰحِبَتِهِۦ وَبَنِيهِ
his wife, his children:
لِكُلِّ ٱمْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ
each of them will be absorbed in concerns of their own on that Day-
وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُّسْفِرَةٌ
on that Day some faces will be beaming,
ضَاحِكَةٌ مُّسْتَبْشِرَةٌ
laughing, and rejoicing,
وَوُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَلَيْهَا غَبَرَةٌ
but some faces will be dust-stained
تَرْهَقُهَا قَتَرَةٌ
and covered in darkness:
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْكَفَرَةُ ٱلْفَجَرَةُ
those are the disbelievers, the licentious.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Forty-two verses.
Meccan, revealed in Makkah.
"He frowned" — the surah opens by correcting the Prophet ﷺ for frowning at and turning from a blind man, Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum, who interrupted him while he addressed prominent Meccans.
That a sincere seeker deserves attention over someone of higher status who shows no real interest — the surah treats readiness to be guided, not social standing, as what matters.