عبس
Abasa
Verses
42
Revelation
Makki
Period
Makkan
Surah No.
80 / 114
Abasa opens with a remarkable self-correcting divine rebuke of the Prophet's momentary inattention to a blind man, Ibn Umm Maktum, in favour of engaging with a leading Makkan figure. The surah establishes the foundational principle that the sincere seeker of guidance must never be neglected for those who show no interest. It then moves to a meditation on the human being's ingratitude – created from a drop, made to grow, then given death and resurrection – and the food chain as a sign of divine provision. The Day of Judgement closes the surah.
أسباب النزول
Revealed when the Prophet was engaged in a meeting with a group of Makkan nobility, hoping to win them to Islam, and Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum – a blind man – came repeatedly seeking knowledge. The Prophet frowned and turned away. Allah immediately revealed this surah, gently but clearly correcting the Prophet's action and establishing the universal principle of equity in da'wah: the sincere poor seeker is more deserving of attention than the wealthy indifferent.
“He frowned and turned away because the blind man came to him. But what would make you know – perhaps he might be purified, or he might be reminded and the reminder benefit him?”
The divine correction is phrased as a question, not a condemnation – inviting the Prophet to see the blind man's potential and affirming the Quran's authenticity since no human author would fabricate divine criticism of himself.
“On the Day a man will flee from his brother and his mother and his father and his wife and his children.”
The most intimate human bonds are shattered by the terror of the Day – the very relationships that defined earthly identity become irrelevant before individual accountability.