Surah 80

Surah 80:11

"By no means! Surely it is a Reminder"
The Prophet being reprimanded because He frowned at a Weak Man Verses 80:1-16
Show Full Scripture Context (80:1-16) — 16 Verses
Verse 1

عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّىٰٓ

He frowned and turned away,

Verse 2

أَن جَآءَهُ ٱلۡأَعۡمَىٰ

because the blind man came to him.

Verse 3

وَمَا يُدۡرِيكَ لَعَلَّهُۥ يَزَّكَّىٰٓ

What will make you know? Perhaps he will (yet) purify himself,

Verse 4

أَوۡ يَذَّكَّرُ فَتَنفَعَهُ ٱلذِّكۡرَىٰٓ

or take heed, and the Reminder will benefit him.

Verse 5

أَمَّا مَنِ ٱسۡتَغۡنَىٰ

As for the one who considers himself independent,

Verse 6

فَأَنتَ لَهُۥ تَصَدَّىٰ

you give your attention to him.

Verse 7

وَمَا عَلَيۡكَ أَلَّا يَزَّكَّىٰ

Yet it is not (dependent) on you if he does not purify himself.

Verse 8

وَأَمَّا مَن جَآءَكَ يَسۡعَىٰ

But as for the one who comes running to you,

Verse 9

وَهُوَ يَخۡشَىٰ

and (who) fears (God),

Verse 10

فَأَنتَ عَنۡهُ تَلَهَّىٰ

from him you are distracted.

Verse 11

كَلَّآ إِنَّهَا تَذۡكِرَةٞ

By no means! Surely it is a Reminder

Verse 12

فَمَن شَآءَ ذَكَرَهُۥ

– and whoever pleases (may) take heed of it –

Verse 13

فِي صُحُفٖ مُّكَرَّمَةٖ

(written) in honored pages,

Verse 14

مَّرۡفُوعَةٖ مُّطَهَّرَةِۭ

exalted (and) purified,

Verse 15

بِأَيۡدِي سَفَرَةٖ

by the hands of scribes,

Verse 16

كِرَامِۭ بَرَرَةٖ

(who are) honorable (and) dutiful.

More than one of the scholars of Tafsir mentioned that one day the Messenger of Allah was addressing one of the great leaders of the Quraysh while hoping that he would accept Islam. While he was speaking in direct conversation with him, Ibn Umm Maktum came to him, and he was of those who had accepted Islam in its earliest days. He (Ibn Umm Maktum) then began asking the Messenger of Allah about something, urgently beseeching him. The Prophet hoped that the man would be guided, so he asked Ibn Umm Maktum to wait for a moment so he could complete his conversation. He frowned in the face of Ibn Umm Maktum and turned away from him in order to face the other man. Thus, Allah revealed,
{He frowned and turned away. Because there came to him the blind man. And how can you know that he might become pure?}

meaning, he may attain purification and cleanliness in his soul.
{Or he might receive admonition, and the admonition might profit him?}

meaning, he may receive admonition and abstain from the forbidden.
{As for him who thinks himself self-sufficient. To him you attend}

meaning, “you face the rich person so that perhaps he may be guided.’
{What does it matter to you if he will not become pure?}

meaning, “you are not responsible for him if he does not attain purification.’
{But as for him who came to you running. And is afraid.}

meaning, he is seeking you and he comes to you so that he may be guided by what you say to him.’
{Of him you are neglectful and divert your attention to another.}

meaning, ‘you are too busy.’ Here Allah commands His Messenger to not single anyone out with the warning. Rather, he should equal warn the noble and the weak, the poor and the rich, the master and the slave, the men and the women, the young and the old. Then Allah will guide whomever He chooses to a path that is straight. He has the profound wisdom and the decisive proof.
Abu Yala and Ibn Jarir both recorded from ‘A’ishah that she said about,
{He frowned and turned away} “This was revealed about Ibn Umm Maktum, the blind man. He came to the Messenger of Allah and began saying, ‘Guide me.’ At the time the Messenger of Allah had a man with him who was one of the great leaders of the idolators. So the Prophet turned away from him (Ibn Umm Maktum) and faced the other man and said...
[OCR appears to cut off before the quote finishes]
{exalted} meaning, elevated in status.
{purified} meaning, from impurity, additions and deficiency. Concerning Allah’s statement,
{In the hands of ambassadors (Safarah),}

Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, and Ibn Zayd, all said, “These are the angels.”
Al-Bukhari said, “Safarah (ambassadors) refers to the angels. They travel around rectifying matters between themselves. The angels when they descend with the revelation of Allah, bringing it like the ambassador who rectifies matters between people.” Allah said,
{Honorable and obedient.} meaning, they are noble, handsome, and honorable in their creation. Their character and their deeds are righteous, pure and perfect. Here it should be noted that it is necessary for one who carries the Qur'an (i.e., the angel) to be following righteousness and guidance
Imam Ahmad recorded from ‘A’ishah that the Messenger of Allah said,
‘He who recites the Qur'an proficiently, will be with the noble, righteous, ambassador angels, and the one who recites it with difficulty will receive two rewards.”
This Hadith was reported by the group.

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.