80. Sūrat Abasa · He Frowned

He frowned and turned ˹his attention˺ away,

He frowned and turned away

HE FROWNED and turned away

He frowned and turned his face.

A feeling of uneasiness came upon his (holy) face, and he turned aside his (radiant) face

˹simply˺ because the blind man came to him ˹interrupting˺.

Because the blind man came unto him.

because the blind man approached him!

Because the blind man came to him.

Because a blind man approached him (who interrupted his discourse)

You never know ˹O Prophet˺, perhaps he may be purified,

What could inform thee but that he might grow (in grace)

Yet for all thou didst know, [O Muhammad,] he might perhaps have grown in purity,

And what you know, haply he might be cleansed;

And what do you know? Perhaps he would be purified (further owing to your attending to him)

or he may be mindful, benefitting from the reminder.

Or take heed and so the reminder might avail him?

or have been reminded [of the truth], and helped by this reminder.

Or be admonished, so that the admonition may profit him.

Or would accept (your) advice which would provide him benefit (more and more)

As for the one who was indifferent,

As for him who thinketh himself independent,

Now as for him who believes himself to be self-sufficient

As far him who regards himself self-sufficient;

But the one who disregards (the Din [Religion)]

you gave him your ˹undivided˺ attention,

Unto him thou payest regard.

to him didst thou give thy whole attention,

To him you do pay attention.

You administer greater care (for his acceptance of Islam)

even though you are not to blame if he would not be purified.

Yet it is not thy concern if he grow not (in grace).

although thou art not accountable for his failure to attain to purity;

whereas there is not any blame on you-if he is not cleansed.

Whereas there is no (burden of) responsibility on you, even if he does not adopt purification (i.e., faith)

But as for the one who came to you, eager ˹to learn˺,

But as for him who cometh unto thee with earnest purpose

but as for him who came unto thee full of eagerness

But as to him who came to you running.

And as for him who has (himself) come to you exerting (in pursuit of piousness)

being in awe ˹of Allah˺,

And hath fear,

and in awe [of God]

And he is fearing.

And he fears (his Lord) as well

you were inattentive to him.

From him thou art distracted.

him didst thou disregard!

Then you become busy with others leaving him.

But you are not focusing your attention on him

But no! This ˹revelation˺ is truly a reminder.

Nay, but verily it is an Admonishment,

NAY, VERILY, these [messages] are but a reminder:

Not like this, it is an admonition.

(O My Esteemed Beloved!) Not so indeed! These (Verses of the Holy Qur’an) are but advice

So let whoever wills be mindful of it.

So let whosoever will pay heed to it,

and so, whoever is willing may remember Him

So, let him who wished remember it.

The one who seeks may accept it (and learn by heart)

It is ˹written˺ on pages held in honour—

On honoured leaves

in [the light of His] revelations blest with dignity,

In these sheets that are honoured,

(They are inscribed) on venerable and revered pages

highly esteemed, purified—

Exalted, purified,

lofty and pure,

Exalted, Purified.

Which are exalted (and) purified

by the hands of angel-scribes,

(Set down) by scribes

[borne] by the hands of messengers

With the hands of scribes.

(Have come forth) by the hands of emissaries (and scribes)

honourable and virtuous.

Noble and righteous.

noble and most virtuous.

Noble. virtuous.

Who are possessors of eminence (and) embodiments of obedience

Condemned are ˹disbelieving˺ humans! How ungrateful they are ˹to Allah˺!

Man is (self-)destroyed: how ungrateful!

[But only too often] man destroys himself: how stubbornly does he deny the truth!

Killed be man, how unthankful he is.

Be cursed (the disbelieving) man! How ungrateful he is

From what substance did He create them?

From what thing doth He create him?

[Does man ever consider] out of what substance [God] creates him?

From what did He create him?

From what stuff has Allah created him

He created them from a sperm-drop, and ordained their development.

From a drop of seed. He createth him and proportioneth him,

Out of a drop of sperm He creates him, and thereupon determines his nature,

He created him by a drop of water, then proportioned him.

He created him from a sperm drop, then determined his measure along with that (regarding genes and sex)

Then He makes the way easy for them,

Then maketh the way easy for him,

and then makes it easy for him to go through life;

Then He made his way easy for him.

Then (after structuring, developing and completing it) eased for him the passage (of delivery from the mother’s womb)

then causes them to die and be buried.

Then causeth him to die, and burieth him;

and in the end He causes him to die and brings him to the grave;

Then He gave him death and caused him to be buried.

Then caused him to die and (buried him) in a grave

Then when He wills, He will resurrect them.

Then, when He will, He bringeth him again to life.

and then, if it be His will, He shall raise him again to life,

Then when He pleased, brought him out.

Then whenever He wills, He will raise them up (alive again)

But no! They have failed to comply with what He ordered.

Nay, but (man) hath not done what He commanded him.

Nay, but [man] has never yet fulfilled what He has enjoined upon him!

Nothing, he has not carried out what he was commanded.

Indeed, he (the disobedient man) did not fulfil that (obligatory due) which (Allah) had commanded him

Let people then consider their food:

Let man consider his food:

Let man, then, consider [the sources of] his food:

Therefore, let man look at his food.

So man should look at his food (and ponder)

how We pour down rain in abundance

How We pour water in showers

[how it is] that We pour down water, pouring it down abundantly;

That We poured down water abundantly.

Indeed, We pour down water in torrents

and meticulously split the earth open ˹for sprouts˺,

Then split the earth in clefts

and then We cleave the earth [with new growth], cleaving it asunder,

Then We cleaved the earth well.

Then We split the earth and tear it asunder

causing grain to grow in it,

And cause the grain to grow therein

and thereupon We cause grain to grow out of it,

Then We caused to grow therein grain,

We then grow from it grain

as well as grapes and greens,

And grapes and green fodder

and vines and edible plants,

And grapes and green fodder.

And grapes and vegetables

and olives and palm trees,

And olive-trees and palm-trees

and olive trees and date-palms,

And the olive and the date palm.

And the olive and the date palm

and dense orchards,

And garden-closes of thick foliage

and gardens dense with foliage,

And thick gardens.

And thickly planted dense gardens

and fruit and fodder—

And fruits and grasses:

and fruits and herbage,

And fruits and grasses;

And (a variety of) fruits and (animals’) fodder

all as ˹a means of˺ sustenance for you and your animals.

Provision for you and your cattle.

for you and for your animals to enjoy.

For your benefit and for your cattle.

As provision both for you and your livestock (to live on)

Then, when the Deafening Blast comes to pass—

But when the Shout cometh

AND SO, when the piercing call [of resurrection] is heard

Then when the deafening shout will come,

So, when the Deafening Blast comes

on that Day every person will flee from their own siblings,

On the day when a man fleeth from his brother

on a Day when everyone will [want to] flee from his brother,

On that, day man will flee from his brother.

On that Day man will flee from his brother

and ˹even˺ their mother and father,

And his mother and his father

and from his mother and father,

And from his mother and his father.

And from his mother and his father (too)

and ˹even˺ their spouse and children.

And his wife and his children,

and from his spouse and his children:

And from his wife and his sons,

And (even) from his wife and his children

For then everyone will have enough concern of their own.

Every man that day will have concern enough to make him heedless (of others).

on that Day, to every one of them will his own state be of sufficient concern.

Every one of them on that day has one anxiety that is enough for him.

On that Day every person will be in such a (dismal) state that will make him unconcerned (with everyone else)

On that Day ˹some˺ faces will be bright,

On that day faces will be bright as dawn,

Some faces will on that Day be bright with happiness,

Many faces on that day shall be bright,

The same Day many faces will be shining (with light)

laughing and rejoicing,

Laughing, rejoicing at good news;

laughing, rejoicing at glad tidings.

laughing, rejoicing,

(They will be) smiling, laughing (and) rejoicing

while ˹other˺ faces will be dusty,

And other faces, on that day, with dust upon them,

And some faces will on that Day with dust be covered,

And many faces on that day will have dust upon them,

And numerous faces there will be covered with dust that Day

cast in gloom—

Veiled in darkness,

with darkness overspread:

Darkness will be covering them.

These (faces) will be overshadowed with darkness (as well)

those are the disbelievers, the ˹wicked˺ sinners.

Those are the disbelievers, the wicked.

these, these will be the ones who denied the truth and were immersed in iniquity!

They are the infidels, the wicked

They are the people who are disbelievers (and) mischief-mongers (i.e., evildoers)