The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

80. HE FROWNED
A Meccan sura. While the Prophet was speaking to some disbelieving notables,
hoping to convert them, a blind Muslim man came up to learn from him, but in
his eagerness to attract the disbelievers to Islam, the Prophet frowned at
him. The Prophet is then reproached and told not to concern himself with
the disbelievers. In the second paragraph there is a condemnation of man’s
ingratitude: man becomes self-satisfied and forgets his origin and his final
return to God.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1 He frowned and turned away 2 when the blind man came to him––
3 for all you know, a he might have grown in spirit, 4 or taken note of
something useful to him. 5 For the self-satisfied one 6 you go out of
your way––7 though you are not to be blamed for his lack of spiritual
growth––8 but from the one who has come to you full of eagerness
9 and awe 10 you allow yourself to be distracted. 11 No indeed! This
[Quran] is a lesson 12 from which those who wish to be taught should
learn, 13 [written] on honoured, 14 exalted, pure pages, 15 by the hands
of 16 noble and virtuous scribes.
17 Woe to man! How ungrateful he is! 18 From what thing does God
create him? 19 He creates him from a droplet, He proportions him,
20 He makes the way easy for him, 21 then He causes him to die and be
buried. 22 When He wills, He will raise him up again. 23 Yet man b
does not fulfil God’s commands. 24 Let man consider the food he
eats! 25 We c pour down abundant water 26 and cause the soil to split
open. 27 We make grain grow, 28 and vines, fresh vegetation, 29 olive
trees, date palms, 30 luscious gardens, 31 fruits, and fodder: 32 all for
you and your livestock to enjoy.
33 When the Deafening Blast comes––34 the Day man will flee from
his own brother, 35 his mother, his father, 36 his wife, his children:
a The shift from talking about the Prophet to addressing him directly reinforces the
reproach.
b Some commentators take this to refer only to disbelievers.
c This is a shift to the plural of divine majesty to emphasize the magnitude of the
action; see iltifat in Introduction, p. xx.