عَبَسَ

وَتَوَلَّىٰٓ

١

He frowned and turned ˹his attention˺ away,

˹simply˺ because the blind man came to him ˹interrupting˺.¹

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

or he may be mindful, benefitting from the reminder.

As for the one who was indifferent,

you gave him your ˹undivided˺ attention,

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

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

being in awe ˹of Allah˺,

you were inattentive to him.

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

So let whoever wills be mindful of it.

It is ˹written˺ on pages held in honour—

highly esteemed, purified—

by the hands of angel-scribes,

honourable and virtuous.

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

From what substance did He create them?

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

Then He makes the way easy for them,¹

then causes them to die and be buried.¹

Then when He wills, He will resurrect them.

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

Let people then consider their food:

how We pour down rain in abundance

and meticulously split the earth open ˹for sprouts˺,

causing grain to grow in it,

as well as grapes and greens,

and olives and palm trees,

and dense orchards,

and fruit and fodder—

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

Then, when the Deafening Blast¹ comes to pass—

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

and ˹even˺ their mother and father,

and ˹even˺ their spouse and children.

For then everyone will have enough concern of their own.

On that Day ˹some˺ faces will be bright,

laughing and rejoicing,

while ˹other˺ faces will be dusty,

cast in gloom—

those are the disbelievers, the ˹wicked˺ sinners.