The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

a
a
Cf. 
46: 35.
The Qur
an
79: 35
408

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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-satis
fied and forgets his origin and his final
return to God.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1He frowned and turned away 2when the blind man came to him––
3for all you know,
a
he might have grown in spirit, 
4or taken note of
something useful to him. 
5For the self-satisfied one 6you go out of
your way ––
7though you are not to be blamed for his lack of spiritual
growth ––
8but from the one who has come to you full of eagerness
9and awe 10you allow yourself to be distracted. 11No indeed! This
[Qur
an] is a lesson 12from which those who wish to be taught should
learn, 
13[written] on honoured, 14exalted, pure pages, 15by the hands
of
16noble and virtuous scribes.
17Woe to man! How ungrateful he is! 18From what thing does God
create him? 
19He creates him from a droplet, He proportions him,
20He makes the way easy for him, 21then He causes him to die and be
buried. 
22When He wills, He will raise him up again. 23Yet man
b
does not ful
fil God’s commands. 24Let man consider the food he
eats! 
25We
c
pour down abundant water 
26and cause the soil to split
open.
27We make grain grow, 28and vines, fresh vegetation, 29olive
trees, date palms, 
30luscious gardens, 31fruits, and fodder: 32all for
you and your livestock to enjoy.
33When the Deafening Blast comes––34the Day man will flee from
his own brother, 
35his mother, his father, 36his 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.

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37each of them will be absorbed in concerns of their own on that
Day –
–
38on that Day some faces will be beaming, 39laughing, and
rejoicing, 
40but some faces will be dust-stained 41and covered in
darkness:
42those are the disbelievers, the licentious.
The Qur
an
80: 37
410

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81. SHROUDED IN DARKNESS
A Meccan sura stressing the fact that people will be confronted by their deeds on
Judgement Day, asserting the truth of the Qur
an, and calling people to the
right path. It opens with a powerful description of events on that Day, and the
title of the sura is taken from this description.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1When the sun is shrouded in darkness, 2when the stars are dimmed,
3when the mountains are set in motion, 4when pregnant camels are
abandoned, 
5when wild beasts are herded together, 6when the seas
boil over, 
7when souls are sorted into classes, 8when the baby girl
buried alive is asked 
9for what sin she was killed,
a
10when the records
of deeds are spread open, 
11when the sky is stripped away, 12when
Hell is made to blaze 
13and Paradise brought near: 14then every soul
will know what it has brought about.
15I swear by the planets 16that recede, move, and hide, 17by the
night that descends, 
18by the dawn that softly breathes: 19this is the
speech of a noble messenger,
b
20who possesses great strength and is
held in honour by the Lord of the Throne ––
21he is obeyed there and
worthy of trust. 
22Your companion