Verses 17–42
These verses curse the human being and express wonder at their extreme ungratefulness toward the Lordship of their Lord. They talk about the beginning and continuation of humankind’s creation, showing that they are not in charge of any aspect of themselves: neither their creation to begin with, nor the direction of their affairs subsequent to that. Rather, it is God Who has created them from a degenerate drop of sperm, Who has apportioned them, Who has facilitated their way, Who will then make them die and bury them, and Who will resurrect them whenever He wills. Hence, God is their absolute Lord Who has created them and directs their affairs. Despite this, humankind fails to fulfill the commands of their Lord and follow His guidance.
If they only look at their food—which is but a single manifestation of God’s management of their affairs, and a handful from the oceans of His Mercy—they would realize how comprehensive is His direction of affairs, and how gracious is the way He deals with His servants. That is sufficient to render the intellect bewildered and the mind astonished. And beyond that are blessings that cannot be enumerated: If you enumerate Allah’s blessings, you will not be able to count them (, ).
Concealing God’s direction of affairs as their Lord, and failing to thank Him for His blessings, are indeed strange. Indeed man is most unfair and ungrateful (). Soon they will see the result of their gratefulness or ungratefulness in the form of joy and radiance, or misery and darkness.
As one can see, these verses can be viewed as a continuation of the previous set of verses, following the same theme and context. Some exegetes opine that these verses were revealed on another occasion, which we will discuss below.
Commentary
قُتِلَ الْإِنْسانُ ما أَكْفَرَهُ ١٧
(80:17) Perish man! How ungrateful is he!
This is a curse on the human being due to their disposition to plunge in a pursuit of their desires, forget the Lordship of their Lord, and refuse to follow His commands.
… How (mā) ungrateful is he (akfarahu, from kufr): This is an expression of astonishment at the utmost degree of kufr in humankind, which means “concealing the clear truth.” They clearly see and realize that they are subject to God’s governance, and that no one else manages their affairs whatsoever. What is meant by kufr (ungratefulness, disbelief) is any concealment of the truth in its general sense. That would include rejecting God’s Lordship, and refraining from His worship. This is confirmed by the verses below, which talk about the different aspects of God’s direction of human life as their Lord. These aspects are most congruent with interpreting kufr as “concealing the truth and refusing to worship.” Some exegetes have interpreted kufr as “being ungrateful and not giving thanks.” This meaning is true in its right, but our interpretation is more pertinent given the context.
Al-Kashshāf says:
The phrase, Perish man! is a curse on the human being. It is the worst of its kind among the Arabs, because being killed is at the peak of the pains and evils of this world. The phrase How ungrateful is he! is an expression of astonishment at the human being’s utter ingratitude with respect to God’s blessings. Despite their brevity, these two phrases put together compose an expression that is most vehement, forceful, indicative of wrath, emphatic in censure, and comprehensive in rebuke.
Some have said that the particle mā is inquisitive (what), where the meaning is: “What is it that has made man ungrateful?” However the first interpretation is more expressive.
مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ ١٨
(80:18) From what has He created him?
Given the context, the meaning is: “From what did God create the human being so that they may rightfully refrain from belief and disobedience, and defiantly rebel?” The verse does not name the Creator, just as the subsequent verses do not name the subject. This omission indicates that the subject is more than evident. It is intuitively known to everyone that they have no creator but God, as it was also admitted by the polytheists.
The question in this verse emphasizes the astonishment conveyed by the last verse: How ungrateful is he (). One shows surprise when they encounter an unexpected event with an unknown cause. Accordingly, the last verse implies that humankind’s extreme ungratefulness is indeed astonishing. Then this verse asks: “Well, is there anything in their creation—as they were created by God—which may cause them to be so ungrateful?” The answer is negative [as reflected in the next verse]. This means that the human being has no justification or excuse for their concealment of the truth. It is more than evident that they are created from an insignificant drop of sperm which does not control anything of its initial creation, nor its subsequent direction of affairs throughout its life, death and resurrection. In short, the question in this verse is a prelude to the answer in the next verse: He has created him from a drop of [seminal] fluid… ().
مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ ١٩
(80:19) He has created him from a drop of [seminal] fluid (nuṭfatin), and then proportioned him.
The indefinite form of the word nuṭfatin shows insignificance and abasement. That is: “God created humankind from a degenerate drop of seminal fluid. Given such an origin, they have no right to rebel against the commands of their Lord in arrogance.”
… and then proportioned him (fa-qaddarahu, from qadr): God subjected the essence, attributes and actions of humankind to qadr (measure, limit). Thus they cannot transgress the limits and boundaries that have been set and determined for him. God’s management has completely enveloped them from every side, so they cannot autonomously venture to acquire something that has not been proportioned for them.
ثُمَّ السَّبِيلَ يَسَّرَهُ ٢٠
(80:20) Then He made the way easy for him;
Given the context, this verse apparently negates any excuse that humans may have for their ungratefulness and arrogance. The way is mentioned in an unqualified form, which means the way of obeying God and following His commands. Alternatively, it means the path toward good and happiness.
This means that the verse responds to an implied question (called a prolepsis). When it is said, He has created him from a drop of [seminal] fluid, and then proportioned him. (), one may imagine that since they are encompassed from every side with respect to their creation and proportion, then whatever they do is a necessary consequence of their determined essence and attributes. Their actions cannot be contravened since they are compelled to perform them, since they are devoid of free will. Therefore, one has no choice regarding their kufr (ungratefulness, disbelief), their sinfulness, and their failure to fulfill what God has commanded them []. That is because all these ensue from the person according to God’s predestination and decree. As a result, one cannot be held accountable or blamed for anything. Likewise, one would not be subject to any religious obligation, because all religious obligations hinge on free will, while the human being has no free will.
This verse answers that by saying: Then He made the way easy for him. The verse’s point is that God’s creation and proportioning of the human being do not contradict their volition. They still maintain the choice to follow the path of faith and obedience, toward the happiness for which they are created. “Everyone is facilitated toward that for which they have been created.” God’s taqdīr (measurement, ordainment, allotment) applies to human acts through their volition. His will has decreed and determined that each person would act in a certain way through their free will. Therefore, the action originates from the free choice of the human being, while it is also proportioned and determined by God. This means that the human being is free in their acts, and thus responsible for them, although they are also subject to God’s qadar (measurement, ordainment, predestination). We have discussed this repeatedly under relevant verses.
Here are two other suggested interpretations for Then He made the way easy for him:
- It refers to the baby’s easy passage out of the mother’s womb. The meaning is: “Then God made the human’s exit easy, when they were a fetus that was created from a sperm.”
- It means guiding humankind to religion and clarifying the paths of virtue and vice to them, as the Qur’an says: and We have shown him the two paths [of good and evil] ().
Comment: Our interpretation above is more plausible.
ثُمَّ أَماتَهُ فَأَقْبَرَهُ ٢١
(80:21) then He made him die (amātahu, from imātah) and buried him (fa-aqbarahu, from iqbār);
Imātah means “applying and striking death to someone.” Iqbār means “burying someone in the grave, hiding one’s body inside the earth.” This is based on the common practice of people. God has ascribed the act to Himself since He is the One Who has guided them to it, and has inspired them the idea. Therefore, the act is attributable to Him, as it is also attributable to people.
Another suggested interpretation for iqbār is “making someone dhū qabr (possessor of a grave).” The meaning would be: “God has made the human being have a grave by commanding others to bury the dead. Thus He has honored them because their corpse will by buried before others are disturbed and repelled by it.”
However, the first interpretation is more congruent with the context of the verses, which is how God directs the affairs of humankdind through His creation (takwīn). The second view, on the other hand, is based on how He directs their affairs through His legislation (tashrīʿ).
ثُمَّ إِذا شاءَ أَنْشَرَهُ ٢٢
(80:22) and then, when He wills, He resurrects him (ansharahu, from inshār).
Majmaʿ al-bayān says:
Inshār means “resurrecting someone after death in order to operate,” just as a folded garment is unfolded [to be used].
What is meant here is that they will be resurrected whenever God wills. This expression confirms the idea that the resurrection will be sudden; no one knows it but God.
كَلاَّ لَمَّا يَقْضِ ما أَمَرَهُ ٢٣
(80:23) Nay (kallā)! He has not yet carried out what He had commanded him.
Based on the context, the exclamation kallā (nay, never, no way) answers an implied question in the negative. The question can be deduced from the context of the verses, and more explicitly from the expression: He has not yet carried out what He had commanded him. The previous verses discussed how the human being is created and directed by God since the very beginning of their existence until the very end, including their creation, their proportioning, the facilitation of their way, their death, their burial, and their resurrection. Given these stages—which are all divine blessings—one would naturally ask: “So what has the human being done in return? Have they submitted to God’s Lordship? Have they been grateful for His blessings?” Thus the verse replies: Nay! And then it elaborates: He has not yet carried out what He had commanded him. Instead, they have disbelieved and disobeyed what God has commanded them.
Based on the above interpretation, the pronoun “he”—in He has not—refers to the human being, and what is meant by “carrying out” is fulfilling what God has commanded them to perform. Some have said that the antecedent of the pronoun “he”—in He has not—is God, and the meaning is: “God has not ordained for this disbeliever to carry out what He has commanded them, such as belief and obedience. He has issued these orders only to complete His argument against them.” However, this is far from the apparent meaning of the verse.
It should now be clear that the rebuke and censure in the above verses are directed at humankind in general, based on their natural inclination toward excessive kufr (ungratefulness, disbelief), as mentioned in the verse: Indeed man is most unfair and ungrateful (). Then the external applications and instances of the verses would specifically be those who have voluntarily donned the garment of kufr, and have exceeded the limits [of servitude] with hostility. This refutes the view of some exegetes that the verses pertain to everyone, both believers and non-believers, because no one can worship God as He deserves. The problem with this view is that the pronouns in these verses refer to the human being which is mentioned at the beginning []. That includes all humans in the sense that they have a natural proclivity toward kufr. Then, the application of the verses would be those who have actualized this innate propensity.
فَلْيَنْظُرِ الْإِنْسانُ إِلى طَعامِهِ ٢٤
(80:24) So let man observe (fal-yanẓur) his food:
This verse draws the attention of humans toward their food, on which they survive and sustain their lives. This is but one among the countless blessings provided through their Lord’s management, to satisfy the needs of humankind in their lives. It is meant for the people to reflect over this bounty, and thereby realize their Lord’s all-encompassing direction of their affairs, which is conducted in a way that baffles the mind and stuns the intellect. They would thus observe God’s extensive and delicate care for their welfare and growth.
The man mentioned in this verse is not the same as the man in the verse, Perish man! How ungrateful is he! (). That verse was about a person who exceeds in kufr (ungratefulness, disbelief). This verse, however, is about someone who is ordered to reflect and observe, which includes all humans. That is why the verse has repeated the word man instead of using a pronoun. From this verse [up to verse ] we see an elaboration of what was mentioned concisely in the previous verses. This connection is marked by the letter fāʾ (so, then, therefore) at the beginning of the verse, which indicates consequence.
أَنَّا صَبَبْنَا الْماءَ صَبًّا ٢٥
(80:25) Indeed (annā) We poured down water plenteously (ṣabban),
Ṣabb means “pouring water from above.” What is meant here is sending down rain on the earth for the growth of plants. It could also include the flow of springs and streams, since the water reservoirs inside the earth are also formed by rainwater.
The first word in the verse is commonly read as annā [not innā], which means that the verse is a continuation of the last verse. From this verse up to verse is a detailed exposition of how God manages the food of humankind. Needless to say, this itself is a preliminary stage of elaboration; otherwise, a full account of the system at work—including all the features, properties, factors and causal links which govern every element of the divine plan down to the human end users—would be practically impossible to express.
ثُمَّ شَقَقْنَا الْأَرْضَ شَقًّا ٢٦
(80:26) then (thumma) We split the earth into fissures
Apparently what is meant here is splitting the earth through the growth of plants. That is why this verse is added to the previous one with the conjunction thumma (then), while the next verse is connected to this one with the conjunction letter fāʾ (then).
فَأَنْبَتْنا فِيها حَبًّا ٢٧
(80:27) and made the grain grow (fa-anbatnā) in it,
The antecedent of the pronoun “it” is the earth (). What is meant by grain in this verse is the genus of all grains that humans consume, such as barley and wheat. The same applies to vines, vegetables and the other terms.
وَ عِنَباً وَ قَضْباً ٢٨
(80:28) and vines (ʿinaban) and vegetables (ghaḍban),
The meaning of ʿinab is well-known (grape). It is also used for the vine tree, which is perhaps what is meant in this verse. The same applies to olives (). Qaḍb means “fresh vegetables and herbs” that humans consume. They are called ghaḍb because their plants are cut off (yughḍabu) repeatedly [over time]. It has also been interpreted as “plants that are harvested for the feed of animals.”
وَ زَيْتُوناً وَ نَخْلاً ٢٩
(80:29) olives and date palms,
These are well-known plants.
وَ حَدائِقَ غُلْباً ٣٠
(80:30) and densely-planted (ghulban) gardens (ḥadāʾiq),
Ḥadāʾiq is the plural of ḥadīqah, which has been defined as “walled garden, enclosed orchard.” Ghulb is the plural of ghalbāʾ, which is used as an adjective for large and sturdy trees. The verse describes gardens that contain massive and thick trees.
وَ فاكِهَةً وَ أَبًّا ٣١
(80:31) fruits (fākihah) and pastures (abban),
Abb means “pasture, grazing land.” Here are a few views concerning the word fākihah: (1) It means “fruits” in general. (2) It includes all fruits except grape and pomegranate. (3) The explicit mention of some fruits in the previous verses—such as olives and date palms—indicates special attention to their value and status [otherwise, fākihah includes all fruits].
مَتاعاً لَكُمْ وَ لِأَنْعامِكُمْ ٣٢
(80:32) as a sustenance for you and for your livestock.
This verse presents the intended object (mafʿūl lahu) of the previous verses. The meaning is: “We planted what we planted—the food that you consume—so that it may be a means of sustenance for you and for the livestock in your possession.”
There is a shift of address from the third person to the second person in this verse, which underlines God’s favor upon humankind in His direction of their affairs, and/or the blessings that He has bestowed upon them.
فَإِذا جاءَتِ الصَّاخَّةُ ٣٣
(80:33) So when the deafening Cry (al-ṣākhkhah) comes
Ṣākhkhah means “an intense cry that deafens the ears due to its intensity.” What is meant here is the blowing of Trumpet. This verse presents the ending point of God’s universal direction of human affairs. Part of His direction of their affairs is the command to serve Him, which humans either fulfill or not. That will end in the Day of Resurrection, when every person will receive the result of their actions in full measure.
يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ ٣٤ وَ أُمِّهِ وَ أَبِيهِ ٣٥ وَ صاحِبَتِهِ وَ بَنِيهِ ٣٦
(80:34-36) —the day when a man will evade his brother, his mother and his father, his spouse and his sons—
These verses reflect the severity of that day. They mention the closest relatives of a person, who would naturally be a source of support for the person, to whom one would recourse for assistance, and with whom one would feel at peace. However, on the Day of Resurrection one would run away from the same people because the person is completely preoccupied with oneself and enveloped by calamity. One will be so engaged with one’s own predicament that they will not have the chance to attend to anyone else, whomsoever that may be. When difficult times escalate in intensity and overpower the person, they completely absorb the person to themselves, and divert them from everyone and everything else. This idea can be confirmed with the next verse.
لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ ٣٧
(80:37) that day each of them will have a task to keep him preoccupied.
That is, each person’s position and circumstance is a sufficient engagement for them, such that they cannot turn to anything else. Exegetes have offered other explanations for why one would evade their relatives and near ones. Since there is no evidence for their views, we will not present them.
وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُسْفِرَةٌ ٣٨ ضاحِكَةٌ مُسْتَبْشِرَةٌ ٣٩
(80:38-39) That day some faces will be bright (musfirah, from isfār), laughing and joyous (mustabshirah, from istibshār).
These verses [to the end of the chapter] describe how people will be divided into two groups on that day: the felicitous and the wretched. Each group can be known through the expression on their face.
When used for the face, the word isfār means “brightness and resplendence” due to joy and happiness. Similarly, their faces will be beaming and radiant (mustabshirah) as a result of observing glad tidings (bushrá).
وَ وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَلَيْها غَبَرَةٌ ٤٠
(80:40) And some faces on that day will be covered with dust (ghabarah),
Ghabarah means “dust and darkness” on the face, which is an expression of grief and sorrow.
تَرْهَقُها قَتَرَةٌ ٤١
(80:41) overcast with gloom.
Blackness and darkness will overcast and envelop them. The last four verses [] describe the state of each group by describing their facial expressions and complexions. This is because the face is a mirror of the heart, in the sense that it reflects the joy or sorrow in one’s heart.
أُولئِكَ هُمُ الْكَفَرَةُ الْفَجَرَةُ ٤٢
(80:42) It is they who are the faithless, the vicious (al-fajarah, from fujūr).
They are those who combine in themselves lack of faith in terms of their beliefs, and reprehensible acts of disobedience in terms of their deeds. Fujūr means “detestable sin.” Alternatively, they are those who are ungrateful to God’s blessings, and who are mischief-mongers. This verse describes the second group of people on that day, which are the wretched. There is no equivalent description of the first group—the felicitous—because the context of the verses is that of warning and admonition. The verses specifically revolve around the case of the wretched.
Examining Narrations
- Concerning Perish man! How ungrateful is he! () ʿIkrimah said: This verse was revealed with reference to ʿUtbat b. Abī Lahab, who said, “I don’t believe in the Lord of the star when it sets ().” Thus the Prophet cursed him, and he was devoured by a lion on his way to the Levant.
- Concerning Perish (qutila) man! How ungrateful is he! () Imam ʿAlī said: It means curse be upon (luʿina) man.
- Concerning Then He made the way easy for him () Tafsīr al-Qummī says: He made the way to good easy for him.
Author’s comment: This means that God has equipped humans with free will in their acts, such that they can pursue an easy course toward the happiness and perfection for which they have been created. Hence, the above account matches our interpretation of the verse.
- Concerning and vegetables (qaḍban) () Tafsīr al-Qummī says: Qaḍb means fresh fodder.
- Concerning fruits and pastures (abban) () Tafsīr al-Qummī says: Abb is hay for animals.
- Abū Bakr was once asked about the meaning of abban (). “Which heaven would protect me under its shade,” he said, “and which land would host me if I were to say something that I don’t know concerning the Book of God?”
- Once ʿUmar recited on the pulpit: and made the grain grow in it, and vines and vegetables… and pastures (abban) (), and said: “We know all of these [words], but what is abb?” Then he dropped the staff he was holding in his hand, and said, “By God this would be an unwarranted contrivance and imposition [of meaning]. What happens if you don’t know what is abb? Follow those instructions of God’s Book which have been clarified to you. Act upon those, and defer what you don’t know to its [the Qur’an’s] Lord.”
- Once a man asked ʿUmar about the meaning of abban (). When ʿUmar saw the people offering their views on it, he took out his whip.
Author’s comment: This implies prohibiting the people from discussing the teachings of the Qur’an, even to the extent of defining its vocabulary.
- Abū Bakr was once asked about the verse, fruits (fākihah) and pastures (abban) (), but he did not know the meaning of abb in the Qur’an. So he said, “Which heaven would protect me under its shade, which land would host me, and what should I do, if I were to say something that I don’t know concerning the Book of God? We know the meaning of fākihah, but God knows best what is abb.”
When the news of this reached Imam ʿAlī, he said, “Glory be to God! How could he not realize that abb means pasture and fodder? When the Almighty God says, fruits and pastures (), He is listing His blessings upon His creatures regarding the food that He has provided and created for them, and also for their livestock. He is describing what sustains their lives and energizes their bodies.”
- The Prophet’s wife Sūdah said: The Messenger of God said, “People shall be resurrected barefooted, naked and uncircumcised. Perspiration will bridle them and reach their earlobes.”
“What a misery, O Messenger of God!” I exclaimed. “Does it mean that people will see each other [naked] on that day?”
“They will be too busy to notice that,” he replied. Then the Messenger of God recited: that day each of them will have a task to keep him preoccupied ().
- Concerning that day each of them will have a task to keep him preoccupied () Tafsīr al-Qummī says: [They will have] an engagement that will divert them from everything else.
In the first interpretation, the particle mā is not inquisitive (what), but it is exclamatory (how much, so much). (Ed.) ↩︎
This is a famous Prophetic narration. (Ed.) ↩︎
See verses and , and number 3 under Chapter 91’s examination of narrations, below. Also see volume 1, pp. 143 and 162ff of the English translation, under verses and ; volume 2, pp. 209ff and 271-272, under verses and ; volume 13, pp. 25ff and 81ff, under verses and ; volume 15, p. 65, under verses ; volume 39, p. 160, under verse ; p. 200, under verse ; pp. 233-234 under verse . (Ed.) ↩︎
In other words, the rebuke is potentially applicable to all humans since we all carry the gene of kufr. But the rebuke is actually applicable only to those who activate the gene and live up to its demands. (Ed.) ↩︎
Thumma indicates delayed sequence, while the letter fāʾ indicates immediate sequence. (Ed.) ↩︎
In other words, what is named in verses is human food, not animal feed. (Ed.) ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Ibn al-Mundhir. ↩︎
That is, “May man be far from God’s mercy.” In this context, this is an expression of frustration and disappointment. (Ed.) ↩︎
Al-Iḥtijāj, as a part of a longer hadith. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayd’s al-Faḍāʾil, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Tīmī. ↩︎
In other words: “Whether you know its meaning or not does not make any difference in your life.” Or alternatively: “You will not be held accountable for not knowing its meaning.” (Ed.) ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Saʿīd b. Manṣūr, Ibn Jarīr, ʿAbd b. Ḥumayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Mardawayh, al-Bayhaqī’s Shuʿab al-īmān, al-Khaṭīb and al-Ḥākim (who has authenticated it), on the authority of Anas. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of ʿAbd b. Ḥumayd, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Yazīd. ↩︎
Therefore, verse interprets verse 80:31: a sustenance for you () corresponds to fākihah (), and for your livestock () corresponds to abban (). (Ed.) ↩︎
Mufīd’s al-Irshād. ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-bayān, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ b. Yasār. ↩︎