1. He (the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace) frowned and turned away…

2. …because the blind man came to him. The blind man was named ‘Abdullah ibn Umm Maktüm. The Prophet stopped him doing what he was doing because he hoped that some of the nobles of Quraysh would become Muslim and was eager for that to happen. The blind man, not knowing that he was preoccupied with that, called out to him, “Teach me some of what Allah has taught you!” The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went to his house. He was rebuked for his reaction by what was revealed in this sura. After that, whenever ‘Abdullah ibn Umm Maktüm came, he used to say, “Welcome to the one for whose sake He censured me,” and he would spread out his cloak for him.

3. But how do you know? What will tell you? Perhaps he would be purified of wrong actions by what he hears from you –

4. …or reminded, and the reminder benefit him. What he hears from you will benefit him.

5. As for him who thinks himself self-sufficient because of his wealth,

6. …you give (read as tasadda and tassadda) him your complete attention –

7. …but it is not up to you whether or not he is purified: whether or not he believes.

8. But as for him who comes to you eagerly,

9. …showing fearfulness, meaning the blind man,

10. …from him you are distracted (read as ‘anhu talahha and ‘anhu’ttalahha).

11. No indeed! Do not act like that. Truly it (the sura or the ayats) is a reminder to all mankind –

12. …and whoever wills pays heed to it – remembers and is warned by it;

13. …inscribed on Honoured Pages – honoured in the sight of Allah;

14. …exalted in the heavens, purified of the touch of the shaytans –

15. …by the hands of scribes – who copy it out from the Preserved Tablet –

16. …noble, virtuous – obeying Allah Almighty: meaning the angels.

17. Curse man for his ingratitude! “Curse the unbelievers.” Allah rebukes them for the unbelief they display.

18. From what thing did He create him? This is a rhetorical question which Allah then elucidates.

19. From a drop of sperm He created him and proportioned him, as a clot and then a lump of flesh, until he was fully formed.

20. Then He eases the way for him – to emerge from the womb of his mother.

21. Then He causes him to die and has him buried in his grave, where He covers him with earth.

22. Then, when He wills, He raises him from the dead at the Resurrection.

23. No indeed! He has not done what He (his Lord) ordered him.

24. Man has only to look at his food. “Look” here means to reflect on and consider. “Has he not considered how his food is decreed and managed for him?”

25. We pour down plentiful water from the clouds,

26. …then split the earth – by means of plants – into furrows.

27. Then We make grain – such as wheat and barley – grow in it,

28. …and grapes and herbs,

29. …and olives and dates,

30. …and luxuriant gardens with many trees in them,

31. …and orchards and meadows – it is said that the word abb is where animals graze, and it is also said to mean figs –

32. …for you and your livestock to enjoy – or use, as was stated in the previous sura.

33. When the Deafening Blast – the Second Blast – comes –

34. …the Day a man will flee from his brother,

35. …and his mother and his father,

36. …and his wife and his children:

37. …on that Day every man among them will have concerns enough of his own. His own situation will distract him from everything else.

38. That Day some faces will be radiant with joy,

39. …laughing, rejoicing: full of joy. These are the believers.

40. That Day some faces will be dust-covered,

41. …overcast with gloom: dark.

42. Those are the dissolute unbelievers. They are subject to both unbelief and deviance.