Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 80 Abasa, Ayat 5-12

اَمَّا مَنِ اسۡتَغۡنٰىۙ‏ ﴿80:5﴾ فَاَنۡتَ لَهٗ تَصَدّٰىؕ‏ ﴿80:6﴾ وَمَا عَلَيۡكَ اَلَّا يَزَّكّٰٓىؕ‏ ﴿80:7﴾ وَاَمَّا مَنۡ جَآءَكَ يَسۡعٰىۙ‏ ﴿80:8﴾ وَهُوَ يَخۡشٰىۙ‏ ﴿80:9﴾ فَاَنۡتَ عَنۡهُ تَلَهّٰى​ۚ‏ ﴿80:10﴾ كَلَّاۤ اِنَّهَا تَذۡكِرَةٌ ۚ‏ ﴿80:11﴾ فَمَنۡ شَآءَ ذَكَرَهٗ​ۘ‏ ﴿80:12﴾

(80:5) Now he who waxes indifferent, (80:6) you attend to him, (80:7) though you are not to blame if he would not cleanse himself. (80:8) But he who comes to you running, (80:9) and fears (Allah), (80:10) you pay no heed to him.2 (80:11) No indeed;3 this is only a Reminder.4 (80:12) So whoso wills may give heed to it.

Notes

2. This is the real point which the Prophet (peace be upon him) had overlooked in the preaching of Islam on that occasion, and for teaching him the same Allah first reproved him on his treatment of Ibn Umm Maktum, and then told him what really deserved to occupy his attention as preacher of the truth and what did not. There is a man whose apparent state clearly shows that he is a seeker after truth: he fears lest he should follow falsehood and invite Allah’s wrath; therefore, he comes all the way in search of the knowledge of the true faith. There is another man, whose attitude clearly reflects that he has no desire for the truth; rather on the contrary, he regards himself as selfsufficient, having no desire to be guided to the right way. Between these two kinds of men one should not see whose becoming a Muslim would be of greater use for Islam and whose becoming a believer could not be of any use in its propagation. But one should see as to who was inclined to accept the guidance and reform himself, and who was least interested in this precious bargain. The first kind of man, whether he is blind, lame, crippled or an indigent mendicant, who might apparently seem incapable of rendering any useful service in the propagation of Islam, is in any case a valuable man for the preacher to the truth. To him therefore he should attend, for the real object of this invitation is to reform the people, and the apparent state of the person shows that if he was instructed he would accept guidance. As for the other kind of man, the preacher has no need to pursue him, no matter how influential he is in society. For his attitude and conduct openly proclaim that he has no desire for reform; therefore, any effort made to reform him would be mere waste of time. If he has no desire to reform himself, he may not, the loss would be his, the preacher would not at all be accountable for it.

3. That is, you should never do so: do not give undue importance to those who have forgotten God and become proud of their high worldly position. The teaching of Islam is not such that it should be presented solicitously before him who spurns it, nor should a man like you try to invite these arrogant people to Islam in a way as may cause them the misunderstanding that you have a selfish motive connected with them, and that your mission would succeed only if they believed, otherwise not, whereas the fact is that the truth is as self-sufficient of them as they are of the truth.

4. The allusion is to the Quran.