'Abasa watawalla..

Okay, who here has heard of Surah 'Abasa? Me, personally had heard of 'Abasa watawalla.. When I was a kid, I had to memorize this surah at school. But, you know, I never really knew what it means, or even that the name of surah was exactly that - Surah 'Abasa. That was the way I was as a kid. I memorize the surahs in the Juzu' Amma, but I never knew their name. I knew Surah al-Ikhlas as "surah Qul huwallahu ahad". And then when some mention about Surah Al-Ikhlas, I'm completely oblivious. Hahah. :)

Anyways..

Surah 'Abasa is a surah of a particular story. It was a criticism from Allah swt to the Prophet s.a.w about a seemingly small harmless act - frowning.

'Abasa - it literally means - "He frowned".

Allah swt is saying to his Prophet pbuh, O my beloved Prophet, why oh why did you frowned? A stern and serious criticism to the conduct of a frown. Even to a man who cannot see. Even to a blind man.

The story behind the surah was narrated by 'Aishah r.a. like this :- One day, the Prophet pbuh was talking to the leaders of the Quraisy. They were the leaders of their tribe, the centrepoint of the eyes of the nation, the role model that the people look up to to model their lives by. The Prophet pbuh was talking to this audience eagerly in hopes that they would become Muslim. Oh, if they did become Muslims, this would be a huge advantage, a big upper-hand. They are rich. They have influences. If they enter Islam, everyone will follow suit. They are the key that will unlock the nation. Or so it seems...

As the Prophet pbuh was talking, a blind Muslim man came up to him. O my Prophet pbuh, he said. Please teach me.

The Prophet pbuh turned and frown and turned away. He asked for the blind man to wait for a moment till he's done.

Even though the Prophet s.a.w did no wrong. He was after all rudely interrupted. And the blind man was blind of course, but he was not deaf. He could very well hear that the Prophet pbuh was entertaining an important crowd. So, the Prophet pbuh did him no wrong in asking him to wait for moment. And the blind man was blind. So, he can't even see that the Prophet s.a.w had frowned at him. He probably had the biggest surprise of his life, when he found out about this Surah. Or when the Prophet pbuh relay and teach him and the Companions about this surah. Or when the Prophet pbuh had to recite this surah again and again in leading congregational prayers (solat jemaah). The blind man must have had the surprise of his life!

But Allah says no. No, you cannot frowned at this man. At all times, you must watch your conduct. You are a Muslim. You are the representative of this religion of Islam. My (Allah's) religion that I gave to mankind to be happy and prosperous in this life and the next. You must be careful of your conduct.

People are watching. And people, as kind as people are, most are judgemental. They will judge you based on your conduct. they might blame a good or bad conduct on Islam or not on Islam. On environment and upbringing maybe. Or other external or internal factors. But, nevertheless, Islam always teach its followers to have good manners, to be patient and generally be good to others, no matter who they are, rich or poor, blind or deaf, big or small, white or black, kings or servants.

And Allah says no. This blind man is a Muslim. Someone who is already committing himself to what you are teaching. Someone who earnestly wants to learn. And yet you turned him away for who? For the big guys of the Quraisy who neither want to listen or even care of what you are saying. Who are during the day and night making your life miserable. Who waits for you to make any mistake that they can jump on and publish far and wide in the media. For these people, you give more attention at the expense of an earnest man. The Quraisy and generally those who have not heard of the message of Islam and has to be told the message, this is no doubt. But not at the expense of a Muslim. Something that you hope for is not to be put over something you already have.

More than anything, this story gives the lesson that a man's judgement or assessment, is always short of the best. The best scale ever for a man to know between what is right and what is wrong, and best scale ever by which a man lives his life and builds his life with, and the best ever scale that he uses to make choices in his life - is the scale of Allah swt. And where is this scale? The Qur'an and the life and examples shown by the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Wallahu'alam. :)

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