Tafsir of Abasa 80:17

"Cursed is man" is an invocation against him using the most heinous and atrocious of curses. "How disbelieving he is!" is an expression of astonishment at his extreme degree of disbelief and a clarification of his worthiness of such a curse.

The intended subject is either the one who deemed himself independent of the Noble Quran—whose magnificent attributes, which necessitate turning towards it and believing in it, have been mentioned—or it refers to the human species as a whole, considering that it encompasses him and his like. The latter view is preferred on the basis that the verse was revealed, according to what Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from Ikrimah, concerning Utbah ibn Abi Lahab. He had become angry with his father and embraced Islam, but then his father reconciled with him, gave him wealth, and prepared him for travel to Syria. He sent word to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he disbelieved in the Lord of "the star when it descends." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "O Allah, set upon him Your dog until it devours him." When he was mid-journey, he remembered the prayer; so, he offered a thousand dinars to those with him if he survived until morning. They placed him in the middle of the caravan, surrounded by baggage. A lion approached the encampment, leaped, and was upon him, tearing him apart. His father would mourn him and weep, saying, "Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) never said anything but that it came to pass." A more detailed account of this story will appear later, if Allah Almighty wills, so do not neglect it.

Furthermore, this is speech of the utmost conciseness. Jar Allah [al-Zamakhshari] said: "You will not find a style harsher than this, nor one more indicative of wrath, nor one that goes further in condemnation despite the closeness of its ends, nor one more comprehensive of meaning despite the brevity of its text." It encompasses the invocation you have heard—intended as such, since its literal implication (of literal killing) is not conceivable from Him, Exalted is He—and the expression of astonishment—intended as such, since it is impossible for Him, Glory be to Him, to be astonished; thus, it is a provocation of astonishment for every listener.

The Imam [al-Razi] said: The first sentence indicates that they deserve the greatest types of punishment by convention, and the second is a reminder that they have become characterized by the greatest types of obscenities and abominations by religious law; such a thing was not heard prior to the revelation of the Quran. As for what is attributed to Imru’ al-Qays in his saying:

The man wishes in the summer for the winter, And when the winter comes, he finds it detestable; he is not satisfied with any single state.

And his inclusion of "Cursed is man! How disbelieving he is!"—it has no basis. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of the speech of the Arabs is not ignorant that the author of that [verse] is a later poet who intended to borrow [the Quranic phrase], not a pre-Islamic one.

Some have permitted the interpretation that His saying, "Cursed is man," is a report that the disbelievers will indeed be killed through the revelation of the verse of fighting; the past tense is used to emphasize that this will certainly come to pass. This is of no consequence. Similar to this is the claim that "ma" (what) is interrogative, meaning: "What is it that made him disbelieve?"—in the sense that there is nothing that could justify his disbelief.