Tafsir of Abasa 80:20

(Then the path He eased) means: Then He facilitated his exit from the womb, as is narrated from Ibn Abbas, by opening the mouth of the womb, stretching the nerves along his path, and inverting his head downwards after it had been towards the top.

It is also narrated from Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, Abu Salih, and Al-Suddi that the intended meaning of "the path" is the path of sound reasoning that leads to faith, and that His easing it for him is the granting of intellect and enabling him to engage in reflection.

Mujahid, Al-Hasan, and ‘Ata—and it is also a narration from Ibn Abbas—said that it refers to the path of guidance and misguidance; meaning, He made easy for him the path he wishes to traverse, whether it be the path of goodness and guidance or the path of evil and misguidance, by granting him the capability and enabling him for it. Bestowing the capacity to achieve one's intention is an evident blessing, regardless of whether that intention is inherently good or evil. Thus, it cannot be objected to by asking how the facilitation of the path of evil and misguidance can be counted among blessings. It is said that it is counted as such because, had it not been made as accessible as the path of goodness, one would not deserve praise and reward for turning away from it and abandoning it. This is based on the opinion that abandoning a prohibited act—such as adultery, for example, while lacking the capacity to perform it—is not rewarded. Others hold that one is rewarded and praised for it if the one who abstains firmly resolves within himself that even if he were capable, he would not commit it. Some have said that incapacity for evil is a blessing, and one has recited: "I thanked Him for His blessings, as the powerful one who has the power to harm people, yet does not."

The noun "the path" (al-sabil) is in the accusative case due to an implied verb that is explained by the explicit one that follows. This carries a sense of hyperbole in the easing and establishes it more firmly in the mind due to the repetition. It has been said that identifying it with the definite article (al-) rather than a possessive pronoun serves as an indication of its generality; for had it been said "his path," it might have suggested a distributive meaning, implying that every human has a path specific to him alone. Some have restricted this subtle point specifically to the latter meaning of "path," so reflect upon this. Based on this meaning, it has been said that it contains an allusion to the fact that the world is a path, and the destination is other than it, due to what the verse implies—that the path made easy is the path of the accountable beings upon which reward and punishment are predicated. This is somewhat subtle, but regardless, the accusative pronoun in "He eased it" (yassarahu) refers to the path, and there is no confusion in this separation such that it would be a deficiency in the exposition.