Tafsir of Abasa 80:3

Just as the expression regarding the Prophet, may Allah Almighty bless him and grant him peace, using the pronoun of address in His glorious saying "But what would make you know, perhaps he might be purified," serves to provide comfort after isolation and approach after turning away. The description of Ibn Umm Maktum as "the blind man" serves to indicate his excuse for proceeding to interrupt the speech of the Messenger, may Allah Almighty bless him and grant him peace, and his preoccupation with the people.

It has been said that the use of the third-person pronoun initially, followed by the second-person pronoun, serves to intensify the reproach. This is like one who complains to people about a party that has wronged him, then turns to the offender once his anger over the grievance has intensified, facing him with rebuke and compelling him to acknowledge the truth.

In the mention of "the blind man," there is a similar nuance, as it is a description that fits the act of approaching him and showing compassion. It also dispels the illusion of exclusivity to that specific blind man and gestures toward the fact that every weak person deserves such attention, following the principle that a judge should not pass judgment while in a state of anger.

As for the estimation of the preposition, I mean the lam of causality: it is operative upon the first of the two verbs according to the preferred view of the Kufans, upon the second according to the preferred view of the Basrans, and upon both together according to the school of Al-Farra'. Indeed, in terms of meaning, it is a cause for both without dispute; meaning, he frowned because the blind man came to him, and he turned away for that reason.

Zayd ibn Ali read "‘abassa" with a shaddah on the ba’ for intensification, not for transitivity. He, along with Al-Hasan, Abu ‘Imran al-Jawni, and ‘Isa, read it with an hamza followed by another (A‘abasa), and some reciters read it with two fully articulated hamzas. The hamza in both recitations is for interrogative reproach. A pause is made at "tawalla" (he turned away), and the meaning is "except that the blind man came to him."

The pronoun in "la‘allahu" (perhaps he) refers to the blind man. It is apparent that the sentence is related to the verb "knowledge" (yudrika) in a way that occupies the place of its object—meaning: "What thing makes you possess knowledge of this blind man’s state? Perhaps he might purify himself through what he receives of the religious laws from some of the stains of sin."